Keep your fax number, save $100+/month, and never deal with paper jams again. A step-by-step guide to modernizing your fax setup.
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If you are reading this, you probably already know: your office fax machine is costing you more than it should. Between the dedicated phone line, paper, toner, maintenance, and the desk space it takes up, a traditional fax machine is one of the most expensive pieces of office equipment per actual use.
The average office fax machine costs between $100 and $200 per month to operate when you add up all the costs. That is $1,200 to $2,400 per year — for a device that most offices use a handful of times per week. And that does not account for the time your team spends dealing with paper jams, busy signals, unclear prints, and walking back and forth to the machine.
The good news: you can replace your fax machine with an online fax service in less than an hour, keep your existing fax number, and cut your faxing costs by 50-90%. This guide walks you through every step.
Online fax is not new technology. Businesses have been switching for over a decade. What has changed is that modern services like usfax.com have made the process simple enough that you do not need IT support to set it up. If you can send an email, you can send an online fax.
Before you start, gather these items. The whole process takes less than an hour of active time.
Any standard business internet connection works. No special bandwidth requirements.
If you want to keep your current fax number, have your phone bill handy with the account number and fax number. If you are fine with a new number, you can skip this.
Sign up for usfax.com or another online fax service. You will get a new fax number immediately and can port your old number later.
Not all online fax services are created equal. Here is what to look for when evaluating your options:
Pricing that matches your usage. Some services charge a flat monthly fee with a page allowance. Others, like usfax.com, offer a pay-per-fax option starting at $2.99 per fax — which is ideal if you only send a few faxes per month. Heavy users should look for plans with higher page counts. Check usfax.com pricing for a full breakdown.
HIPAA compliance if you need it. If you work in healthcare or handle any patient information, you need a service that offers a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). Not all services offer this. usfax.com provides HIPAA compliant faxing with a self-serve BAA on the Business plan. Need HIPAA? Upgrade to Business.
Number porting support. If you want to keep your existing fax number, confirm that the service supports number porting and ask about timelines. Most ports take 1-2 weeks.
US-based support. When you have a faxing issue, you want to talk to someone who can help quickly. Look for services with US-based customer support, not just a chatbot. You can review all usfax.com features to see what is included.
Number porting lets you transfer your existing fax number from your phone company to your online fax service. This is important if clients, partners, or vendors have your fax number on file — you do not want to notify everyone of a new number.
Here is how the porting process works:
Submit a port request. You will need your current phone account number, the fax number, and a recent bill. Your new online fax service submits the request to your phone carrier on your behalf.
Wait for the port to complete. Porting typically takes 1-2 weeks for landlines. During this time, your old fax machine continues to work normally. You will receive a notification when the port is complete.
Use a temporary number in the meantime. Most services give you a new fax number immediately when you sign up. You can start sending faxes right away using this number while your old number ports.
Do not cancel your phone line yet. Keep your old phone line active until the port is fully complete. Canceling the line before porting is done will cause you to lose the number permanently.
Once your online fax account is active, take a few minutes to configure it for your workflow:
Configure email notifications. Set up your account so incoming faxes are delivered as PDF attachments to your email address. This way, you receive faxes the same way you receive any other business communication — in your inbox.
Add team members. If multiple people in your office need access to faxing, add them to your account. On usfax.com Business plans, you can add up to 5 users with role-based access controls so everyone can send and receive faxes without sharing a login.
Set up a cover page template. Create a default cover page with your company name, logo, and contact information. This saves time on every fax you send and maintains a professional appearance.
Import your contacts. If you have a list of frequently-faxed numbers, import them into your online fax address book. This prevents dialing errors and speeds up sending.
Before you decommission your old machine, run a few tests to make sure everything works as expected:
Send a test fax. Send a test fax online to a colleague or your own old fax machine. Check that the document arrives clearly and completely. Verify the delivery confirmation.
Receive a test fax. Have someone send a fax to your new online fax number. Confirm it arrives in your email inbox as a PDF and in your online dashboard. Check the quality of the received document.
Test from different sources. If you regularly receive faxes from specific senders (pharmacies, courts, insurance companies), let them know your new number and ask them to send a test fax. This confirms compatibility with their equipment.
Test on mobile. Try sending and receiving a fax from your phone to make sure the mobile experience works for you. This is one of the biggest advantages of online fax — the ability to fax from anywhere.
Once you have confirmed everything works and your number has ported (if applicable), it is time to retire the old machine:
Cancel the dedicated phone line. Call your phone company and cancel the fax line. This alone saves $30-50 per month. Make sure the number has fully ported before canceling.
Recycle the hardware. Take your old fax machine to an electronics recycling center. Staples, Best Buy, and many local recycling centers accept old fax machines. Do not just throw it in the trash — fax machines contain materials that should be recycled properly.
Reclaim the desk space. Enjoy the extra space where your fax machine used to sit. No more paper trays, toner cartridges, or tangled phone cords.
Update your contact information. If you got a new fax number (instead of porting), update your business cards, website, email signature, and any directories where your fax number is listed.
Here is what you are actually paying for that fax machine — and what you could be paying instead.
$1,200-2,400 per year
Save up to $2,280 per year. View plans
Online fax queues your outgoing faxes and delivers them when connectivity is restored. Incoming faxes are stored on the server and delivered to your inbox once you are back online. You can also send faxes from your phone using mobile data as a backup.
Online fax typically produces better quality than traditional machines. Documents are sent as high-resolution digital files rather than being scanned by a physical scanner. PDFs, Word documents, and images are transmitted at their original quality without degradation.
Number porting usually takes 1-2 weeks. During this time, your old machine continues to work normally. You can also get a temporary new number from usfax.com immediately and start using it while your existing number ports over. There is no gap in service.
Absolutely. Online fax is fully compatible with traditional fax machines. Anyone can send a fax to your online fax number using their traditional fax machine — they do not need any special equipment or software. It works exactly like a regular fax number.
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Yes. Most online fax services, including usfax.com, support number porting. You can transfer your existing fax number to your new online fax account. The process typically takes 1-2 weeks, and you can continue using your old fax machine during the transition. Once porting is complete, all faxes to your number are delivered digitally.
Most businesses save $75-175 per month by switching from a traditional fax machine to online fax. A typical fax machine setup costs $100-200/month when you factor in the dedicated phone line ($30-50/mo), paper and toner ($20-40/mo), machine maintenance ($10-30/mo), and electricity. Online fax services like usfax.com start at $2.99 per fax for pay-per-use or $12/month for a subscription.
No. When porting your number, your old fax machine continues to receive faxes until the port is complete. There is no gap in service. Once the number transfers to your online fax account, incoming faxes are delivered to your email and online dashboard. You can also get a new fax number immediately from usfax.com and start using it while your old number ports.
Once you have confirmed your online fax service is working correctly, you can recycle your old fax machine through an electronics recycling program. Many office supply stores like Staples and Best Buy accept old electronics for recycling. You should also cancel the dedicated phone line to stop paying the monthly fee. Keep the machine for 30 days as a backup before recycling.
Yes. Online fax services like usfax.com are built on enterprise-grade infrastructure with 99.9% uptime guarantees. Unlike physical fax machines that can jam, run out of paper, or lose power, online fax works as long as you have an internet connection. You can send and receive faxes from any device — computer, phone, or tablet — from anywhere.
Join thousands of US businesses that have ditched the fax machine. No credit card required.