Dump Your Fax Machine, Send Faxes Online

Tired of paying for a fax line and maintaining your fax machine? There’s a better way to send and receive faxes using internet fax services. Internet fax services enable you to receive faxes in your e-mail and to send faxes. One of the most popular internet fax services is eFax, which has over 9,000,000 users. But not all fax services are created equal. Here are some things to consider: 1. Does the fax service provide a toll free or local phone number? Are there extra charges for receiving faxes on your toll free number? 2. How many faxes can you send and receive for your monthly fee? 3. In what format are faxes sent? Are they delivered as .pdf files in your e-mail or do you have to view them in proprietary software? In order to decide which internet fax service is best for you, consider how many faxes you send and receive each month. Some services are best for heavy fax users, while others, like TrustFax, offer great plans for light fax users. Many of the online fax services offer free trials so you can try before you buy. Most services charge month-to-month and you can typically cancel at any time. Although fees vary, you can expect to pay $5-$20 per month. You are allowed a certain number of pages. If you go over your page allotment you can expect to pay 10 cents for each additional page received. With the advent of e-mail and attachments, many people predicted that the fax was doomed. But it turns out it was merely the fax machine that was doomed. Today, business use internet fax services to send and receive faxes almost as frequently as they used a standard fax machine a decade ago. One often overlooked benefit of internet faxing is that you don’t have to print out every fax you get. You can view faxes on your computer and decide which ones you want to print or delete. It’s a good idea to review the many internet fax companies before pulling out your credit card. With a little research you will hopefully find the best one to meet your faxing needs.

FCC Junk Fax rule - New Fax rule is effective August 1, 2006

Since the Federal Communications Commission has revised its Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, it is important that you are aware of the changes as they apply to your business. Some of the requirements on the sender are: 1. The sender must have an ‘established business relationship” with the recipient or have written consent from the recipient to sending all unsolicited advertising faxes. 2. Sender must have received this fax number voluntarily. 3. Receiver must have the right to opt-out of receiving future faxes. 4. The sender must honor all opt-outs within thirty days of receiving the communication. Since the opt-out must be included, you must be sure to follow the following guidelines: 1. Opt-out must be clear. It must be on the first page of the fax. 2. The opt-out must not appear to be part of the advertising. A reasonable user must be able to determine that it is not advertising but a clear statement. 3. It must state the receiver can opt-out of future unsolicited advertisements. It clearly must state the sender must honor the opt-out within thirty days or they will be breaking the law. Since the method of opt-out must be sent in the same fashion as stated in the unsolicited advertising, it is important that you, as the consumer, follow the letter of the rule. If you receive a fax, follow the directions if they require replying via fax. Only this method is covered under this law. Be sure to provide the required information. If you don’t follow the directions, the sender does not have to comply. The rule when broken down in steps is easy to follow. It will help you eliminate more ‘junk’ information.