To Fax Or To E-Fax?

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I have supported and trained telecom companies nationwide and I sometimes ask “does your client use a fax machine?” and the answers varies and depends on the company on how they are utilizing their faxes.

Faxing is not new to businesses. And its beneficial to know if you have other options than just using a fax machine.

Here are a few list on how to utilize faxing base on your telecom provider.

  • Traditional faxing, or you can call it analog faxing, is the simplest way to send and receive fax. You can get it from the main phone vendors utilizing a phone line.
  • Fax Over the IP or FOIP. Using an Analog Telephone Adapter that connects to the internet and connects to your fax machine. There are a few other options for this method depending on the fax service.
  • E-fax or Virtual Fax . When I talk about this feature to my client that my phone system can send faxes via my PBX portal, almost all of them is amazed, possibly because most vendors are independent and does not bundle the e-fax service with the VoIP service.
  • Email to fax. This is a rarely used feature but is still very useful.

Let’s talk about Pricing.

Let’s get this straight and simple. Standard faxing pricing is $29.99 monthly base on the bills I see on the big box companies, this is only utilizing inbound and outbound faxing using a fax machine. For E-fax its as low as $9.99 Monthly for unlimited faxing using differently platforms like computer, Email, or even mobile phones.

Feature Limitation

It’s not a surprise that not all faxing method cannot be combined with other features. For example, you cannot use the fax machine with the same phone number with your e-fax portal. Or you can’t receive an email if you fax directly to your fax machine(some vendors can). There are other limitation not mentioned here. Hopefully your telecom company can offer you with the best solution for your business.

HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA compliance requires policies and procedures. A technology solution alone is simply not enough. Here’s a few option that makes faxing HIPAA compliant.

  • Utilizing the user’s portal to retrieve fax is considered HIPAA compliant as long as email forwarding options are not used.
  • Faxes should be sent by a single individual to the single intended recipient, not a group fax accessible option. 
  • FAX Portal transmission (TLS encrypted) is considered as HIPAA compliant for sending or receiving faxes.

Conclusion

Faxing may be a small part of your business but it’s good to know what your options are. At Team Up Telecom, we offer a variety of faxing options for your business needs. To learn more email us info@teamuptelecom.com

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