Ideas with phone systems...

[Someone_here]

Hi all!

Not exactly related to PM, but somewhat a little bit... I was just thinking some of you might have some brilliant ideas for me 🙂 You usually know a lot of things about saving and there are so many apps, companies and technologies that I missed some for sure...

Anyways, here is my situation, I would like some advice... I'm starting a new small business and I was trying to think of a cheap way to get my phone going. Basically trying not to pay the big three $35/month + $5+/day roaming in the USA (could be up to 8 days/month, so up to $35 + 8*$5 = $85)

What I need:
(A) To be reachable/make calls Monday-Friday during business hours, whether I'm home with wifi or elsewhere without wifi.
     -> I need a new phone number for clients to call (not my personal one) that I could possibly port-out to another company one day if my needs change.
     -> I need provincial calling (Canada-wide not necessary), unsure how many minutes, probably unlimited for peace of mind.
(B) To have calls routed to voicemail Monday-Friday outside business hours.
(C) Sometimes, to be reachable/make calls Saturday-Sunday, outside business hours, whether I'm in my province without wifi or in the USA without wifi.
(D) Be able to get someone else than me to receive/make the calls, whether in situation (A) or in situation (C).

-> Ideally, I would have two different numbers, one for (A) & (B), and another one to give only to clients who can reach me on the weekend (C).
-> Even better, I would have only one number to give to my clients, and if business is open, calls are routed normally to my business phone (A). If business is closed, an auto-attendant (activated/deactivated automatically according to business hours) would offer 2 options: press 1 to leave a message (B), press 2 to reach me (C).
 
FYI, I currently have
- a personal unlocked Moto G5 plus with PM unlimited provincial talk + unlimited world texting (no data).
- an older unlocked iPhone 4S with no service.

What I though I could do:
1) Open a free Fongo account with a Canadian #, and set up the app on my iPhone.
2) Order a Freedompop SIM with a US # (priced $0.01 + $5 to downgrade to free account, includes 200 US minutes + 200mb US data + 100 international minutes, free every month) for the iPhone.

How it would work:
- If business is closed (B), calls go to the Fongo app on my iPhone, I don't answer, and calls end up in Fongo voicemail.
- If business is open (A) and I am home with wifi, calls go to the Fongo app on my iPhone and I either answer or voicemail kicks in.
- If business is open (A) and I am NOT home (without wifi), I set up call forwarding from Fongo to my personal phone (PM account).
- If business is open (A) and I want someone else to take the calls, I set up call forwarding from Fongo to their personal phone (or give them my Fongo password).
- If it's Saturday/Sunday (C), I bring both phones with me and I set up "call forwarding when unavailable" from Fongo to my personal phone:
      -> If I am in Canada without wifi, calls are forwarded from Fongo (unavailable) to my personal phone. I make calls from my personal phone.
      -> If I am in the USA without wifi, calls ring on the iPhone's Fongo app, using my free Freedompop data. I make Canadian calls from my free Freedompop 100 monthly minutes.
      -> If I want someone else to be on duty, I give them the iPhone and I set up "call forwarding when unavailable" from Fongo to their personal phone.
      -> Main problem: regular business calls (A) are not filtered from Saturday/Sunday (C) calls; I would end up answering regular business calls (A) on the weekend, which I ideally don't want.

Other ideas and feedback:
I hope I was able to be clear explaining my ideas... Anybody have better ones?
Other options include:

- Getting a PM SIM with provincial calls only, but it doesn't solve the USA call problem and cost more.

- Using Google hangout for free outgoing calls while in the USA using Freedompop free data.
- Getting a Knowroaming SIM sticker (priced $15 with promo code + usage) for extra flexibility/security when needed.
- Using a VOIP as primary business number, with an auto-attendant system that I could program as described before, and that would forward calls to either (A) business fixed phone/my personal cellphone; (B) voicemail; and (C) Fongo number, which would itself has "call forwarding when unavailable" set up from Fongo to my personal phone. However I am not sure about which system to use in this case that would have these possibilities without being too expensive.


Anyways thank you in advance for your ideas 🙂 Good Wednesday!

[wetcoaster]

@Someone_here

So, if you find a VOIP service that lets you customize features for all your options, like the one @sheytoon mentions (I have not looked into that yet) you would only need a data option for the times you are on the road (actually one for Canada and one for the US), correct? Call forwarding would also allow you to just take your personal phone with you on the weekend.

I agree with @will13am in principle, highly customizing doesn't work too well with no frills carriers so it really depends on your exact needs for your business (and yes, as your business grows your needs will likely change.)

As a micro business owner / solopreneur catering to a very specific, small-ish and local customer base I chose to go with a very simplistic approach in the start-up phase (To be revisited on a regular basis.).

All calls come in through my main number and my voice mail box is probably the most important communication tool I have when I'm in meetings and at the times when I'm not interuptable in my work flow.

For the calls outside my business hours I'm using the do-not-disturb / priority list function of my phone: I will not hear the call unless I have whitelisted the caller (family, friends, existing customers etc.), and it usually goes to voice mail. I have the call display still active, so if I'm doing desk work after hours I still see the call coming in and can decide if it's important enough to answer it. While this approach has served me very well so far, I realise that it has it's limitations.

I'm in the process of exploring all the possibilities of call forwarding to different / international numbers. But it hasn't occured to me to look at full serve VOIP services as the main phone line provider until you brought this up last night. Thank you for starting this thread!

[will13am]

TL;DR.  My first impression is that this is absolutely the wrong place to look for a highly customizable cellular service.  This is a bare bones, no frills service which is at the opposite ends of the spectrum. 

[sheytoon]

I think voip.ms could do what you're looking for.

You can use time conditions, ring groups, call forwarding / call hunting, voicemail, IVR, etc.

The only extra thing you would need is US cell coverage, preferably data only on LTE, so you can configure a SIP account directly on your phone. Otherwise something like freedompop could also work but requires an extra step.

H2O Bolt is one option, using AT&T's LTE network. There should be some T-Mobile options as well.

[wetcoaster]

It's too late for me to really comprehend all your outlined points, but, intrigued by the concept, I'll subscribe to this thread. (I only got a fongo number recently in the hope to be reachable for business inquiries when traveling to Europe, I have not checked out it's full potential yet.)