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NextivaONE is our choice for the best business phone system with analytics and reporting because it features easy-to-use business intelligence software, including trend analysis and performance statistics.
Gleaning actionable insights from your corporate phone system can improve scheduling and customer support services. Nextiva delivers in-depth information in a user-friendly format, making it our top pick for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform with analytics and reporting. It integrates with popular customer relationship management (CRM) software and provides unlimited calling nationwide. The NextivaONE application consolidates business communications, centralizing voice, video and team collaboration tools.
9 / 10
The breadth and depth of Nextiva’s analytics and reports stand out among the best business phone systems we examined. The platform’s real-time call logs and visual graphics help businesses streamline reporting and reduce data complexity. Nextiva supplies dashboards, wallboards and around 125 custom point-click reports.
Users can create individual scorecards for a customer support team or display key performance indicators (KPIs) on wallboards for sales staff. We appreciate the historical data reporting tools, which allow you to track customer locations and analyze calling trends. Plus, setting up and automating report delivery is easy; no technical experience is required.
When testing the platform, we like how you can look, as seen in this screenshot, at individual performance to identify training opportunities. Source: Nextiva
Along with VoIP phone service data, the Professional plan incorporates Nextiva CRM software for a 360-degree view of the customer journey. Most competitors don’t have a built-in CRM. Alternatively, Professional users can integrate third-party CRMs like HubSpot, whereas the Enterprise plan supports Salesforce Service and Oracle Sales Cloud.
We are impressed with how Nextiva has evolved over the years. It has recently added new tools like threaded conversations and collaboration rooms, which is helping to ensure you can access all of your communication tools all from the Nextiva platform. This is a huge plus for businesses looking to consolidate the number of communications tools their employees are using.
Small businesses use data science to stay ahead of the competition. Customize Nextiva’s analytics dashboard to showcase the metrics and reports that impact your decisions the most.
Making sure a small business phone system is easy to use is critical when deciding which one to purchase. NextivaONE software includes an upgraded desktop app. We like how it stores all files, conversations, attachments, meeting recordings, notes and links in a single system. Instead of toggling between services, employees can access most information through NextivaONE — giving staff a significant productivity boost.
We were impressed with NextivaONE’s Threaded Conversations feature. After pulling up a contact, you can view all customer interactions, from phone calls to emails. Nextiva also updated its mobile apps, eliminating some bugs plaguing users, as noted in previous Nextiva reviews. However, the company is slower to implement changes than rivals like RingCentral, which updates its phone app almost monthly.
Nextiva offers easy access to its business intelligence tools. Tap on Get Analytics to see insights as you click through the analytics and reports. The ability to drill down reports is another time-saving feature. While viewing reports, tap the drill-down tab to see data from a different angle, like by channel or department, without running a new report. Each new version can be saved as a CSV, PDF, PNG or JPG file.
As seen in this screenshot from our test of the platform, NextOS Analytics offers flexible reporting tools. Source: Nextiva
When choosing a business phone system, it is critical that it includes all of the features and tools needed. Nextiva definitely checks this box. We like how Nextiva’s phone service supports multiple communication channels. Users can download the Nextiva app to access call forwarding, unlimited internet faxing and team collaboration tools. While features vary by tier, Professional and Enterprise users can access high-level analytics beyond the standard reports on other business phone systems. Some of the features we were most impressed with include the following.
Unlike phone services that only share call times and usage statistics, Nextiva uses AI to fuel insights. Nextiva’s customer analytics and VoIP reporting tools are easy to use and incredibly detailed. The business intelligence software increases your visibility into your operations and customers, allowing you to forecast your call volumes and scheduling needs.
The best call center services use analytics to ensure phone coverage during peak hours. They also track metrics to understand customer experiences better. Even small companies benefit from capturing data about business communications.
This feature is vital for sales teams, call centers and employees working toward shared goals. Other providers reserve dashboards for contact center software, but Nextiva provides dashboard functionality on its business communication Professional and Enterprise tiers. The Professional plan offers ready-to-use dashboard templates, whereas Enterprise users can create custom dashboards. We like how the dashboards display reports as charts or tables and metrics as tiles — all in a one-page view. [Explore more call center features that overlap with VoIP phone services.]
Most VoIP services provide call logs and basic usage reports. We like how Nextiva lets you analyze call quality to understand the account’s overall performance or narrow it down by a specific user or location. You can also create custom groups for reporting, like one for your sales team and another for customer support. Select the Enterprise plan to view call recordings and transcriptions on your call logs.
View quality of service reports to catch problems before they affect customers. Source: Nextiva
We didn’t find this feature on many other phone systems we reviewed, but Nextiva’s robust CRM features add value to your VoIP subscription. Nextiva CRM supports multichannel outreach, uses AI for customer sentiment, and includes productivity-boosting tools like click-to-call and automated follow-up. The Nextiva app displays key customer information, and you can learn what toll-free or local number the customer dialed before picking up the call, which is great for small teams using multiline phone systems.
This feature is typically found on contact center tools but isn’t standard VoIP phone service. NextivaONE’s Threaded Conversation is a new addition to the Nextiva platform. It features displays all communications in one place, including emails, text messages and phone calls. Users can add notes and see survey results without switching applications.
As seen in this image from our test, you can tap on a customer contact to view their entire history with your company. Source: Nextiva
Productivity decreases every time employees switch apps. According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, the average user at a Fortune 500 company spends about 9 percent of their annual work time adjusting their focus after toggling between apps and websites.
Some VoIP providers offer online spaces for chat conversations, similar to Slack. If you’re a small business owner with remote employees, you will appreciate NextivaONE collaboration rooms, which encourage virtual interactions. This is a new addition to the platform that we found very valuable. Users can chat or switch to a video or phone call with one click.
Connect with your team in shared spaces. Source: Nextiva
This feature is becoming standard on unified communications platforms. All Nextiva subscriptions include one-to-one video conferencing, something not all providers offer on base plans. Users can share screens and files while instant messaging. However, we found its video calling features more limited than Zoom, our top choice for conferencing. Learn why this VoIP service stands out in our Zoom Phone review.
Meet with your team face-to-face in NextivaONE. Source: Nextiva
If your company relies on video meetings for customer relations or employee collaboration, look for phone software with tools that improve your video conferencing. Nextiva integrates with your work calendar for seamless scheduling.
While almost all providers we reviewed offer a virtual receptionist for greeting and routing calls, we preferred Nextiva’s intuitive interface. Professional implementation support is available too, which helps small business owners without technical experience quickly configure their systems. This ease of use extends to updates, allowing admins to add or remove employees and change permissions from a single screen.
Pricing is a huge factor when deciding which phone system to invest in. We like how many options Nextiva gives businesses. This helps ensure there is an option within your budget. Nextiva pricing ranges from $17.95 to $45.95, depending on the number of users, service plan and contract length. It provides volume discounts based on the tier (one to four users, five to 19 users, 20 to 99 users, or 100+ users). Additionally, the company gives discounts for one-, two- or three-year contracts. Users that prepay for three years receive the best price. Nextiva’s costs are competitive with RingCentral and GoTo Connect, but are higher than Dialpad and Ooma.
Nextiva offers three subscriptions — Essential, Professional and Enterprise. Unlike competitors, the Essential plan includes online fax and video conferencing capabilities with chat service, but it lacks SMS/MMS. We like that all accounts include a toll-free number (and toll-free minutes), and each user gets a local phone number. Small business users may prefer the Professional plan, which offers text messaging and CRM integrations.
Nextiva phone service includes the following features:
However, certain features that people rely on — like voicemail transcription, call recording and Microsoft Teams integration — only come with the Enterprise plan. In addition, no subscriptions allow unlimited video conferencing. Nextiva caps video calls at 45 minutes. While you can schedule meetings and use screen-sharing tools, the lack of unlimited conference calls can be a no-go for those wanting longer sessions.
Here’s how the plans for five to 19 users compare:
Service plan | Monthly fee* | Features |
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Essential | $29.95 per user, or $27.95 with a 12-month contract |
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Professional | $33.95 per user, or $31.95 with a 12-month contract |
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Enterprise | $43.95 per user, or $41.95 with a 12-month contract |
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In addition to Nextiva’s business communications plans, it offers four contact center packages. These subscriptions have workforce optimization tools and omnichannel routing. Nextiva also offers phone equipment like headsets, desk phones and adapters. You can lease phones or buy them outright. Phone rentals range from $3.90 to $16 per month. Nextiva provides fewer customization options than Vonage. Our review of Vonage identified it as a top choice for add-on features.
Equipment expenses can affect your budget when you switch from a landline to VoIP. Consider leasing equipment to reduce capital costs and transition some employees to less expensive headsets for their softphone applications.
Nextiva provides the best onboarding experience because professional implementation services come with all subscriptions, not just the Enterprise plan. The business phone system setup guide walks you through four steps: Add employees, create hunt groups, set auto-attendants, and attach phone numbers. We found each page easy to navigate, and the tool lets you configure one or more auto attendants quickly.
Alternatively, you can bulk-upload employees from your active directory. If you have just a handful of employees, you can set up the Nextiva phone system and start communicating within minutes. Defining specific user permissions and creating advanced call flows will take a little longer.
While you can handle most tasks online via the self-service portal, you must contact Nextiva to enable end-to-end encryption for its phone system. Like other VoIP services, Nextiva provides onboarding tools for administrators and employees, including training webinars and step-by-step guides. With these materials and the intuitive user interface, your teams can familiarize themselves with the system faster and face fewer barriers.
Nextiva’s customer support experience is one of the best in the industry. Unlike competitors, Nextiva provides 24/7 customer service for all plan tiers, so even if you’re a small team using the Essential plan, you can still reach the Nextiva team through live chat, phone and email. Normal response times for online ticketing range from one to three days, depending on the security level. But the company recommends that users call customer support for emergencies.
Along with excellent customer service, we like that Nextiva support includes many self-service options. It has a searchable knowledge base with quick start guides for the Nextiva app, call flows and VoIP phone setup. Users can view videos to learn about call recording and customer sentiment tools. In addition, Nextiva provides on-demand webinars and provisioning information for phone equipment, which wasn’t something we found with every business phone system we examined.
Although Nextiva’s phone system stands out for its advanced analytics, you may want a different service in a couple of cases. For instance, we were disappointed that the Essential plan lacks SMS/MMS. Additionally, there are less expensive and equally reliable solutions for VoIP service. Dialpad’s entry-tier package includes unlimited calling, text messaging, call recording and voicemail transcription. Learn about its features in our Dialpad review.
Unlimited calling packages can reduce expenses for companies facing increased costs from international calling. But Nextiva does not have this option. GoTo Connect and 8×8 include unmetered global calls on certain plans, whereas Zoom Phone has an international calling add-on. We noted in our GoTo Connect review that it’s the least expensive solution and includes more countries than 8×8 or Zoom.
After researching the top business phone systems and spending dozens of hours trying different services, we rated each platform based on our experiences. We considered pricing, features, customer service options and ease of use. Our evaluation compared analytics and reporting tools to determine which services added the most value for small to midsize teams. Use our guide to selecting a business phone system to learn more about what to look for when choosing a service for your business.
Nextiva supports well-known brands, including Cisco, Panasonic, Poly, VTech and Yealink. You can also use an ATA (analog telephone adaptor) to connect analog devices or download an app to answer calls from your iOS or Android smartphone.
Nextiva is a private, U.S.-based company with global headquarters located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Nextiva can automatically record calls if enabled by the system administrator. User settings can always record, allow employees to pause and resume, or record only on demand.
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