webFones | Hosted Phone Systems for Growing Businesses | Hosted VoIP vs. Traditional Systems

Mobility Questions

Will my phone system support mobile workers and home offices?

Yes. Some VoIP services simply replace the traditional phone lines that come into your office with lines tied to your office Internet connection. That means that you still have to be in your office to answer your phone. With webFones, your business phone system can serve any phone and mobile device anywhere.

Can I keep the same phone number even if I move to a different town or state?

Yes. Since webFones is a hosted service so your phone number is not tied to any physical location. All you need to do is unplug your phone and plug it in at the new location. You can also request phone numbers in any U.S. or Canadian area code.

Can I set up a phone number in a different town or state?

Yes. While many VoIP services still restrict your phone number choices to your local area, webFones allows you to use phone numbers in any or all 50 states and Canada.

Can I transfer calls between locations using extension numbers?

Yes. webFones allows employees in any location to call or transfer calls to phones at other locations just by entering the internal extension number.

Multiple Office Questions

Can I share phone lines and capacity among office locations?

Yes. webFones supports “Aggregated Centralized Trunking” which allows you to share capacity across your organization, regardless of physical location. Its limit is based on the total number of simultaneous calls coming in or going out of your phone system. Internal calls do not use up phone lines, even when the phones are at different locations.

Can I set up phones in two locations and assign the same extension number?

Yes. webFones is user-centric. You can define multiple desk-phones, soft-phones and a cell phone under a single user extension to share the same settings, speed dial and voicemail box.

Phone Service Questions

Can I upload my own attendant messages for the menu tree?

Yes. webFones comes with pre-recorded professional voice services as part of your webFones setup, but you can also upload your own messages at any time using the web-based management interface.

Can I see the Caller ID?

Yes. webFones provides Caller ID lookup. You can also add a tag to the Caller ID to see what number the caller dialed in on. webFones also allows you to override a Caller ID with your own descriptive label, such as “Joe’s cell phone.”

Can I use my own SIP device, such as a soft-phone?

Yes. You can easily add a soft-phone to a user extension under the phone tab. For best results, we recommend only using soft-phones that support the g729 codec, such as Zoiper Communicator for computers or Acrobits SIP phone on the iPhone.

Will my phone service provide advanced features, such as busy lights?

Yes. Many VoIP providers sacrifice features when implementing a VoIP system. However, webFones supports the advanced features you expect in traditional company phone systems, such as status indicators that show you who is on the phone by lighting their extension buttons. If you want this feature, you need to choose one of the phones that supports it.

If I dial 911 from my VoIP phone will they know the location?

Yes. With webFones you can easily enter and change the emergency address for each extension to reflect its location. When you call 911 it will automatically be routed to the correct emergency call center.

Are there any termination penalties if I decide to cancel my service?

No. Some phone providers have hidden termination penalties in the fine print. We don’t. We are that sure that webFones services will meet your expectations.

Can I access the contact management system, listen to voicemail and dial my cell phone using my iPad?

Yes. The iPad is fully supported and can be used for contact management access, dialing and web-voicemail retrieval.

Can I use other programs to auto-dial webFones phone extensions?

Yes. Daylite CRM, Apple’s Address Book and Xsilva’s LightSpeed POS are examples of leading applications that come with support for webFones dialing already built in. We also include an easy API to connect your webFones extension to any custom address book or contact management software.

Transition Questions

Can I keep my existing phone numbers?

Yes. webFones supports Local Number Portability. The process of porting existing phone numbers typically takes between 15 and 45 days. During the transition you can forward calls from your existing phone service to webFones so you can begin using your new phone system right away.

Can I use my own Internet T1 or broadband connection?

Yes. Some phone providers restrict you to using a specific Internet service for VoIP phone calls. Being locked into a single Internet provider can make it more difficult to use your phone service from different locations. With webFones, you can use any high-speed Internet connection from any location worldwide without restriction.

Is there any special equipment I need to make my phones work well on my network?

For best results, we recommend using switches and routers that support 802.1P for packet prioritization. While the service will work with other protocols, VoIP-aware 802.1P switches and routers will help prevent traffic congestion on your network that may affect the quality of calls.

How long does it take to get my professional attendant message and phones

5-7 business days.

How much configuration is required to get my phones working?

None. Phone configurations are centrally provisioned so phones auto-configure themselves to the extension you specify on the website. There are no complicated passwords or login details to enter.

Frequently Asked Questions