12 Reasons to Throw Out Your Fax Machine

I first tried fax to email years ago, and wasn't too impressed. But, I tried it again about 18 months ago. They've made great strides in this technology over the years, and now I can't imagine going back to conventional faxing. I save about $500 per year compared to using a free-standing fax machine, and countless hours on faxing, copying and filing. These are my "dirty dozen" reasons for making the switch.

Reason One

Eliminate one expensive phone line. In my case, I was able to get rid of a commercial phone line that cost about $40 per month, and replace it with a "virtual" fax line (through the same phone service provider) at a cost of about $14 per month. In my case, this resulted in a savings of over $300 per year.

Reason Two

Replace your printer less often! I estimate that I save about $50 per year on reduced wear and tear.

Reason Three

Save the cost of consumables. No outlay for paper or toner on the faxes that you don't want to print. How much you save really depends on your fax volume. In my case, I estimate that I save about $100 per year.

Reason Four

Eliminate long distance charges! My phone supplier's fax to email plan allows me to fax anywhere in Canada without incurring any long distance charges.

Reason Five

Save time, and even more consumables. Send letters, spreadsheets and PDF's directly from your screen without having to print them first, feed them into the fax machine and then, finally, into the shredder.

Reason Six

Save even more time by filing on your computer. Since inbound faxes are PDF documents, I simply open the fax and "save a copy" to the project file that the fax belongs to. Many of the faxes that I receive never get printed. If I want to find it, I look in the folder. If I want to forward it, I just forward the PDF, by fax or email. You will never misplace a fax again. It will be in your inbox (I keep a copy in a folder labeled "Faxes") or in the project file.

Reason Seven

Never lose another fax confirmation. When you send a fax out, you will receive an email confirmation that it was delivered. The confirmation will include a copy of the fax you sent. You will always be able to prove exactly what you did and when you did it!

Reason Nine

Never again miss a fax. Fax to email doesn't care that you're out of paper, or that the toner ran dry. Incoming faxes are stored in your inbox until you delete them.

Reason Ten

Be a road warrior! You can receive your faxes to your phone, your notebook, or through webmail, using any computer you have access to. This was a critical point for me, because I receive my assignments by fax, and can check regularly on my Smart Phone to see what has come in.

Reason Eleven

No busy signals. Fax to email doesn't care that you're sending or receiving a fax when someone sends a fax to you. No one will ever receive a busy signal again.

Reason Twelve

Say goodbye to redial! Sure, your fax machine will redial a busy number a few times before it gives up, but fax to email is a little more persistent, and I have never had a fax returned as undeliverable due to a busy signal, even when I am dialing fax numbers that I used to have a really hard time getting through to.

Fax to email gives you decreased costs and increased efficiency, two very important components in increasing the viability of small and home-based businesses.