If you've ever cut a call short because you were running out of cell phone minutes or you were worried about racking up long distance charges, you're probably interested in reducing business telephone expenses. With the home office technology available all over the world, there's no reason you need to continue paying high prices for phone service for your business. In fact, you can reduce business telephone expenses by up to 90% just by using Skype's VOIP service.
What is Skype?
Skype is a company that offers voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP) telephone service to users all around the world. This
means you can make telephone calls using your Internet connection and the Skype software program. There are several different options for service, and the one you select will depend on your average telephone usage.Savings OptionsIf you don't make long-distance calls very often, or if you don't use a lot of cell phone minutes, you can select the option that allows you to buy Skype credits and use them each time you make a call. Skype charges just 2.1 cents per minute for long distance calls, so with a $10 credit load, you can talk for about 475 minutes. Most cell phone plans with 300 daytime minutes cost upwards of $50 per month, so this can be a substantial savings for home business owners.
For home business owners with many clients in other states, Skype has subscription services that can help you reduce your business telephone expenses substantially. Unlimited calling to the United States and Canada is only $2.95 per month, for calls to both cell phones and land lines. If you've been paying $60 per month for your business cell phone, this can reduce business telephone expenses by around 90%. For $5.95 per month, callers can also get unlimited calls to Mexico landlines. The $9.95 per month package allows unlimited calls to U.S. and Canada landlines and cell phones and landlines in thrity-six (36) other countries. Note that the unlimited plan has a fair use limit of 10,000 minutes per month, but that should not be hard to adhere to unless you are on the phone all day, every day.
Equipment Needed
For basic business calling, all you will need are the Skype software and a headset with a microphone. The software can be downloaded for free at www.skype.com and a headset can be purchased through Skype or any reputable electronics dealer. You can select a headset that plugs in to your computer or that is wireless and can be worn around the office so you are not limited
in your movements. Skype also requires an Internet connection, which shouldn't be a problem for most home business owners.
Being a good home business owner means reducing expenses wherever you can and investing them back into your business. You can reduce business telephone expenses and use the money saved for other business necessities.