Business Tips

Should You Get a Multi-Line Phone Plan for Your Small Business?

Business owner on the phone in her office

Phone service is essential to the success of nearly any small business. It’s used for communicating with clients, customers, vendors, and employees. And today, much of this communication happens on cell phones rather than landlines. 

As mobile phones have become vital for staying connected, it’s important to find the right cell phone plan for your small business. One type to consider is a plan with multiple lines. With enough lines, you can set up a phone number for each of your employees (within reason). Here, we’ll explore that option, explaining the benefits of the best multi-line cell phone plans, as well as tips on choosing mobile plans for your small business.

What Is a Multi-Line Cell Phone Plan?

A multi-line cell phone plan is a type of plan that allows multiple individuals to be on one account. In this way, it’s like a family plan. However, while family plans cater to households, a multi-line cell phone plan can be used by family, friends, and—as we’ll be focusing on —businesses. This plan type typically includes at least four lines (as do most family plans) but may include even more. Optimum Mobile, for instance, offers multiple phone plans for small businesses, each of which you can add up to 10 lines.

Is there a difference between multi-line mobile plans and multi-line phone systems?

While named similarly, a multi-line phone plan is different from a multi-line phone system. The former is a type of cell-phone plan for a group of people, whereas the latter refers to business technology that allows you to have one device (usually a landline) with multiple lines. This makes it possible for an employee to receive customer service calls to one number and call clients on another. The lines can also be used simultaneously, so you can put a customer on hold and call a vendor to get an answer, all without hanging up. 

Multi-Line Phone Plans vs. Individual Plans

The difference between an individual plan and a multi-line mobile plan is simple. One is a plan that includes a singular phone and phone number for one person; the other includes multiple lines to service more people. Outside of this, the two are generally quite similar. Often, they aren’t actually different types of plans. A multi-line option is just a regular (i.e., individual) plan that has extra lines added. 

For an individual, an individual plan is—unsurprisingly—a great option. But if you are setting up a phone plan for a small business and need several lines, a multi-line phone plan is better. While you technically could get an individual plan for each employee, you would miss out on savings and other business benefits, which we’ll dig into below. 

Business Benefits of a Multi-Line Phone Plan

Potential savings

A major draw of multi-line mobile plans for small businesses is the opportunity to save money. Often, cell service providers will set a base rate for a plan and offer a discount when you add additional lines. At Optimum, you save for each line (from two to 10) that you add to one of our unlimited plans. The more lines you add, the more you save.

Easier account management

There’s a lot to juggle when you manage a small business, so you’ll want to streamline processes when you can. Opting for a multi-line phone plan automatically simplifies things for you. It means you won’t have to deal with reimbursing employees for using their personal phones or manage billing for multiple work phone accounts. Plus, with a multi-line plan, you can easily make plan changes across all lines.

Unlimited data

While this isn’t true for every plan out there, many of the best multi-line cell phone plans include unlimited data. This means you don’t have to worry about one employee using all your data and not leaving enough for everyone else to work effectively.

Employee connectivity

The bedrock of all good mobile plans for small businesses is employee connectivity. You need your employees to be reachable, both internally (for managers and colleagues) and externally (for clients, customers, or vendors). With a multi-line plan, each of your employees can have their own business cell phone to keep them connected with key business contacts. 

Choosing The Right Cell Phone Plan for Your Small Business

Having multiple lines isn’t the only feature to look for in a phone plan for a small business. The best multi-line phone plans will also have the following:

  • Premium data (for faster speeds when the network is busy)
  • 5G access
  • Unlimited talk and text
  • SD video streaming

At Optimum, our most popular option is our Unlimited plan. It includes all of the above, plus 20 GB of data and a 5 GB mobile hotspot—perfect for joining work meetings on the go. 

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