Based in the UK, eReceptionist is a communication system provider with a host of solutions in its portfolio, including eVoice and eFax. The company is managed by the global conglomerate j2Global, a NASDAQ registered entity that’s present across 49 countries with approximately 100 million subscribers. j2Global operates a diverse portfolio of brands, including PCMag, Mashable, and many others. The conglomerate has been around for over two decades now and boasts over USD 1.3 billion in revenues.
eReceptionist is a robust offering backed by all the years of experience and expertise brought by j2Global. It’s a virtual office telephony system that’s primarily intended for a UK customer base. It’s billed as a low-cost solution, with features such as call forwarding, voicemail, and extensions, geared to empower small-to-mid-sized businesses in the area.
Let’s review the features of eReceptionist in greater detail.
Inside eReceptionist
Apart from a selection of UK numbers, eReceptionist comes with a mobile app, international numbers, a 24×7 virtual receptionist, studio-grade greeting recording, and voicemail transcriptions. These features take eReceptionist beyond your run-of-the-mill office telephony system. Let’s review them more closely:
- Phone numbers – Despite being based out of the UK, eReceptionist seamlessly supports international business operations with a wide range of local, national, 0800 (toll-free) and international numbers to choose from. Numbers start at as low as 30c per day and can be integrated into a virtual landline that directs calls to desk phones or mobile devices
- Virtual receptionist – This makes it easier to manage calls even outside of office hours. The receptionist will automatically answer the call and route it to the relevant number, greeting customers with a bespoke audio recording. In case there are no executives available to take the call, the receptionist can send calls to voicemail as well
- Call forwarding – This feature is designed keeping in mind the needs of a mobile workforce. In case you’re stationed away from your primary place of business, calls can be forwarded to a different number/phone. Forwarding can be configured using the eReceptionist mobile app, giving you end-to-end control on-the-go. We also like that you can set multiple destinations for forwarding, and these will ring either in a sequence or all at once.
- Call scheduling – If you have some visibility into your expected itinerary, you can choose to schedule your call instead of forwarding them. The scheduler is essentially a default forwarding option, where the rerouting of calls is planned beforehand. Here too, calls can be diverted to one or multiple numbers – or even to voicemail, and you can access an email transcript of the same
- Virtual office management – The virtual office feature gives your business a stable and consistent telephonic identity no matter where you’re located. We found this particularly useful for start-ups who are yet to set up a long-term office, as well as rapidly growing businesses such as retail and logistics that onboard new sites regularly
- Localised greetings – In addition to international numbers, eReceptionist lets you greet customers with country-specific welcome messages. There’s a library of professionally recorded greetings in multiple languages available free of cost. eReceptionist currently supports 40+ countries, but can also help you set up a business if you’re looking at a location that’s outside this ambit
- Voicemail transcription – This feature really stood out in our review. On a busy day, it can be a challenge to keep up with missed calls, and multiple voicemails – and this could even lead you to overlook a business opportunity. v addresses this by converting your voicemail to text and immediately sharing it via email. There are 20 transcriptions available free of cost with an option to scale up, if so necessary
Why eReceptionist Makes a Difference
eReceptionist is a simple and effective solution that’s sure to resonate with a variety of business types. If you’re just getting started with business telephony, eReceptionist offers robust assistance across number selection, greeting recording, and office set up in multiple locations. For seasoned businesses, features such as voicemail transcription, multi-lingual welcome messages, and easy forwarding are pretty attractive features.
We were particularly impressed by its mobile apps (iOS and Android) that let you use your business number on a smartphone. The app also works as an admin hub for the entire eReceptionist communication system.
What We Think
eReceptionist comes in three distinct plans, meant for early-stage start-ups, later-stage start-ups, and growing businesses. The base plan is priced at £7.50 with 350 free minutes per month, two extensions, and additional costs for call forwarding. Even the top version (Scaleup) is a steal, we think, at just £29.95 for 1,600 minutes per month as well as detailed call analytics.
So, if you’re based out of the UK or looking for business opportunities in the region, eReceptionist is a pretty solid bet that covers every base and provides a whole lot of nifty add-ons.
