Telecommunications Financing Options for Small Business Telecom Companies
2008-05-10
If your small business were a grocery store or automotive mechanic shop, most every lender in the U.S. would immediately understand your business model. If you were to approach them looking for a line of credit, they would be able to rather quickly determine if your business is able to receive some small business financing from them or not. However, as the owner of a telecommunications company you know that this is not always the case for your industry. Traditional lenders just simply do not understand how telecom companies do business and the intricacies of telecommunications funding.
If you are a large multi-national telecom company (for example you company sells International Phone Cards), funding abounds for you just simply because of the huge amount of revenue your business generates month after month. However, if you are a small telecom business, obtaining that line of credit can be much more difficult. When you approach a traditional lender for funding, you will likely find that they do not understand your business model and telecommunications financing in general. It is not in the traditional banker's interest to work with telecommunications businesses with receivables that are all small amounts with many customers. Generally, your receivables take 45 or more days to receive after delivery of services. Because these billing issues are unique to the telecom industry, traditional lenders do not fully comprehend the fine details and tend to choose to deal with businesses in more traditional roles.
Once your small telecommunications business is on solid ground, and you are looking to expand your market base, there are three options readily available to you for obtaining small business financing. These three options are: factoring, asset based solutions, and investment capital. Let's take a quick look at each of these options:
Factoring: Factoring is a financing process which allows your company to borrow money against its receivables; your receivables are used as the collateral for the loan. The down side to traditional factoring is that this type of funding generally comes with high interest rates. By finding a lender with telecommunications financing experience, you can sometimes find a lower rate. This makes factoring a strong consideration only if you are able to locate a specialized lender with telecommunications financing experience.
Asset Based Solutions: Asset based funding solutions involve using your existing contracts, equipment, and other assets, as the collateral for your funding. This can be a good option to consider if you have a lot of assets or large contracts to leverage. However, if you own a very small local telecom company, your company may not have the assets or contracts to make this form of funding work. In that case, investment capital may be a good option to consider.
Investment Capital: If your business is open to the idea of investment capital, versus a traditional line of credit, investment capital can be a win-win situation for everyone.
While finding small business financing can be challenging in the telecommunications industry, it is not impossible. When it is time for your small telecom company to expand you should consider factoring, asset based solutions, and investment capital as possible options. Whatever your decision may be, as long as it fits within your long-term business plans, then you are sure to succeed.
How to Use Prepaid Phone Card and Calling Card
2008-04-02
Phone cards can be used in a variety of ways. It could be used to call from a land line, mobile or payphone to any regular phone. First times should not be afraid of not being able to understand and use it. All phone cards, calling cards work in a similar way and its dialing instructions are very simple. These dialing instructions can be found at the back of each prepaid phone card. The first step, usually, is entering the access number. The next is the PIN code and lastly, the number of the destination that you want to reach and access.
In order to activate prepaid phone cards, you must follow the processes instructed in your e-mail account after your request has been approved. If approved, you will be receiving immediately the PIN number in your e-mail account and you can use it immediately.
It is highly recommended that you should read the instructions at the back of the prepaid phone card before purchasing it so that you will be able to decide which prepaid phone card gives the best value for you money. Remember that the beauty of using a prepaid phone card is that you are able to make calls at a cheaper rate than regular phone subscriptions. It is cheap because you are able to keep track of your calls. After each call, you will hear a recorded message informing you of how much is left in your card and how many more minutes you can still consume. This service is important as you are able to gain control of the minutes that you have used.
Prepaid phone cards have lots of other services to offer their consumers. Most cards, for example, can be used from Payphones, Mobiles, and Hotels. Others also offer PINless dialing options for some countries like the United States and Canada. This PINless dialing option gives you a more hassle free experience when making your calls. It allows you to register several numbers and these numbers can be accessed without having to go through the hassles of entering your PIN number every time. Some prepaid phone card companies offer wireless cards. These cards are not used for making international calls. These cards give their users the easy recharging of their cell phone credits. Another service that consumers can enjoy is calling from ones computer to regular phones or cellular mobile phones anywhere in the world. This service offers amazing rates for its users by using their consumers' internet connection to establish high-quality but low call costs.
Using prepaid phone cards using your telephone landlines at home is also a service that gives you a degree of control over your future telephone bills. For instance, if a local call is made then it would be charged through your regular telephone bill. However, international calls will not be included and its cost will only be reduced from the balance of your prepaid card. This type of accesses is advantageous to users since it gives them better rates for their international calls and can still be used from any type of telephone.
There are also prepaid phone cards that allow toll-free accesses. With this service, you are able to perform calls from a toll-free access. The total cost of your calls will be discounted from the balance of the calling card. You would not have to fear of being charged with additional fees. This service has a nationwide coverage. However, there are some hotels and payphone that restrict the use of this particular feature.
Easiest Way To Venture Into Prepaid Calling Card Market
2008-03-08
Prepaid calling cards have become the hot property to start a business with due to their tremendous and ever increasing popularity. Calling cards are used to make cheaper long distance and international calls as compared to your regular telephone lines. Frequent travelers often complain about the exorbitant call charges charged by the hotels.
Calls made through a hotel ends up costing you heavily for the call is routed through a specific carrier working in cooperation with the hotel. The carrier normally charges you first minute rate, following per minute rates and a heavy sum as surcharge. Carrier gives a commission to the hotel and higher this commission more would be the surcharge in order to adjust the charges paid to the hotel. Hence even a single call while away on a trip will end up costing you a fortune!
On the other hand by using the international phone cards not only will the amount for surcharge be diminished but the per minute charges are also significantly low. This is precisely why the prepaid phone cards have found an expansive market worldwide.
Working of Calling Cards:
Long distance calling cards are available in the market in varying and affordable denominations ranging from as small as $5 to $100 and even higher. Thus they fit perfectly in everyones pay pocket. Prepaid cards are pre-charged with the amount of the card. At the time of making a call you are required to dial a toll free number which is mentioned on the card itself. You will hear an IVR which will ask you to dial the destination number along with the area or country code and you will be easily connected to the number you wish to call.
Phone Cards Market:
In order to venture into the phone cards market you would need a considerable level of investment not to mention the back-end support and technical hardware and software needed to generate and market calling cards. An easier and more convenient option would be to obtain the services of a calling card platform provider.
A prepaid calling card provider ideally provides you with a one stop platform which helps you to easily step into this field. From generating PINS to online billing, a premium provider would ensure you with an end to end calling card solution.
Advice on Choosing Long Distance Phone Plans
2008-02-10
When you're looking for long distance phone plans there are many different choices and choosing the best option can be daunting at times. In this article we will talk about the different options you might have when looking for long distance plans and some of the pros and cons of each option.
One of the most common types of long distance phone plans is traditional switched long distance. This type of service requires you to have local phone service and choose a long distance carrier. Then you must go through a sign up and verification process to begin using the service. Then, you have 10 10 long distance services (dial arounds). These days, cell phones give you free long distance as part of your service. However, these calls do count against your airtime. So, be careful and make your long distance calls accordingly or during off peak times. VOIP is another great option for unlimited domestic long distance and this type of service generally has some pretty decent international long distance rates. However, by far, the best long distance rates are available through pre-paid long distance phone plans. The only catch is that you have to make sure and select a good service to avoid hidden charges and fees and there are many to choose from.
Pre-paid long distance phone plans can be used from any phone and even have many convenient features such as, pinless dialing, speed dialing, online call detail, etc. These days there are so many options as mentioned above that it can be confusing. But, based on years of research in this area, quality pre-paid long distance phone plans are generally your best bet.
Prepaid Phone Cards: Avoiding Fraud
2008-01-05
Prepaid phone cards can be bought at many retail sites as well as by mail and on the Internet. Before purchasing a prepaid phone card, it is important to ask the salesperson about in-state, state-to-state and international rates, connection fees, service or maintenance fees, when the card expires and if there are any other restrictions or limitations on its use. This especially applies to first-time buyers as well as brands that one has not encountered before. In many cases, this set of information will be on the card wrapper or on a poster in the store. If one could not obtain answers, call the customer service number and ask. If the service representative could neither answer all the questions fully, keep shopping until a prepaid phone card company that can is found.
One way to test an unfamiliar prepaid phone card or company is to buy a small denomination card and see how it works. Never accept a card on which the scratch-off covering on the Personal Identification Number (PIN) has already been removed or that does not provide the terms and conditions of the card.
Most cards offer taped instructions in languages besides English. Hence, before buying a prepaid phone card, make sure that it has the required language.
Most prepaid phone cards are disposable, which can be thrown away if all used up. Yet another type, which is also quite popular these days, is often sold on the Internet or by mail. This type of card is rechargeable by calling the company and paying for more additional minutes.
Many prepaid phone cards are also advertised in newspapers and magazines. One can order these cards over the phone and pay with a credit or debit card. The order can also be sent through mail and pay with a check or money order. Many prepaid phone cards are sold on the Internet, the mode of payment for which also being a credit or a debit card. All mail order, phone and Internet sales are subject to shipping and handling charges of up to $10 per order. It is crucial to ask for the terms and conditions from such retailers, because a consumer's use of the card will normally be governed by these.
Some companies sell "virtual" prepaid phone cards on the Internet to customers who have e-mail addresses. After the order has been processed, one receives an e-mail containing a toll-free access number and PIN that one can use to place calls. Virtual cards don't have shipping and handling charges, but may include a processing fee.
The proliferation of various prepaid phone card providers in the market these days has been triggered by low start-up costs. In a significant number of cases, companies have taken customers' money and left them with worthless cards. There also have been other reported forms of unlawful or deceptive sales practices involving prepaid phone cards. Some card providers fail to tell consumers about fees, surcharges and other costs, or hide them in small, hard-to-read print. About 10 states have ratified laws that require the full disclosure of prepaid phone card costs. In all states, deceptive and unfair trade practices are against the law, even if no specific rules cover prepaid phone card packaging.
For those who have been victimized by fraud while using a prepaid phone card, the first step is to talk to the company. An industry association, the International Prepaid Communications Association (IPCA), operates a toll-free hotline for customers who have problems with or questions about prepaid phone cards. If talking to the company cannot resolve the problem, or worse, if the company does not answer its phone, then call the local district attorney's consumer fraud unit, or the state public service commission or attorney general's office for further action.
The Real Benefits of Hosted PBX
2007-12-17
Hosted PBX has been prevailing in market for quite some period, but only recently its clubbed with many new features. It has started attracting the business peoples of all levels regardless of their breadth and width. The earlier stage when this technology was launched it was considered as quiet a complicate process due to its capability of multi functionality. But now after visualizing its use and comparatively easy to manage technology, many professionals have started turning towards hosted PBX.
The benefits of hosted PBX are really tremendous when compared to its maintenance and easy handling. Hosted PBX is a visual phone, which comes with enormous features clubbed together in order to perform successful and non-tangible business. It has many superior and helpful features for businessmen like automatic voice call facility, call forwarding and diverting options, caller id tool, toll free enhancement, auto answer and divert, multiple voice mailboxes, complete overview of the system through a single window over web access and easy setting options.
Basically the most important benefit of hosted PBX is considered to be its no labor policy. There is no need of any receptionist to attend and transfer our calls, no separate customer care executive to attend to product feed back and no maintenance or repair work needed. Once installed, it can all be made into your own control which is quiet manageable and gives you the ease of knowing all the company happenings directly and genuinely.
Hosted PBX is definitely a centralized intelligence service, which allows your employees or consumers to be hooked up to you through the always-accessible option we provide them through it. Toll free number can be easily associated with the help of hosted PBX where our customer feed can increase to more than 30% than earlier. And 800 number services, apart from being a medium of getting feed back through customers also hikes the company's or firm's impression among public.
We can also organize our voice mail in such a way to direct the callers to different category of options and help them identify their purpose of call and post their queries, service requirement or comment under the relevant option. So that it is a better way for us to organize our calls and also makes us boosts the impression of the firm by exhibiting so many divisions in it.
The call forwarding option while pre-set helps us to be accessible where ever we are, which means a lot, for not missing any of our big business deals by assuring all time availability despite of the fact where ever we are. It is clubbed with several other such additional features like voice mail system, multiple voice mail options, out going voicemail messages and through setting up our call forwarding numbers along with message delivery.
With the possibility of web access all these process gets even more simpler through our ‘view and control' over the entire summary of our incoming and out going communications in business including local, long-distance and broadband through a single window. And the setting for all branches of hosted PBX service is available in our fingertip. The applications are in short endless. Hence there lye our smartness in being aware of the benefit of hosted PBX and installing them at the earliest before our competitors do.
Which Phone Card Should I Use?
2007-12-15
This is the most frequently asked question by customer. It is very simple to answer but it is not the same answer for every caller because it depends on a couple of things.
How long will you be calling for? If you are calling for longer than 25 minutes you should get a phone card that has a connection fee. If you are calling for less than 25 minutes get a phone card that has no connection fee. Generally a phone card that has a connection fee has lower call rates and phone cards without a connection fee have higher call rates. So when choosing your phone cards you need to consider the price based on the combined cost of the connection fee and the call rate not just the call rate. Generally the connection fee is equivalent to about a 15-20 minute call in terms of the call rate for the card.
What's the call rate? Of course the lower the call rates the better but is it a peak or off-peak rate. You see 99.9% of comparisons are based on off-peak rates that are always very late at night, such as 2am. At all other times, when you actually want to use the phone card, the peak rate applies and the peak rate is not used in the comparison. So if the comparison is based on off-peak rates you will definitely buy the wrong phone card.
Do you only make a local call to access the service? To use the phone card you have got to call a local access number to enter your PIN. You need to be sure the phone card has a local access number in your local area or a 1300 number with no surcharge. Otherwise you can make very low cost international calls but the call to the local access number will cost you a fortune. Never use your mobile phone to call the local access number because you are charged by your mobile phone company at their rates which could be 30c/min!
Does the call rate stay the same throughout the call? Some phone cards have a call rate that varies. So after 5 minutes or more the call rate doubles. Make sure the call rate stays the same throughout your call - that it is a flat rate throughout the day and night.
How long will the card last? All phone cards expire of a set time whether you have used the entire card or not. The phone cards generally have a life of 2 to 4 months but some last as long as 12 months. It is often better to buy a small value card, say $10, rather than $50 so that you can use the card up quickly and don't lose any unused minutes.
Are there any maintenance or service fees? Quite a few cards have service or maintenance fees that are charged daily or once a week. If your phone card minutes disappear without you using the phone card you are most likely being charged a maintenance or service fee! This is another reason you should by smaller denomination phone cards because you will tend to use them in one go.
Is there good customer support when you have problems with the card especially the billing? When is a minute not a minute? When it is a phone card minute! Make sure you can phone and speak to someone at customer service or that they respond to your email quickly. Try ringing their customer support number before you buy their phone card to see if they answer quickly. When something goes wrong with the card it is incredibly frustrating if you can't get it resolved. Make sure they have good customer service.
Now you know what to look for next time you want to make a long distance international phone call using a cheap phone card.
Saving Money with VOIP Hosted PBX Service
2007-12-15
There are so many ways that a VOIP Virtual PBX can save you money I can't begin to cover them all in a short space. However, here a few of the major cost saving aspects of a VoIP Hosted PBX system:
Cash Flow - Controlling cash flow is a major factor that determines the ultimate success or failure of any business, regardless if you are a start-up or an established business. Tight control over capital expenditures and operating expense is essential. On average, a VOIP Hosted PBX costs 20-40% less than a premise-based PBX. Also, CAPEX is minimized because you don't have to "Buy the "Box".
Additionally, because of the way premised based PBX systems are designed, you have no choice but to buy more equipment than you actually need to support your current requirements.
Sounds crazy, but it's true. Why spend precious dollars now on equipment you won't need until six or 12 months later or longer? A VOIP Hosted PBX allows you to pay as you grow. In other words, you only buy what you need to support current requirements.
Adding new employees to the system is fast, easy, and cheap. More importantly, you don't have to pay for something until you actually need it.
If you are ever affected by a downturn in business, a VOIP Hosted PBX gives you the flexibility to reduce your expenses accordingly by reducing your telecommunications requirements with no penalty since you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Generally, you cannot do that with a traditional premise-based PBX without incurring some form of financial penalty.
Moves, Adds, and Changes - Unlike a traditional PBX, in a VOIP Hosted PBX environment, Moves, Adds and Changes do not require an on-site technician to make changes to your phone system. A VoIP Hosted PBX can be remotely configured by the provider, thus providing you with the flexibility to add, change, delete or move users within hours instead of days.
Eliminating costly monthly maintenance contracts will reduce your expenses because there is no need for a technician to visit your every time you want to make a change. This is done remotely by the VOIP Hosted PBX provider, which also gives you with greater flexibility to respond quickly to changing business or market conditions.
Significantly Reduce Depreciation Losses - Traditional PBX systems depreciate almost 70% the day you install them. With VoIP Hosted phone service, you won't have to worry about depreciation since you're not purchasing equipment.
Although there are many other reasons that a Hosted PBX can save you money, such as reduced maintenance, elimination of the need to track and implement software patches, no requirement to maintain PBX equipment inventories, no vendor finger-pointing, and faster trouble resolution, the overall savings can be summed up by considering the Total Cost of Ownership of a traditional PBX compared to that of a VOIP Hosted PBX.
In the December 2005 issue of Business Communications Review, Ken Dolsky and Warren Williams of InfoTech published an in-depth analysis comparing the TCO/ROI of a Hosted PBX to that of a premise-based IP PBX for a single with 50 users. They concluded for most instances, the Hosted PBX environment was the clear financial and performance winner. Even though their analysis shows a significant opportunity to reduce costs with a VOIP Hosted PBX, it is important to point out that the analysis did not not take into account large savings associated with increasing employee productivity and revenue using the Hosted PBX's advanced features.
Here's another piece of advice.
When you replace your traditional PBX with a VOIP Hosted PBX system, then plan on buying a bigger piggybank, too.
The Top 5 Calling Card Purchase Mistakes
2007-12-10
Many users buy calling cards on-line and regret it. Their card may not connect or it may disconnect earlier than expected. There's nothing worse than talking to a loved one overseas and hearing, "there is one minute remaining for this call."
Below are the mistakes that many purchasers make and how to avoid them.
1. Hidden fee analysis
2. Incentive programs
3. Testing the customer service number
4. Buying a Brand-Name
5. Start Slow
1. Examine all hidden fees: Users typically do not read the fine print. Please see Hidden Phone Card Fees for a summary of all fees associated with calling cards.
Example: one card that we know of charges a 30% administrative fee after the first 3 minutes of the call. That sounds okay if the per minute rate is really low and you just want to leave a message less than a minute long. Here's the catch, this card uses 3 minute rounding, so even if you call for 30 seconds, you will be billed for 3 minutes + the 30% admin fee.
2. Incentive Programs: a) search for coupons, b) participate in incentive programs. If you are buying your long distance cards online, always get on your search engine and search for a promo-code for the phone card company you are buying from. Even if the company does not have a "Promo code" field, you may be lucky and find a link that when clicked will automatically apply a discount to your shopping cart. Incentive programs may give you a percentage discount on your online pin numbers if you buy in bulk or if you refer friends.
Example: Phonecarddepot.com has a program whereby you can enter your friend's e-mail addresses after check-out, if these friends buy cards, your account gets credited 5% of their purchase.
3. Testing the customer service number: Before you buy a phone card, whether on-line or in-store, take out your cell phone and call the customer service number. This is the number you will be calling if you have problems with your calls, make sure that it works.
Example: When calling the customer service number of Best Rate Calling Card in Toronto, I was directed to voicemail, the voicemail stated "This Mailbox is Full". Be careful.
4. Buy Brand Name: Brand name calling cards are the ones that you will find both in-store and on-line (Private Label vs. Brand Name Calling Cards). Buying brand name reduces your risk of the calling card provider's system crashing or being 'shut down' for solvency reasons.
5. Start Slow: Do not buy in bulk before you have tried the card. Many people buy calling cards in packs of 10 or even 20. It is sometimes tough to travel to your local variety and purchase cards individually, but do it for the first purchase. Call quality may be poor, the network may be fickle or the card may have hidden fees that you were not aware of. Once you find a card that you are comfortable with, stick with it.a
Follow the tips provided and you will save a lot of money on long distance and also have the flexibility of calling cards that do not tie you into long long distance contracts.
10 Great Ways to Use Personal Calling Cards to Communicate Your Contact Information
2007-12-10
Business cards aren't just for business people anymore! Business cards for personal use (also known as calling cards) are a wonderful way to convey your personal contact information. With so many different ways to get in touch with people - home phones, cell phones, email addresses, instant messaging, faxes, snail mail addresses, personal websites, blogs, etc - communicating your contact information in an attractive and handy manner is essential part of communication. The great news is that personal calling cards are available in a variety of styles, so you can pass along your information in a way that best expresses your personality!
Here are 10 great ways to use personal calling cards:
1. Teachers can use calling cards to convey all of their contact information to their students and their parents by sending a calling card home on the first day of class with all of their vital contact information.
2. Whether you're moving into a new home or you pack up for the winter for a warmer climate, phone cards are a great way to let everyone know all of your new contact information. Calling cards are great for new college students as well!
3. Parents of children with serious medical conditions or allergies can spell out their child's health conditions on a calling card (i.e. what the child is allergic to, medications, etc). Parents can also explain how to handle a medical emergency (i.e. who should be contacted, the pediatrician's name, insurance information, etc.)
4. Recently married couples can use a calling card to let everyone know where they will reside and what their new married name is. For women keeping their maiden name or hyphenating their name with their husband's, it is helpful to spell this out on a phone card. Calling cards can be enclosed with the thank you cards from the wedding.
5. Party organizers can use calling cards to enclose with shower invitations to detail registry information for expectant mothers or brides.
6. Coaches can score the "winning play" by use phone cards to pass on all of their contact information to players and their parents.
7. Mommies who are involved in a lot of activities and play dates can use personal calling cards to express their contact information to everyone they meet.
8. Throwing a party? Enclose a phone card with party invitations to let guests know when and how to RSVP for your next party.
9. Use calling cards as an enclosure card with your next gift. You could personalize the gift with text like, "A gift from Ashley Simpson".
10. Calling cards are great to pass out to all of the contacts you meet during volunteer activities and civic and community organizations.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with some great ways to use phone cards to communicate your personal information.
Prepaid Calling Card - Way to Conveniently Communicate
2007-12-10
Communicating with family, friends and associates is part of our daily lives. You may have tried lots of ways to communicate like chatting, sending emails and so on but nothing beats hearing the voices of those important persons in our lives.
If you are student, traveler or living abroad, you need to communicate with your family and friends who are far from you. Of course, you want to call them up any time and any where you are if you happen to miss them so much.
Of course, if you want to make calls, you want to have the means to do it that can give you convenience and satisfaction. Prepaid phone cards are the best ways to communicate with your family, friends and associates which can give convenience to you. With the use of prepaid calling card, you can make calls any time and any where, all you need to do is carry the prepaid calling card with you wherever you are, since it is slim and paper-like structure, it is truly convenient to bring it along with you. You do not need to bring plenty of coins just to make calls any time and any where, so it is absolutely convenient.
But you have to bear in mind that there are heaps of prepaid calling cards in the market and online, so if it is your first time to make use of prepaid calling card, do not simply buy one and use it without knowing the details about the prepaid calling cards. There are some prepaid calling cards that come with hidden fees, surcharges, maintenance fees, and connection fees and so on. So you need to know all of these things before buying and using one. For sure, you do not want to be surprised with the very high hidden charges as you use the card midway.
So it is advisable that you gather information in advance before purchasing any of these heaps of prepaid calling cards. It is better to look for several companies or if you are looking online, look for several websites, compare each. You have to make sure that the company or site is reliable and reputable to assure that you will be gaining high-quality product and best services.
Each prepaid calling card comes with different services and features, so you need to know what features and services you want and need in order to determine the right prepaid calling card for you. Like for instance, some international phone cards come with PIN that you need to dial each time you want to make a call. But there are some that do not have PIN, so if you find dialing a PIN every time you need to make a call, a hassle, then you need to find a prepaid phone card that doesn't have PIN in it.
In order for you to gain the convenience and satisfaction you need, you have to take time in searching for the right prepaid calling card for you, the one that has the features and services that you need and want.
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