FaxItNice

Sam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:17:08 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FaxItNice

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

How-to videos that show how to receive and send email faxes
Very easy-to-use interface
866 or 877 number included in package

Cons:

$12.95 per month rate (above our “market standard”)
15 day free trial or 20 minutes of faxing
$10.00 one-time activation fee
They only offer three “Send and Receive” packages, the lowest of which includes 50 pages per month for $5.99, and the most expensive which includes 1100 pages per month for $29.99.
Incoming and outgoing overage charges are $0.10 per page (which will only meet our “market standard” if each page only takes one minute each)

GotFax

Sam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:10:22 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

GotFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Easy-to-use interface
Toll-free number included in package
They offer a variety of packages for users with different needs (as low as 100 pages per month for $7.95, and up to 1000 pages per month for $24.95)
They give you 5% off per month and free set-up when you purchase annually rather than month-to-month
Include 20 users

Cons:

Do not explicitly list their activation fee, but they imply that there is one because they say “no set-up fee” if you purchase annually, rather than month-to-month
Only archives faxes for 30 days
Incoming and outgoing overage charges are $0.10 per page (which will only meet our “market standard” if each page only takes one minute each)

FaxPipe

Sam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:02:19 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FaxPipe

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

30-day free trial or 30 minutes of faxing free trial
How-to videos that show how to receive and send email faxes
Very easy-to-use interface
800 number included in package
They offer a variety of packages for users with different needs (as low as 25 pages per month for $3.95 per month, and you can set up customized corporate packages with them if your faxing needs exceed the packages listed on their website)

Cons:

$12.95 per month rate (above our “market standard”)
$10.00 one-time activation fee
Only include 5 users
Only store faxes online for 10 days, and you have to request that they re-send you a fax that you received within the last 10 days
Incoming and outgoing overage charges are $0.10 per page (which will only meet our “market standard” if each page only takes one minute each)

Nextiva

Sam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:41:03 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

Nextiva

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

30 day free trial
Knowledgeable customer service
Low monthly price for number of pages included
Low overage rates
Combined pages
Discount for annual contracts

Cons:

Only one user can send faxes
Toll-free numbers aren't available
Previewing your faxes doesn't work well

Nextiva has a good internet fax service, but we had lots of difficulties signing up. We got an error three times before we were actually able to sign up. However, at $9.95 per month for 500 fax pages, Nextiva gives you a lot for your money. Their faxing interface is relatively straightforward, and we had no problems sending and receiving faxes. Nextiva’s customer service helped solve our issue when the password we were given to login to our account didn’t work. Nextiva has a 30 day free trial to test out their internet fax service.

Top 3 Ways to Market Your Small Business, Guerilla-Style

jen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:21:46 +0000

According to Jay Conrad Levinson, the man who coined the term, “guerilla marketing” is a system of promotions that relies on “time, energy and imagination,” rather than a giant marketing budget. In other words, it’s a system that’s organically linked to small businesses. Here are some of the best (read: low-budget) guerilla marketing techniques for small businesses and start-ups.

SimplifyFax

Sam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:51:28 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

SimplifyFax

Company Information

Logo:

On April 3, 2009, FaxCompare was notified that SimplifyFax was acquired by BisonFAX Services. If you visit SimplifyFax's website, it is no longer in service.

FAXaFILE

Sam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:27:30 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FAXaFILE

Company Information

Logo:

FAXaFILE's online fax services are now powered by TrustFax. If you visit FAXaFILE's website, you will be redirected to TrustFax.com.

SaveOnFaxes

adam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:24:32 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

SaveOnFaxes

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Low monthly fee
24/7 Customer Service

Cons:

$20.00 start up fee
Only 250 included pages
Expensive overage pages
No online fax storage

SavesOnFaxes is a good low cost online fax service but has a $20 start up fee. Aside from the $20 start up fee, its $6.95 monthly fee for 250 online fax pages is a good value. For charging such a low monthly fee, we were surprised that SaveOnFaxes has helpful 24/7 customer service. SaveOnFaxes advertises a free trial, but it’s actually one fax that is sent to your email address.

jConnect

adam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:15:57 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

jConnect

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Bundled fax service with voicemail and other email fax services
Online fax storage for 1 year
Discount for annual contracts

Cons:

High monthly price ($19.95) for number of pages included
High overage rates
Chat customer service wasn't helpful
$10.00 start up fee
No outgoing pages in plan
No free trial

jConnect’s Premier plan fits you well if you want an internet fax service bundled with other features like voicemail and email-by-phone®. At $19.95 per month for 170 incoming and zero outgoing pages, jConnect is very pricey. jConnect’s phone customer support has been helpful and responsive, but their live chat support has been of very low quality. At the current time, jConnect doesn’t offer a free trial to test out its bundled online fax service.

eXtremeFax

adam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:11:15 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

eXtremeFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
$7.99 monthly fee
300 online fax pages included in plan
Unlimited users in plan
24/7 Customer Service
$0.07 per overage pages

Cons:

This is an old version of what is now RingCentral
30 day free trial only includes 30 pages

eXtremeFax’s Standard Service is a good offer for users who are not looking to spend a lot each month. eXtremeFax charges a monthly rate of $7.99, but if you pay annually, it only costs $6.67 per month. They do not charge a start-up fee, and they do not have any hidden fees. Their interface seems is a bit out-dated. This plan comes with 300 total (incoming and outgoing combined) online fax pages per month, and you can divide the allotted pages between incoming and outgoing as you see fit.

CallWave

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:42:34 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

CallWave

Company Information

Logo:

CallWave's online fax services are now powered by eFax. If you visit CallWave's website and sign-up, you will be taken directly to eFax's online fax sign-up page.

GoFaxer

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:24:37 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

GoFaxer

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No set up fee
Multiple users available
Online fax storage up to 1 GB
Combined pages in plan
Monthly or annual contracts available
Easy-to-use interface

Cons:

Service was down from June 9, 2009 to July 21, 2009
Can only send online faxes through the online fax interface. You can't send them through a standard email.

GoFaxer’s “Home: Monthly” service is competitively-priced and is in line with our “market standard.” GoFaxer charges a monthly rate of $9.99, but they give you your 11th and 12th months for free when you sign up for a year for $99.50. There are no hidden fees, and there is no start-up fee. They interface is very user-friendly, which is good because they require that you send faces through their online interface. However, you can always receive online faxes through your email program.

UnityFax

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:06:28 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

UnityFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Great customer support
Unlimited incoming pages
Low overage rate for additional outgoing online fax pages

Cons:

$1.99 start up fee
No free trial
Interface is not user-friendly

UnityFax’s “Local Fax: Unlimited 250 Sending” service is competitively-priced and is in line with our “market standard.” UnityFax charges a monthly rate of $9.99, but they give you one month free when you sign up for 6 months. They also give you 2 months of free online faxing when you sign up for one year. There are no hidden fees, but they charge you a start-up fee of $1.99. Their interface is not user-friendly.

SmartFax

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:04:56 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

SmartFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
Low monthly fee
Pages are combined, so you are less likely to incur overage charges
Lower than average overage rates
Customer service is knowledgeable

Cons:

Poor customer service
Hidden Fees: SmartFax charges $0.05 per online fax, per month to store faxes for more than 30 days, which is the default setting for their online interface
Only 2 users can receive faxes

Despite SmartFax's hidden fee and hard-to-find customer service number, SmartFax's plan is a good value. There is no activation fee, and for $6.95/month, you get 250 combined pages, lower than average overage rates and the option of a toll free number for no additional cost. SmartFax has a hidden fee where they charge you to storeb online faxes more than 30 days, which is the default setting for their online interface. However, you can address this by changing your settings when you log-in to your account.

OneSuite

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:58:44 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

OneSuite

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Very low monthly fee
Low overage rates
Unlimited incoming pages
Low international rates
24/7 Customer Service

Cons:

Does not support faxing to toll free numbers
$10 starting balance
Must download software to send online faxes
Not compatible with Macs

OneSuite’s “OneSuite Fax Plus” service is a very low-cost online faxing service, and the quality of their service does not suffer, despite the fact that their prices are significantly lower than most other online faxing services. OneSuite charges a monthly rate of only $2.95, which is much cheaper than our “market standard.” There are no hidden fees, and OneSuite does not charge a start-up fee for this email fax service. However, you do have to put a $10.00 balance on your account before you can begin faxing. Their interface is very user-friendly.

GreenFax.com

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:55:16 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

GreenFax.com

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Very low overage fees; $0.03 per minute for incoming pages and $0.07/$0.05 per minute for outgoing pages
Up to 5 users in plan
Unlimited online fax storage
Corporate upgrades available
Premium upgrades available

Cons:

No free trial
Limited customer service hours
Pricing is above what we consider market standard

This company is marketing its service as a means to positively affect the environment. Although we agree with and support this conclusion, GreenFax’s service is no more environmentally friendly than other carriers', as far as we can tell. Nonetheless, their overage fees are very low and if you foresee regular overage charges, this benefit might outweigh their above-market monthly fees. Customer service hours are more limited than competitors as well.

FaxSer

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:53:55 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FaxSer

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
365 days of online fax storage

Cons:

Limited customer service
Only 125 incoming and 125 outgoing fax pages are included
Only 5 users included in plan
Limited local numbers

FaxSer’s “Best Deal” service is a satisfactory offer for users who do not have large monthly needs and want an economical online faxing service. FaxSer charges a monthly rate of $9.95, which is right in line with our “market standard.” They do not charge a start-up fee, and they do not have any hidden fees. Their interface is adequate, but it could be slightly more user-friendly. This plan comes with 125 incoming pages and 125 outgoing pages per month.

AirComUSA

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:50:15 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

AirComUSA

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Toll-Free numbers available with no additional fees
In business for 10+ years
Helpful online fax customer service

Cons:

No included minutes
30 day free trial only includes 30 minutes for inbound faxes
$10.00 set up fee
$12.00 upfront charge for future overage fees
7 days of online storage

AirComUSA's Virtual Fax plan is expensive considering you pay $8.95 per month, a $10 setup fee, and don't receive any free incoming or outgoing faxes. You're also charged $12 upfront, but this amount goes towards paying for your online faxes. When we signed up for AirComUSA's service, we got a courtesy call and the representative we spoke with was knowledgeable and answered all of our questions.

ClickFax

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:44:51 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

ClickFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

The website is so difficult to navigate that you will probably not waste your time looking at their different online fax service plans

Cons:

15 day free trial only includes 3 sent online faxes
50 pages per month is roughly 16% of what we consider market standard

ClickFax offers a 15 day free trial that includes 3 faxes (send only). There are other online fax service carriers that offer a more comprehensive bundle of online fax services for less money with better Customer Service. We will not waste your time or ours with a long review of ClickFax. They were included in an effort to create a complete online fax survey. Please choose another carrier.

Venali

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:44:50 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

Venali

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
Customer Service available 24/5
Premium upgrades and corporate packages available

Cons:

No Free Trial
Additional fees for online fax storage
Only 200 pages included in plan (67% of market standard)
Only 1 user in plan
Limited local area codes (only 32 U.S. states are represented)

Venali’s “FaxComplete Local” service is a competitively-priced online faxing service for customers that do not have high faxing volumes every month. Venali charges a monthly rate of $9.95, which is in line with our “market standard.” There are no hidden fees, and Venali does not charge a start-up fee for this email fax service. Their interface is slightly difficult to use, and it is a little hard to find the page with all of their packages and plans.

Get the Most Out of Interns at Your Small Business

darcie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:40:46 +0000

As Jen pointed out last week, sometimes being a boss is tough. You have to make hard decisions all the while managing your company and your employees. And, if you throw in the addition of interns, you may have another layer of complications to manage. However, having interns can be great for your small business. Not only are interns are cost-effective for your business, but they also make great brand ambassadors, who can spread the word about your business on school campuses and on the streets.

Send2Fax

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:30:25 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

Send2Fax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

30 day free trial
The incoming and outgoing online fax page allowance is combined, which makes it less likely for you to incur overage fees

Cons:

$8.95 start up fee
Hidden Fees: Send2Fax charges for storing online faxes for more than 30 days. which is the default setting in their online interface
Only 2 users can receive faxes
Overage fees exceed what we consider market standard
Customer service phone number is hard to find

Send2Fax’s monthly fee is fairly low at $8.95 per month, but its plan only gives you half the included faxes pages of our market standard. Send2Fax also has a hidden fee where their default setting is set to charge you for storing your faxes online for more than 30 days. Their faxing interface is simple to use, and our experience with sending and receiving faxes was good. Send2Fax’s customer support is knowledgeable, but it’s difficult to find their number. It is located at the bottom of the page here: http://www.send2fax.com/about.jsp.

FaxFreedom

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:07:13 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FaxFreedom

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

$0.07 per overage page

Cons:

No free trial period
$9.95 start up fee
100 total online fax pages in plan (33% of average)
Unresponsive customer service
Hidden Fees: You have to pay the first and last month up front
Limited customer service

FaxFreedom’s Standard Service is an acceptable online fax service, but there are many other service providers that offer much more for the same amount of money. FaxFreedom charges a monthly rate of $9.95 and have a start-up fee of $9.95, and you are required to pay your first and last months upfront.

PayPerFax

Sam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:59:12 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

PayPerFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
No monthly fee
Toll-free number included at no extra cost

Cons:

No permanent fax number
Fax numbers are only available for free for 30 minutes
Limited Customer Service
Only 1 user
Expensive online fax pages
No free trial

If you are a casual fax user who needs a pay-as-you-go online fax service, instead of a permanent fax number to use for your business, then PayPerFax may be the right option for you. PayPerFax is unique in that they don’t charge a monthly fee; you only pay for the online faxes you send or receive. The first page is $0.75, and each additional page is $0.40. Your fax number is assigned from PayPerFax’s inventory of toll-free numbers and is available to use for 30 minutes.

Fax2Mail

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:54:42 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

Fax2Mail

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Premier Global offers a wide variety of digital phone services, so if you're looking for more than just online fax you might be able to benefit from a service bundle

Cons:

$20.00 start up fee
Confusing pricing system
Overage fees are well above-average
No free trial
Very low number of online fax pages (50 combined pages is 16.67% of what we believe to be the market standard)
Their website is generally not very informative

There are other online fax carriers that offer the same bundle of services for less money. Because Fax2Mail charges $11.90/month plus a $20 start-up fee for 50 total incoming and outgoing online fax pages, it is over market average in price and under market average for total monthly pages. Also, the hidden fees associated with the email fax service, i.e. $3.95 per added user and $0.004 for every re-sent fax, makes the service less attractive than other online fax options.

Fax.com

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:33:11 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

Fax.com

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

The incoming and outgoing page allowance is combined, which makes it less likely for you to incur overage fees

Cons:

Hidden Fees: They charge for storing faxes online for more than 30 days, which is the default setting in their online interface
Overage fees are higher than average

Fax.com's monthly service is priced right at our market standard, but their per page overage charge is above what other vendors are charging. Our testing also found their customer support to be unreliable. Recently, Fax.com acquired OneFax, FaxMicro and 101Fax and appears to be managing all these online fax systems through Fax.com's technology.

The majority of the feedback we've received about Fax.com has been negative: unresponsive customer service and online fax reliability issues.

FaxAge

adam — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:26:39 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

FaxAge

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Low overage fees
Low monthly fee
Unlimited users in plan
Caller-ID blacklist
Secure email
Excellent customer service

Cons:

No free trial period
$5.00 start up fee
Limited local numbers

This plan is competitively priced. There is a five dollar start up fee and no free trial, which is outside of our market standard. The monthly fee of $7.95 is a few dollars less than our market standard though.

SRFax

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:06:25 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

SRFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

No start up fee
Monthly or annual contracts available
24/7 Customer Service
Free toll-free number
Online fax storage for 1 year
Corporate packages and premium upgrades

Cons:

Pages in plan aren't combined; 300 pages designated for incoming and 100 pages for outgoing online faxes
Only 9 U.S. cities available for local numbers

SRFax is a good outline fax plan for multiple users. Their Lite Plan is $9.95 per month for 300 incoming and 100 outgoing pages. They don’t have a start-up fee or any additional hidden fees. SRFax offers a 30 day free trial. They also allow up to nine users to access and view the online interface. The only real drawback to their email fax service is that they don’t offer combined pages. But, they offer knowledgeable customer support that is available 24/7.

eFax

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:55:22 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

eFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

30 day free trial
Online fax storage for 2 years
Fax numbers in 3,500 cities and 46 countries
Discount for annual contracts

Cons:

High monthly price ($16.95) for number of pages included
High overage rates
Pages in plan aren't combined; 130 pages designated for incoming and 30 pages for outgoing

eFax has a good online fax service with the most subscribers, but its toll free number plans don’t include free incoming fax pages. For $16.95 per month, you get a local fax number that comes with 130 incoming pages and 30 outgoing pages. eFax’s monthly fee is on the high side for the low fax pages included in their plan. Sending and receiving faxes with eFax is relatively straightforward, and eFax offers customer support 24/7. Although we’ve historically had poor experiences with their customer support, our recent experiences have been positive.

MaxEmail

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:42:27 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

MaxEmail

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Unused pages roll-over
25 users
Upgraded and Corporate packages available
International sending capabilities

Cons:

$10.00 start up fee
30 day free trial only includes 100 inbound pages and three 10-page outbound faxes
Customer service number is hard to find

MaxEmail’s Plus Plan is a satisfactory service, but it is not the best option for users needed a toll free number plan. They charge a monthly rate of $9.95 and have a slightly high start-up fee of $10.00, but they do not have any hidden fees. Their interface is not very user-friendly, but they offer 250 free incoming pages and 100 outgoing pages per month. Their customer service representatives were knowledgeable, but they are only available over the phone from 9-5 CST on Monday-Friday.

TrustFax

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:19:41 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

TrustFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

525 in plan pages
User friendly interface
Unlimited online fax storage
Up to 10 users in plan
No start up fee
24/7 customer service

Cons:

Pages in plan aren't combined; 400 pages designated for incoming and 125 for either incoming or outgoing online faxes
30 day free trial only includes 5 free faxes

TrustFax is a great option for small businesses who need a local fax number. They have competitive pricing, no startup fees and a free 30 day trial. However, their free trial period only includes 5 pages, which are all watermarked with a TrustFax Trial graphic. TrustFax now offers 24/7 customer support. From our experiences, their email support is quicker than their phone support. While they don’t combine pages in their plan, TrustFax offers significantly more pages than other comparable plans.

MetroFax

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:48:20 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

MetroFax

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

1000 pages per month
Low overage rates
Easy-to-use interface
MetroFax charges per page NOT per minute (no matter how long the page takes to transmit)

Cons:

$9.95 start up fee
Your 1 free month is the second month, which means no free trial
$2 extra per user email

MetroFax offers an extremely high number of faxes for a low monthly cost. They give you 1000 combined pages for only $12.95 per month and have no additional fees. The online faxing interface is very user-friendly. However, there are a few downsides to their service. They don’t offer a free trial, and you must pay a start-up fee of $9.95 when you create your account. Only one user can access and view incoming faxes. In terms of customer service, MetroFax offers great help and support, which is available 24/7.

RingCentral

adam — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:56:54 +0000

Category:

Email Fax

URL Path Prefix:

online-fax-service-reviews

Default Plan:

RingCentral

Company Information

Logo:

Pros:

Bundled services available
No set up fee
Most economical plan for both sending and receiving online faxes in our survey
5.9 cents per page over 300 pages
300 page plan can be used for both inbound and outbound faxes
Multiple users available

Cons:

30 day free trial only includes 60 pages
Only 30 days of online fax storage

RingCentral's product is very good, and RingCentral is continuously working to improve their customer service. Unlike other online fax services that set an allotted number for incoming and outgoing pages, RingCentral combines the two to give their users more flexibility in how they spend their minutes. If you send and receive more than 300 online fax pages per month, RingCentral has two higher volume plans: a 1000 page per month plan and a 2500 page per month plan.

7 Most Useful (and 7 Terrible) Business Card Designs

jen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:44:54 +0000

You may have noticed that there are a ton of really creative business cards being handed out by prospective employees, freelancers, artists and small businesses alike. But, does creative = effective? Here are a few of the business card designs we find to be the most effective, and a few that we feel are a wee too inaccessible.

What the Winter Olympics has Taught Us (so far) about Business

darcie — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:28:54 +0000

Every four years the Olympics airs we swell with national pride, cheer on the underdogs and are overwhelmed by touching stories. The 2010 Winter Olympic Games have been no exception. We have already witnessed some amazing athletic feats along with heartbreaking losses—sorry, Julia Mancuso. At the end of it all, though, we have learned some interesting lessons from the Winter Games that can be applied to everyday business strategies.

Small business owners: Don’t be a jerk.

jen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:09:01 +0000

Steve Strauss’ Ask an Expert column in today’s USAToday gives an interesting, but debatable, piece of advice to small business owners: sometimes you just “gotta be a jerk.” I whole-heartedly disagree with the concept. Read on to find out why “the tough guy” makes a terrible leader.

Use Social Networks the Right Way—and Drive Your Business!

darcie — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:44:13 +0000

The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business reported earlier this month that the number of small businesses adopting social media doubled last year from 12% to 24%, and nearly one out of five small business owners are actively using social media for their business. Also, 61% of the respondents said that they use social media to attract new customers to their businesses. So how can you use social media networking, like Twitter and Facebook, to drive your business?

Tools and Tips for an Eco-Friendly Office

jen — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:27:34 +0000

Going “green” might sound expensive, but it actually can help save your business time and money in the long run. Plus, being eco-friendly is easy and could be a fun activity for you and your employees. Here are a few easy things you can do to help save the planet while also reducing your overhead.

How to Get More People to Open Your Emails

darcie — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:16:09 +0000

Did you know that North Americans open less emails than Europeans do? According to report conducted by email marketing solution GetResponse, only 10.76% of Americans who received targeted emails actually opened them, compared to 13+% of Europeans. Americans are now becoming more email-weary, and it can be a daunting task to get your email newsletter opened by your subscribers. Read below for tips on how to improve your chances.

Subject Lines are Your Friends

No More Excuses for Not Having a Website!

jen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:13:35 +0000

Last year, I explained Why Your Small Business Needs a Web Site and responded to people who think that a website isn’t necessary for your business. In conjunction with the launch of our newest How-To guide (How to Build a Website), I’m going to reiterate a few points about all the great things a website can do for your small business.

Why Order Business Cards Online?

darcie — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:50:03 +0000

You may have noticed we’ve updated ChooseWhat with a new section devoted to ordering business cards online. We’ve compared the most popular online business card printing sites in regards to pricing, design options, card stock and turnaround time in order to bring you the most comprehensive reviews.

Home Office Tax Deduction Tips

jen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Spending time on your home office/business deductions can be worth it, as long as your deductions are credible and as exact as possible.

The AP recently reported on the increasing number of people who are taking tax deductions for their home offices. Since quite a few people are now running their businesses out of their houses, garages and apartments, business deductions for home offices have become more standard. However, you could still get audited by the IRS if you don’t adhere to the rules.

VerticalResponse Honors VegNews for Email Marketing Excellence

darcie — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:24:10 +0000

This week VerticalResponse, a popular email marketing service provider, announced VegNews magazine as its first recipient of a Checkie of the Year Award, which recognized the vegetarian lifestyle magazine for its excellence in email marketing success.

ChooseWhat’s Top 7 iPhone and Smartphone Apps for Small Business

jen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:22:53 +0000

Read about ChooseWhat’s favaorite desktop and iPhone applications that boost productivity and help small business owners effectively manage their businesses. We at ChooseWhat have used all of these applications at one time or another and highly recommend them to any small business, start-up or entrepreneur.

Hosted PBX and Email Marketing Vendors Offer New Services

darcie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:21:23 +0000

This past week, popular vendors reviewed on PBXCompare.com and Email-Marketing-Options.com announced brand new services available to their users.

iContact versus Constant Contact

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:50:33 +0000

iContact versus Constant Contact

Both iContact and Constant Contact have free trials (Constant Contact's is much longer). http://www.email-marketing-options.com has a great comparison grid that compares the main features of both services.

iContact versus Constant Contact

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:50:33 +0000

iContact versus Constant Contact

No monthly fees! I want a pay per fax service.

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:30:15 +0000

If a monthly contract isn't ideal for your internet faxing needs, there are other options.

No monthly fees! I want a pay per fax service.

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:30:15 +0000

If a monthly contract isn't ideal for your internet faxing needs, there are other options.

Best Overall Conference Call Provider

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:03:42 +0000

I've been asked several times for a recommendation on conference call providers. We've only done preliminary research on conference call services, so I might not have all the information, but I feel good about recommending Dimdim Pro. It supports up to 50 attendess, integrates with Microsoft Office and has some cool features, like the option to record meetings. Also, this is an open source software, so that means the end-users (like you) change, improve and redistribute the software.