Online fax services make sending, receiving, and handling fax a lot easier than traditional fax. With the traditional method, a scanned printed material is transmitted to a telephone number (local or toll-free) connected to an output device like a printer. On the other hand, the online fax service allows you to receive fax online or straight at your email inbox, plus other additional features.
Essentials In Online Fax Services
How do you choose the right online fax services for you? Below are the criteria you need to consider:
1. Security
When choosing online fax services, your number one priority should be security. You don’t want to learn your data has been compromised because of a breach in your system.
You need to look for fax services with encryption or coded messages. In this way, unauthorized parties can’t understand the messages. Encryption allows secure transmission of faxes as well as the messages they contain for your peace of mind.
2. Speed
Your work is much easier without dealing with the obsolete fax machine. With online fax services, you can send and receive all faxes via email. Whether your recipients still use a fax machine or online faxing, you can process yours only within seconds. Therefore, it pays off to ask about the workflow and delivery period of fax messages to your prospective provider.
3. Convenience
Choose an internet fax service that allows you to send and receive faxes without needing to install any software or using any hardware. Updating important account details such as billing and profile information should be straightforward when using the dashboard of your chosen internet fax service.
Here’s a quick guide on what to look for in an online fax provider’s web or mobile user interface:
- User-friendly
- Intuitive
- Preview fax feature
- Easy to read
4. Support
Finding help and support should also be easy. You’ll find online fax services that provide a wide array of help options such as the following:
- Website Support: Most reputable internet fax services have chat support, helpful user guides, and FAQs pages.
- Phone Support: Choose an online fax service provider that has toll-free numbers, providing 24/7 phone support for customer services, technical issues, and billing.
5. Flexible Plans
Every fax user has a budget, so you might want to check the plans that popular online fax services offer. The plans should have competitive price points. Choose a plan based on your needs and the features you prefer.
Here are some sample questions to help you choose the right plan for you:
- What type of internet fax features or services do you need for your business?
- How many outgoing fax messages and incoming pages per month do they offer in each plan?
- Does the provider offer a free trial period?
- Can you choose between local, toll-free, or international numbers with the plans they offer?
6. Mobile App Availability
If you’re always on the go, it’s crucial to send and receive faxes through your mobile device, that’s why you should find a fax service with a reliable mobile app. By doing so, you can process and deliver faxes using your smartphone like a real fax machine.
Check if the mobile app of your prospective fax service provider is compatible with your smartphone and other gadgets you’re planning to use the service. Most apps are available for both Android and iOS, which you can download for free.
7. Shareability
It’s good to choose online fax giving you the option to share faxes. Receiving and sending fax online is fast and easy, promoting collaboration as well. The shareability feature allows you to link your fax number, say, to five different email addresses.
Check the following advantages of this feature:
- Promotes work productivity
- Avoid delays
- Boost fast and sound decision-making
8.File Conversion Capability
Choose an online fax service accepting and processing the most common file types such as portable document format (PDF), scanned document, word document format, and tagged image file format (TIFF). You might want to choose an internet fax service that allows indefinite storage as well as organization features and capabilities such as the search option and assigning tags to find old files quickly.
Conclusion
When choosing online fax services, you need to ensure you check the security, speed, mobile app availability, and other functional features. You also need to check the provider offering the fax services to ensure you’re dealing with a legitimate and reputable company. Keeping all these criteria in mind will assure you that embracing this digital technology would give you the greatest benefits to help attain your goals.
