Plenty of Perth practices are still running the phone system that was installed when the fit-out was done. It works, mostly, so nobody touches it. Then a handset dies, or a new receptionist needs a headset, and someone finds out the replacement costs three times what it should.
That's exactly how this one started. Below are the real numbers from a quote we put together this month for a Perth medical centre, and what moving to hosted phones actually involves. We've left the practice's name out, but the figures are straight off their bills.
The setup
A medical centre with a GP practice and a physio practice in the same building. Each has its own phone number, and they share a fax number. Calls run through an Avaya phone system on site, with older digital handsets at every desk.
The trigger was a headset. Those digital Avaya phones need specific headsets with specific cables, and the compatible one came in at $173. A standard office headset that plugs into a modern phone is about $76.
What they pay now
Monthly, excluding GST, from their September bills:
| Item | Now | Hosted phones |
|---|---|---|
| Medical phone lines | $163.64 | $189.00 |
| Physio phone lines | $81.82 | $79.00 |
| Maintenance cover for the phone system | $50.00 | Nil, nothing on site |
| Virtual fax | $18.18 | $15.00 (fax to email) |
| Calls to 13 numbers | $9.60 | Included |
| On-hold messages, separate supplier | $58.90 | Included |
| Total per month | $382.14 | $283.00 |
That's $99.14 a month less, or $1,189.68 a year.
The hosted system has a few one-off and yearly costs to be upfront about: the phone system licence is $625 a year, installation is $150, and the new phones are bought outright. In the first year the savings cover the licence and installation with about $415 left over towards the phones. From the second year, after the licence renews, they're still about $565 a year better off, on a newer system with no hardware in the comms cupboard to maintain.
If they decide to keep their existing on-hold messages with the other supplier, the monthly saving drops to about $40. Still cheaper, just less dramatic. We'd rather show that upfront than have someone find it later.
What stays the same
- The phone numbers. All three numbers are ported across. Patients won't notice a thing.
- How calls come in. Greetings, call groups, after-hours messages and voicemail are set up to match how the practice already works, then improved where it makes sense.
- The cabling, usually. Most practices don't need new data points. More on that below.
What changes
- New phones. Modern IP phones replace the old digital handsets. A basic desk phone starts at $95, a cordless at about $229, and a reception phone with a big screen and lots of line keys about $324.
- Standard headsets. The new phones take common office headsets. No special cables.
- Fax to email. Incoming faxes land in an inbox and faxes can be sent from email. No fax machine needed.
- Two practices, one system. Each practice keeps its own number and greeting, but reception can see and pick up both from one phone.
- Phones off the desk. Staff can take calls on their computer or mobile using the practice number.
Do you need new cabling?
Old digital phones run on their own phone cabling. New phones need a network connection and power. That sounds like a big job, but it usually isn't.
If a phone sits next to a PC, the phone can share the PC's network point. The network cable goes into the phone, and a short cable goes from the phone to the PC. Power comes either from the network switch (if it supports power over ethernet) or from a small power adapter for each phone.
One catch worth knowing: cheaper phones pass the network through to the PC at 100Mbps rather than gigabit. That's plenty for a reception or consult room PC. It's not ideal for a machine moving large imaging files all day, so those get their own network point.
How the switch actually happens
Porting is the part people worry about, and it's the part that's most predictable when it's planned properly.
- Don't cancel the old service. The port moves the numbers across. If the old service is cancelled first, the numbers can be lost.
- Have the paperwork ready. The port needs the account number and a signed authority from whoever holds the current account.
- Set everything up before port day. Phones on desks, call groups built, greetings recorded, test calls made on a temporary number.
- Be on site when it moves. When we moved a 21-handset GP practice across, we had a technician on site from 7am, so anything that didn't ring through could be fixed on the spot instead of over the phone.
When it isn't worth switching
Not every practice should change. If your system works, it's out of contract, and your bill is already low, there may not be enough in it. We've left at least one dental practice on its old system for exactly that reason. The numbers have to stack up.
Where it usually does make sense: you're paying maintenance on hardware that's 10 or more years old, you've got separate bills for lines, fax and on-hold, or you need to add phones and the old system makes that expensive.
FAQ
Can we keep our phone numbers? Yes. Numbers are ported to the new provider, including fax numbers.
Do we need new cabling for VoIP phones? Usually not. Phones can share a PC's network point, and power can come from the network switch or an adapter.
What happens to calls if the internet drops? Hosted phones need the internet. Calls can be set to divert to a mobile automatically, and a 4G backup on the router keeps everything running through most outages.
How long does it take to move? Most of the work happens before port day. The switch itself is done outside clinic hours where possible, so the practice opens the next morning on the new system.
Is VoIP call quality any good? On a decent business internet connection, yes. When call quality is poor, the cause is usually the internet connection or the office network rather than the phones themselves.