7 Best office phone systems for small businesses UK 2021

Our research has identified the Cisco CP-8861 as the best office phone system thanks to its excellent voice quality, high levels of security and voice encryption, and how well it lends itself to teams that include remote and hybrid working. But is this the right choice for your business?

Office phone systems are key to effective communication across your business, whether that be internally or externally. They can play a vital role in acquiring and retaining customers, so you can't settle for less than excellent audio quality, clear concise directory options, and effective alerts to ensure important calls – and sales opportunities – aren’t missed.

Getting set up can be quick once you've found the best system for your business. Our comparison tool can speed up the process even more by matching you with bespoke quotes from the leading UK providers, saving you hours of researching time.

With many businesses are returning to the office after a lengthy period of working remotely as a result of the pandemic, now is the perfect time to shop around for the best office phone system for your business needs.

So let us help. Use our comparison tool above, or read on to learn more about which system will be the best fit for your requirements. We’ve researched and analyzed the market in search of the best office phone systems for different types of small businesses to help you make a choice with confidence.

Best office phone systems summarised

Pricing is correct as of July 29th, 2021

Best office phone systems

Below, we’ve selected the best office phone systems for small businesses, judging them on several factors including ease of use, cost, and additional features. All the models we’ve selected can be fully integrated with your existing IT network.

Cisco CP-8861

Yealink SIP-T21P

Grandstream GXP 2170

Polycom VVX 301

Polycom VVX 600

Avaya J139 IP

Cisco 8845 IP Phone

Types of office phone system: choosing the best for your business

As your business grows and you hire more staff, you’ll need to make sure your telephone systems are suitably equipped to cater to your needs.

Working out the most suitable solution for your company can be easier said than done. This is why, when it comes to choosing the best office phone system for your business, the fundamental first step is understanding exactly how each type of office phone system works.

Generally speaking, there are three basic types of office phone systems: multiline, private branch exchange (PBX), and voice over internet protocol (VoIP).

Below, we’ve explained each type of office phone system in greater detail.

Multiline phone systems

If your office has a multiline phone system, each employee with their own individual handset will have their own unique phone number – all served by completely separate phone lines.

As a result, you would need to publish each individual phone number on your website, your telephone directory, any advertising, and on each employee’s business card as required.

With multiline phone systems, when receiving an incoming call, if your employee is busy or the line is already in use, the caller will hear a busy signal or be sent straight through to voicemail. This doesn’t leave the best impression on current or potential clients.

There is, however, an option to create a ‘rollover’ system, in which you publish one phone number and incoming calls occupy lines in descending order. For example, if your business had three phone lines, but two customers were calling you, the first would ring through to ‘Line 1’ and the second to ‘Line 2’. Obviously, the number of lines available to be programmed on your office phone device would affect the ‘rollover’ system.

With multiline phone systems, features such as voicemail, call transferring, and speakerphone are all readily available.

For further information, check out our guide on multi-line phone systems for small businesses. 

Private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems

A PBX phone system offers all the same features of a multiline phone system, but without any human assistance – eliminating the need for a receptionist to manually transfer calls.

Incoming customer calls go to a central receiving area, where customers are presented with a set of options for which area of the business they wish to contact. For example: “Press one for sales, two for customer services, three for invoices.”

However, should the caller dial one of the extension lines directly, they can bypass this automated central system completely and connect to the extension. For example, if a central number is 020-7180, direct extension numbers can be numbers such as 020-7181 and 020-7182.

Should employees wish to contact other departments or employees internally, they can then just dial the extension number (e.g 182) without using the outside line.

To make an outgoing call on the outside line, most PBX systems require you to include one additional number – let's say, the number 9 – before placing the call.

VoIP phone systems

VoIP office telephones are the most modern, most popular office phone systems on the market.

Using your business’s internet connection to host calls rather than traditional analog signals, VoIP allows for both video and voice chat. As a result, VoIP systems require very little hardware, with a desktop VoIP phone being able to connect to the internet via an ethernet cable.

Your VoIP office telephone system will be managed via an app from your provider, so you will simply need a VoIP desktop phone for each user.

A big benefit for your business: calls are essentially free, even international ones, once your broadband or mobile data plans are paid for.

Furthermore, VoIP can allow you to make calls to remote staff members via their notebook PCs, tablets, or mobile phones.

However, initial setup for VoIP can be expensive, and calls to other businesses are only free if you’re both using the same provider.

If your business requires a telephone service in an emergency, a combined PBX and VoIP system could be an option – indeed, should you use VoIP on its own, any loss in internet connection could render your phones useless.

Conclusion – you’re now ready to compare the best office phone systems for your business

So there you have it – everything you need to know about the basics of office phone systems, accompanied by our recommendations of the best products currently available in the UK.

For the next step, you’ll want to be sourcing quotes and further information from office phone system providers, to ensure you are making the right decision for your business.

It can be tedious, not to mention time-consuming, to pull together separate quotes and information from different providers. You also don’t want to make the wrong decision based on poor advice, as this could be detrimental to your business operations.