Make better communications your top resolution this business year.
Approximately 29% of small to medium business owners are worried about how poor technology could affect staffing. Employees are no longer willing to settle for outdated or broken technology. This doesn’t just affect your computing systems.
Business phones also require a serious overhaul to keep up with the latest advancements and leave crackly, static phone systems in the past.
Before you sign a telecoms contract, you should first look at what you are paying for. Some contracts may only give you a limited number of systems, making it hard to grow your business. Others may offer you reduced calling time, which may limit productivity, especially if your business operates at all hours.
Make sure you read any terms and conditions carefully to understand exactly what you will be paying for. This can include any notice or cancellation periods you need to adhere to.
You need to check that the telecoms provider you use will give you the latest technology to be able to do your job. Doing a bit of research on call quality, and even looking at current and past client reviews, can help you to figure out if you are dealing with an honest, accountable telecoms firm. We would always suggest going through a trusted expert who understands your needs, and requirements as well as offering ongoing support for any issues and expansion in the future.
At the very minimum, your telecoms provider should give you:
The length of a contract for business phones can differ greatly to what you may be used to within your home.
While you could opt for a short contract, some telecoms providers may allow you to sign onto a 5 year contract, for example, that automatically renews.
However, according to Ofcom, certain rules should apply if your business has ten or less employees. This includes capping the length of a contract to 24 months, and not automatically renewing unless this has been agreed between yourself and the telecoms provider.
A longer telecoms contract isn’t always a good thing. This could result in you being stuck with a provider for several years, even if you are unhappy with the services provided. At present, many businesses are preparing for the 2025 BT switch off, so you want to ensure that any business telecoms provider you choose has either already made the switch or includes switching within any upcoming contracts. Otherwise, you could see yourself trapped using outdated technologies for the next few years.
Telecoms isn’t something you can set and forget. Over time, you may need support to either make the most of your services, or to fix it when things go wrong. These could be simple requests, such as adding a new employee onto the service, or involve more complex telecoms issues when phones don’t work as they should.
Your telecoms provider should have made you aware of any maintenance included in your contract. They should also have a simple process for you to be able to report any telecoms issues, so that they are dealt with quickly.
Within any maintenance you receive should be tech updates. As mentioned, the BT switch off will require you to change from old copper lines to IP-based services. At this point, no new copper telephone lines will be sold. Any reputable telecoms provider should already be using VoIP services, meaning you won’t need to do anything when the change occurs.
You need to be able to include your business telecoms in your budget and forecasting for the year ahead. However, some providers may add on a number of hidden fees throughout the year. These can range from admin fees for changing details, to costs associated with the calls you make.
Simple aspects of your telecoms, such as call recording, tracking, or even the use of mobile apps could result in your bill being higher than you expected each month. While the government are trying to clamp down on hidden fees and surcharges, you still need to be cautious. Due to this, you should ensure you opt for a telecom’s provider who includes wraparound services within their basic pricing.
We believe that the price you are quoted should be the price you pay. Therefore, utilising telecoms from Syn-Star means that everything, from services to calls, is included within your quote. By pricing per user, rather than breaking it down for every little aspect included, you can rest assured that you will have the best possible telecom solutions without any nasty surprises in your monthly invoice.
Taking out a new telecoms contract doesn’t just involve the phone line itself. You also need to ensure your team has the latest hardware and software to maximise call productivity.
Some of your employees may wish to use traditional desk phones, whereas others might like to utilise softphone applications that enable them to take calls through their computer. One of the benefits of doing so is that these can be paired with a headset, freeing up your employee’s hands so that they can type or write while they talk. This could also ensure that calls aren’t missed when employees are away from their desks, as they can use buttons on the headset to answer or forward calls as required.
Many modern businesses may make the most of remote working, or have employees out on call throughout the day. Historically, this would then mean that calls are missed, or employees need to use their personal devices to make calls. This blurs the line between work and home, and could result in employees receiving business calls outside of their working hours. Softphone apps can also be used on smartphones, meaning an employee can use their personal phone but all calls to and from the device would register with their business number. This would also allow them to simply switch off the app when they finish working for the day, allowing for better work-life balance.
Any reputable telecoms provider should include the use of hardware and software in the quote you receive. By taking the time to learn your business needs, a partnership for business telecoms will only enhance your communications.
Doing your research on the different business telecoms providers can help you to find a brand who will boost your business communications. The first step can be to seek a demonstration of all that a provider has to offer, so you can see first-hand what they provide and how they operate.
Stellar communications are vital for your business to thrive. Therefore, you need to partner with a provider who will endeavour to give you the latest tech and the clearest telecoms. Speak to Syn-Star to find out more about upgrading your business telecoms today.
Verity Armstrong
Verity is our resident wordsmith. She spent time honing her skills as a freelance writer for a number of different industries from 2020 to 2023. Now, Verity writes about IT support and cyber security for Syn-Star. Outside of this, she curates content for Mindful Me, a blog about well-being and leading a more positive lifestyle.
Qualifications: BA (hons) Psychology, MA (Merit) Youth Justice, Community Safety & Applied Criminology
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, SEO 2, Digital Marketing
Favourite movie: Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings
Favourite band: Hollowstar
Favourite food: Pad Thai or enchiladas
Have a Question? Ask us here!
Verity Armstrong
Verity is our resident wordsmith. She spent time honing her skills as a freelance writer for a number of different industries from 2020 to 2023. Now, Verity writes about IT support and cyber security for Syn-Star. Outside of this, she curates content for Mindful Me, a blog about well-being and leading a more positive lifestyle.
Qualifications: BA (hons) Psychology, MA (Merit) Youth Justice, Community Safety & Applied Criminology
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, SEO 2, Digital Marketing
Favourite movie: Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings
Favourite band: Hollowstar
Favourite food: Pad Thai or enchiladas
Our support is designed to meet and exceed the needs of your business. We’re equipped to provide business support, as your business grows. Our technicians are ready to identify your pains swiftly, rectify the causes, and maintain your business technology for the long term.
Team Productivity:
You and your team are able to see where they are using their time and how productive they are actually being. Also they are able to clock in and out, so really good for flexi-working.
Team Monitoring:
If you would like to know what your team is doing and how productive they are being, we are able to monitor them and create screenshots of what they are working on. This can be run in normal or stealth mode.
Book a FREE fact finding session to discuss the different options.
We proactively seek opportunities to support good causes for our community.
From sponsoring local community football teams, to engaging with charity fundraiser days, we believe it’s important to continually strive to do good for the better of others.
We have members who volunteer with youth organisations, are engaged with the Round Table, run marathons and volunteer at events where we may be needed. Every charity receives a discounted IT and Telecoms service too.
Protecting your digital data is crucial for every business and this can start with the industry-leading security we offer. The Syn-Star specialists can help with identifying any vulnerabilities within your IT systems and act accordingly to ensure cyber-attacks and data breaches are mitigated.
Your business will never fall behind with its technology when you work with Syn-Star.
We understand IT and Telecoms for your business is an investment, but it’s important to use the best resources available to enable the growth of your business. Our IT Consultancy and Virtual IT Director Services are available to support you with how you use your business technology for years to come.
Syn-Star can conduct quick and easy phishing exercises to identify people within your team who need to improve on their knowledge around fraudulent emails and how they can be alerted to these threats.
At Syn-Star, our experts can proactively work to understand exactly what software you need to support with the business operations. Whether you need a listening ear on what software to choose, or would like to seek some specialist knowledge, we’re here to help where we can.
At Syn-Star, we keep Telecoms simple. There’s so much available to help UK companies with their communications. VoIP systems, fixed landline, cloud phone systems, SIP trunking and more. Contact us for further details.
Desk phones, cordless phones or conference phones, Syn-Star can provide you with whatever you need.
From conference calling facilities to the headsets which work best for your team, we’re able to provide all the equipment you need and complete any telecoms job from start to finish.
There is no need to be in the office to make and receive phone calls from your company’s number. Our market-leading Telecoms platform gives you the flexibility of desk phones, soft phones and mobile apps as standard.
Whether your team works remotely, or perhaps staff are on a business trip anywhere in the world, calls can still be made, and people are reachable via phone wherever they go.
With a range of products, our team can support you by installing exactly what you need for internet connectivity. We work with the very best products to provide speedy bandwidths which play a part in the increased productivity of your team.
