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I previously compared Accessline’s Home Office Phone System to Talkswitch, since then they added a Small Office Phone System package based off the Vertical Xcelerator phone system. This package is designed for offices needing up to 8 lines and 24 extensions.
Price
For the sake of comparison I’m comparing the Accessline package and Talkswitch - the Talkswitch is our top pick for small business phone systems. Both systems are priced out with 12 phones and 6 lines (a common 2:1 ratio). The Accessline package is $2580, a comparable Talkswitch package starts at $2523. Obviously price alone isn’t a major differentiator, though Accessline does offer a nice 12 month lease with no finance charges.
As for phone service Accessline’s package is bundled with their VoIP service, for the first year they give you two lines with 3000 minutes long distance included, additional lines are $34.99/mo, unlimited long distance lines are $49.99/mo. When doing VoIP packages our carrier is $35/mo for unlimited long distance lines. Its not hard to see from a line cost perspective Accessline’s two free lines for the first year is nice, but doesn’t make up for the fact they sell metered lines for the same price we can do unlimited lines.
Autoattendants are where Accessline really falls behind. Their automated attendant is $49.99/mo plus a $50 activation fee. In other terms - $600 every year for a feature the Talkswitch includes with more capabilities at no cost. To further put this in perspective, in just over four years you’ll pay more for autoattendant services than the phone system itself!
Features
Its usually hard to compare feature sets, as each business needs a different feature set and has different expectations how the system should work. Looking simply at the feature sets though, its clear Talkswitch is significantly more feature rich - I can’t find any phone system feature the Vertical system has that Talkswitch doesn’t and plenty only Talkswitch has. For example Talkswitch has better voicemail options including voicemail to email, external IP phone support for telecommuters, more autoattendant options, multiple modes (open/closed/holiday), multiple language support, queues, caller ID based routing, and more. Considering both systems cost the same, the Talkswitch really delivers great features for the price.
Installation and Management
The Accessline package has a fairly straightforward point and click management interface which makes updates and changes easy and free - no service calls needed from a phone guy. Its a do-it-yourself installation package though, its something probably best left to your IT guy as you’ll need to know some networking and ideally configure a QoS firewall. Talkswitch also has a very easy to use point and click management interface, while you could try a self-install there is also a nationwide network of professional installers who are experts on the system. It seems to me that paying a phone system expert to do it right quickly the first time makes a lot of sense.
Growth and Options
The Accessline Vertical system can grow to 8 lines and 24 extensions, not bad but maybe not enough for your small business. Talkswitch can grow to 32 lines and 64 extensions - a lot more flexibility for the future. On the phone side of things the Vertical system has only one basic phone - Talkswitch offers seven different phones and is compatible with many third party phones from Linksys, Grandstream, Polycom, and Counterpath. Talkswitch also has great add-ons - call reporting software, attendant console software and TAPI is coming later this year (click to dial from Outlook).
Conclusion
Much like the Home Office package, Accessline’s Small Office package isn’t a bad deal - its certainly a great value when compared to systems like Vodavi or Mitel. But its certainly not the most feature rich or best value for small business phone systems. The low up front cost is really its best selling point, aside from that the line bundles are so-so, the autoattendant is expensive, the features are subpar, there’s no onsite support/installation, and the options and growth are limited.
The Author: Kevin Selkowitz
About: Kevin Selkowitz is the founder and lead consultant for Selkowitz Technology, a Seattle-area small business systems consulting company. We focus on the four major technology needs of small businesses - phone systems, phone and internet service, servers/network infrastructure, and business applications.
This entry was posted by Kevin Selkowitz, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am and is filed under Phone Systems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response on the right, or trackback from your own site.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
AccessLine is now in partnership with Costco. The pricing for Costo executive members is slightly below their list prices.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Yes, they are partnered with Costco, which is how I found out about them. But don’t believe everything on their website - I revised the plan of my new office phone system around their system and their wireless phones, instead of the TalkSwitch that I was looking at originally- but they just called me back to say they are really available. And they don’t know when they will get them, or if they ever will get them again. How hard would it be to put that information on their website?? Instead, it is touted as one of their major selling features.
I am back to square one, and I know where I am going - TalkSwitch