A Simple Small Phone System for Low Tech Small Businesses

There are several phone solutions on the market which are designed purely for a small office. Easiest to use and simplest to install is the basic Panasonic KX-T 308 phone system, which is a good phone system for simple users who only need to make and answer calls occasionally.

If you do decide to buy one and install it yourself, for goodness sake dont loose the manual, cos you are bound to forget how to do the things you want to do, and they are hard to find online.

The Advantages are:

1. It is really reliable once installed - I've put in lots of them and never have to go back to sort them out once they are up and working.
2. It comes with full paper documentation how to install and set up the system so if you can read and understand a manual and run phone cabling/sockets yourself it is possible to install and set-up the system yourself.
3. It uses simple 4 wire phone cabling so it can often be installed into old offices by re-using existing old phone wires.
4. It is does not have to be administered by a computer, so you can set up the system using key presses on a master phone - but you also get administration software with the package and a programming lead.
5. Panasonic Digital Phones give "Key and Lamp" working - ie. if a call comes in, lights flash on the correct key to press to pick up the call.
6. The system is simple and intuitive to use, and unskilled staff can pick it up quickly.
7. Because it is widely used, it is possible to hire a local Telecoms Engineer to install, setup and change it for you, if you cant do it yourself.

The Disadvantages are:

1. You need to buy Panasonic Digital Handsets and they are expensive.
2. It cannot be expanded above 3 lines (Analogue) and 8 Phones - so when your business grows you have to throw it away.
3. You cannot make it do clever things in the same way as a Computer Telephony enabled Telecoms System can - things like Call Queueing, Call Reporting, interacting with a Customer Database etc.

Panasonic also make larger Phone Systems but they have to compete with many other Phone System manufacturers in this very competitive marketplace, and are not as simple a proposition to install and manage yourself. If this is the sort of system you need it is better to find a good local supplier - a Telecoms Reseller - by talking to other businesses in the area, and go with the suppliers reccommended brand - it will most likely be Panasonic, Toshiba, Avaya, Nortel, Siemens or Mitel. All these traditional PBX (Private Branch eXchange) systems have their strengths and weaknesses, but the most important thing is to have a good local Reseller that actually has engineering skills and experience on the system they sell you.