Conference Call Savings

In recent years, conference calling has undergone a revolution. Small businesses are replacing their flat rate monthly conference calling expenses with affordable per minute plans. Flat rate conference calling means users are charged a flat monthly fee no matter how much or how little they use the conferencing service.

Per minute pricing plans charge a fixed per-minute rate and make conferencing scalable, billing easier and communications more efficient. Users of per minute conferencing pay the same per-minute rate and are charged only for the time they use and get easy to understand breakdowns of usage to make billing and accounting simple.

Flat Rate Conference Calling versus Per Minute Conference Calling

For small businesses, the financial benefits of per minute conference calling over flat rate monthly plans can be enormous. The main difference is that per-minute plans charge by the actual time on each call. Monthly flat rate providers charge for the use of the conferencing bridge, regardless of how much time is spent on that bridge. They also limit the number of participants for a given monthly rate.

Monthly service plans do not make sense for businesses that are not conferencing on a frequent basis. It can also be a problem for those who only hold large meetings occasionally. They must pay a larger monthly flat fee for a feature that is used only once or twice a month. Because per minute plans do not change, regardless of the number of participants, they are often the better choice for small enterprises and individual professionals.

When to Use Flat-Rate Conference Calling

Most small businesses will always use per minute conference calling. It offers them the most flexibility, easiest accounting and a level of certainty that they can always hold a conference of any size without making any special accommodations.

For large businesses that participate in multiple meetings every day, a monthly flat rate plan will often make more sense. The downside is that the monthly plan may limit the number of participants. Those using monthly plans can benefit from using per minute conference calling for such occasional large conferences because they pay no monthly fee for the service and only pay for the time used on the conference.

By using a combination of flat rate and per minute rate plans, businesses can save money by choosing the most affordable flat rate plan that accepts the most commonly used number of participants. They can then use per minute conferencing for overflow, eliminating inefficiency in conferencing costs.