VoIP Free Trial Checklist: Test a Phone System First

Tom Reed · Updated 19 October 2026

A free trial is only useful if you test the things that will break on day one of real use. Before the trial starts, pick three to five real users, one business number and one real call flow. Then spend the trial checking, in order: setting people up, inbound and outbound calls through your carrier, routing and out-of-hours, mobile and desktop apps, call quality on your own network, and admin tasks like adding and removing users. Record a pass or fail for each item and decide before the trial ends. SessionPBX, for example, has a 14-day free trial on both plans, with no setup fee or long-term contract.

This checklist works for any hosted phone system. SessionPBX is used as the worked example throughout, and its Teams Phone and Teams Business plans are SessionPBX plans, not Microsoft Teams.

What should you set up before a phone system trial starts?

A VoIP free trial needs a little preparation before the clock starts.

Pick a small, real trial team. Choose three to five people who will actually use the system for their normal calls. Include one person who works remotely or relies on their mobile.

Choose one business number. On a hosted system that uses your own carrier, the number has to reach the system through your SIP trunk. Decide which number you'll use for the trial and check with your carrier how to point it at the new system, or whether you can add a number to your trunk for the trial.

Write down today's call flow. Sketch what happens now when someone rings your main number: the greeting, any menu options, who rings, in what order, and where unanswered calls go.

Agree an owner and a decision date. One person runs the trial, keeps the pass/fail sheet and books the final decision meeting. Book it before the trial starts.

If you haven't listed what your business needs yet, our guide to business phone system requirements covers that list; this post is about testing it.

What should you test in the first few days?

Start with the basics every user touches.

Onboarding. Invite each trial user and watch what happens. Can they get the desktop and mobile apps working without someone from IT sitting next to them? On SessionPBX you "invite people by email and configure mobile apps with a QR code or desktop apps with a setup link", so a good test is to send the invites and let users follow them on their own.

Internal calls. Have users ring each other by extension, from desktop to mobile and back. Check that incoming calls reach the mobile app when it's in the background; SessionPBX lists "push notifications for incoming calls" as part of setup.

Your SIP trunk. Connect your carrier and test calls in both directions. On SessionPBX, "external calls use your own SIP carrier, which bills you directly for numbers and calls", so this is the moment to confirm your trunk registers and your business number rings through. If you're still choosing a carrier, our guide on how to choose a SIP trunk provider for a hosted PBX explains what to look for.

Outbound calls and caller ID. Ring a mobile outside the business and check which number appears. Our guide to outbound caller ID explains the choices if the wrong number shows.

This isn't a full go-live; our small business phone system setup guide covers that once you've decided to buy.

Day-by-day test plan

This is a suggested plan, not data. Adjust the phases to fit your trial.

How do you test call routing, menus and out-of-hours?

Build one real call flow from your sketch rather than a demo: a greeting, a menu, a ring group or queue behind each option, business hours and a voicemail fallback.

On SessionPBX, the Visual Call Flow Designer is part of Teams Business. It lets you "save changes as a draft, validate the flow and publish when it's ready", and you can "give each inbound number its own route to a person, group, queue or call flow". Our guide to changing your call flow safely covers the draft, test and publish method.

Then test every branch, not just the happy path:

1. Each menu option. Ring in and press every option in turn. Check each one reaches the right person, group or queue.
2. Invalid input. Press a key that isn't on the menu. SessionPBX menus have "routes for invalid input or no response", so check where those calls go.
3. No response. Ring in and say nothing. Make sure the caller isn't left in silence or cut off.
4. No answer. Let a ring group or queue ring out. Check the unanswered route reaches voicemail or another destination you chose.
5. Out of hours. Set your opening hours and ring outside them. On SessionPBX you "set opening hours for each day and choose your time zone", then route closed-hours calls to an announcement, voicemail or another destination.
6. Voicemail delivery. Leave a message and check it reaches the right person, in the portal or by email.

These checks are for you to run, not features of the phone system.

See our guides to out-of-hours call handling and the hosted PBX call queues and IVR buyer guide.

How do you check call quality during a trial?

Call quality depends on your network as much as the phone system, so test on the networks your team really uses.

• Office Wi-Fi and wired. Call from desks and the busiest parts of the office.
• Home broadband. Ask remote users to make their normal calls from home.
• Mobile data. Make a call on mobile data while walking between rooms or outside.
• A long call. Keep at least one real call going for a while and note whether the audio stays clear.
• A busy time. Make calls when your network is under load, such as when the office is full or large uploads are running.

For each problem, note what happened and where: one-way audio, choppy sound, a dropped call, or a call that wouldn't connect. "Calls drop on home broadband for one user" is far more useful than "quality was patchy".

On security, SessionPBX uses "SIP over TLS by default" and the admin portal is HTTPS-only. That protects signalling; it doesn't change how your own network handles voice traffic.

Before you blame the system, check your network. Our guides to cloud PBX network readiness before cutover and VoIP network requirements for small businesses cover what to check before you start.

What admin and day-two tasks should you try?

Day two is about what you'll do every week once live. Have the person who will look after the system try these:

• Add a user from scratch and get them calling.
• Remove a user and check their calls go where you expect afterwards. Our phone system leaver checklist covers what to check.
• Change a ring group: add someone, take someone out and check the group still works.
• Change someone's caller ID and confirm the new number shows on an outbound call.
• Check voicemail and call history in the portal. On SessionPBX you can "listen to and download voicemail in the portal" and "review incoming, outgoing and missed calls in the app or portal".
• Transfer a call both ways: straight through and after speaking to the colleague first. Our guide to warm transfer vs blind transfer explains when to use each.
• Test recording and supervision permissions, if they matter to you. On Teams Business you can choose recording "off, on demand or automatic" for each member and give authorised supervisors listen, whisper and barge controls. Our guide to call monitoring with whisper and barge covers who should have them.

Note whether the person needed help. On SessionPBX you "manage extensions, seats and member permissions centrally" from one portal, so these tasks should all happen in the same place.

Pass/fail checklist

Fill this in as you go. Blockers must pass before you buy.

What should you ask before the trial ends?

A trial tests the product, not the deal. Before it ends, get answers to these:

• What does the plan I'd buy include? Compare it with what you tested.
• What will it cost each month? Confirm the per-seat cost, how many seats are included, and what your carrier bills separately for numbers and calls.
• How do upgrades and downgrades work? On SessionPBX you can start on Teams Phone and upgrade in the portal. Teams Business adds ring groups, call queues, visual call flows with IVR and business hours, recording, supervision tools and logo branding.
• What are the contract terms? SessionPBX states no setup fee or long-term contract.
• Where is it hosted? SessionPBX offers "regional hosting in Europe, the Americas and Asia", with the same apps and admin wherever you work.
• Can I change carrier later? On SessionPBX you can "switch trunks in the admin portal whenever your rates change".

Get cost answers in writing. Our guide to hosted PBX pricing and what costs extra covers the cost questions in full.

How do you decide: buy, extend testing or walk away?

Use the pass/fail sheet, not a general impression.

Buy if every blocker passes and the remaining fails are small and fixable. Inbound calls, routing and call quality are the blockers: a phone system that misroutes or drops customer calls isn't ready.

Extend testing if a blocker failed for a reason you can fix, such as a network setting at one home office or a call flow built wrongly. Fix it and retest that item.

Walk away if a blocker keeps failing after you've ruled out your own network and setup, or if the costs and terms don't match what you were told.

Write the decision down with the reasons. If you're buying, agree a go-live plan: which numbers move when, who sets up the remaining users and when the old system switches off. For background, our guides to the PBX phone system and the cloud-based phone system are good reads.

Running a trial on SessionPBX

SessionPBX is a hosted PBX with native apps for desktop and mobile and one portal to manage it. Both plans include a 14-day free trial, with no setup fee or long-term contract. You invite people by email, and they connect mobile apps with a QR code and desktop apps with a setup link. External calls use your own SIP carrier, which bills you directly for numbers and calls; SessionPBX doesn't supply numbers or lines. Start on Teams Phone and upgrade to Teams Business in the portal when you need advanced routing. Teams Phone and Teams Business are SessionPBX plans, not Microsoft Teams. Compare plans and start your cloud phone system free trial on the SessionPBX hosted PBX page.

FAQ

How long should a VoIP free trial be?

Long enough to cover a full working week, including out-of-hours calls and at least one busy day. SessionPBX has a 14-day free trial, which leaves room to follow a day-by-day plan like the one above.

Can I use my own phone number during a trial?

On SessionPBX, external calls go through your own SIP carrier, so the number comes from your carrier rather than from SessionPBX. Ask your carrier how to point a number at the trial or add one to your trunk.

Do I need IT help to set up a phone system trial?

Not necessarily, even on a phone system free trial. On SessionPBX you invite people by email, and they connect desktop apps with a setup link or mobile apps with a QR code. Someone still needs to connect your SIP trunk.

What happens if I pick the wrong plan during a trial?

On SessionPBX you can start on Teams Phone and upgrade to Teams Business in the portal. Teams Business adds ring groups, call queues, visual call flows with IVR and business hours, recording and supervision. These are SessionPBX plans, not Microsoft Teams.

Should I test with my whole team?

Start with a small group of real users, and widen the hosted PBX trial once the core checks pass. A small group gives clearer feedback.