Adopting greener practices isn’t always easy for small and home-based businesses. Recycled business cards, energy efficient equipment, and digital correspondence are the most common things small businesses are doing to minimize their carbon footprint. This often includes finding a service that offers send fax online features.
How Online Fax Services Work
To send a fax online, an individual first needs an account with a company that offers this service. There are several options, but most business owners choose an integrated service that can meet a full range of communication demands. With these services, users can set up a toll free fax number, or use their toll free voice number to send and receive faxes online. An easy to use interface allows the person to select a document from their computer and enter a fax number to send it to. The send fax online service handles the transmission and sends the user confirmation once their fax is successfully delivered.
Advantages of Sending Faxes Online
Obviously, this simple process is much more convenient than fussing with a fax machine – especially for individuals who need to fax several pages. No additional equipment is needed to take advantage of send fax online features; just a computer with internet access. Individuals can even access their account from their cell phone, making it possible to send faxes even when they’re not in the office. This is an excellent feature for small business owners who spend most of their day in the field, like contractors and real estate professionals.
How Online Faxing Benefits the Planet
Businesses that send and receive faxes regularly go through quite a bit of paper. In most cases, the document must be printed from the computer first, and then fed through the machine. When a fax is received, more paper is needed – and a lot of that paper goes straight into the trash bin. When businesses use a send fax online service, there’s no need to print the file. Received faxes can be stored online or downloaded as a PDF file rather than using paper. Sending faxes online also eliminates the need for a hard-to-recycle fax machine and saves the power consumed by the machine.
How Much Does a Send Fax Online Service Cost?
Depending on the service you choose, sending faxes online is typically just as affordable as setting up a second line for a fax machine. Business owners who choose an integrated service often save even more because fax transmissions are included in a monthly package along with other services. A nominal setup fee may be required, but it is usually much less than the cost of a fax machine or setting up an additional phone line. Most online fax services offer different plans so that it is easy to find the most cost-effective option based on your business’s needs.
If you’re looking for ways to make your small business greener, eliminating the office fax machine is a great place to start. When you choose to send faxes online, you save paper and also make things much more convenient for you.
Alex Christopher is a marketing representative for iTeleCenter, a company that provides local, 1 800 and toll free phone numbers in conjunction with virtual phone system to their clients. Services include call forwarding, voicemail, send fax online and more.