Who has a dedicated fax line these days? They’re an unnecessary expense unless you’re literally sending faxes several times a day, and even then, you can do it so much easier from a computer. And for those of us who only need to send a fax once in a while, there’s just no reason to pay for a dedicated line and the upkeep of a bulky fax machine. You CAN fax from a computer, and we’re going to tell you how.
Test Drive Our #1 Recommended Choice and Fax Free for 30 Days!
Can You Fax From Your Computer Without a Dedicated Fax Line? Yes!
It’s simple to fax a computer when you sign up with a third-party service like RingCentral. Once you do, your email account is turned into a fax account, and as long as you address things right, you can send faxes that print off on someone else’s machine just as if you’d used a machine yourself.
Why Do I Need a Third-Party Service at All?
Email services don’t offer fax service, and that’s because email is transmitted over the internet. Faxes, meanwhile, have to be transmitted over phone lines. This makes them more secure than emails, and that’s why there are certain situations where you must send a fax. The IRS, lawyers and courts, hospitals and doctor’s offices, international businesses and schools, and similar entities may all require you to send faxes if you’re dealing with official documents.
Sure, the local office supply store offers faxing services, and technically, that’s a third-party service, too. But you have to travel to and from the location, wait in line, and then pay a couple of dollars a page to get your fax sent. A third-party service that works with your email, meanwhile, operates in bulk with many customers and can offer you discounted services. If you’re only sending a one-time fax, you’ll be able to do it for free. If you need to send more, you’ll be paying just pennies a page, not dollars.
How Does It Work?
Once you’re signed up, you’ll just link your email account and then open a new email to compose your fax. In the “To” field, you’ll put your recipient’s fax number followed by the suffix given to you by RingCentral. That ensures your fax goes to them for proper transmission according to faxing protocols. In the end, your address field will have something like this in it:
2348764532@rcfax.com
Then, you’ll attach your documents, just like you would if you sent an email. You can attach various document types, but the best by far is usually .pdf. If you want to attach a cover letter, then type that into the Subject field of your email. You want to leave the main body of the email blank: nothing you put in there will get sent. Then, hit “Send,” and you’re done!
What If I Don’t Want to Use Email?
No problem. You can also go straight to the RingCentral website and do everything there. You can also download the convenient RingCentral app to your phone or computer and use that.
What If I Have a Lot of Faxes to Send?
So far, our discussion here sounds perfect for the occasional faxer, but actually, RingCentral is also optimized for bulk faxing needs. Even if you’re sending 1,500 faxes or more a month, this service will save you money by saving you time.
Get rid of the dedicated line and the old, faulty machine, and end all that time spent standing around the fax machine. Did it go through? When will I hear from them? Did I put it in upside down? Did it blur on the way? You’ll never have those questions again.
Get started today when you Test Drive Our #1 Recommended Choice and Fax Free for 30 Days!