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Get the Whole Enchilada With Internet Fax

By Brandi Cummings  -  November 1, 2006

If you are just starting to look into internet faxing you may be feeling a little unsure. What is important when looking for a provider? What features are really needed? When looking for an internet fax provider you want to make sure you are getting the whole package. That means key features at a good price with reliable service. What does that look like? Here are some things to look for to make sure you get the whole enchilada.

Key Features

  • Easy Integration/Ease of Use
    Make sure that any internet fax system you go with will be easy to use and integrate easily with any programs you are currently using. You will want to be able to fax your documents directly from your word processing software such as Microsoft Word as well as other popular programs like Excel and Adobe.
  • Web-based Access
    One of the best things about internet fax is the flexibility it allows its users. When you are away from the office you will want to still be able to access any faxes you have received, as well as send faxes stored in your web control panel or on another computer. A quality web based access program will allow you to do just that.
  • Fax Blocking
    Unfortunately when you get an internet fax system, the junk mail faxes will still find you. When you are paying for your faxes per page or per minute, you don’t want to receive the same junk faxes over and over. Make sure you can block certain numbers from sending faxes to your system. Some internet fax providers will even allow you to set up filters that allow faxes only from certain numbers or area codes.

Pricing
There are 2 ways that internet fax providers will charge for their service: per minute or per page. There are also debates as to which is better. You may have to do a little computing to figure out which is going to be best for you. Here is an example. Let’s say you have a 3 page fax that you want to send out. Provider A charges 10 cents per page totaling 30 cents. Provider B charges 7 cents per minute. It takes approximately 30 seconds to send each page totaling 10.5 cents per minute for Provider B. In this scenario the per minute charge is obviously the better deal. Some providers will also include a certain amount of faxing with a system rental. Make sure you do the math to ensure you are getting the best price.

Reliability
No matter how great the feature offering is or how low the prices are, if your internet fax provider is not reliable none of that will matter one bit. Make sure the provider has been in business awhile and didn’t just jump in the game in the last year or so. Also, don’t be afraid to ask what their uptime is. They should be able to tell you how often their systems go down, if ever.

With a little research you will be able to find the right internet fax provider for you. You just need to know what to look for. When you find an internet fax provider with the right feature offering at a good price with reliable service, you have found the whole enchilada.

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