eVoice Review: The Right Virtual Phone System for Your Business?

Are you running a small business and need a service to virtualize your phone lines? If so, you may be wondering if eVoice is the right option for you.

In our eVoice review, we’ll compare this service to other popular phone number providers to help you decide if it is the right choice for your business. We will also discuss the features of the platform and how they can benefit your small business.

By the end of this article, you should have a good idea of whether or not eVoice is the right choice for you.

What Is eVoice?

Founded in 2000, eVoice is a provider of phone services and virtual phone numbers. It was a groundbreaking service, as the provider was the first of its kind to deliver VoIP solutions for businesses on a larger scale. The service was so innovative at the time that even AT&T, Google, and Apple all used the eVoice virtual phone for their operations.

eVoice has been a subsidiary of J2 Global for over a decade now. J2 Global, now ZiffDavies, is a company that deals with cloud-based services including email, phone, and fax. It was no surprise that a company with that kind of portfolio was interested in integrating a business phone system provider into its operations, especially after eVoice’s $50 million in public funding.

That brings us to eVoice today-a virtual phone provider that offers various features under a single price point and has been recommended by thousands of satisfied business owners as one of the best in class.

Main Features

As we’ve mentioned before, the vast eVoice features list is one of the biggest reasons customers have stuck with this service for over two decades. In this section, we’ll go over the most important features and see how they all work.

Phone Numbers

Obviously, you’ll mostly be using eVoice to make and answer calls. That’s why you’ll need a business phone number, which the service provides to you free of charge.

Depending on how your business operates, you have a selection of different types of phone numbers available:

• International numbers
• Local phone numbers
• Toll-free numbers
• Vanity numbers

If you prefer to keep your existing phone number, for example, if your business is a household name and customers are used to calling on that number, you can port it to your eVoice virtual business phone service, free of charge.

Voicemail

When customers call you outside of work hours, they often prefer to have the option to leave a voice message so one of your agents can call them back and resolve their inquiry. Voicemail is an important part of eVoice, and the platform lets you manage all incoming and archived voicemail messages, including converting them into MP3 and WAV files.

You can check and listen to messages either through the desktop or mobile app. Messaging can be set up to alert you via emails, which you can then quickly forward to the right people in your company. eVoice can also transcribe the voicemail to text and send the messages to your phone or email. There’s no limit to how many transcribed messages you can receive per month.

Mobile App

The eVoice mobile app is available for both the Android and iOS operating systems, and it’s compatible with many smartphone devices. It works as a second business line, allowing you to do pretty much everything you’d do on the desktop version, including making phone calls.

This is your virtual office on the go. With instant access to various management features, you can safely travel and attend business meetings and still be able to make business calls, text, and check your voicemail.

Call Management

Another important piece of the puzzle is the ability to manage all incoming calls. With eVoice, you’ll be able to route calls to different departments of your company, forward calls, have calls on hold, and even block unwanted numbers from reaching you.

Here’s everything the eVoice phone system is capable of:

• Call routing – the service can automatically route calls based on the set of rules you create.
• Caller ID – see who’s calling you before you pick up. Additionally, you can enable call screening, requiring an extra ID step from the caller.
• Call transfer and call forwarding – redirect the calls to other people in your company, or completely different numbers when needed.
• Dial-by-name directory – setting up eVoice extensions allows callers to pick the right department when they call your company.
• Auto attendant – an automated greeting system that picks up and redirects calls for you.
• Call scheduling – organize automated answering and transfers based on the workshifts.
• Call recording – one of the premium features that requires an upgrade, this service allows you to record and store all previous calls.
• After-hours greeting – a pre-recorded message informing your customers of work hours and how else they can reach you.

Conferencing

Sometimes, you might need to have more than one person on the line, and business texting just doesn’t cut it. With your eVoice phone number, you’ll also get access to several conferencing features. Through the app, call conferencing can be done from anywhere, which cuts down on the time needed to set up meetings.

There are also web conferencing and video conferencing features included. You can have up to 25 attendees in your virtual meetings, which is on par with other business phone systems.

Setting up eVoice

The setup process for eVoice is simple and only takes a few minutes. Once you sign up for an account and set up your payments, you can start using the service within the next 48 hours. This, of course, depends on certain factors, like whether you’re transferring an existing phone number into the system, getting a vanity number, or even having multiple phone numbers.

You can also request a custom plan. The team at eVoice reviews your application and creates an offer based on your company’s needs.

Once you’re set with the desired phone numbers, you’ll need to record a greeting message or have eVoice create one for you. After that, you’re all set to start using your brand-new business number. The setup is as easy as 1-2-3, especially once you’ve downloaded the official eVoice app on your phone, as it allows you to manage the whole phone system on the go.

Pricing

Purchasing an app or a service is, preferably, a simple matter of picking a plan and paying for it. But, eVoice goes a step beyond streamlining the purchase process as it offers a single pricing point, which is another reason we’re recommending it as one of the best options for phone number virtualization.

Current eVoice pricing is $14 per user per month, and you can have up to five users on a single account. If you’d rather pay once a year, this option drops the price to $12 per user per month, which is the same as getting two free months per year. This is a great deal, especially considering you get unlimited minutes and call forwarding with your purchase.

Previously, eVoice offered multiple extra plans for businesses with six or more phone users. Instead of these plans, the company can now create a custom plan per your request. All you have to do is request a quote and pick the features that suit your business the best.

While the eVoice free trial isn’t available anymore, the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. This way, you can still try out the service risk-free and see whether it does the job for you.

Live Receptionist Services Some business owners require a more personal approach to their phone operations. When the automated message just doesn’t cut it, it may be time to upgrade your service to include a live receptionist. This service at eVoice has three pricing tiers, depending on the number of receptionist minutes you’re looking to purchase: 50 receptionist minutes – $139.95/month 100 receptionist minutes – $189.95/month 200 receptionist minutes – $399.95/month Just like with standard service, you can request a quote for a customized plan, after which eVoice reviews your company’s profile. After reviewing your information, the service pairs you with a receptionist who has the right skills for your field, whether it’s law, medicine, or real estate.

eVoice Customer Support

One area where eVoice shines is in customer support. The company’s main line of communication with its customers is, unsurprisingly, the phone. You can reach the customer support team Monday to Friday, and the working hours are from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST.

Additionally, you can send an email or use the live chat feature on the website. There’s also a comprehensive FAQ section with nice guides that should help you sort out the basics of the service. Overall, we’re very pleased with this company’s customer service.

eVoice Alternatives

To round up our review of eVoice, we need to check how the service stacks up against its competitors – Grasshopper, Nextiva, and RingCentral. Among the four, eVoice is the most affordable, but only if you’re not signing up more than two users.

Grasshopper, for example, costs $26 a month and its price doesn’t increase with more users. Nextiva and RingCentral, on the other hand, are around $20 per month, and their price does scale with the number of people that will be using the virtual line.

Final Thoughts

And that concludes our eVoice phone review. Overall, this is an excellent virtual phone system for small businesses. It is very affordable and has plenty of interesting features to help run your business better. With the ability to transfer an existing number and pick vanity numbers, it’s a well-rounded service, too.

We were most impressed by the straightforward pricing model and excellent customer service. While it’s mostly designed for smaller businesses with up to five phone users, eVoice is highly scalable, and the addition of a live receptionist truly makes it a standout.