Small business phone system · buyer's guide
Choose a phone system by what it costs in a year. Not by the sticker price.
Most small businesses overpay for phones in ways the price page never shows: seats nobody uses, contracts that outlive the need, and features locked on a higher tier. Here is how to spot each one, and what a year really costs a team of one to five.
From $10 a user. No contract, no seat minimum, billed by the day.
- One person, one number
- $12.50 a month plus 1¢ a minute
- Unlimited US calls
- $15 a user texts included
- Contract
- None no seat minimum either
- Live in
- About 5 minutes browser, app or desk phone
Start here
What a small business phone system has to do
Before comparing brands, write down the jobs. For a team of one to five, these six cover almost every day. A system that does them on every plan is enough. Anything beyond them is a reason the price went up.
Ring the whole team
One number that rings everyone at once, on whatever device each person has open.
Answer when you can't
A greeting with a short menu, so callers reach the right person without you picking up first.
Know your hours
Evenings, weekends and holidays switch to their own greeting or to voicemail automatically.
Keep the message
Voicemail that lands in email with a transcript, so nobody has to dial in to listen.
Work from anywhere
The same number from the office, the truck or the kitchen table. No phone tied to one desk.
Grow by one person
Adding someone is a button, not a new contract, and removing them stops the charge.
How a virtual phone system works
Follow one call through a virtual phone system
A small business phone system today is usually virtual: the switchboard lives online, not in a closet. A customer dials your number, nobody needs to sit at a front desk, and the system does the front-desk work before it rings the people who can help, wherever they are.
You set every step once in the dashboard, and change it any time without calling anyone.
Where the money goes
Five ways small businesses overpay for phones
None of these show up as a line on a pricing page. They show up a year later, on the bill.
Seat minimums
Some plans start at a set number of users. A two-person business pays for seats nobody sits in.
AskIs there a minimum number of users, and can I run with one?
The contract outlives the need
A discount for committing to a year or more turns into a bill you keep paying after the business changed.
AskWhat does it cost to leave in month four?
Features on the next tier up
The cheap plan rings a phone. The phone menu, call recording or ring groups often sit one tier higher, and the whole team moves up with them.
AskWhich plan has the menu, ring groups and recording, and what does it cost per user?
Full months for part-time people
Seasonal help, a two-week temp, a new hire who starts on the 20th: monthly billing charges the whole month for each.
AskIf someone works ten days, do I pay for ten days or for the month?
Hardware you don't need
Desk phones are a choice, not a requirement. A browser and a phone app answer the same calls.
AskDo I need to buy or rent phones to start?
What a year really costs
Three small businesses, twelve months each
Real Tonet prices, worked out for a full year. Every feature is on both plans, so the only question is how each business pays for its calls.
One owner, about 200 minutes a month
$174 a year
- Pay As You Go user $10 a month
- One number $2.50 a month
- 200 minutes at 1¢ $2 a month
- Monthly $14.50
Three people on the phone every day
$570 a year
- Unlimited, 3 users $45 a month
- One shared number $2.50 a month
- US calls and texts Included
- Monthly $47.50
Two all year, a third for three busy months
$435 a year
- Unlimited, 2 users all year $360
- One number all year $30
- Third person, 3 months $45
- Charge stops The day they leave
Billed by the day from a prepaid balance. You pay for the days a user is active, so the seasonal helper costs three months, not twelve. Not sure which plan fits? Compare Pay As You Go and Unlimited.
Three kinds of system
What you are actually choosing between
Small business phone systems come in three shapes. The shape decides more about your bill than the brand does.
Still deciding whether you need a system at all, or just a second line? Start with the four options.
The scorecard
Eight questions before you sign anything
Ask every provider the same eight. The answers tell you what the first year will really cost and how hard it will be to change your mind.
Porting: most ports complete in 7 to 10 business days. Some carriers and toll-free numbers take longer, up to a few weeks, and the releasing carrier controls the timing, so no date is guaranteed. Your number keeps working with your current provider until the switch.
Getting started
From sign-up to a ringing phone
Sign up and add $15
An email address and a card. The phone system is built for you within seconds of the first deposit.
Pick a number
Local or toll-free, by area code, working right away. Or port in the number you already have.
Add your people
Put them in a ring group, record a greeting, set your hours. Everyone answers in the browser or the app.
Questions
Small business phone systems, answered
What is the best phone system for a small business?
For a team of one to five, look for a cloud phone system that has a menu, ring groups, business hours and voicemail on every plan, with no contract and no seat minimum. That covers almost everything a small business does on the phone, without paying for seats or tiers you do not use.
What is a virtual phone system, and how is it different from a virtual number?
A virtual phone system is a complete business phone system that runs in the cloud instead of on hardware in an office: the greeting, menu, hours, ring groups and voicemail live online, and your team answers in a browser, a phone app or on a desk phone. A virtual number is one number that forwards calls somewhere. A small team usually needs the system, not just the number.
How much does a small business phone system cost?
On Tonet, one person with one number starts at $12.50 a month on Pay As You Go, plus 1 cent a minute for calls and 3 cents a text. Unlimited US calling and texting is $15 per user a month. Numbers are $2.50 a month each. A team of three on Unlimited with one shared number is $47.50 a month.
Is there a contract or a minimum number of users?
No. There is no contract and no seat minimum, and you can cancel any time. Billing is by the day from a prepaid balance, so you pay only for the days each user is active.
Do I need desk phones?
No. Tonet works in a web browser with a microphone and in the iOS and Android app. If you want desk phones, standard models from Yealink, Grandstream, Poly, Cisco and Fanvil work.
Can my team answer the business number on their cell phones?
Yes. Each person signs in to the Tonet app on their own phone, and the business number rings them there. Their personal number stays private.
Can I keep the phone number I already have?
Yes, porting a number in costs nothing. Most ports complete in 7 to 10 business days. Some carriers and toll-free numbers take longer, up to a few weeks, and the releasing carrier controls the timing, so no date is guaranteed. Your number keeps working with your current provider until the switch.
A phone system priced for the team you have
Every feature, no contract, no seat minimum. Pay for the days people work.
Start with $15