A home office phone is one of the most important things you’ll need when setting up a home office. Having a phone dedicated for your home office makes your office more professional, allows you to work more efficiently and makes you more focused. When looking for a phone for your home office, any old phone wouldn’t do. If you’re telecommuting or operating a business from your home, you’ll need a phone that can handle the demands of your work.

If you’re shopping for a home office phone, ideally, you should get a business phone. But business phones can be expensive and they may have features that you don’t need or you can’t use. There are cheaper and smaller business phones out there that are more suited for a home office. The trick to finding the right home office phone is to look for phones with basic business features. These basic business features are something that any home office can use and are found in most affordable business phones.

Business Features You Should Look For In A Home Office Phone

• Security. Businesses pay a premium for security. Working at home means you can be lax about the dress code, but it doesn’t mean you should be lax when it comes to security. Avoid analogue phones as much as possible. Sure, they’re really cheap, but they’re really easy to intercept and they can be unreliable. Invest in a good digital phone with Digital Spread Spectrum. Digital phones with DSS scrambles phone signals, which makes it difficult to intercept. Another advantage to home office phones with DSS is that they won’t interfere with you office wireless internet, if you have one.

• Multitasking. Working at home means you are your own secretary and receptionist. It also means that some of your office hours may be spent in your kitchen, out in your yard, or in your living room. You should have a phone that allows you to multitask and stay in contact even when you’re not in your office. It’s not enough that you get a cordless phone. A good home office phone should have a wireless headset so you can answer your calls even while you’re working or when you’re outside your home office.

• Technology. In addition to faxes, there are more ways now to communicate than ever before. Your boss or clients could call you via landline, cell phone or VOIP. Getting a fax machine, a landline, mobile phone and a VOIP phone is too expensive and it will clutter your office. There are now home office phones out there that allow you to integrate your landline, mobile phone, VOIP account, and fax line in just one phone. So you’ll only need one phone to answer all these calls. And if you can, look for a home office phone that allows you to organize and keep track of all your contacts.

A VoIP business phone works by transmitting phone calls over the Internet rather than through traditional phone lines. VoIP business phone systems used to be only applicable for big businesses with multiple lines and several branch offices. But now, VoIP business phone systems are being offered to small businesses. Getting VoIP business phone system has certain advantages and disadvantages for a small business. Knowing what these advantages and disadvantages are could help you decide as to as to whether or not you’d like to have a VoIP system installed in your office.

Pros of a VoIP Business Phone

• A VoIP business phone has standard features not normally found in other business phones. Like all business phones, VoIP has standard features like music-on-hold, auto-attendant, and voice mail. In addition to those features, VoIP phones also allow you to tie your cell phone numbers to your VoIP phone and call tracking. These are features you have to pay extra for in most business phone systems.

• You don’t have to change your phone number once you switch to a VoIP business phone. And you integrate you landline, cell phone and VoIP accounts all in one phone. That you just need one phone to make and receive calls from these different numbers.

• VoIP business phone calls are cheaper by as much as 50%. Another way you can save on VoIP business phone calls is by having your voice mail messages sent to your email. This is a lot cheaper than subscribing to a voice mail service.

• VoIP business phones have the best voice call quality in the market today. Better than the most expensive traditional business phone systems.

Cons of a VoIP Business Phone

• A VoIP business phone is more expensive to set-up. The cost of installation and the hardware required to set-up a VoIP business phone system is more than traditional phone systems.

• A VoIP business phone is vulnerable to power outages and any interference in your broadband Internet connection. So if you really want to have a VoIP system installed, make sure your power source and internet connection are reliable.

Business phones are an important feature in any office, whether you work in a home-office or in a regular office cubicle. As we go through our work, we do a lot of multitasking. This could involve answering our phones while writing a quarterly report and answering email.

If your job involves taking and making lots of calls throughout the day, you may experience some neck and back pain. This pain is usually the result of cradling your business phone handset between your neck and shoulders for long periods of time.

You could use the speaker phone function of your business phone. But the problem with speaker phones is the voice quality isn’t always good. Another problem with speaker phones is that they can pick up the background noise around your office.

One way you can get rid of your neck pain, and still have the call quality of a business phone handset is by getting a headset for your phone. A headset is a simple device with earphones and a microphone. It that allows you to make and receive your business calls while leaving your hands free to do work.

Tips For Buying Business Phone Headsets

Business phone headsets come in different styles. Some are worn in just one ear, others in both ears. They can be worn headband style, behind the ear, or as ear buds. But whatever style you choose, make sure you get one that’s comfortable and you can wear for extended periods of time.

Are you the type of worker that stays in your desk most of the day or are you often away from your phone? If you’re a desk jockey, you could get a headset with a cable that attaches itself to your business phone. They’re cheaper and the voice quality is usually good because they’re attached to your phone. If you’re the type of worker that walks around all the time, consider wireless Bluetooth headsets. They’re more expensive and you’ll have to shop around to find one with good voice quality. You also have to check if your phone supports Bluetooth.

If you want to save money on headsets, consider buying used business phone headsets. Or you could get refurbished headsets. They’re as good as new and cost half the price of new models.

Home office phones are essential when you want to set up a home office for your business. When you’re working from home, you need to separate your home life from your work life as much as possible. These boundaries are important because it allows you to focus on your work and keep the distractions of home life at bay. Getting a home office phone is part of the separation process.

Setting up a home office phones would cost you extra but it’s definitely worth it. In fact, most tax auditors expect home businesses to have a separate home office phone system and would consider as a legitimate business expense. Other than making your home office more conducive for work, there are other benefits to having a home office phone system.

Benefits Of Having Home Office Phones

Even though you’re operating your business from your home and you’re working in your pyjamas, you still have to maintain a certain degree of professionalism. Having a home office phones dedicated to your business makes it more professional. It shows your clients, partners, and employees that you’re serious about your business and you’re willing to allot resources to make your business work.

Another advantage of having home office phones, is that they allow you to work more efficiently. There are now more ways for you to communicate with your employees and clients than ever before. It’s important that they can get in touch with you in many different ways in order to stay competitive. In addition to receiving faxes, they could also call you through landline, mobile phone or VOIP. Instead of getting different phones to stay connected, you could get a home office phone that allows you to receive and manage all these calls.

Having home office phones not only keeps your home life away from work, it also limits your work from intruding into your home life. When operating a business from home, it’s hard to separate work from family. You really need to manage your time and set some clear boundaries. When it’s time to focus on your family, you can turn on the answering machine or set recorded messages when you’re out or on vacation. That way, you’re letting your clients and employees know that though they can reach you most of the time, they also have to respect your personal time.

Even with all the high tech gadgets out there for your business, nothing can beat a good phone. And now that more and more people are working from home, communication is becoming more important than ever. This is why good home office phones will always be a worthwhile investment for your business and your personal life.