Internet Fax Buyer s Guide

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1 This guide is intended to highlight the key features and benefits of for those people evaluating the service. For more information on, go to Feature Internet Fax Reception Features Can you receive faxes via and online? Can you get inbound numbers in your area code/ in other area codes? Can you get inbound numbers in different countries? If you wish to create a virtual presence in another country, verify that the provider can offer numbers overseas. Or select a provider in your required destination country. Can you receive faxes in different formats (TIF, PDF)? With most internet fax service providers, inbound faxes are received as TIF file attachments. If you have special file format requirements - for example if you require compatibility with existing document management systems - verify that the provider can offer different formats. Common alternative formats are Acrobat PDF, JPEG/JPG and GIF. Can you easily change your inbound Does the internet fax service provider offer an online interface to make changes to your account? You should be able to change the address at which you receive your faxes at a moment's notice. Virtual Fax offers two ways of receiving faxes: via and online. Virtual Fax offers both toll free and local numbers. Local numbers are available for Ottawa (613), Toronto (416/647), Montreal (514), Calgary (403), Edmonton (780), Vancouver (604), New York (212, 516, 646, 718, 914, 917) and Boston (508, 617, 781, 857, 978). Virtual Fax does not offer inbound numbers in different countries. However, users can fax to international fax numbers using Virtual Fax. Inbound faxes are available in TIF or PDF format. Yes. Users can change their inbound addresses online. 1

2 If an inbound fax has been deleted from your account or does not reach your , can you obtain a copy of the fax online? Your may sometimes fail to receive an inbound fax - for example, due to a full mailbox or a communications failure - or you may inadvertently have deleted a received fax. The provider should offer a method for you to obtain the fax online. Can you receive faxes to more than one You may wish to receive faxes to a backup address, or your business may have fax archiving requirements. Verify that the provider can forward your faxes to multiple addresses. Can you receive faxes by encrypted/signed ? is an open communications protocol, readable by anyone with access to its path. Public-key encryption can secure your faxes from prying eyes and verify that the fax you have received originates with the fax service provider. A security-conscious provider will enable you to upload your public key into the system and have all faxes ed to you in encrypted format. Can you view inbound/outbound activity online? The provider should offer online screens through which you can follow your fax reception activity. Is there a test period/money-back guarantee? This should give you at least 30 days to try the service at no cost. If a setup charge applies - it should be refunded to you if you decide not to continue the service. Internet Fax Transmission Features Can you send faxes from and online? Can you send faxes in your required formats (DOC, JPG, TXT, etc.)? Most internet fax service providers support a variety of document formats to be sent as attachments. What matters most is not who supports the most file formats, but who supports the file formats that YOU require. Can you set a fax identifier for outbound faxes? Can you set a unique identifier to confirm to the recipient the identity of the fax sender? Yes. Users can go online to retrieve their inbound faxes for the previous 7 days. Users can also call Protus Customer Support and request that the inbound fax be re-sent. Yes. You can receive faxes at up to three different addresses. Yes. Users can employ PGP encryption to securely receive their faxes as long as they have provided Protus with their public key. Protus uses their public key to encrypt the fax. Once the fax is sent to the customer, they use their private key to decrypt the fax for viewing purposes. Note: Protus does not support PGP signatures. Yes. Virtual Fax allows users to see a live update of outbound faxes in progress online. Users can also obtain a fax history report of inbound and outbound activity online. Protus does not currently offer a money-back guarantee. Trial versions are typically distributed to commercial sales prospects only. Protus does not offer free trial versions to the general public online. Virtual Fax enables users to send faxes privately through and through a secure website. Yes. Virtual Fax supports 200 different file formats. The most commonly faxed file formats are Microsoft Word, PDF, and HTML. Yes. Virtual Fax automatically prints the fax banner line at the top of the page, with the customer s personalized information. Also, when sending faxes from the Virtual Fax Web Fax service, under the Advanced Settings, users can input a name or unique identifier in the From Field. 2

3 Can you send faxes from more than one Can you send faxes from more than one user in the office? A provider should enable you to set numerous addresses from which faxes may be sent. Is the internet fax service integrated with commonly used clients? Such as client integration with Microsoft Outlook. Can the internet fax service provider accept encrypted s for outbound faxes? Does the internet fax service provider supply any privacy features? Can you receive confirmations of fax results by ? Can you view outbound activity online? Is it easy to resubmit failed faxes? How many attempts are made before a fax is considered undeliverable? Does the provider charge for failed faxes? Can you run fax broadcasts through Protus range of services? If yes, can you automatically merge fields into the document? Can fields from the distribution list be automatically merged into each fax? Can the provider manage my "do not send" list? Can distribution jobs be scheduled to a certain time? Can billing codes be assigned to specific jobs? Can you manage your own lists online? What distribution list formats are supported? Yes. Users can send faxes from up to three designated addresses. i.e: work, home, and mobile address Please note that users can receive faxes at up to three different accounts as well. Yes. Users can download the Virtual Fax Send Fax button. This button integrates into Microsoft Outlook and helps users send faxes from . Yes. Protus can accept PGP encrypted s for outbound faxes as long as the user has Protus public key. The Protus PGP public key can be obtained for free from the web: Yes. Please see the Virtual Fax Privacy fact sheet for more information: Yes. Users receive confirmations of fax results by . Yes. Virtual Fax allows users to see a live update of outbound faxes in progress online. Yes. Failed transmissions are automatically re-attempted twice. If the fax still does not go through after these two automatic re-attempts, then the user just has to re-send their original . If the original fax does not transmit the first time, it is automatically re-attempted twice. No. Protus does not typically charge for failed faxes. Yes. Virtual Fax allows users can send a fax to a maximum of 50 recipients online or a maximum of 9 recipients via . Alternatively, Protus messaging services can be used to send a fax broadcast to lists with more than 50 names. Users of the Protus Fax Broadcast service can merge fields into a document that is intended for a fax broadcast. With the Fax Broadcast service, fields from the distribution list can be automatically merged into each fax. Protus can manage the do not call lists of fax broadcast customers. Yes. Distribution jobs can be scheduled to a certain date and time. Yes. Billing codes can be assigned to specific jobs. Yes, Virtual Fax has a list manager that allows users to upload their own contact lists or add contacts to their list online. Distribution lists must be in Text or.csv format. 3

4 Is there a limitation on the number of No. Users of the Protus Fax Broadcast service can send the recipients per broadcast job? fax to an unlimited number of recipients. Using Virtual Fax, one can send their fax to a maximum of nine destinations at a time via and up to 50 if sending on-line. Can the provider automatically add cover Yes. Users can add a cover page to faxes being sent either pages? by the web or by . Can more than one outbound user be defined Yes. Use online tools to create new accounts and to delete under an account? or modify existing accounts or sub-accounts. Costs - Fax Reception Does the internet fax service provider charge a Yes. Virtual Fax users pay an initial $9.95 USD/$12.95 CDN setup fee? setup fee. A setup fee is a one-time charge associated with allocating your fax number and opening your account. Does the internet fax service provider charge a Yes. Virtual Fax users pay a $9.95 USD/$12.95 CDN monthly subscription fee? subscription fee per month. A monthly subscription fee is applied regardless of whether or not you have received any faxes. Is there a limit on how many faxes you can Yes. There is no limit to the number of faxes you can receive for free? receive. Virtual Fax users who have either a toll-free or local An internet fax service provider may limit the number number can receive 200 free pages and send 100 free pages of faxes you can receive and require an additional per month. Beyond these limits, users pay $0.10 USD/$0.12 per-page fee once this limit is exceeded. CDN per received or sent page. If yes, how much is charged for each Users pay $0.10 USD/$0.12 CDN per received page beyond additional fax/page received? the 200-free page limits for toll-free and local numbers. Make sure to find out whether the fee is per page or per fax. Costs - Fax Transmission How much does the internet fax service Users are charged $0.10 USD/$0.12 CDN per sent page. provider charge per fax/page/minute? Sending price is based on a 60-second transmission time per Normally providers will charge by page. Some fax page. Transmissions requiring longer than 60 seconds per providers add a condition that faxed pages longer page may be charged as multiple pages. than one minute in duration will be charged extra. Pay attention to the additional increment here, too. ** in reality however, if a customer sends the occasional 75- For example, for a 66-second one-fax some providers second per page fax, then they will still be only charged for may charge the equivalent of 2 pages, while some the one page (i.e. $0.10 USD/$0.12 CDN). For customers providers will charge for 1.1 pages, while others may regularly exceeding the 60-second limit, a new per-page only charge for the one page. Note: Some internet charge might be negotiated. fax service providers quote 30-second increments. Since faxes are almost never shorter than 30 seconds, you will end up paying up to twice the quoted price. Internet fax service provider features - miscellaneous Does the provider offer support? If yes, how Yes. Users can access free online and toll-free telephone (by phone, )? support through your account. Customer support representatives can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Is support free, paid? Protus offers free customer support. How long does it take for a sales rep to call you back? Always within 24 hours. During business hours, within 2 hours. 4

5 How long does it take to get a support Within 2 hours. answered? Does the provider have an emergency "out of Customers should call Customer Support if they have any service" notification phone number? concerns relating to the fax service. In the event of maintenance down-time, customers will be informed via . How long has the provider been in business? has been in business since Does the provider operate his own equipment or outsource operations? How many faxes does the provider send per month? Account Management Can more than one user be defined under an account? Advanced Features Does the service offer a programmer API? Is the provider responsive to feature requests? Can you receive summary reports on usage by or online? operates its own equipment. None of the fax services are outsourced. manages over 41 million faxes per month. Yes. Use online tools to create new accounts and to delete or modify existing accounts or sub-accounts. Yes. Fax-delivery procedures can be automated through SMTP and XML APIs. Yes. is very responsive to feature requests and suggestions submitted from its user base. Yes. Users receive fax completion reports via for single and multiple sent faxes. Users can also access fax history and usage reports from the web. 5