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Choosing Your Small Business VOIP Phone System in Tampa

August 12th, 2010 admin No comments

When choosing your small business VOIP phone system in Tampa, you should definitely consider the services of Digital South Communications.

It offers maintenance of existing phone systems; local and long distance phone service; IP/VoIP telecommunications solutions; digital phone systems with IP/VoIP potential; SIP trunking; Voice T1; ISDN PRI T1; used phone systems and voice mail with warranty; computer networking; internet access; recording of phone calls, emails, screen shots and instant messaging; promotions on hold; loudspeaker paging and music for offices or plants; and voice and data cabling.

Digital South Communications can provide your business with the NEC phone system, BCM phone system or Vertical phone system. Since Norstar/Nortel has already been sold, Digital South Communications extends the discounted upgrading offer of the NEC phone system to Norstar/Nortel customers who may be experiencing problems with the turnover.

A VoIP phone system means Voice over Internet Protocol. This phone system delivers voice communications over the internet and other IP networks instead of the public switched telephone network or PSTN. This is why it is also referred to as IP Telephony or IP Telephone System. This is considered as a digital phone system because the analog voice signal is converted to digital format and translated into internet protocol packets in order to be transmitted through the internet.

SIP / VOIP phones are required for the VoIP phone system. The various types of SIP / VOIP phones are software based SIP / VOIP phones, USB SIP / VOIP phones and hardware SIP / VOIP phones.

Software based SIP / VOIP phones, also called soft phones, are actually not physical phones but programs. The program is installed on the computer and it allows the user to make calls through the computer’s microphone and its speakers or a headset.

USB SIP / VOIP phones look physically like the regular telephones. They are plugged into the computer through the USB port. They also need the soft phone software to work, though.

Hardware SIP / VOIP phones not only look like regular telephones but also function just like them. They contain an integrated mini hub and are directly connected to the data network of the computer, thereby sharing the network conection. There are several popular brands to choose from.

Voice and data cabling should be installed properly for the telecommunications and information technology systems of a company to perform properly. Digital South Communications does voice and data cabling from single locations to thousands of locations; voice and data cabling in existing or newly constructed offices; complete data center installation including wall and floor racks and cabinets; coax and video cabling; Cat 3, Cat 5e, and Cat 6 data cabling; fiber optic cabling; underground cabling between buildings; aerial cabling such as the setting up of telephone poles; installation of cabling for office and warehouse paging systems; testing, labeling, and certification of cabling; installation of cables and jacks for phones and computer networks; and building entrance protection.

As a member of the Building Industry Consulting Service International, Inc. (BICSI), Digital South Communications complies with the BICSI Code of Ethics and the BICSI Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) Standards of Conduct. That includes primarily working according to the regulations of the National Electrical Code as well as all local regulations and the highest standards of the low voltage voice & data cabling industry.

Digital South Communications has efficiently provided over 3,000 clients with small business VOIP phone systems and other services since 1991. The company’s main client base is in Tampa but it also serves the entire state of Florida and the rest of the country through its affiliated network of dealers.

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Business Phone line System – Effective way to run a successful business

November 20th, 2009 admin No comments

If you are running a business then an effectual and clear communication is vital for a successful business. Hence, selecting a right business phone line is very important which sets up the communication among you and your business clients, staff and vendors directly. It has been proved that for the success of business whether it is of large, small and medium scale of enterprise, these systems plays great role and proved to be economical and valuable. Some companies consider the system to be complex but cannot ignore the convenience provided by it. Now, there are various service providers in the market that they are providing reasonable business phone answering machine.

Benefits of having a reliable answering service

It is simple to handle calls from anywhere and though you are out of from your office. With the help of business phone line answering machine you can reduce your phone bills and only you have to pay reasonable monthly bill. Now, no need to spend hours in attending phone calls and you can focus on your business.

Well-organized Call managing Service 24/7

With an answering system your works get much easier and with no delay all incoming calls are answered by call answering machines. If nobody is there to attend phone calls then all incoming calls are attendant by auto responders with a professional way. Your call can be directed to your numbers directly if you are not in the office or you are somewhere else. There are many features you will get with answering machines and these are like: Call conferencing, Dial by name, Fax, Dial by extension etc.

The business phone line systems are available in market in a wide range and you can choose the best plan at affordable rate for you. With its easy to use and quick responding features, you will have great benefit in your business.

You will get the features like:

Caller Id Call forwarding Auto attendant Recording of the calls Conference calls Multiple line capability Auto attendant Speaker phones Voice mail facility

 To choose the best business phone line you can browse internet and there you will get large information and you can compare features among many service providers. You can also have agents number who can guide you for selecting the right system.

Nowadays market is flooded with large collection of business answering machines and many providers are providing great discounts on their products. So, availing right answering machine for your business is not a big deal now. Only you have to choose the best suitable plan for you according to your business need.

We all know that voice plays a vital role for a successful business and whether it is easy PABX connectivity or a customized voice solution, you will get the best technology. At a very reasonable rate you will have a good automatic call responding machine and you can spend your valuable time for your business. Every successful business is having answering machine so consumers don’t get irritate of calling again and again.

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Business Phone System – Effective means of telecommunication for a business

November 14th, 2009 admin No comments

If you are running a business then an effectual and clear communication is vital for a successful business. Hence, selecting a right business phone is very important which sets up the communication among you and your business clients, staff and vendors directly. It has been proved that for the success of business whether it is of large, small and medium scale of enterprise, these systems plays great role and proved to be economical and valuable. Some companies consider the system to be complex but cannot ignore the convenience provided by it. Now, there are various service providers in the market that they are providing reasonable business phone answering machine.

Benefits of having a reliable answering service

It is simple to handle calls from anywhere and though you are out of from your office. With the help of business phone answering machine you can reduce your phone bills and only you have to pay reasonable monthly bill. Now, no need to spend hours in attending phone calls and you can focus on your business.

Well-organized Call managing Service 24/7

With an answering system your works get much easier and with no delay all incoming calls are answered by call answering machines. If nobody is there to attend phone calls then all incoming calls are attendant by auto responders with a professional way. Your call can be directed to your numbers directly if you are not in the office or you are somewhere else. There are many features you will get with answering machines and these are like: Call conferencing, Dial by name, Fax, Dial by extension etc.

The business phone systems are available in market in a wide range and you can choose the best plan at affordable rate for you. With its easy to use and quick responding features, you will have great benefit in your business.

You will get the features like:

Caller Id Call forwarding Auto attendant Recording of the calls Conference calls Multiple line capability Auto attendant Speaker phones Voice mail facility

 

To choose the best business phone you can browse internet and there you will get large information and you can compare features among many service providers. You can also have agents number who can guide you for selecting the right system.

Nowadays market is flooded with large collection of business answering machines and many providers are providing great discounts on their products. So, availing right answering machine for your business is not a big deal now. Only you have to choose the best suitable plan for you according to your business need.

We all know that voice plays a vital role for a successful business and whether it is easy PABX connectivity or a customized voice solution, you will get the best technology. At a very reasonable rate you will have a good automatic call responding machine and you can spend your valuable time for your business. Every successful business is having answering machine so consumers don’t get irritate of calling again and again.

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How Does The Htc Touch Pro 2 Compare To The Blackberry And The I-Phone As A Business Mobile Phone

October 21st, 2009 admin No comments

The HTC Touch Pro2 is one of the latest touchscreen phones from HTC, it was released in 2009 in the UK and has quickly become one of the most popular mobile phones for business users. 

HTC may not be one of the best known smartphone manufacturers but this business mobile phone can certainly compete with the likes of RIM’s Blackberry phones as well as the i-Phone from Apple.

The last few Windows Mobile phones from HTC have basically been updates of its main models – the style-conscious Diamond2 and now the business mobile phone behemoth – HTC Touch Pro2 with its slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

HTC, a Chinese brand have a strong past record and have proven themselves as leaders in innovation with mobile phones for business and individual users – check out their credentials here.

The HTC Touch Pro2 is a fair bit bigger than the Diamond2 and a little heavier to boot – 116x59x17mm and 179g, but it does have a bigger and better tilting touch screen as well as an improved interface as a good justification, it also has a new conference call facility named ‘Straight Talk’.

It is not a cheap phone by any means – you will be paying top end prices for this mobile but it does deliver on almost every level – the main downfall being the quality of the 3.2 megapixel camera.

But don’t be put off by the size – unless you are a skinny jeans kind o’ guy/girl, it’s a stylish and flashy mobile phone.

The front of the phone is exceptionally sleek with just four hard keys that raise above the screen level that sit along the bottom of the screen: call start and stop/home, back and Windows.

The sides are not overloaded with buttons – just a volume switch, reset slot and stylus on the right, power button on top and USB 2.0 power/headphone socket on the bottom. The 3.2 megapixel camera lens is situated on the back of the phone, and alongside this sit the microphone and the large Straight Talk speaker for conference calls, as well as a mute button.

The HTC Touch Pro2′s has a slide out QWERTY keyboard on the left of the phone. There are 5 rows of keys which are not disimilar to a standard computer keyboard. The keys on the keyboard are little rounded hardened bits of rubber that are backlit and are well spaced enough for fast accurate typing – the extra size suddenly seems worth it – if you are a heavy business user of your phone then this will be a big plus.

The Touch Pro2′s screen tilts so you can put the phone on a desk and type on the keyboard – which is a nice touch as it tilts to about 45 degrees. There is also an onscreen keyboard so if you prefer this then it is there but we found that the QWERTY was a lot easier and faster so little need for the touch screen.

The interface is well laid out too, with large numbers, and can predict phone numbers that you have previously used after you have typed the first few digits which can be a handy time saver. It has been specifically designed with conference calls in mind and it’s easy to set up multi-party calls.

You just need to register for this service with your network before you can use it. You just set the call up, and then put the phone face down on a desk so that the big, loud, noise-cancelling Straight Talk speaker is visible.

On the back there is also a useful mute button with a glowing colour indicator to show whether or not it is in use. The HTC Touch Pro2′s has a 3.6-inch with a resolution of 480×800 pixels. It’s got a bright, sharp and clear picture, and it also has all of the Windows Mobile options for dimming and limiting backlight to save on battery life.

You can also rotate the screen round to show in landscape.

The level of sensitivity of the keys is just about right – we didn’t have any problems with mistaken presses or missed swipes on scrolls. The sensitivity cannot be adjusted but it is set well so you should find this not a problem. HTC are constantly improving the TouchFLO 3D interface, on top on the Windows 6.1 Professional operating system.

You can stroke across the entire home screen to access each of the different functions. If you press the start button then you can bring up all of your shortcuts as well as 30 different apps.

It also has a scrolling menu which works similarly to that of the i-phone with large icons which can be easily accessed with the thumb – so not much need for the little stylus. The phone was pretty good on the web with a good sized screen for viewing sites.

It comes preloaded with Opera, but you can also use IE, and access is fast via Wi-Fi or HSDPA 3G link (with up to 7.2Mbps download).

The accelerometer switches the screen to landscape mode when you turn the phone on its side. This also happens when you open up the QWERTY keyboard. You can tap the screen twice for a zoom on web pages and can easily scroll around with your finger and switch sites easily. Web pages are rendered extremely well – the majority of sites appeared perfectly.

There is an RSS hub to keep you up to date as well as a YouTube app. The camera is not a great one; if used in good light then the quality is OK but if used indoors with artificial light then it is not the best. It has autofocus, a 2x digital zoom, some colour effects, a panorama setting, ten-second timer and touch screen focus.

If you need a quality camera for business mobile use then this will probably be a killer for the Touch Pro2 but for light users it will just about do. The HTC Touch Pro2 is perfect for Watching video.

The screen is only 0.2in smaller than the Touch HD, but has the same pixel resolution and it is difficult to spot any difference in quality. You can watch a wide range of video and media formats; WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, M4V, AVI You can use Windows Media Player for music, and there’s a ten-band graphic equaliser with 21 presets to help you get the sound you want. It supports a good range of formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, M4A.

There is no FM radio but the sound on the music player is pretty good – supplied headphones are not bad but probably not as good as the ones with the i-phone. We found that for business mobile phone users to get your email set up is very easy – you simply need your email address and password. The HTC Touch Pro2 has quad-band GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with stereo A2DP) and USB 2.0, as well as a TV out facility.

For business mobile phone users who are regularly out of the office for meetings – the Touch Pro2 comes with GPS and Google Maps, both of which work very well. There’s no sat nav included but you can pay for inclusion but will be lucky to find this for less than the £60 cost through the i-phone app. Windows Office and Adobe Reader are pre-installed, this means that you can create and view Word, Excel and OneNote docs, as well as view PowerPoint docs and PDFs. But… there’s also JETCET Presentation, which allows you to edit PowerPoint docs.

For business users there is also instant messaging with Windows Live Messenger, some Java games, including Teeter, stock quotes, weather updates and a calendar. The HTC Touch Pro2 has 512MB of memory with 288MB of RAM, and you can add up to 16GB with a microSD card.

The battery should give you 510 minutes of talk time (GSM) and up to 750 hours of standby according to HTC but we found that we gor just over 2 days with typical business use of all functions.

All round this is a great mobile phone for the business user – it has really taken a step up from the diamond2 which is saying something. This is a company to watch!

If you are keen to buy this mobile phone then there are some great deals available through our site – at time of writing the prices started at £25/month based on 1 handset so depending on your size you may be able to barter down from this price.

Free Cell Phone Store Business Plan

August 4th, 2009 admin No comments

Free Cell Phone Store Business Plan for Loans

Obtaining Business Financing

 

When obtaining a business loan for a cell phone store business, it is imperative that you have a properly structured business plan that will assist you in showcasing how you intend to operate your Cell Phone Store, how the business will operate, how you intend to market the business, the anticipated financial results of your company, and how you intend to repay your debt obligations. This sample loan business plan will provide you with the framework that you need in order to acquire a business loan for starting or expanding this type of business.

 

Executive Summary

 

Introduction

 

When obtaining a business loan for a cell phone store, it is imperative that your business plan has a clear and concise executive summary that provides an outline of what are seeking to accomplish, how much capital you are seeking to raise, the management biography of the business owner, and an overview of the anticipated profit and loss statements of the business. Here is an example of how the title paragraph should be written:

 

Cell Phone Store, Inc. (“the Company”) is seeking a business loan of $100,000 in order to launch the operations of a cell phone retailing business that will be based in San Francisco, California. The Company was founded in (Insert Year). The business was founded by Mr. John Doe.

 

Products and Services

 

In the next segment of the business loan and business planning document, you should showcase the products and services that you will be providing to the general public. For instance:

 

Cell Phone Store, Inc. will generate substantial revenues, via its retail location, from the retail sale of cell phones as well as from activation fees, sales of accessories, and other ancillary revenue streams from mobile phone services.

 

The third section of the business plan will further document the products services offered by the business.

 

Business Loan Terms

 

Now it is time to discuss the anticipated terms of the business plan that you are seeking. An example paragraph of how this is stated:

 

At this time, Mr. Doe is seeking a conventional business loan in the amount of $100,000. The interest rate, loan terms, and loan covenants are to be determined during negotiation. However, this business plan assumes that the business will receive a seven year business loan with a seven percent interest rate due on the outstanding principal balance.

Management Biography

 

Now that the summary of the business has been provided, it is time to provide a brief overview of the owner of the business. An example paragraph summing up the owner is as follows:

 

Mr. Doe is a highly experienced business person that has years of experience regarding the direct ownership and management of business. He will be able to effectively bring the operations of the Cell Phone Store to profitability while ensuring that the business loan’s payments and its covenants are met at all times.

Financial Statements

 

The most important thing to your lender when applying for a business loan is how you intend to repay the bank. In this section of the business plan, you should provide an overview of the finance’s of the business discussing the anticipated revenues, expenses, and profits/losses. You can also discuss the applicable collateral within the business plan that will be used to secure your business financing.

 

Expansion Plans

 

One of the most important aspects of your business plan is how you intend to expand the business over a three to five year period. Banks and finance companies always want to see that the business will experience a moderate to strong level of growth. This is especially true in business lending because as your business grows the cash flow that secures your business loan will decrease proportionality against your monthly credit obligations. An example of how this is stated is as follows:

 

The Cell Phone Store will continue to expand through organic means including increasing the Company’s advertising budget via the reinvestment into the after tax cash flows of the business. Additionally, if the business is highly successful then the Company may seek to establish additional Cell Phone Store locations after the third year of operations.

 

 

The Financing

 

Use of Business Loan Proceeds

 

In this section of the business plan you should focus on how the proceeds of the business loan will be used. An example of this would be as follows:

 

Cell Phone Store Retail Location Establishment – $50,000
Opening Inventory and FF&E – $10,000
Working capital – $40,000

 

Management Equity

In this section of the business plan you should discuss the percentage ownership of the business among the owners of the business. For example:

 

Mr. Doe will own 100% of the Cell Phone Store.

 

Board of Directors

 

When applying for business financing, the bank will also want to know who serves as the board of directors. For small businesses, usually the owner serves as the director of the business. An example of how this is worded:

 

Mr. Doe will be the sole director of Cell Phone Store, Inc.

 

Exit Strategy

 

Any bank or financing company is also going to want to know what you intend to do with the business over a set period of time. Many business owners will develop and expand a business with the intent to sell the company to a third party at a later time. When drafting this part of the business plan you should focus on what you intentions are in regards to potentially selling the business. This is often worded as:

 

Mr. Doe would most likely sell the Cell Phone Store to a third party for a significant earnings multiple. Cell Phone Stores usually sell for approximately one to three times earnings given the financial strength of the business. In this event, the business would be sold by a business broker and the business loan sought in this plan would be repaid according to the covenants of the business loan agreement.

 

Products and Services

 

When developing a business plan that is appropriate for obtaining a business loan or other business credit facility you need to clearly showcase the services or products that you will be offering to the general public. An example of how this section is worded goes as follows:

 

As stated in the executive summary, the Cell Phone Store will specialize in making sales of cell phones to the general public. The Company anticipates that it will generate gross margins of approximately 40% on each cell phone sold. The business will also generate additional revenues from ongoing servicing of mobile phones as well as from initial activation fees when a customer signs up for a new cell phone plan. These service based revenues carry extremely high margins for the Cell Phone Store, Inc.

 

Industry and Market Analysis

 

The Current State of the Economy

 

It is important to let your financial institution know that you are well apprised of the financial situation of the general economy when you are applying for a business loan. This is especially true in today’s environment where lending has become more difficult and will remain more difficult in the foreseeable future. Specifically, you should gear this section of the business plan analysis towards the industry that you are operating within. For example:

 

The current economy has remained difficult over the past few years. However, Cell Phones have become an extremely important part of an individual’s life. In fact, many people now forego the use of a traditional land line and simply use a cell phone. As such, the business will be able to remain profitable not only from the sale of cell phones but also from the ongoing subscription and activation fees rendered to customers.

 

The Cell Phone Store Industry

 

In addition to providing your business loan officer with an understanding of the general economy, it is important that you showcase that you have an equal understanding of the industry in which you are operating within. As such, you will need to provide you business loan institution of a brief overview of your industry and any potential changes that may affect the way that your company does business. An example of how an industry overview is as follows:

 

Within the United States, there are more than 100,000 retailers and distributors of cell phones that operate one or more retail facilities. Approximately 75% of Americans now use a cell phone and require regular services for their mobile phone devices. In each of the last five years, the aggregate sales generated through the sales of cell phones has exceeded $100 billion. This demand is not expected to wane although Management does anticipate that cell phone stores will face stiffer pricing competition as more competitors enter the market.

 

Target Market

 

In this section of the business loan application and business plan analysis, you should focus on the demographics of your localized market (or national market if applicable). This section should discuss how many people live in your area, the anticipated number of people that would require the use of Cell Phone Stores, the median household income of people living in the area, poverty line statistics, and any applicable laws that would apply to your operation of Cell Phone Stores.

 

Competition

 

Many people that are developing new businesses or expanding existing businesses often feel that their business does not have any competition or limited competition at best. However, this is almost never the case. Unless you have re-invented the wheel – you will have competition. When applying for a business loan, you should clearly showcase your competition in your business plan. This is especially important to your banker as they will be able to gauge your ability to be successful in your targeted market. Many business loan underwriters will aggressively confirm that competitive nature of your local market and your local industry.

 

When drafting this section of the plan you should heavily discuss the competitive advantages that you intend to have over your competition.

 

Marketing Plan

 

In addition to all of the above information that we have covered, your business loan officer is also going to want to know how you intend to market your business to the general public. Most people do not quite understand how to effectively market their business outside of prominent signage or flyer distribution. When applying for a business loan (again in this difficult lending climate), your banker is going to want to see that you have a clear methodology of how you intend to market your services or products to the general public. In this section of the business plan – we will overview how to showcase your services/products to the general public.

 

Marketing Overview Example

 

The Cell Phone Store will place prominent signage on the facility to draw a significant amount of foot traffic.
The business will maintain listings in the Yellow Books.
The Cell Phone Store will also maintain an internet website that showcases the Company’s operations, hours of operation, and relevant contact information.

 

 

Marketing Strategies Overview

Additionally, you will be required to further drill down (in your business plan) how you intend to implement your strategies when you launch or expand your business’s operations. In this section of the business loan and business plan documents, you should amplify the bullet points from the section above. For instance:

 

The Cell Phone Store intends to use a number of strategies that will create instant traffic and customer flow to the Company’s location. These strategies include not only using prominent facility and road signage, but also distributing flyers to people that fall into he Company’s targeted demographics. The business will also regularly take out advertisements in localized newspapers that showcase the Company’s hours of operations, cell phone products and  services, and specials that are occurring within the store on a regular basis.

 

The business will also maintain a highly informative website that showcases the Cell Phone Store’s products and services, its hours of operation, cell phone product listing information, and other relevant information in regards to the Company’s services. This website will be listed on major search engines such as Google as many people now use the internet to locate local businesses such as cell phone stores.

The Financial Plan

 

Beyond any other part of your business loan application or business plan, the financials section of these documents are what matters most when applying for a business loan or any other type of credit facility. Ultimately, this section of the business plan showcases not only what your anticipated profitability will be, but also how you intend to repay the funds that you have borrowed through your business financing facility. An example of how this section is structure is as follows:

 

Assumptions

 

Cell Phone Store, Inc. will have an average annual growth rate of 10% per year.
Mr. Doe will acquire $100,000 through a business loan in order to launch the operations of the business.

 

Proforma Financials for a Business Loan

 

Now it is time to showcase how you intend to repay your loan, generate a profit, and increase the book value of your business over a three to five year period. BusinessPlansForLoan.com has developed an easy to use financial model that you can use when drafting out the financial model for your business plan and business loan application. Through your business loan application, you will be required to have the following:

 

Profit and Loss Statement for your Cell Phone Store
Cash Flow Analysis for the Cell Phone Store
Balance Sheet for the Cell Phone Store
Business Loan Amortization Tables

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