VirtualPBX Review

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VirtualPBX Review Summary
	Pro's: No Setup/Activation Fees Reliability and Quality True and most extensive ACD Queing Call identification(business vs personal) International Virtual Numbers
	Con's: No outbound internet fax Only 1 included incoming phone line per plan
	Bottom Line: If you are in the small business space and find that some of the more advanced features such as the true ACD Queing are appealing to you, and you want the complete confidence of a company with VirtualPBX's stability and reliability, you can now get all of this at reasonably priced plans with no setup or activation fees.
VirtualPBX Review Detail
Rating:		3.5/5
User Rating:		4.5/5

VirtualPBX Quick Stats:

Pricing	Professional: $9.99/mo SOHO: $24.99/mo Small Business: $44.99/mo Corporate: $94.99/mo
Free Trial	Yes - you can get a 30 Day VirtualPBX Free Trial
Setup/ Installation Fees:	No
Disconnect/ Cacellation Fees:	No
Customer Service:	24/7 Good, In-House (provided by company employees)
Included Minutes:	Professional: 100/mo SOHO: 500/mo Small Business: 1000/mo Corporate: 2000/mo
Incoming Lines:	Professional: 1 SOHO: 1 Small Business: 1 Corporate: 1 $10 each/month to add a line
Extensions	Professional: 5 SOHO: 10 Small Business: 20 Corporate: 50 You can not add extensions, you must upgrade plans. $25 fee to upgrade plans
Local & 800 Number Transfer Fee:	$25 - one time
800 Vanity Number Fee:	$25 - one time
True 800 Number Setup Fee:	Professional: $25 one time fee SOHO: $25 one time fee Small Business: $25 one time fee Corporate: $25 one time fee
More Info:	Make Sure to Compare Virtual Phone System Plans for Additional Plan Statistics
Awards:

 

 

VirtualPBX Review Summary:

VirtualPBX is our #4 pick. There is no disputing that VirtualPBX has been doing this longer than any of the other vendors, and because of this they definately provide the most reliable, redundant, and extensive, feature rich product, and now all of it, at very affordable prices. However, they still have a few "gotchas" to resolve, and the potential for additonal fees is not the least of them.

VirtualPBX Likes:

Quality and Reliability: Because VirtualPBX has been doing this longer than anyone else in the space, they definately have the Quality and Reliablity down to a science. Reliablity is not going to be an issue for you with VirtualPBX, but again, don't overlook that this may come at a cost.

True ACD Queing: VirtualPBX definately defines what True ACD queing is, and probably should be at this point. They started it, and by far have the most extensive functionality in this arena. If you need true ACD queing and it's critical to your business, then VritualPBX will be a the very top of your short list of vendors.

Caller Identifcation: When a call is sent to your cell phone via VirtualPBX's auto attendant, the auto attendant identifies the call as a "business" call so that you know to answer it differently than you would a normal personal call to your cell phone.

International Virtual Numbers: Virtual PBX now offers local numbers in other countries. This can benefit your business if you have a customer base, or even employees in another country that you need to communicate with on a regular basis. By adding an International Virtual Number you can totally eliminate the international calling rates to/from that country.! Your customers in the UK for example, could call you without additional charges to them, and reach any of your locations. The same thing applies to any employees you might have in that country - you can now communicate with them any time you need without incuring huge international phone bills. VirtualPBX and Phone.com are the only two merchants to offer this ability.

NO Activation Fee: Kudos to VirtualPBX! As of November 18, 2008 they have eliminated their Setup/Activation fee! Plus are now offering a Trial Period. We feel this now makes them a "real" offering to the very small/small business maket, and a "real" competitor in this space. However we would like them to also eliminate the $25 upgrade fee they have, as well! The upgrade fee is gone! Unless you want an expedited upgrade - then you'll pay the $25.

 

VirtualPBX Dislikes:

Limited 14 Day Free Trial: Now people may feel we are picking on VirtualPBX, at this point. Afterall they are finally offering a Trial Offer Period. But why only 14 days? That hardly allows a busy small business to really kick the tires on a system - especially on a system with as many advanced features as VirtualPBX offers. Plus it does not allow for a full billing cycle to see how that all shakes out. We just find it odd that they went with 14 days rather than the 30 days that all their competitors offer. UPDATE: VirtualPBX now offers a 30 day Free Trial.

No OutBound Internet Fax: Again, this may be picky, but we just find it rather odd, that a provider that offers such advance features as VirtualPBX would not offer Outbound Internet Faxing. We see this as the wave of the future and a means of eliminating the need for the traditional fax machine for most small businesses. Without this feature businesses will still need to have a fax machine or purchase an additioanl service.

Only 1 incoming Phone Line: You only get one incoming phone line by default with any plan you select. Each additional phone line costs you $10/month, which is the highest fee of all the providers by double. If they truly wanted to "hit it out of the park" with their new and revised plans they could have followed Phone.com's and GotVMail's lead and went to a defaulted multiple incoming phone line model. This would have allowed small businesses to have both a toll free and local number for their business without the additional monthly cost.

Additional Fees: If you are considering VirtualPBX, you will need to determine your specific needs, because there are additional fees involved in adding features you can get standard with some of the other providers. For instance you can not add extensions to any of their plans, except their highest level plan. Rather you have to upgrade to the next higher plan to get the additional extensions. In contrast Phone.com and Grasshopper both offer unlimited extensions with any plan. With VirtualPBX you only get 1 incoming line with each plan, and to add additional incoming lines will cost you $10 each per month. Thats double the cost of any of their competitors, and both Phone.com and Grasshopper both offer multiple lines standard with all but their lowest plan.

VirtualPBX Bottom Line:

Since VirtualPBX has completely redone their pricing and removed their setup/activation fees they are now a great option in our list of providers, especially if you need true ACD queing. However, there are a couple of things we felt they could have added to their list of changes - including outbound internet faxing, which we now understand will be coming very soon. We also would have liked to have seen them include additional incoming lines to each plan, and the ability to add extensions without having to upgrade plans.

All in all, if you are in the small business space and find that some of the more advanced features such as the true ACD Queing are appealing to you, and you want the complete confidence of VirtualPBX's reliability, you can now get all of this at reasonably priced plans!

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