I bought a very nice all in one printer. I opted out on the small business plan for an extra phone/fax line through At&t because I'm trying to keep my start up costs as low as possible & I've heard great things about efax. After researching the forums, I've become very confused.
What I did was I added a multi-ring to my residential line so if I get an incoming business call the ring will be different. So, do I need a fax line or # to fax out and an e-fax account to recieve incoming faxes? How did something so simple turn out to be so complicated? I've been using fax machines for 15years! I never realized there was so much involved! I tried contacting At&t internet service to see if they could provide me with some options but they don't offer e-fax.

I have an all in one fax, printer, scanner, copier, coffee maker (just seeing if you all are awake) - and I just use our home phone line to send faxes out and it works well. I've not received any faxes yet, however, I believe it simply picks up if it senses the screech. (Of course I have to test this to be sure.) In order for this to work, I have to be sure that no one answers the phone before the fax has a chance to pick up so I would have to know ahead of time that someone intends to send me a fax. I won't publish my fax number (home number), that way if a client needs to fax me, s/he would have to inquire about it first and then I can outline the procedure.

Eventually, if incoming faxes become an issue, I will invest in a second line specifically for the fax machine ($15/mo via our cable internet phone company)

I did a site search of ehow.com just to see what type of suggestions they have. Link

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Jeanne
NowAssistingYou.com
Virtual Assistant :: Web/Blog Design & Hosting :: Writer

I've been using Efax for quite some time now and really like it.

I have used a virtual fax (efax or similar) for 6 years and greatly prefer it, especially since I am essentially paperless. Most virtual systems are less than a dedicated/second phone line.

I have 4 in one printer - copier, scanner, printer and fax. But, I do plan on using efax once my business is fully up and running. I like to go paperless as much as possible.

I have an all-in-one printer/fax/copier. I use the fax for outgoing only. I use a virtual incoming fax service, which is free (incoming faxes only as far as I know). I cannot recall which one I use, but I came upon the information under the Resources Directory on this forum. Anytime I receive an incoming fax, it is simply forwarded directly to my email as a pdf document.

Like Jeanne, I use my existing home telephone line to send out faxes.

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Darlene Victoria Gonzalez
The Voice & Vision Behind Your Business

My set-up is pretty much the same as the others. I have a single home phone line and all-in-one machine that I use for sending faxes and I use MyFax for receiving faxes. I think I paid about $80.00/year, it was cheaper than paying another $25.00/mo for a fax line and I can receive faxes anywhere. Due to the bookkeeping I receive a lot of faxes.

I use my cell phone as my business line, although I do use my home phone# to call out sometimes.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

I've always used efax options for sending and rec'ving, partially because we are always traveling so much it just wasn't feasible to have a physical machine. I LOVE that it's paperless, that I rec'v a file I can store/record, and that it is often FREE depending on volume (and I've never had so many faxes to send or rec'v that I needed the paid service).

We are in the market for a copier/scanner/printer - not really sure if I'll grab one that has faxing capabilities as well...I just don't need it.

My parents have an actual physical fax machine and their regular phone line picks it up. If they send out to outside the area they pay long distance charges.

You don't need both an efax account AND a physical fax machine set up in order to handle faxes. Efax is an online service/software that will send faxes to your email (you are assigned or pay for a fax telephone number that your clients can use).

You could certainly use both options in your home office if you wanted to, the virtual one is really nice if you're traveling - but one will not affect the other and you could not rec'v efaxes at your physical fax machine. Efaxes come to you only via email.

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Thanks all for your input. I wasn't aware that you could fax out from a normal residential line. I was also leary about the fax that there was no efax available with the same area code prefix as mine. I thought they make look a little unprofessional.
I read a lot of information in the threads about electronic faxing and have seen what's available on the resources page. I think I'm going to check out that trustfax site. Thanks for your help!!!!!!!!!!

I used my land line to fax outbound and to receive inbound faxes for many years! Just last month, when I purchased my 800# from Ring Central, I get free faxing. I hope you find a solution that works for you!

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Doreen R. Patrick, MVA, ACS, CIVA
www.virtualbusinesspartners.net