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Posted by NetFortris Team

Tags: Insurance, Legal, Business Owners, IT Pros

Choosing a new phone system with unified communications software should be an exciting time for your business – you’re ready to work smarter and more efficiently. The only thing between you and productivity nirvana is the pesky contract.

3 warning signs to watch

Contract-464803599Watch for these four warning signs when evaluating your phone system provider:

1) Only lawyers could love this contract

There’s no good reason it should take a lawyer to interpret the initial agreement between you and your business phone system provider. Look for a simple document that’s a page or two of plain English. Top providers like Fonality will take that a step further by making it easy to sign electronically. In this case, a more detailed Terms of Use often take cares of any additional nitty gritty like international calling rates or billing options.

 

2) The long-term commitment trap

We’d all love to make sure our customers stay with us for years. Long-term contracts can reduce sales and marketing costs and fill finance types with glee as they count future revenue. For customers on the other end of the line…not so much. The absolute best way to attract and keep your best customers is to provide a great product and superior customer service. Expect the same from your business phone provider, especially when making the leap from traditional office phones to ones hosted in the cloud with added features. Companies confident in their wares won’t ask you to sign up for more than a year.

 

3) No flexibility

If your business grows, are you out a bundle of money to add lines, phones or users? If your seasonal help leaves for a full-time job, are you stuck with more phones for the life of your contract? Look for the flexibility to change your service to a higher or lower level, add or subtract users, or even upgrade your hardware at any time.  


If any of this sounds familiar, it may be time to heed the warning signs. Before you make your final decision, ask yourself: “If getting on board and leaving is so hard, what’s it going to be like doing business every day?” Of course, we’d be happy to help you avoid these contract no-no’s when you work with Fonality. Find out why customers pick – and stay – with us here.

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