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If you are a business owner and ready to invest in VoIP, then RingCentral is the service for you. But what does it mean if you want to use your phone as a fax machine? The answer can be found in this article that explains how to set up a fax modem with RingCentral along with some limitations of using this feature.
Over their landline-based equivalents, voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) services provide a number of benefits. While some provide sophisticated services like video conferencing and mobile applications, the ability to send and receive faxes is one of the most prevalent. VoIP fax capabilities are extremely simple to use and save money for company owners since they eliminate the need for a separate fax machine.
Most VoIP business phone services allow you to send a fax by simply choosing the option on your desktop or mobile app, scanning documents, and sending them to a suitable fax number. However, to further demonstrate how simple it is to replace classic dedicated fax machines, we’ll use RingCentral’s VoIP fax capability as an example.
1. Go to the Faxing Module and choose it.
You should notice a fax module anywhere on your platform’s user interface when you first log in to your VoIP account (UI). In the case of RingCentral, go to the upper-right corner of your window and click the fax symbol. It resembles a fax machine sheet of paper. The “Send a Fax” window will appear.
The RingCentral Fax module is really easy to use.
This box allows you to choose the fax recipient and the file you want to transmit. You may also add a cover page to the fax or schedule it to be sent at a later time.
2. Decide on a Recipient
Instructions on where to transmit your fax are required by your VoIP solution. Text boxes for entering your recipient’s address or a drop-down option for your contacts should appear. Before you transmit your document, be sure your intended recipient can receive faxes.
3. Choose whether or not you want a cover page.
The majority of systems allow you to customize the cover page for your VoIP faxes. This is useful if you’re delivering secret material or just want to give your faxes a more serious appearance. You may choose from a selection of cover page templates if you check this box.
Making your VoIP faxes more professional by including a cover page
4. Select the file you want to send and upload it.
You must choose a file to upload and transmit to your selected fax recipient from the fax window. RingCentral and other similar services enable you to upload local files as well as files saved on major cloud storage services such as Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive. You will be prompted to log into your accounts with those services if you are connecting to them for the first time. After that, choose your source and the file you wish to fax.
5. Send Your Messages Immediately or Scheduled
A checkbox for scheduling the fax is located under the Upload area. This may be useful in a variety of scenarios, such as delivering a file after the recipient’s office has closed for the day and wish to give it the following morning when they are open. If you choose this option, you will be prompted to select a day and time for the message to be sent.
If you want to send the message right immediately, just leave this area blank and use the “Send Now” button.
6. Examine your fax machine’s inbox
It’s easy to check your faxes with RingCentral. When you first log in to the service, go to the messages page and then to your inbox. You’ll be able to view all of your faxes, as well as your voicemails and messages, in one location. The papers will be available for viewing or download to your device’s local storage.
You may either shut the app or do something else with it after you’ve finished looking at your messages. Faxing using VoIP systems is quite simple and does not need any specific gear.
Why Should You Make Use of VoIP Fax Features?
Faxing documents with a VoIP system works in a similar way as transmitting documents using a landline fax machine. You’re still saving documents to a device and transmitting them to a fax-capable phone number. However, unlike when using a landline fax machine, you do not need a separate fax number to utilize the service, which saves you money.
Furthermore, VoIP faxing makes the procedure a lot easier. You may execute the full faxing procedure simply by uploading documents from your computer or cloud service and transmitting them without the need for specialist equipment since it is internet-based. This also means that if you’re using a smartphone, you can use the camera on your device to scan papers and upload them to your app, which is very useful for individuals on the go.
The following are some more frequent VoIP fax features:
- Any device may access the information.
- Inboxes for faxes
- Fax-to-email
- Notifications through fax
- Electronic faxes that are secure
- Scanning documents on the go
RingCentral Fax allows you to send and receive faxes over the internet (Source: RingCentral)
Costs of VoIP Fax
While fax capabilities are often included with today’s most popular small business VoIP services, it’s worth noting that using the feature may incur extra expenses in addition to the monthly membership fee. Your business phone system will either come with a bundle of monthly faxes as part of your subscription, or you will be required to buy monthly fax bundles, depending on the system you have.
RingCentral’s fax bundles begin at $17.99 per month for 1,500 faxes. At first look, the fact that faxing requires additional money on top of the monthly subscription may seem inconvenient. However, when compared to the cost of specialized faxing equipment plus the monthly cost of a telephone, this is a significant saving. VoIP faxing has an advantage over conventional faxing in that you may fax without any extra equipment.
Conclusion
Sending and receiving faxes using a VoIP service is all things considered, a straightforward and quick operation. The days of having to deal with finicky fax gear in order to transmit essential papers are long gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you send a fax through VoIP?
No, that is not a function of VoIP.
How do I use RingCentral faxing?
With RingCentral, you may fax using the phone number or email address of your choice.
Can you send a fax through RingCentral?
Unfortunately, you cannot send a fax through RingCentral.
