How to Choose a SIP Trunk Provider for a Hosted PBX
What to check before you connect a carrier to a hosted PBX: number coverage, porting, caller ID, fraud limits, channels, auth, plus how to test and switch.
- Tom Reed
Call Monitoring, Whisper and Barge: A Team Lead's Playbook
When to listen, whisper or barge on a live call, how to tell callers and staff, a coaching routine for new starters, and who should get supervisor rights.
- Tom Reed
Phone Extension Numbering Plan for a Small Business PBX
Design a small-business extension plan: digit lengths, department ranges, queue and ring-group numbers, multi-site blocks, and what to do when staff leave.
- Tom Reed
On-Premise PBX Maintenance Checklist: Tasks and Costs
Full upkeep list for an on-premise or self-hosted PBX: patching, certificates, backups, trunk security, hardware end-of-life, and when to move to hosted.
- Tom Reed
Call Reporting for Small Businesses: 5 Weekly Reports
The five call reports a small team should check weekly: missed calls, answer rate by hour, queue waits, talk time and per-member, and what to change.
- Tom Reed
Business Phone Number Types: Local, 03, 0800 or Toll-Free?
Local, 03, 0800 or toll-free? How to pick business phone numbers for a small team, what each signals to callers, and how to route each one on your phone system.
- Tom Reed
PSTN Switch-Off for Small Business | Readiness Checklist
The UK PSTN and ISDN switch-off affects more than phones. Inventory every line, check alarms and card machines, and plan a hosted PBX cutover.
- Tom Reed
Ransomware Protection for SMB | Readiness Checklist
Ransomware protection for a 20–100 person company: a readiness scorecard, backups an attacker can't delete, decisions to make now, and a 60-minute tabletop.
- Tom Reed
User Access Review for SMB | Quarterly Checklist
Run a user access review without enterprise IAM: who has access, who still needs it, admin and shared accounts, sign-off and evidence. SMB checklist.
- Tom Reed
Business Voicemail Setup for Small Business | Checklist
Set up business voicemail properly: greeting scripts, voicemail-to-email, missed-call alerts, PINs and mailbox owners, with a SessionPBX checklist.
- Tom Reed
IT Change Management for SMB | CAB-Lite Checklist
SMB IT change management: request, approve, implement, review. CAB-lite without ITIL theatre. Distinct from patch & IR. No fake audit stats.
- Tom Reed
IT Asset Management for SMB | Hardware Checklist
IT checklist for SMB hardware inventory: register, assign, refresh, dispose. Distinct from software licenses & MDM. No fake audit stats.
- Tom Reed