What are the benefits of fax to email?
An email to fax (and vice versa) service eliminates the need for a fax machine and all the associated expenses such as paper, ink cartridges, or an extra phone line You get a real fax number that’s tied to your email so you send and receive faxes as email attachments. Basically you get the reliability and security of faxing with the ease and convenience of email.
How efficient is fax to email?
You can integrate all email and fax flows in your mailbox. There is no need to worry about acknowledgements and you receive the faxes in real time – no need to wait for them to be distributed to you. Your mobility will be increased as you can send and receive faxes via the internet – your faxes follow you wherever you can access your email. There is no need for extra hardware or software and you can increase your filing efficiency with incoming and outgoing faxes stored in a secure area.
How do I know which company to choose?
Compare the costs and customer feedback on fax to email services. Make sure you get a free trial and can thoroughly test the service before signing up. Each service will have slightly different directions and protocol, but you certainly should be able to receive faxes by email in PDF format. Choose a branded company with a trusted reputation and a world wide network. Check and confirm transmission times.
User agreements and terms and conditions should be clearly laid out so make sure you read and agree with them. Check out customer testimonials online (they should be up to date), and ensure you can actually speak to someone for support (test this during your free trial period). Before you commit make sure the service meets your needs and budget.
How does it work?
You will have to provide your primary email address. Some services will allow you to have faxes sent directly to your email, while others will send a notification email telling you that there is a fax available for download. An email will arrive in your inbox, which, depending on the service, will either have the fax attached or give you the location of the fax to download. Simply open up the document and read your fax. Store and retrieve as you would normal emails.
Ideally you want a real fax number that is answered by a call of network fax servers. Then the fax servers convert received faxes to email attachment for sending faxes. Users send an email with the fax as an attachment and the fax servers convert and deliver them to traditional fax machines. The customer never needs to know you do not have a fax.
How do I receive faxes?
You choose the location for a local fax number or choose a toll-free fax number. When someone faxes you, you receive the fax in your email inbox as a file attachment. You’ll be able to check your faxes anywhere you can check your email.
Can faxes go to several different email addresses?
Yes and this can be a tremendous time saver. Normally you will have the option to route all your incoming faxes different addresses – no more copying, distributing, or forwarding.
How do I send faxes?
Normally you attach it to either a file or a scanned hard copy to an email. Where you would normally put the person’s email address you would type in the fax number, followed by @ and the website address of the company you have chosen. You simply click send and it will arrive at your customer/clients fax machine as a normal paper fax.
Can I save my faxes?
Yes you can save it as you would any email attachment and retrieve it in the same way. Depending on which company you choose you can also access your faxes online for up to a year.
How reliable are email to fax services?
It is best to choose a company with a world-wide network. Efax, for instance, has developed the largest digital fax network in the world with local numbers available in over 2,000 cities worldwide and toll-free numbers that cover the U.S., Canada and several European countries. It claims a 99.5% up-time so no one will ever get a busy signal.
