Need Help Setting Up a VOIP Phone System . . .

[Joshua Dorkin]

Hey Everyone -

Does anyone know how to set up a VOIP phone system and do you have any recommendations? I don't have a phone line in my office outside my cell and would like to set something up. There aren't any hard line connections here - just WiFi.

What do I need to do?

[Jordan T.]

@Joshua Dorkin

Recommendations depend on what you are looking to do and what type of features you are looking for. Some additional information on your usage intentions may help drive the scope and size of what you need. :)

For example, I have several (~8 or 9) phone numbers (including my Google Voice phone numbers, VOIP Phone Numbers from Vitelity.net, etc.) all feeding into a small PBX running PBX-In-A-Flash on a Raspberry Pi computer (Around 35 $). This handles all of my inbound/outbound 800-numbers, local numbers, Voice Mails, and even emails me an .mp3 of the voice mail with partial transcription.

It can handle several extensions and physical phone handsets; and even forwarding to a cell when I am not at my desk.

I have a property mgmt google voice number route directly to an extension with immediate voicemail pickup and then an email of those messages is sent to me with transcription and mp3 attachment.

My only recurring costs are for the phone numbers through Vitelity.net. If you use only google voice, then the monthly recurring fees are non-existent.

It works pretty well for a small office setup and has lots of options depending on what you want to do. You can even run the PBX on a wireless adapter.

If you are looking for something more simple, I have previously used grasshopper.com for a cloud based pbx which has voice based IVR menus that you can customize and assign extensions that can be sent to different phone numbers, cell phone numbers or to voicemail boxes. I think it was around $10-12/month for basic service, plus any costs for a phone number and minutes, etc.

-Jordan