A business phone system can boast of innumerable features but what is crucial in deciding the ideal phone system is the extent to which a standard or enhanced feature will be put to actual use. Assessing this parameter can help you overlook myriad features that are non- essential to your business requirements.

The standard features that are commonly used in a business phone system are:

• Auto Attendant: The auto attendant feature ensures your phone is equipped with a pre-loaded message that greets callers and helps the user access specific departments or employees. The auto attendant ensures that your phone lines answer incoming calls and route them as necessary even if the operator is on a lunch break or calls come in after office hours.
• Conferencing: If you need to speak to multiple people simultaneously, a conferencing facility is required. Incoming calls can be transferred to specific extensions and a number of callers can be added to a single conference call.
• Music on Hold: This allows the caller to listen to a pre-selected soothing music while he is on hold. Many companies choose to put some informational/educational tips about their own products and services instead of making callers listen to music.
• Call Forwarding: This helps forward calls from one extension to another, enabling mobility of a single call to multiple users within your office environment.
• Voice Mail: Allows callers to leave messages in a voice mail box that provides users save and delete features. Voice mails are usually activated to tap incoming calls in case of absence from individual desk space.
• Directory Services: Directory services allow caller to access people by dialing by name, dialing by extension etc. The directory feature can be a bit frustrating for callers particula.
• Caller Identification: helps track calls from identified and un-identified numbers. Display phones show the phone number with name of the caller if they are stored or only phone number if they are not associated to any name.
• Battery Back Up: This feature allows the phone system to operate despite power failures for about an hour depending on the type of your phone system.