Fax to Email Explained

What is Fax to Email?

Fax to email service providers are growing rapidly as the demand for the service explodes. The reason for this is that faxing will always be existent and the need for individuals and companies to send and receive faxes will never dissipate. The only change is that the efficiency and the methods used to send and receive faxes are now evolving to a more sophisticated standard.


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Fax to Email is the modern technology that allows the traditional facsimile to be sent or received via the internet. Depending on the internet fax service you choose, you can integrate the entire fax management with your desktop operating system like windows, and you can even integrate the system with your outlook email account.

The Benefits of Internet Faxing

This technology is now becoming a preferred choice for businesses of all sizes because of the multitude of benefits on offer:

  • A choice of 0800, 0845, or local geo-targeted UK numbers
  • The ability to divert faxes to your new fax to email account using your current fax number
  • Faxes are received as email and can be managed effectively
  • A secure encryption ensures the security of your faxes are not compromised
  • A paperless alternative from the traditional fax machine
  • No need for fax maintenance or others costs attributed to the traditional fax machine
  • Fax logs allow for a detailed record to be kept of all faxes sent or received
  • You will have a web-based account hosted by the fax to email service to manage faxes as well
  • No waiting for submission proof and no need to bother about busy fax lines
  • Received faxes remain private away from prying eyes

Who Should Get a Fax to Email Service

Currently there are free fax to email services available in the UK, but these services offered come with a hidden price. The person who sends a fax to the number provided to you by the free fax to email service is charged a premium rate and that is how these services are able to make money from this type of offering.

The paid version is certainly for professional businesses and work at home contractors. If you run a business and you receive and send a number of faxes per day it will be wise for you to consider registering with an established fax to email service. This option allows for you to assign different fax numbers to different employees and you also do not need to acquire separate phone lines for every new fax number you register for.

The packages on offer vary considerably amongst the different service providers but there are certain key ingredients that will need to be analyzed before you choose a fax to email service.

Fax to Email Service Criteria

Factors To Analyze When Evaluating a Fax to Email Service

The number of fax to email services available to you are extraordinarily vast and it is vital that you know what elements to evaluate when choosing a fax to email service. We have looked at the various services on offer and we have identified the key criteria that you should analyze before you pay for any service.

Customer Support

With any new service that is technology based there will be a learning curve and a period where you will need to familiarize yourself with the interface and the general workings of the system. As such the customer support on offer needs to be top notch and you will need to have access to a dedicated support team to allow the learning curve to be as smooth as possible.

When choosing a fax to email service your priority should be to ensure there is a dedicated service team at your disposal that possesses the knowledge to assist you with the interface and the system.

System Compatibility

The various fax to email services offer a range of features and these features defer from one service to the other. The most important feature that you should assess is whether or not the interface is compatible with your primary email interface.

So, if you utilize Outlook, you need to ensure the fax to email service on offer is compatible with outlook. You will not want to incur any costs to change your company’s communication systems just to enable the use of a service as this will be counter-productive.

Price and Free Trial Offers

Again, each fax to email service encompasses different pricing packages that include the number of faxes you are allowed to send and receive each month. You need to determine an average number of faxes that are sent and received on a monthly basis within your company and then evaluate which package offers you the most cost effective option.

Many services provide free trial offers and we feel that this option is integral as it gives you the choice to try the service before you actually pay anything. There are many services who do offer free trials but they also require your credit card details to qualify for the trial. If you do choose a service that takes your credit card details during the free trial you need to ensure that there is an option for you to cancel any payments from your card if you choose not to use the service during the trial period.

Diverting Option

Established businesses already have a fax number that has been distributed to all stakeholders and for this very reason you will want to evaluate whether the fax to email service you choose allows the option for you to divert your current number to another number as this will allow you to keep your current number and still receive faxes via email.

Awards and Endorsements

With the competitiveness of this industry you may find yourself in a position where you are unable to choose the best service on offer. If this occurs, you should look at any 3rd party awards or endorsement the service provider has received for their product offering. These sort of endorsements can provide the proof you are looking for as to the legitimacy and dependability of the fax to email service.

Quality Service Providers

After researching the various fax to email services we found one particular service that meets the requirements of a quality service. Their background, customer service and infrastructure is impressive and their global footprint is another factor that outlines the company’s broad objectives.

The name of the fax to email service is eFax and they are certainly one of the better telecommunications providers around. They offer a 30 day free trial which will enable you to test their service before you buy into it; we advise you to take advantage of the free trial and use the service optimally. Familiarize yourself with the user interface and don’t be afraid to contact them if you do encounter any obstacles. This service is certainly for a professional business and isn’t suitable for people who receive a few faxes each month.

Find out how to get a fax number with this service that sends and receives faxes using your current email address. Try eFax free – instant activation.

How Does Fax to Email Software Work

Fax to email software is the program that transforms a document into a format that can be received by a traditional fax machine and it also transforms documents received by a fax machine into a format that can be read and stored online or on your desktop.

The main reason people and companies are choosing to use fax to email software is because of the efficiency and administrative organization it provides with regard to faxes sent and received. The software itself is offered by fax to email services and it can be integrated with your desktop operating system like windows or it can be used online via a dedicated account that is hosted by the fax to email service.

  • Sending faxes:

After registering with a fax to email service you simply take the document that needs to be faxed and attach it to your email message. The recipients address will normally be the recipients fax no. @ faxserviceprovider. For example if the recipients fax no. is 08612566512 and the fax to email service provider is “geefax”, then the “To” field in your email will be populated with 08612566512@geefax.com.

Thereafter you simply send the message and it will arrive in its entirety in the recipients fax machine. The file attachments that are supported are vast but that will be dependent on your service provider.

  • Receiving Faxes:

Receiving faxes is just as simple. When someone sends you a fax, you will receive the fax as an attachment in your email inbox. Regardless of whether the fax is sent from a conventional fax machine or a fax to email service, you will still receive the fax in your inbox. This allows for complete control and management of all faxes received.

The proprietary software that providers offer are compatible with many different systems but the most common will be the Windows interface. For Mac users the task of finding software that is compatible can become tiresome but there are services available that offer Mac compatible software and there is the other choice of using the service online via the account created by the fax to email service.

Do All Companies Need To Utilize Fax to Email Software?

The benefits that fax to email software has injected into the commercial world are widespread and many companies will not be able operate their overall communication systems without this service. For example: when it comes to recruitment agencies who receive thousands of CV’s and resumes via fax in short periods – these company’s are now able to manage and store all these CV’s on their desktops rather than printing each CV. This will obviously save a great deal of time and the costs on paper will also be reduced significantly.

Using fax to email software in your company is dependent on the number of faxes that are turned over on a daily basis. In truth, it isn’t always necessary for a company to use a fax to email service if the scale of the faxing demands is low. In this case the traditional fax machine will still serve its purpose.

Fax to email software has added another dimension to faxing and it certainly has its place in the commercial world.

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