What should I ask about an answering service’s phone system and call-routing software?
Ask who owns and licenses the phone system, whether the contracts transfer to a new owner, how calls are routed to operators, what happens in an outage, where recordings are kept and who administers the system. Then ask how hard it would be to change vendors if the current one fails.
Start with ownership and contracts. The system may be licensed in the seller’s name, hosted by a vendor or run on equipment the business owns. Read the agreements for renewal dates, minimum commitments, transfer rules and fees for ending early. Check whether the person who set it up still works there.
Then test reliability. Ask for the outage history, how the business knew about problems, and how calls were handled while they lasted. Ask what backups exist: a second carrier, a failover site, a way to forward calls. An answering service stakes its reputation on picking up, so a single weak link matters.
Look at routing. How does a call find the right operator and the right script for a given client? Who changes those rules, and is there a record of changes? If one person holds the knowledge, learn it before the sale. Finally, ask where call recordings and client data sit, who can reach them, and how they would move to you. Ask your lawyer about privacy duties. Ask a technical adviser to inspect the setup before you commit.
Key takeaways
- Confirm who owns the system and whether the agreements transfer.
- Review outage history and the backup plan for incoming calls.
- Find out who controls routing rules and how changes are recorded.
- Ask where recordings are stored and how they would move to you.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
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