How Does Online Faxing Work?

When you send an online fax you will first need to scan the paper document into your computer and save it in a standard file format such as DOC, PDF, TIFF or JPEG.  You would then log in to your account and select the file you want to send and also the destination number.  Once you have clicked on submit your online account provider will take care of converting this electronic document file into a format that can be transmitted over the Standard Telephone Network so that it can be read and received by traditional fax machines.  When you receive a fax in your online account this process will happen again (in reverse) and the fax would be converted into an electronic file that would appear in your online fax account just like an email.

What does Online Faxing Cost?

Costs vary across the different online fax services available, but in general you could expect to pay around $12 to $16 per month for a standard online fax plan.  You do need to watch out for hidden costs that can push the prices up higher than you expected though.  This can include overage fees if you go over the agreed account limitations on sent/received pages (usually around 500 per month) or fax online storage (around 30 days maximum).

Security

You do need to think about the security of your online fax account if you regularly send private or confidential faxes.  Make sure you check that the account provider has a good security policy in place and adequate encrypted SSL software.

Save on Set up Costs

If you are just setting up your own business then online fax can save you a lot of money as you will be able to send faxes directly from your computer.  You will not have to purchase any additional equipment or supplies.  Stand alone fax machines can be expensive to buy and maintain, and also waste a lot of ink and paper as you will not be able to choose which faxes are printed off, they will come through automatically whether it is something you actually want to receive or not.

Fax to Anywhere

You can fax to any fax number in the world with online fax services, not just to other online accounts as your provider will be able to convert the online data you send so that it can be transmitted over the Standard Telephone Network to traditional fax machine set ups.  You will also be able to receive faxes from any type of fax machine in the same fashion.

Send and Receive Multiply Faxes

You can send and receive multiply faxes at once with online accounts.  This is useful as it saves you the time and hassle of having faxing ‘queues’ as with traditional fax machines, where you would be unable to send and receive faxes whilst one is still in the middle of being processed.

Save Online

If you have limited space for filing paperwork then online faxing is a good option as you can save faxes online for a limited period (30 days to a year) with most accounts.  You can also save the faxes directly to your hard drive if you want to keep them for longer periods.

•             You can send faxes using any Internet enabled computer just by logging into your online fax account. This means you will not have to buy a separate fax machine just to send faxes, which will save you money not only on purchasing and maintenance costs but also on supplies such as paper and toner cartridges.

•             If you only send faxes now and again you can take advantage of the many free online fax offers available, which allow you to send and receive around 5 faxes for free every month.

•             Online fax services provides you with a low cost local fax number and some accounts also come with toll free fax numbers which makes it cheaper for customers and contacts to send you faxes.

However there are also some downsides to online faxing that you will need to take into account when choosing a service:

•             There are limitations on how many faxes you can send and receive per month with most online faxing services.  If you go over these limits you could be charged overage fees, or your account may be suspended.  So if you do sent a large number of faxes per month (over 500 pages) then it may actually be more cost effective to use a traditional fax set up.

•             Online fax storage is offered in most online fax accounts, but this is only usually for a set period (industry standard 30 days) so if you want to keep faxes you will need to remember to save them onto your hard drive or a memory device, or print them off in hard copy.

•             If you receive a fax that needs signing then you will need to print it off, sign it and then rescan the document into your computer so that you can send it back again.  Some online fax services do provide an electronic signing service so that you don’t have to print off and rescan documents but these are few and far between.

Online faxing is very similar to email and once you have scanned the document to be faxed into the computer you can send it straight to the destination fax number through your online faxing account.  The account provider will then convert this file into digital information that can be sent over the standard telephone network, which means it can then be received by traditional fax machines, or the files will be sent directly to another online fax number.  You can also receive faxes from traditional fax machines and the account provider will convert the information from the telephone network into a digital file that you would receive like an email in your inbox.  Once of the many benefits of online faxing is that when you receive a fax in your inbox you can choose whether you want to print it off or not, which will save you a lot of paper and you can also save the file on your computer, which is ideal if you do not have a lot of office space for storing files or want to password protect the file to maintain its confidentiality.

Top Features

Fax2Mail offers a number of competitive features that provides both businesses and individuals with a professional level online faxing service.  These include:

•             Email Compatibility – Fax2Mail is fully compatible with both email clients and web based email accounts.  This means you can quickly and easily send faxes to email accounts and emails to fax numbers.  It is very easy to send a fax through your email inbox. All you need to do is add the suffix ‘@fax2mail.com’ to the fax number and type it into the ‘To’ field.  You can also add multiply fax numbers in this field as well, by typing them in one after another and separating them each with a semicolon.  Then you can either type your fax message into the main body of the email, or you can add a document to the email as a file attachment, then you just click on ‘Send’.  This will then divert your fax to the Fax2Mail server gateway where it will automatically be converted into the correct format for faxing and then delivered on to the destination number.

•             Via Website – you can also send and receive faxes by going online and logging into your Fax2Mail private account.  This will enable you to manage all of your incoming and outgoing faxes and these will be stored automatically in your account for up to 30 days.  The main benefit of using the website to send and receive faxes is that it can be accessed from any web enabled computer, laptop or mobile device (cell phones, Blackberrys, PDAs etc). This will give you access to your faxes when you are away from your office or on the move.

Customer Support

Fax2Mail provide free technical support for all of their customers and you can speak to an experienced advisor by telephoning 0870 114 1140 (Mon to Fri 9am to 5:30pm) or you can email the helpdesk on support@fax2mail.eu.com.  There is also a lot of support available through the website. This can help you to find quick and easy answers to many of the common queries with online demos, user guides and FAQs available for you to browse through.

Price Plans

There are a number of price plan options available with Fax2Mail so you should find something to suit your individual budget.  You can choose from monthly or annual subscriptions.  The basic 0800 number package offers your customers with a free number to fax you on and costs you just £10 per month (with a £10 set up fee).  You will need to cover the costs of incoming and outgoing faxes from an 0800 number and sent faxes from this number cost £0.10 each and received faxes £0.05 each.

Account Set Up

It is easy to set up a Faxage account and one you have signed up for the Internet fax service you can start sending and receiving faxes via email immediately to destinations throughout the US, Canada and Hawaii (international faxing is not yet available).  There is no software to download or additional equipment to purchase and all you will need to use Faxage services is a web-enabled computer, an email account and a broadband connection.  There are comprehensive guides and step-by-step instructions available on the Faxage website to help get you started. You can also find out more about the various services offered by visiting the FAQ pages.

Email To Fax Gateway

One of the easiest ways to send and receive faxes online is through your email account.  Faxage supports most of the major email providers including email clients such as OutLook, and also web based email such as GMail, Yahoo and MSN.  To send a fax email all you need to do is open up a ‘new’ email, type the full fax number in the ‘To’ field and then add the required suffix to this number which is ‘@faxage.com’.  The document you want to fax must be added as a digital file attachment to the email, and you can add as many files as you want and in a whole range of formats including PDF, DOC, DOT, GIF, TIFF and CSV.  By adding the suffix address to the fax number you are directing the fax to the Faxage transmission gateway, where it will be automatically converted into a format suitable for transmission and forwarded on to the designated fax number.

Via Website

You can also send and receive faxes via the Faxage website, by selecting ‘Send’ from the menu and then following the on screen prompts.  The Faxage website is protected by the latest SSL encryption technology and this means that you can send and receive private and confidential faxes online securely.

Via API

Faxage also offers an additional way to send and receive faxes.  This is ideal for service providers because it provides a high level of flexibility and versatility through the Application Programming Interface (API).  API can be tied into back-office applications such as ERP which require the capability to fax and is a cost effective way of building up a simple fax network offices for businesses.

Sending and Receiving Faxes

SRFax offers you a choice of ways in which to send and receive faxes.  You can process messages to both offline and online numbers from your SRFax account. You will be able to send faxes directly from your computer desk top which makes things very quick.

• Website – logging into your SRFax account is easy and you can use any web enabled computer or laptop.  Once in your account you can process emails using the control panel an online navigator. Step-by-step instructions are available to help you get started sending and receiving faxes.
• Email – you can also send online faxes through your existing email account with SRFax.  This is very easy and compatible with most web and client based email accounts.  You will not need to download any addition software either. Email faxing from SRFax offers you the choice of sending many different types of online fax message from standard Microsoft Word and Excel files through to JPG, HTML and many more types of files.
• To send a fax through your email account you simply type the destination number in the ‘To’ field where you would normally put an email address.  Then you follow this by the suffix ‘@srfax.com’.  Attach the fax message as a file to the email in the normal way.  You then just send the message.   It will be directed through the SRFax servers and transferred into a fax message to be sent to the number you specified.  This is a very easy way of sending a fax from your computer.

Features

You get a number of great features from SRFax.  These include:

•             Toll Free or Local Numbers –SRFax covers a number of different cities and offers you the choice of local of toll free numbers.  This means you offers a cost effective service for all of your customers and clients.

•             Junk Fax Filters – junk faxes can be a big problem for businesses and individuals costing a lot of money in wasted fax credits.  SRFax off account filters that can help you weed out junk mail and clean up your inbox.

•             Multiple Email Accounts – this is ideal for businesses as you will be able to add different users to the same account.  This means all of your staff can use the same account to send and receive emails.

How Does MaxEmail Work?

MaxEmail is very simple and easy to use and through your account you will be able to send a fax to any fax number in the world and also send and receive faxes via email.  Basic plans start from as low as $24 per year and this includes 250 inbound faxes and 150 outbound faxes per month.  If you normally have a high level of fax use then there is also a professional grade, multi user account offered that provides up to 800 pages of fax per month starting from $39.95 per month.

Fax broadcasting is also available and this is a very cheap way of sending bulk faxes and allows businesses to reach thousands of existing and potential customers at one time from as little as $0.02 per fax.  Fax broadcasting is much more effective than email broadcasting as Spam filters on email accounts are very aggressive these days, in an attempt to block unscrupulous scammers from bombarding inboxes with unwanted emails.  This can also block as many as 39% of legitimate marketing transmissions.  Fax broadcasting is not subject to such rigorous filtering methods and so the delivery rate for this is much higher than the email method and just as quick, easy and affordable to use.

Features

MaxEmail offers a choice of both local and toll free numbers over 150 area codes, so that you offers your customers and contacts with the cheapest way to get in touch with you and send you documents.  These numbers can be configured for both faxing and voicemail services.  MaxEmail online fax services support PDF and TIFF files, which are versatile format options that can cover a number of different types of documents from photos through to forms. This gives you a lot of choice when it comes to sending and receiving faxes online.

Customer Service

It is important to check the customer support features before you sign up to an online fax account, so that you can ask questions about technical or billing aspects of your Internet fax account and you should be looking for both direct and online support options.  MaxEmail offers a high level of 24/7 customer support with telephone, fax and email contact options. You can also get quick answers to your questions via the live chat features on the MaxEmail website.

Price Plans

There are several different types of price plans available for online faxing with TrustFax and there are monthly payment plans available from just $9.95 per month, which are quick and easy to set up and do not have any additional set up fees.  The basic monthly plan supports 125 incoming and outgoing faxes per month.  If you want to go over these account limits then you will be charged the industry standard of $0.10 per fax.  A premier monthly account is also available for higher level fax users and for $18.95 per month you will be allocated 250 incoming and outgoing faxes, plus an extended storage limit of 100MB.  TrustFax also offer a yearly plan and if you pay up front you can save money as it will only cost $99.95 per year with the standard package (normally $9.95 per month).

Online Storage Limits

TrustFax offers one of the best online storage allocations on the market.  The standard plan comes with 20MB of inclusive online storage for your faxes and the opportunity to upgrade to 2GB at affordable rates.  Another benefit of online storage with TrustFax is that you will be allowed to store faxes for as long as you need to, unlike other leading Internet fax providers that typically cap storage at 30 days.

Local and Toll Free Numbers

You may have a number of customers who are based out of state, so to save them having to pay long distance charges to fax you, TrustFax offers you a choice of specified local or toll free numbers for your fax account, which will make it much cheaper for your customers, clients and suppliers to send you faxes.

Easy to Use

TrustFax makes it easy to send and receive faxes online and all you need to do is click on the ‘fax’ button from your TrustFax control panel, fill in the destination number (and type a short cover message if you want to) and then attached the document you want to send as a digital file.  You can send and receive a wide variety of different documents this way, from forms through to photos.  You can monitor faxes, change settings and update account details all from the control panel.  TrustFax also make it easy for you to add a signature to sent and received documents using a web-based digital signature application.  This can save you a lot of time and effort, as with other online fax services you would have to print the document off, sign it manually and then re-scan it into your computer for faxing again.

Choice of Fax Processes

You can send and receive faxes in four different ways with a Nextiva account:

1.            Email – you can set up your Nextiva online fax service so that it runs through your email and this is a fast and easy way to send and receive online fax.  This works by processing your faxes just like an email message, with the fax document as an attachment.  This method also allows you to forward your faxes on to email addresses as well as fax numbers and you can store faxes online in your email account folders or on your computer hard drive.

2.            Microsoft Office – Nextiva online fax accounts are compatible with Microsoft Office applications and this means you can type and edit a document using Word, PowerPoint, Excel etc. and once you have saved it you can select ‘fax’ from the toolbar just as you would select the ‘print’ function and fax your document straight off at just the click of a button.

3.            Web Portal – you can log onto your online account with Nextiva and send faxes through your browser.  This is ideal if you are out and about and need to check your faxes using another Internet connection point.

4.            Cell Phone – if you have a web enable cell phone you will also be able to access your Nextiva online fax account whilst you are on the move.

5.            Fax Machine – unlike many of the other online fax providers Nextiva even let you use your account with a standard fax machine.  This enables you to take advantage of the benefits of both online and conventional faxing.

Advantages of Nextiva Online Faxing

One of the main advantages of Nextiva is that it offers a very low cost way of sending and receiving faxes.  You will be able to manage your faxes from your computer.  This means you will not need to buy any expensive additional equipment or pay for another phone line rental.  You can also send and receive faxes from any web enabled computer, so unlike conventional faxing you don’t have to be at home or in your office to use your fax account.  Another benefit is that there you do not need to download any software to start sending and receiving online faxes, so if CPU usage is an issue (you may have an older computer or run lots of applications at once) then using Nextiva’s services will not take up any space on your memory or affect performance.

Customer Support

Nextiva offers a high level of both online and direct customer support and as well as a toll free telephone number there is also a very useful Help Centre on the website, which has a number of options to help your find quick answers to your queries including a fully searchable knowledge base, step by step solutions guides and a news page that has information on the latest announcements and developments about Nextiva’s services.

Fax Features

TrustFax offers a comprehensive features set that will provide you with all the tools you need to send and receive faxes online. You can store up to 20MB of faxes online and this means you will not have to print them off unless you absolutely need to.  Both local and toll free fax number options are offered.  TrustFax supports international faxing so you will be able to send and receive faxes to numbers all around the world at competitive prices.  You will also be able to digitally sign documents with your TrustFax account.

You can process your faxes through your email account with TrustFax.  Customers can add up to 10 email addresses on each account and this is ideal for small businesses so that everyone can take advantage of this cost effective and easy to use service.  Faxes will arrive as a standard email with an attachment containing the faxed document. You can then open up the attachment and decide whether you want to send, save, print or forward the document.  This is a very quick and easy way to manage faxes and you can also forward faxes to email addresses as well as other fax numbers.

Customer Services

TrustFax offers a solid customer services structure with 24/7 email support and a toll free direct dial phone number.  The website also offers a number of useful online support features including extensive FAQ pages and a fax glossary.

Pricing

You can choose to pay monthly or annually with TrustFax.  Paying up front for the annual service can save you money so this is a good idea for businesses that will be sending and receiving a lot of faxes throughout the year.  Standard plans are available from just $8.95 per month and this will allow you up to 250 sent/received faxes.  Account set up is free and if you need to send any additional pages over your monthly limit they will be charged at just $0.10 each.

Fax Features

You can process your faxes online through your email inbox with Send2Fax.  This is one of the quickest and easiest ways to send and receive faxes. You will also be able to forward faxes to email addresses as well as fax numbers if you want to.  When you receive online faxes they will arrive in your email inbox in a similar format to a regular email.  The document will be provided as an electronic file attachment.  The main benefit of this is that you can store your faxes in your inbox or on your computer hard drive as a file.  This means you will not have to print off faxes unless you want to, which saves on paper and ink costs.   You can also store received faxes for free for 30 days on your online Send2Fax account as well if you want to free up your email account.

Send2Fax will provide you with a personal fax number and you can send and receive faxes from up to two separate email accounts without any additional charges.

You will not need to install any additional software in order to set up and use online faxing from Send2Fax. All you need to do is sign up to an account and get faxing straight away.   You never get a busy signal when sending and receiving online faxes as your account will be able to process multiple faxes at once.  This is ideal for businesses or individuals who send and receive high levels of fax per month.

Customer Services

The Send2Fax website provides more advice and information about the online faxing services.   Phone support is offered but customers are encouraged to use the online ticket submission service for general queries (Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm PST).

Pricing

Send2Fax offer a cost effective basic plan for just $8.95 per month.  This will allow you to send and receive up to 150 pages of fax per month. There is a free 30 day trial offered which provides a chance for you to test the services before you sign up for one of the price plans.  Overage fees are charged if you go over the page per month limits or store your faxes for over 30 days in your online account.

Fax Features

MetroFax provides a number of features for online fax users.  You can send and receive faxes from your computer and also any web enabled mobile device such as smartphones and PDAs.  MetroFax allows you to use your fax service with your email account such as Outlook or GMail and this is a quick and easy way to manage your faxes.  You can also integrate your MetroFax service with your Microsoft Office applications.  This means you will be able to send faxes from within programs such as Word very easily, just by selecting the ‘fax’ option from your print menu list.  Other top fax features from MetroFax include:

• Automatic Resend – there is no need to wait around trying to resend failed faxes with your MetroFax account.  This offers an auto resend function which will try up to 5 times to send the fax on your behalf.  This can save a lot of time and effort.
• No contracts – there are no contracts to sign with MetroFax so you can sign up for the service with no obligations and cancel it whenever you want.
• Compatibility – MetroFax will work with both PCs and Macs.  This service is also compatible with a wide range of different file formats.  This means you can send and receive a number of different files including Excel, Word, PDF, JPEG, CSV and TIFF.
• Toll Free and Local Numbers – you can opt for a toll free number (for an additional charge of $2 per month) so that you can offer your customers and contacts with a free way to fax you.  You can also choose from a wide range of local numbers and port your own existing fax number over to your online account to ensure continuity.

Customer Services

You can find out more about MetroFax online through the website.  There are helpful FAQ and online fax advice pages for you to view. If you have any further queries MetroFax offers all customers a free email and telephone helpdesk.

Pricing

MetroFax is also ideal for businesses and high level fax users as this service offers some of the highest fax page per month limits available.  For example the standard Small Business Plan provides up to 1000 sent/received fax pages per month for just $12.95.  MetroFax also offers some of the lowest overage page fees, just $0.03 per page.  This is a lot lower than the industry average of $0.10 per page so you will not be out of pocket if you go over your account page limits by accident.

Fax Features

You do not need to download any special software in order to be able to send and receive faxes online with Fax2Mail.  Once you have signed up to Fax2Mail you will be provided with a user account log in.  You can simply log in through your browser and start processing your faxes from your email account.  This is one of the easiest ways to use online fax and you will not have to go through any complicated set up or installation steps.  Fax2Mail will offer you with the following features:

• Online account management – this makes it easy for you to view and organize your sent and received faxes.
• Fax from mobile devices – Fax2Mail is compatible with any web-enabled mobile device including smartphones, Blackberrys and laptops.
• Multiple file formats – you can process faxes in a variety of file formats including PDF, TIFF, JPEG and PowerPoint.
• Real time delivery reports – this will show you that your faxes have been sent successfully.
• Multiple recipients – you can send the same fax to more than one recipient at once.  This is a much quicker and easier method of distributing your fax messages.
• International numbers – you can send and receive faxes to numbers all around the world with your online Fax2Mail account.
• No busy signals – you can process multiple faxes with your Fax2Mail account at once and this means you will never get a busy signal as you would with a traditional fax machine.
• Choice of numbers – you can set up your online fax account with a choice of different numbers including 0800, 0845 and 0871. This provides businesses with a number of options when it comes to pricing fax services for customers and clients.

Customer Services

Fax2Mail provides practical information about the services on their website.  If you are having any problems using your account or you want to talk to a customer services representative then you can call direct or email the helpdesk.  All technical support is free for Fax2Mail customers.

Pricing

There are a range of online fax price plans available from Fax2Mail.  These start from just $11.90 per month and there will be a standard one-off fee of $20 for setting up your new account.  You can pay online using the secure payment gateway or if you prefer you can contact the sales team directly by telephone.

Fax Features

SRFax provides a comprehensive set of features which each price plan. This will allow you to send and receive faxes quickly and easily online.  You can integrate existing email clients with your SRFax account.  This means that you can process faxes online in a familiar format and no additional software is required.  You will also be able to fax from your SRFax online account which you can log into from any web-enabled computer.  Both of these online fax methods support a wide range of file types including PowerPoint, Word, HTML, JPG and Excel.  This gives you much more choice when it comes to faxing documents and files than with traditional fax.

You can add multiple users to your SRFax account and this is ideal for businesses.  This allows your staff to log on and use the online fax services from their own computers and email accounts.  An administrator log in is also provided to manage all of the user accounts.   Businesses can also benefit from the toll free and local fax number options.  These offer cost effective ways for your customers and clients to get into contact with you.  Unlike many other online fax services there is no additional charge for using the toll free fax option.

SRFax offers free online fax storage for up to one year with each account.  This allows you to store your faxes online so that you do not have to waste paper and ink supplies by printing them off.  This will also save office storage space.

Customer Support

You can contact the SRFax customer services centre 24/7 using the online submission form.  There is also plenty of useful advice on the main website.  If you need to speak to a customer services representative in person then you can contact the toll free telephone (or fax) number between the business hours of 9am to 5pm (PST).

Pricing

SRFax offers a range of price plans to suit different customer requirements.  The standard plan (Lite Plan) is an affordable and effective option and provides up to 400 pages of fax per month for $9.95.  There are no start up fees or hidden costs and you can add up to 9 different users to your plan.  A free 30 day trial is also offered with the standard plan so that you can try out the useful features before you sign up.  Both monthly and annual contracts are available.

Fax Features

MaxEmail is an easy to use service and you can set up your account so that you can send and receive faxes from your email client.  This is one of the quickest and easiest ways to manage your faxes.   Inclusive online storage is provided with your account, but this is only free for 30 days.  After this you will have to pay to store faxes online, so it is a good idea to make sure you clear out any old faxes. Corporate faxing options are also provided for businesses.  This will allow you to add different fax numbers to your account to provide your customers with a greater range of options for getting in touch with you.  You can add up to 25 users with the basic plan so that your staff can take advantage of easy online faxing with MaxEmail.

Customer Services

You can get in touch directly with a MaxEmail operator by telephone or faxing the customer services helpline between 9am to 5pm (Mon to Fri).  You can also visit the website and find about more about the services and use the online submission form for further queries.

Pricing

MaxEmail provides online faxing accounts from just $9.95 per month (plus a $10 one-off set up fee).  This will provide you with 250 pages of incoming fax and 100 pages of outgoing fax per month.  A good bonus is that you can roll over your unused pages to the next month and this will help to avoid any overage charges in the future.  You will only need to pay $0.05 per page if you go over your incoming fax page limits.  The industry standard of $0.10 will be charged per page if you go over your outgoing page fax limits.

There is a limited free trial offer available as well. This is ideal for those who have never used online faxing before and are not sure if it will be suitable for their needs. You can test the service and see if this is suitable for you before you sign up to a paid for plan.

Fax Features

Faxage offers unlimited online fax storage. This is ideal if you do send and receive a lot of faxes as you will not have to print them off or take up valuable space by storing them on your computer.  Corporate packages can be offered which are useful for businesses as they provide multiple fax numbers under one account.  This means you can provide each office or department with their own individual fax number.  You can also add an unlimited number of users to your account.  This means that all your staff will be able to use Faxage services to send and receive faxes over the Internet.  Another good feature of the online Faxage service is the caller-ID blacklist. This means you can block junk mail to your account to prevent it from wasting your incoming fax page limits.

Customer Services

Faxage have a good reputation for offering effective customer services.   Comprehensive online guides are offered that provide more help on how to use email to fax and online fax services. You can also contact a customer services operator directly by phone, email or by using the online submission query form.

Pricing

Faxage offers business grade faxing packages from just $7.95 per month (plus one-off $5 start up fee).  This will allow you to process 150 pages of incoming fax and 150 pages of outgoing fax.  One of the main benefits of this service is that the overage fees are very low, half of the industry standard at just $0.05 per page.  This means it will not cost you a lot of money if you accidentally go over your page limits for the month.

Fax Features

eFax provides you with three different choices when it comes to online faxing.  This means you can pick the method that best suits your needs.  Firstly you can go directly to the eFax website and log into your account.  From here you can send and receive faxes from any Internet enabled computer or laptop.  Secondly you can download the eFax messenger software.  This will provide you with a way to send and receive faxes online quickly from your computer desktop.  Lastly you can integrate your online fax software with your existing email account.  eFax is compatible with a number of email clients including Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo.  This means you will be able to process your faxes through your email account. This is one of the easiest ways to send and receive faxes through your computer.

eFax is compatible with a wide number of different file formats. This means you can fax a number of different types of documents from high resolution image files through to PowerPoint presentations.   eFax offers a free trial so that you can try out the services before you sign up to a plan.  eFax are also one of the few providers that can offer mobile device interfacing.  This means you will be able to access your faxes through web-enabled smartphones and PDAs.

Customer Support features

There are a number of practical support features in place for eFax customers.  This includes detailed instructions on how to use the services to send and receive faxes online (ideal for complete beginners) and also a good FAQ section.  You can also speak to an eFax operator directly using the live chat, email or telephone options on the website.

Prices

eFax offers a number of online faxing plans so you should be able to find an option that suits both your budget and requirements.  The basic plan costs from $16.95 per month and this will entitle you to up to 180 faxed pages per month.  Although this is not the cheapest online fax plan around eFax have one of the best reputations in the industry for providing a reliable, robust online fax service.

Fax Features

With Fax.com you can choose how you want to send your faxes online. You can log into the website and use the Fax.com online interface to compose and send/receive faxes.  Through this interface you can also add custom cover pages and headers and store your online fax contact book. You can also set up your Fax.com account to use your email client to process faxes.

Fax.com provides a choice of numbers including toll free options.  This is ideal for businesses that want to provide their customers with a free way to get in touch with them.   You can also use Fax.com with web-enabled mobile devices such as PDAs.  This means you can still access your faxes when you are on the move.

Pricing

Fax.com offers a basic plan for just $9.99/month.  There will also be a one-off start up fee of $9.99 to pay.  This package will allow you 300 pages of fax per month.  If you go over your page fax limits you will be charged $0.12 per page, which is slightly higher than the industry average.  You will also be entitled to 30 days free online storage for your faxes but a small fee will apply if you go over this limit.  It is a good idea to check through your stored faxes every week and delete those you no longer need to avoid incurring any additional charges.

Customer Services

Fax.com provide plenty of information about their services through their website.  You can also contact a customer services operator directly by phone during the weekly office hours of 8am to 5pm (Mon to Fri).

CallWave’s online fax services are supported and powered by one of the leading Internet fax providers eFax, who manage the largest digital fax network on the market.  This offers a robust, reliable and secure online faxing service to all CallWave customers.

How Does Online Fax Work

It is very easy to send and receive faxes over your Internet connection. This can save you a lot of money over conventional faxing as you will be able to process faxes from your computer and there is no need for any additional expensive equipment or supplies.  You don’t even have to be in your home or work office to use your CallWave online faxing account. You can log in from any web enabled computer or laptop (both wireless and cable Internet connection capabilities). This means you can send, receive and view your faxes from remote locations and whilst travelling on business.

Local and Toll Free Numbers

Another benefit of online faxing from CallWave is that you can choose local, toll free and international fax numbers anywhere in the country and across the world.  This enables you to provide the lowest cost faxing options for your customers.

Online Storage

CallWave offers customers with up to 2 years online storage for all of their sent and received faxes.  This is useful as it means you will not have to print off those faxes you want to keep, or file them on your hard drive.  By storing faxes online you can access them from any web enabled computer, so you can still view them and forward them on even if you are away from your office.

30 Day Free Trial

CallWave offers a 30 day no-risk trial for their online faxing packages so that customers can try out the services to see if they are suitable.  This can be ideal for those customers who have never used Internet fax before and are unsure whether it not it will be convenient and functional for their business or residential needs.

Price Plans

CallWave offer a number of competitive online faxing price plans and the eFax Plus plan is $16.95 per month (with no set up fees) and offers 130 sent pages and 30 received pages of fax per month.  If you go over these limits you will need to pay $0.15 per page for outgoing and $0.10 per page for incoming faxes.

Conclusion

CallWave offers a professional and affordable online telephone and faxing packages for both business and residential customers, which are affordable and very easy to use and have a number of useful features that provide a functional and versatile service.