In an age when e-mail is the main form of office communication and electronic signatures are legally valid, paper documents are becoming less common. Despite this, many independent contractors and small-business owners still prefer or even require printed documents, especially legal paperwork. Although faxing remains one of the most efficient means of transmitting such documents, companies no longer need a land line or a costly fax machine in order to send and receive them. Instead, they can use Internet fax.
How Internet Fax Works
Online faxes are sent over the Internet rather than via phone lines. You must sign up for service from an Internet fax provider – traditional Internet service providers may not offer such service – that will assign you a dedicated number for transmission.
Sending an Internet fax works much like sending an attached document via e-mail, except that you’ll send it to a fax number instead of a traditional e-mail address. This enables you to fax electronic documents between computers or to a traditional fax machine. Scanned paperwork, including signed legal documents, can also be sent.
Advantages of Internet Fax
The most obvious advantage is you don’t need a fax machine, or the requisite extra phone line, to send and receive documents. It’s also quicker and easier to send faxes electronically; you don’t need to fill out cover sheets and there’s no need to wait for each page to feed as is the case with traditional fax machines.
Documents can be read onscreen, rather than having to be printed, thus saving paper. Some digital devices that have Internet capabilities, such as PDAs, can also access online faxes, although service providers may charge extra for this.
Drawbacks of Internet Fax
You’ll want to invest in a scanner so that you can sign, scan and fax legal documents. Also, because online faxes are typically converted to PDF or TIFF file formats for transmission, it may not be easy to edit a faxed document on your computer. If your business correspondence requires a lot of back-and-forth editing, you might want to consider simply e-mailing the document instead.
Unlike many e-mail services, Internet fax services charge monthly fees and many limit the number of documents you can send and receive.
Internet Fax Providers and Prices
There are many online faxing companies that offer different packages and prices, so do some research to find the best provider for your needs. You may be charged monthly service fees and incoming fax costs.
Some personal computers have built-in faxes that generally require phone lines to send documents. You also can fax via Bluetooth with some of these operating systems if your wireless carrier supports the service. If you fax using Bluetooth, ensure that your connection is secure before faxing any legal, private or other sensitive documents.
