Tag: SoundTel

SoundTel – NEC Phone Tips and Tricks: Using Group Listen

Karl de Vera

SoundTel presents a series of “Tips and Tricks” that will help you better utilize your phone system. For more Tips and Tricks click here to go to our website support page.

Do you train new staff and need them to hear both sides of your phone conversations? Do you ever want an associate to monitor your conversation with a disgruntled caller? Then Group Listen is the feature for you!

Group Listen allows you to play a called or calling party’s voice through your speaker on your phone, even if you are using the handset. This allows a third party to hear both sides of the conversation. Group Listen does not activate your microphone. So the party at the other end will hear only audio transmitted through your handset.

For NEC systems: SV8100, IPK, IPK II

To use Group Listen:

While on a call using your handset press the Speaker key. The other parties’ voice will be played through both the handset and the speaker.

To cancel Group Listen:

Press the Speaker key again. The other parties’ voice will no longer be played through the speaker.

It is as simple as that! We hope you find this tip helpful!

Have a question or want to suggest a topic? Email us at: phonetips@soundtel.com
For all other inquiries contact us at 425-481-5493 or service@soundtel.com

Thank you for being our valued customer. SoundTel is Your Total Communications Solution provider.

Sincerely,
Dale Muzzuco
Email: dale@soundtel.com
Phone: 425.481.5493 or 800.797.3663

Request a Free 20 minute webinar to learn about the latest in telecommunications!

[Tips and Tricks] Using Exclusive Hold on your Telephone System

Karl de Vera

Ever put an important call on hold only to have your associate pick it up by mistake? Master the “Exclusive Hold” feature and this will never happen again!

For NEC systems: SV8100, IPK, IPK II

  • Initiate an external call
  • Press Feature
  • Press Hold
  • Press the line key to pick up the call

For All DBS systems: DBS 824, Large DBS, DBS 576 and DBS 576HD

  • Initiate an external call
  • Press the line key being used (it will be solid green on your phone)
  • Line key will start flashing
  • Press the line key again to pick up the call

It is as simple as that! You press the line key you are on instead of the hold key. Now your call is on Exclusive Hold.

We hope you find this tip helpful!

Request a free 20 minute webinar to learn about the latest in telecommunications!

Have a question or to suggest a topic? Email us at: phonetips@soundtel.com
For all other inquiries contact us at 425-481-5493 or service@soundtel.com

SoundTel is a NEC Double Diamond Associate

Karl de Vera

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Look what we just recieved in the office – NEC Double Diamond Associate Reward!

According to NEC Corporation of America, “The Diamond logo is a mark of achievement for NEC authorized dealers. Customers can rest assured that Associates bearing a Diamond logo have gone above and beyond minimum NEC standards for customer satisfaction, training and sales performance.”

Thank you for your support and we will work hard to continue providing our best quality services to our customers!

When it comes to telephone solutions for your business, you can always count on SoundTel!

 

Want to experience our outstanding service?

 

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Annual NEC SV8100 Updates are Here!

Karl de Vera

NEC UNIVERGE SV8100 is a solution-rich platform designed to easily embrace new features and technologies. It is scalable and can be expanded in size and features to meet business’ communication needs now and in the future. To make this powerful and efficient telephone system keep up with the latest technology, NEC releases two software updates each year. Within the eight newest features that NEC just announced, SoundTel has highlighted the two that may be the most beneficial to small and medium size businesses.

Update Highlights:

1. Ecology

This new energy saving feature has two new ways to help you save energy on your phone system.

1) Power Cutting: This function is controlled by the Night Mode. The power of the terminals will be turned off when you turn the night mode on.

2) Power Saving: This function darkens the brightness of all Line Key and Feature Key LED’s on the Multiline Terminal. Any key operation or incoming call will end the power saving mode.

Although the phones use very little power, over long periods of time even small power savings add up!

2. DID (Direct Inward Dial) Enhancement

Direct Inward Dial lets outside callers directly dial system extensions. It also has a function to automatically reroute DID calls depending on how it is programmed. This update adds more flexible schedule settings for your DID lines. You will get DID Call by Day of the Week schedule and increased time patterns in which DID calls can be routed.

 

Want to learn more about the latest updates for NEC SV8100?

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To ensure your telephone system always gets the most updated software:

 

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Unified Messaging (UM) vs. Unified Communications (UC)

Karl de Vera

Unified Messaging has been around for about 20 years. A general definition would be something like “Unified Messaging allows you to access all kinds of messages i.e., voice, email, fax, etc. across all types of devices i.e., desk telephone, computer, cellphone, etc.”

For our purposes UM usually means you can manage (receive, listen, and reply) to your voice mails on your computer, tablet, or smartphone via some kind of email delivery or integration. The specific capabilities vary depending on the implementation or platform but the primary goal is convenient and timely message delivery regardless of where you are.

Unified Communications expands dramatically on this concept!

Think of it as the intersection of Caller ID and your current availability, or “presence”. We all know what Caller ID is and how useful it can be for deciding how and when to answer a call. But what happens when we are not where the call and it’s corresponding Caller ID information are? Voice mail is what usually happens. Then a game of phone tag that usually results in a lack of contact in about 70% of all attempts.

UC gives us the ability to manage all of our calls on all our devices, wherever we are.  Using “profiles” we are able to make simple rules that route calls intelligently based on the caller and our current “presence” i.e., where we are and what we are doing. Important callers can be delivered to us regardless, others may be provided a choice based on how urgent it is, while unrecognized callers will be given voice mail so that we can reply if and when we choose.

Many systems allow you to manually set your presence like the in/out board at the front desk but getting people to use those can be like herding cats.  Presence should be automatic like an executive secretary who knows where you are at or what you are doing. This is what I call “Rich Presence”.

This results in a higher call completion rate and a quicker response when the call is not completed. This saves time for everyone  involved, saving money and improving productivity.

NEC’s Unified Communications for Business (UCB) with Rich Presence knows if you have a meeting on your Outlook calendar, it even knows if you are at your desk or not by watching your telephone, mouse, and keyboard for activity!

 

Want to learn more about Unified Messaging and Unified Communications and see how you can use them for your business?

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How to lease a business telephone system.

Karl de Vera

Business Telephone Leasing 101

There are typically two types of leases: FBO (fixed buyout) and FMV (fair market value):

FBO leases are usually dollar buyout or 10% and are considered a purchase instead of a rental. The purchase may qualify for a section 179 deduction and be directly expensed, if not you usually have to expense it on a depreciation schedule. This type of lease can FMV leases are usually considered a rental lease and may provide tax advantages as all the payments and taxes can be directly expensed. This type of lease cannot have a known buyout amount. The buyout is calculated as the “fair market value” of the equipment at the end of the lease term. It is usually 15-20% of the original purchase price. Keep in mind that the leasing company probably doesn’t want you to return your old equipment so the buyout amount may be negotiable.

At the end of the lease you can return the equipment, extend the lease, upgrade the equipment and rewrite the lease, or buy out the lease. Returning the equipment is usually not your best choice either, it is usually worth more than the buyout and an upgrade can improve your system while still preserving much of the original investment.

Our leasing companies are very flexible and will also lease other things like furniture, computers, etc. with or without a communications system purchase. They can also provide custom leases with varying terms and payments so please let us know of your special requirements.

We are not accountants or tax professionals and provide this as a general terms explanation. Only your accountant can tell you what kind of lease is best for you, please consult with them.