A small business phone system comprises multiple telephones used in an interconnected fashion that allows for advanced telephony features such as call handling and transferring, conference calling, call metering and accounting, private and shared voice message boxes, and so on. A small office phone system can range from just a few telephones to a private branch exchange (PBX) system.
Small business phone systems can function over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), over the Internet (Internet telephony or VoIP), or over a combination of the two. A small office phone system can also be delivered as a hosted service (typically referred to as a centrex), which can free small businesses from having to invest in costly equipment.
