Analog and Digital Telephones

A basic, utilitarian small business phone system Small business phone system technologies break right at 10 lines. If you have less than 10 employees and don't expect to grow -- and can deal with limitations on advanced features -- a simple small business phone system that works much like a home phone system can save you money on intial, upfront installation.

I recommend:  Plug them in and you're ready to go. The difference is the lack of central control box, called a Key Service Unit, or KSU. A so-called KSU-less small business phone system relies on wiring the phones in sequence, which is cheaper but hard to expand. Some vendors of KSU-less small business phone systems include Panasonic, TMC, AT&T, RCA, and Cortelco. See more on small business phone system selection at the Business.com page on small business phone systems.

For a phone system, small business needs vary Technological advances have brought a lot of big-company features to small business phone systems relatively cheaply. If sales is your goal, a key service unit (KSU) small business phone system is probably the better choice.

I recommend:  The key is the number of lines in the small business phone system. A four-line KSU-less small business phone system would ring busy if all four lines are in use if a fifth customer calls. But an exandable KSU small business phone system can handle add eight or 16 lines and dozens more extensions. See KSU small business phone system vendors Toshiba, Nortel, AT&T and Vertical (Comdial). Additional resources on small business phone system handsets and technology can be seen at Business.com.

An alternative phone system for small business If you office is already wired for high-speed data -- and you expect to make long-distance calls -- it can be cheaper to invest in a Web-based small business phone system, known as VoIP, for Voice-over-Internet-Protocol.

I recommend:  VoIP (pronounced "voyp") is quickly becoming the small business phone system choice for offices where expansion is an issue, since adding capacity is a matter of buying more bandwidth, not necessarily more lines from the phone company. Major vendors of small business phone system VoIP include Cisco, Avaya and Nortel. See also the VoIP small business phone systems page at Business.com.

Wireless small business phone systems A lot of newer small business phone systems take advantage of your existing Internet connection. If you have an office wireless Web, or Wi-Fi, network, consider adding extensions using small business phone system handsets that link to it.

I recommend:  Vendors of wireless small business phone system handets that link to Web networks without adding phone lines include Siemens and Mitel.