Education: AA Liberal Studies, Limestone University
Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader’s Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
One form of relief offered to small businesses is the Employee Retention Tax Credit. First introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this tax credit could be claimed by eligible employers on quarterly tax returns. This program was expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law in December 2020, making the credit accessible to more employers.
The SBA offers a variety of loan programs that vary according to business needs. Its flagship program is the 7(a) loan program, which offers loans for most general business purposes. However, it also offers special programs such as microloans and disaster loans. Find out more about SBA loans, including who qualifies.
QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software. It has the complex accounting capabilities that small business owners need and supports numerous integrations. Quickbooks Online has a lot to offer in terms of features, accounting, and usability.
Today’s best business phone systems utilize the latest technology for reliable phone service, fewer dropped calls, better clarity, and features that make it easy to communicate with customers and employees outside of picking up the telephone. Best of all, VoIP service is surprisingly affordable.
GoTo Connect is worth looking into for a number of reasons. It boasts a lot of great features, the system is easy to navigate, customer service is good, and you won’t have to worry about the security of your data.
Overall, we give OnSIP a score of 4.1 out of 5. OnSIP offers a good service. Its VoIP system has plenty of features, customer support is great, service is reliable, and you can easily customize and scale your system to fit the needs of your business.
For many small businesses, Ooma is an excellent choice. Some VoIP providers run up monthly bills with additional fees for features, add-ons, and integrations. Ooma, on the other hand, has extremely competitive pricing for its plans, all of which have solid feature sets.
Nextiva offers an abundance of features to help businesses build and nurture customer relationships. It allows businesses to easily connect with customers through multiple channels, provides exceptional customer support, and has a great reputation among its past and current users.
Pros Numerous integrations & apps User-friendly UI Features are easy to use Good security & compliance Suitable for small businesses Cons Expensive pricing Non-transparent equipment pricing Poor customer service What Is Vonage? Since the early 2000s, Vonage has been a pioneer of VoIP. In addition to household telephone service, the company offers Vonage Business Communications […]
If you’re looking for an all-in-one communications solution, 3CX may not be the best choice (instead, consider checking out some of the best business phone systems). With 3CX, you’ll have to source your own equipment (or use one of its apps for softphone options), find a SIP provider, and get your system set up and configured.
As far as business VoIP goes, RingCentral checks all of the boxes for everything you’d want in a phone system. Its loaded with features, offers great security to protect your data, has numerous support options, and can hook you up with the equipment you need for systems of all sizes. To top it off, it’s all available at a competitive price.
Zoom Phone is a cloud-based phone system that integrates voice, chat, video, and collaboration. This VoIP phone system provides secure and reliable communications between team members and customers.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is making it possible for businesses to have more affordable and reliable phone systems. If you’re making the switch, it’s important to know what VoIP equipment and components are necessary to get the high-quality phone service your business needs to make connections.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
