---
title: Cloud PBX Phone System for Small Business | PBXflex
description: PBXflex is a cloud PBX, also called a hosted or virtual PBX. Auto attendants, call queues, ring groups, texting and fax in one app. Free porting, no contract.
url: https://www.pbxflex.com/cloud-pbx
---

# A cloud PBX phone system for small business, with texting and fax built in

A cloud PBX, also called a hosted PBX, virtual PBX or cloud phone system, is a business phone system that runs online instead of on a box in your office. Your provider runs the phone switch, and you manage it in an app. PBXflex is a cloud PBX. Every user gets an extension and a local number that rings on a desk phone, the web app and mobile. You build auto attendants (IVR), call queues and ring groups in the same app. Business texting and fax are included on every plan. Plans are month to month, and number porting is free.

- Desk phone, web app and mobile
- Texting and fax on every plan
- Free number porting
- Month to month, no contract

## What a cloud PBX is, and the other names for it

PBX stands for private branch exchange. It is the part of a business phone system that gives each person an extension and decides where every call goes. A traditional PBX is a box in your office or phone closet. In a cloud PBX, the same switch runs online and your provider looks after it. In everyday use, cloud, hosted and virtual PBX all name that one idea. Cloud phone system is the everyday name for it.

| Name | Who runs the phone switch | Where it lives |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloud PBX | Your provider | Online, with no switch in your office |
| Hosted PBX | Your provider | Online, with no switch in your office |
| Virtual PBX | Your provider | Online, with no switch in your office |
| Cloud phone system | Your provider | Online, with no switch in your office |
| On-premises PBX | You, or a technician you pay | A box in your office or phone closet |

## How a call moves through a cloud PBX

Here are the parts of a call flow on PBXflex. You build each one in the app, choose which ones a call reaches, and change them when your hours or your team change.

1. **Your menu answers on the first ring.** The auto attendant (IVR) greets the caller and offers a short menu: press 1 for appointments, 2 for billing. A separate menu answers outside business hours. [IVR | Interactive Voice Response](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/ivr)
2. **Calls ring wherever your people are.** Each person's extension rings a desk phone, the web app and a mobile at the same time. A caller who knows who they want can reach that person directly. [User Phone Extension](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/user-phone-extension)
3. **A ring group rings the right people.** The caller's choice rings several extensions at once, or one after another. The first person to pick up takes the call, and the rest stop ringing. [Call RingGroup](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/call-ringgroup)
4. **Or a queue holds callers in line.** For calls that arrive in bursts, a menu option can lead to a call queue instead. Callers wait in order with a greeting and hold music. Each one connects to the next person who becomes free. [Call Queue](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/call-queue)
5. **Callers can ask for a callback.** A caller in the queue can hang up and keep their place. PBXflex calls them back when it is their turn. [Callback Extension](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/callback-extension)
6. **Missed calls land in shared voicemail.** If nobody in a ring group picks up, or the office is closed, the caller leaves a message in a shared voicemail box. Anyone on the team with access can listen and act on it. [Common Voicemail Box](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/common-voicemail-box)

## On-premises PBX vs cloud PBX

An on-premises PBX is equipment you own and look after. A cloud PBX is a service you pay for each month. This table compares the two for a small office, including texting, fax and the fees on your bill.

| What to compare | On-premises PBX | PBXflex cloud PBX |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upfront hardware | You buy or lease the PBX and the phones | No PBX to buy. Desk phones are optional |
| Who maintains it | You, or a technician you pay | PBXflex runs the system. You change settings in the app |
| Adding or removing users | Changed on the box, by you or a technician | In the app, any time |
| Contract | Set by your phone line and maintenance providers | Month to month. Cancel any time |
| Keeping your numbers | Your numbers stay with your phone line provider | Number porting is free on every plan |
| Business texting | Usually a separate app or service | Included on every plan, from your business numbers |
| Fax | Usually a fax machine on its own phone line | Included on every plan, in the app. A fax machine you keep can use a shared-device line for $10 a month |
| Fees | Set by your phone line provider | No administrative or regulatory recovery fee. Taxes and government fees are extra |
| Where calls ring | Desk phones connected to the box, mostly in the office | Desk phone, web app and mobile, at the same time |
| What it needs to work | Power, phone lines and the box itself | Power and an internet connection wherever your phones are |

On-site installation, including a VoIP-ready firewall or new cabling, is quoted per site.

## What every phone plan includes

Essentials, Business and Enterprise start from the same core. The plans below show what each one costs.

- An extension for every user, ringing on desk phone, web app and mobile
- A local phone number for every user on Essentials and Business
- Business texting (SMS and MMS) from your business numbers, in shared inboxes
- Fax sent and received in the app, with no fax machine or fax line
- Telecom credits each month, pooled across your team: 500 per user on Essentials and 1,000 per user on Business
- A low-volume 10DLC texting campaign
- One IVR, ring group or shared voicemail on Essentials, and every call-flow feature on Business
- An E911 address registered for each extension
- Free number porting
- Monthly billing, with no contract

## Call-flow features

Every user gets an extension. Business includes every other feature here. Essentials includes one IVR, ring group or shared voicemail, and each extra call-flow feature is $5 a month.

- [User Phone Extension](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/user-phone-extension): A phone extension for each person, with a direct number and voicemail, that rings a desk phone, the web app and a mobile together.
- [IVR | Interactive Voice Response](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/ivr): An IVR, or auto attendant, answers every call with a menu (press 1 for sales, 2 for support) and routes callers without a receptionist.
- [Call RingGroup](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/call-ringgroup): A ring group rings several phones at once, or one after another like a hunt group, so a call gets answered instead of going to voicemail.
- [Call Queue](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/call-queue): A call queue holds callers in order while everyone is busy and connects each one to the next free person, instead of sending them to voicemail.
- [Callback Extension](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/callback-extension): A callback for your call queue: a caller can hang up without losing their place and be called back when it is their turn.
- [Common Voicemail Box](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/common-voicemail-box): A shared voicemail box the whole team can reach, so a message left for the office is not stranded on one person's extension.
- [Voicemail Access Center](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/voicemail-access-center): Review, search and manage every voicemail box on the account from one place, so messages on personal and shared boxes do not go unheard.
- [Queue Access Center](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/queue-access-center): A live view of your call queues: who is waiting, how long they have waited, and who on the team is free to take the next call.
- [Advanced Conference Extension](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/advanced-conference-extension): A conference bridge with its own extension and a dial-in that never changes. Callers join from any phone, with no app and no account.
- [Intercom/Paging](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/intercom-paging): Page desk phones across the office, or a group of them, or speak to one desk on intercom without making it ring. Paging speakers connect too.

## Cloud PBX plans

Essentials and Business are priced per user and billed monthly, with no contract. Enterprise is quoted. Credits are pooled across your team, so a quiet user covers a busy one. Prices exclude taxes and government fees.

- **Essentials** ($30/user/mo): Calling, texting and fax for a small office with one main number.
- **Business** ($40/user/mo): Every call-flow feature included, for teams that handle a lot of calls.
- **Enterprise** (Custom): For 50 or more users, several sites, international numbers or custom terms.
- **Text & Fax** ($45/mo): Business texting and fax for teams that keep their current phone system.

[See every plan, add-on and rate](https://www.pbxflex.com/pricing)

### What calls, texts and faxes use

One credit is one cent. Your plan's credits are shared by the whole team, and calls, texts and faxes all draw from the same balance. If the balance falls below 100 credits, a pack of 2,500 credits is added for $25. You can switch that off in the app. Credits you buy never expire.

| Usage | Credits |
| --- | --- |
| US and Canada call, per minute, in or out | 1 |
| Toll-free inbound call, per minute | 3 |
| SMS segment, sent or received | 2 |
| MMS, sent or received | 5 |
| Fax page, sent or received | 2 |

## Moving your phones to PBXflex

You keep your numbers. Here is the order to move in, so callers can still reach you.

1. **Write down how calls work today.** List your numbers, who answers each one, and what should happen after hours. That list becomes your menus, ring groups and queues.
2. **Choose self setup or guided setup.** Self setup in the app is free. Guided setup is $299 for up to 10 users, then $15 a user. We build your IVR, queues and ring groups, port your numbers, register your texting campaign and run a 30-minute training session for your team.
3. **Move your numbers at no cost.** Number porting is free on every plan. Keep your current service running until the move is complete.
4. **Pick your phones, or start without them.** Every extension works in the web app and on mobile. If you want desk phones, a standard desk phone is $89, an executive desk phone is $189 and a cordless DECT phone is $229. You can also rent one for $5 a month, or $9 a month for an executive or cordless phone.
5. **Add a line for each device that rings for a place.** A lobby phone, warehouse phone, paging speaker or analogue fax machine rings for a place, not a person. Each one is a shared-device line, at $10 a month. An existing fax machine can stay in use on one.

## Who PBXflex is built for

PBXflex is built for offices that live on the phone. It is made first for healthcare practices and accounting and tax firms. It also fits law firms, property managers and contractors. Each page below shows how one kind of office sets up its calls, texts and faxes.

- [Medical and dental offices](https://www.pbxflex.com/industries/medical-offices): Queues for the morning rush, fax without a machine, and a team voicemail nobody forgets to check.
- [Accounting and tax firms](https://www.pbxflex.com/industries/accounting-firms): Add lines for tax season and remove them after, with queues for deadline week.
- [Law firms](https://www.pbxflex.com/industries/law-firms): Direct lines for every attorney, a menu that separates new inquiries, and fax without a machine.
- [Property management](https://www.pbxflex.com/industries/property-management): Separate leasing and maintenance lines, photos by text, and an on-call menu for nights and weekends.
- [Contractors and home services](https://www.pbxflex.com/industries/contractors): Calls that reach you on the job, photos by text, and an after-hours line for emergencies.

## Cloud PBX questions

### Is a cloud PBX the same as VoIP?

Not quite. VoIP, short for voice over internet protocol, is the technology that carries voice calls over a data network, such as your internet connection. A cloud PBX is a full phone system built on VoIP. It adds extensions, menus, ring groups, queues and voicemail. PBXflex is a cloud PBX, so your calls travel as VoIP and your call flows live in one app.

### Are cloud, hosted and virtual PBX different?

In everyday use, no. All three describe a phone system that runs online and is looked after by a provider, not a box in your office. Cloud phone system means the same. PBXflex fits all four names.

### Can I keep my phone numbers?

Yes. Number porting is free on every plan. Keep your current service until your numbers have moved, so callers can reach you the whole time. With guided setup, we port them for you.

### Do I need to buy desk phones?

No. Every extension works in the web app and on mobile, so you can start without any desk phones. If you want them, a standard desk phone is $89 to buy or $5 a month to rent. Executive and cordless phones rent for $9 a month.

### How much does a cloud PBX cost?

It depends on how many people need an extension and which call-flow features you use. On Essentials and Business, you pay one monthly price for each user. Both include pooled credits for calls, texts and faxes. Enterprise is quoted. Self setup and number porting are free. Guided setup is $299 for up to 10 users, then $15 a user. The PBXflex pricing page lists every plan, add-on and usage rate. Taxes and government fees are extra. There is no administrative or regulatory recovery fee.

### Is there a contract?

No. Every plan is month to month, and you can cancel at any time. There is no yearly commitment and no cancellation fee.

### Can I add users for busy season and remove them after?

Yes. You can add or remove users at any time, with no contract. A tax firm can add preparers before deadline week and remove them when the season ends. Their texts stay in your shared inboxes, so the team keeps the history.

### What do I need to run a cloud PBX?

An internet connection where your phones are, and something to answer on: a desk phone, the web app or a mobile. If your office network needs work, PBXflex can quote a configured VoIP-ready firewall and new Cat6 cabling for your site.

### What are the drawbacks of a cloud PBX?

It needs an internet connection where your phones are. A slow or busy office network can make calls sound worse. A device that rings for a place, such as a paging speaker or a fax machine, needs its own shared-device line. PBXflex can quote a configured VoIP-ready firewall and new Cat6 cabling if your network needs work.

## Keep reading

- [What is a PBX? A plain-English guide](https://www.pbxflex.com/guides/what-is-a-pbx)
- [What a business phone system costs](https://www.pbxflex.com/guides/business-phone-system-cost)
- [PBXflex plans, add-ons and usage rates](https://www.pbxflex.com/pricing)
- [Every PBXflex feature](https://www.pbxflex.com/features)
- [How business texting works](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/business-sms-mms-rcs)
- [How fax works in the app](https://www.pbxflex.com/features/fax-extension)
- [How PBXflex compares with other providers](https://www.pbxflex.com/compare)

## Contact

- Email: hello@pbxflex.com
- Phone: (877) 575 - 9527
- Address: 1001 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017
- Sign up: https://pbxflex.app/auth/sign-up