Option one: a hosted PBX
A hosted PBX is a cloud phone system run by a VoIP provider. It gives you extensions, a main number, voicemail, hunt groups, call queues, auto attendants, after-hours routing and usually call recording. Staff answer on desk phones, a computer app or a mobile app. A receptionist can see who is busy, park calls and transfer with one button, which is what busy front desks need.
Its strengths are telephony features and handsets that just work. Its weakness is that it is another system beside your email and chat, with separate logins and a separate app. For a medical practice, trades office with a dispatcher, or professional firm with a front desk, the hosted PBX is often the right primary system because call handling is central to the business.
Option two: Microsoft Teams calling
Teams calling adds phone numbers to Microsoft Teams, so staff make and receive external calls from the same app they use for chat and meetings. It needs the right Microsoft licences plus a calling plan or a connection to a phone provider, and it supports auto attendants, call queues and certified desk phones. Check current Microsoft pricing and licence requirements, as they change.
The appeal is one app for everything. Presence is accurate because Teams knows when someone is in a meeting, and moving a call into a video meeting is simple. The trade-offs are that reception consoles are less polished than dedicated systems, some advanced call-centre features need add-ons, and staff who dislike Teams will dislike their phone too. It suits offices where most calls go to individuals rather than a busy front desk.
Option three: mobiles only
Some businesses simply give everyone a mobile and publish one mobile or a forwarded landline number. It is cheap and quick to set up, and for a sole trader or a crew that is always on site it can be enough. Most mobile providers offer business plans with shared data and basic group features.
The cracks show as the team grows. There is no proper queue, so calls ring out or go to personal voicemail. When someone leaves, their number and customer relationships can leave with them unless the business owns the number. Call reporting is thin. If you go mobile-only, keep the published number on a business account and plan to move to a cloud system once calls need sharing.
Questions that decide it
Who answers the main number? If one or two people field most calls and pass them on, a hosted PBX or a Teams call queue is needed. Do staff already live in Teams all day? Then Teams calling removes an app. Do you need detailed reporting, wallboards or recording for compliance? A hosted PBX usually does this with less fuss.
Also think about hardware and people. Older staff and reception desks often prefer a physical phone with buttons. Field staff prefer a mobile app. Both PBX and Teams support desk phones and apps, but the experience differs, so try each with the people who will use it most before committing.
Mixing the options sensibly
A common and sensible pattern is a hosted PBX or Teams system for the office, with field staff using the provider's mobile app so they share the same numbers and queues. Another is Teams calling for most staff with a single dedicated reception phone. What to avoid is two separate phone systems that cannot transfer calls to each other. Whichever you choose, the business should own the numbers, the account and the admin login, not a single staff member. Document who has admin access, how after-hours routing works and what happens when the internet is down, so the setup survives staff turnover.
Think about the next three years as well as today. A practice planning a second site, or a firm expecting to double its headcount, should pick a system that adds users, numbers and locations without a rebuild. Both hosted PBX and Teams calling scale well; a pile of personal mobiles does not. Equally, a two-person business with no growth plans should not pay for a call centre it will never use. Choose for the shape of the business you expect, then revisit at each contract renewal.
How to make the call
List your call patterns for a typical week: how many inbound calls, who answers, how often calls are transferred and what happens after hours. Match those to the options above, then trial the front-runner with real staff for a fortnight. A short trial reveals more than any feature comparison. Get quotes that show the full monthly cost per user including licences, numbers and add-ons, plus any hardware. The cheapest per-user price often excludes queues or recording, which can change the comparison entirely.
In short
- Hosted PBX: best for reception desks and heavy call handling.
- Teams calling: best when staff already work in Teams all day.
- Mobile-only: fine for very small teams, but keep numbers in the business's name.
- Avoid two phone systems that cannot transfer to each other.
- Trial with real staff before signing up.