eFax

Efax is a service which allows you to send faxes from your computer and receive faxes on your computer. There are multiple advantages and features included with this option.

When I first tried out efax, they were offering a free efax phone number to try out. I tried it out for free, but the free option utilized a long distance phone number, and had some limitations.

I soon switched to the paid option, where I was able to choose any area code that I wanted. I happened to have a number of customers that were located in the 516 area code, and although that is not where I lived or worked, I chose to utilize it. I entered 516 as my preference, and was given a dedicated fax number starting with the 516 area code. I then gave my new fax number to my customers. It was convenient, because it was a local number for them. They simply used their fax machine as usual to send me faxes. Within a few minutes, those faxes showed up in my email inbox. (I use gmail, which is a free email service and gives lots of space and search capabilities.)

I chose to receive my efaxes as attachments in pdf format, which is a very common format and easy to open, read, rotate and maneuver. It can also be opened with free efax software, and you can possibly choose other formats to receive your efaxes. Not only did I receive all faxes in the email inbox of my choosing, but I could also log in to the efax website with my fax number and password, and see all of my efaxes, which are stored on their server for free. I can then move, edit, delete or forward them as I choose. In addition, I have a number of people that work for my business, with various responsibilities. I set up the efaxes to automatically arrive in the email inboxes of my coworkers as well, so that everyone automatically sees what they need to see. At any time, I was able to add or remove email addresses to receive faxes.

When opening the fax attachment from my email, I could rotate it in any direction, make the image bigger or smaller, forward it to others, and optionally, print it to my printer. I can also save it on my computer for future reference. The email arrives with the subject line stating : "eFax message from "(chosen id)" - 1 page(s), Caller-ID: (auto number)", so I automatically know the caller id selected and shown, and how many pages are attached. It also includes the date and time of the fax, and options to open the attachment or view it on the website.

If something happens to your email, there is a copy saved on the efax website- just log in to view it. If you want to save it for later, it's already saved and you can easily save it to your computer or forward it elsewhere. Out of paper or ink? No problem- just view it on the computer. Whenever you have paper or ink on your printer, you can print it. There is no need to print anything, unless you want to. So you can choose to only print the important things, thereby saving on ink. Additionally, you don't need a fax machine. A regular printer can be used to print any and all faxes.

To send a fax, you can easily attach any document from your computer and send on efax.com or from your email. You can also type anything that you want to type into a custom cover sheet to send via fax. If you have a hard copy, just scan it in to the computer and send.

In addition to all of the Faxing features, eFax also includes the option to receive voice-mail on your fax number. I sometimes give my fax number to people to call to leave messages for me. When a fax machine calls, the number automatically detects the beeps from the fax machine and processes it. When a person calls, they can hear my custom message about my business, and they have the option to press 1 to leave a message or press 2 to send a fax, or begin faxing at any time. The voice messages also arrive directly into my email inbox.

eFax offers different plans, and you can choose which one best fits your needs. Some of the options include eFax Plus and eFax Annual.

eFax is a known name and leading provider of electronic fax services that can be managed from your email inbox from any computer worldwide. It is available in many places.

 When arriving at efax.com, scroll down to the bottom, and you will immediately be able to enter any zip code to find local fax numbers available in that area. You can also search by state or country, or choose a toll-free number.

You can even transfer your current fax number into a ported efax number.

The monthly fees for efax are much less than paying for a phone line, phone calls, and maintaining a machine, and you never have to worry about losing the fax, running out of paper or ink. Everything is saved in both your email and the efax website, unless you choose to delete it.

For all these reasons and more, I love using efax, and you will probably love it too.