MessagingService.com's mid-level plan is an excellent value, as there is no setup fee and you get a free 800 toll-free or vanity number, which exceeds our Market Standard.  They do not offer a free trial to test their service. MessagingService.com does not let you make an online address book to store your contacts. The number of extensions they offer is below average and they do not offer conference calling features.  However, they provide an Internet fax service. Phone, email and live chat Customer Support is high quality and available five days a week.

Pricing

MessagingService.com's Direct Receptionist 2 plan has no set-up fee and is an excellent value for a mid-level plan. A local or toll-free number is included with the monthly fee, which meets our Market Standard. MessagingService.com does not offer any international numbers. They offer 800, 866, 877 and 888 toll-free area codes for free, and this exceeds our Market Standard. MessagingService.com also offers vanity numbers for free and will let you port in an already existing number for a $25 transfer fee. They do not offer a free trial, which falls short of our Market Standard.

Online Interface

MessagingService.com's online interface is low quality, but the signup process is quick and easy. In addition to the low quality interface, the service does not provide a setup wizard, which makes starting your account harder than it is with most PBX systems. The service does not allow you to store contacts in the interface. You can record call logs and receive voicemail alerts via text and email. However, the service does not offer a mobile app for accessing your PBX system on a smartphone.

Call Management Features

MessagingService.com's call handling does not allow you to set up general routing rules nor rules for individual contacts or entire groups of contacts. This service allows you to hold, transfer, and forward individual calls, which meets our Market Standard. In addition, MessagingService.com includes the ability to transfer any call you are currently on by simply using your phone's keypad.

MessagingService.com includes Follow Me routing, which lets you set up an ordered list of extensions that will ring sequentially when someone dials into your PBX system. Although MessagingService.com does not allow you to record calls, they do let you tag and screen calls before you are connected to them. The service allows you to make outbound calls with the use of a virtual calling card that uses your monthly minute allowance, but you cannot place calls when you are outside of the U.S.

PBX Features

MessagingService.com allows you to store voice messages online as well as receive them via email. They do not offer voice-to-text transcription, but you can opt to get alerts as a text or email when you receive a voicemail. You can store up to 500 voicemails for three weeks.

This service provides five extensions, which is fewer than our Market Standard of 25 extensions for mid-level plans. Adding an extension costs an extra $2 per month per extension. MessagingService.com does not offer conference calling, but they do offer receive and forward Internet fax service with each plan, which meets our Market Standard. They also let you set up an auto attendant that lets callers decide where they need to be routed within your PBX system (e.g. Press 1 for sales, 2 for customer support, etc.) as well as a dial-by-name directory.

Customer Support

MessagingService.com's offers high quality customer support. They offer phone support Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, usually with no hold times. The provider also offers email and live chat support throughout the week.