Can Internet Or Online Fax Really Save You Money?

Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins

Perhaps, one of the most frequently asked questions about Internet or online faxing is simply this: "Can I really save money by using an online fax service?"

The answer is a definite: "YES!"

Using a web based or hosted fax service provider can definitely save you money; not only on start-up costs but over the long haul. It truly is one of those cost-saving measures that any individual or company can take full advantage of if they're trying to cut back on their day-to-day business expenses.

First, you must understand online fax is simply using your Internet access and your email system to send and receive your faxes. It's a web based service where your faxes are stored online so you can access them at anytime, anywhere. Your faxes are sent as email attachments, usually in TIFF or PDF format. Keep in mind, your online faxing service provider acts as your intermediary so you can still send and receive faxes from traditional facsimile machines.

Because email faxing uses the web and emails to send and receive your faxes, it's paperless and inkless so you will no longer have the on-going costs of paper, inks and toners. Plus, since you don't need a traditional fax machine, you will not have any maintenance costs associated with running those machines. Then there are the substantial savings at start-up since you don't need an extra dedicated fax phone line and of course no need for a fax machine. For any company or business just starting out this can be a blessing, especially if funds are tight.

Perhaps, the greatest savings with Internet faxing comes from the fact that you can pick or choose a service that exactly meets your faxing needs. If you do minimum or very little faxing, then you can get a service for as little as $20 a year, or you can pick a service that only charges as you go. If your faxing requirements are much greater, then you can even choose corporate packages to suit your needs. If you do fax broadcasting, then online faxing is definitely a real money saver since it's paperless and you can send countless faxes simultaneously.

On average, most providers usually charge around $10 a month but each provider has slightly different plans so it pays to shop around. Do your homework now, and you can achieve significant savings over the long term. As with any ongoing business service you must check to see if it's a quality service that won't give you any headaches down the road; thankfully, many of these providers have Free 30 Day Trials so you can test out the service first.

When we are talking about business services many people only think of the monetary cost of the service, but you have to factor in many more variables into this equation other than just the monthly charges. For example, online faxing is totally mobile and portable, so no more trips back to the office to send or retrieve an important fax at 10 o'clock at night. If your company depends heavily upon faxing to bring in sales and orders, or to communicate with clients/customers, then you have to factor in what all this will mean to your business when you have a fax service that's available 24/7, 365 days of the year. How having such a service can benefit your company's bottom line.

Then again, you have the whole issue of competitiveness, it's a dog-eat-dog business world out there and having a totally mobile/accessible fax service can make your company more competitive. No more lost tenders or deals because that fax didn't get there on time, no more lost orders because of paper jams or busy signals... all these factors can save your company some serious money, especially over the long haul.

One final point, everything these days is switching to computers and the Internet. This includes many businesses and companies that you're probably already dealing with so can you really afford to be left out of this lupe? Can you really afford not to have online fax if all your competitors are using and benefiting from it?

It's your call.