Would like info on receiving faxes on the Internet/email

[Denne]

I am considering making a chance from receiving faxes on my fax machine and perhaps receiving them on Internet or in my email. I don't know how it works at all, but wondered if anyone does this and if they use a specific service..... Do you like it better than having your fax receive documents? What kinds of problems have you had? What do you like better about it?

Thanks for your advise!

[taxit]

I have an old computer with a modem that I use for receiving and sending fax documents as well as for my employees to clock in/out. This works well for me. I can view the faxes and either print or delete. The fax console is part of Windows, so I did not need to purchase any software. If you are trying to eliminate the phone line for the fax this method will not help you.

[Lion EA]

I also have done what taxit does, but in the past. Now, I use eFax to receive faxes and to send documents already in my computer. (I also have a stand alone fax machine for sending paper documents. It has a flat screen that I can use for books or other non-flat items. It's a color copier, printer, etc., and has it's own plain vanilla phone line. That gives me one AT&T line in case my cable goes out.) With eFax, I don't have to waste paper and toner to print junk or anything I don't need as a hard copy. I can save directly into a client's folder. It also has a message center on line, so I can check my faxes from any internet connection. That also provides an extra back-up of my faxes off site. Faxes land in my email (sender just sends to a fax number and has no knowledge of the email route.) I paid to upgrade my service so I could choose my own fax number, but free and very inexpensive services are available from eFax and others.

[Lion EA]

Don't know how to provide you a direct link, but go see a thread started 27 May 2010 by MAMalody asking about internet faxing...

[kcjenkins]

One other advantage of eFax and other email fax solutions is that you have the ability to store ALL your incoming faxes on your computer, as pdfs if you wish, so that you can quickly find any fax from a particular phone number. And efax allows you to send the incoming faxes to up to 5 different email addresses, so you always have that extra backup, if you wish it. And then you can go to any of those mailboxes, to look up a fax. One friend set up a separate Gmail account just for his efaxes. So if there is a question about 'did I get a fax from X?' he can go there, where he archives every fax as it comes in, a gmail option, and he can quickly find the fax in question, or feel real comfortable in stating that he never got it, if it is not there.

[DevM]

Don't know how to provide you a direct link, but go see a thread started 27 May 2010 by MAMalody asking about internet faxing...

I am using My Fax My link

you get all faxes in email and print what you need.

Devm

[Kea]

I am also using My Fax. I started using pFax a few years ago, but it was bought by My Fax. It also delivers straight to e-mail, so I don't have to waste paper on junk faxes or duplicates or anything else. The best part is I don't have to hear a phone ring in the middle of the night!!

[Eagles Ridge]

I have also used myfax.com for 5 years or more. The nice thing is they give you an 800 number, which is nice. I live in a small town and with efax, there was no local number available. I also do a lot of mail in returns, so people out of town and state have a toll free number to use. They also have a way to stop the junk from coming into your mailbox. They also send you a confirmation of the fax delivery.

[MAMalody]

I use TrustFax by Comodo Communications. I have an 800 number through them for this which is great because my business is internet based and I have not seen a client in 7 years. With doing returns in 18 states it is no cost to the sender and all my faxes end up as .pdf files which I can file in my computer or delete. Saves paper, filing time, shredding time, lost docs, etc. Works great for me. I do some traveling and it also allows me to work wherever I am and to send or receive docs whereever I am. With this outfit, you buy so many pages at a time. I would have to check but I buy 1400 or so pages at a time for $90-100. I did not exceed that number during the filing season - part of the reason in most of my clients scan there docs in and e-mail them to me.

[Lion EA]

I also had an 800 number from eFax. Then, I discovered most of my clients had national plans and did not pay long distance charges. And, I wanted to pick my own number. So, I upgraded from the free service and chose my own fax number from eFax. I think the best thing about any of these internet-based fax services is that you don't print the junk faxes.

[GeneInAlabama]

I don't know how it happened, but for about the last 20 years that I have had a fax machine, I have NEVER received a junk fax. Mind you, I'm not complaining; I just don't understand how I have gotten by all this time without receiving one. I do leave my machine on 24 hours a day. I just wish I could say the same about getting telemarketing calls. They are driving me crazy.

[Lloyd Hudson]

We have been using k7.net for several years to receive faxes. Free generic Seattle number. Recently started using My Fax for sending and receiving. My Fax seems a bit slow to upload and send. Otherwise seems to be an excellent service and reasonable in cost. Probably a bit cheaper than fax machine, maintenace, paper toner etc.

[Denne]

We have been using k7.net for several years to receive faxes. Free generic Seattle number. Recently started using My Fax for sending and receiving. My Fax seems a bit slow to upload and send. Otherwise seems to be an excellent service and reasonable in cost. Probably a bit cheaper than fax machine, maintenace, paper toner etc.

Thanks to you all for giving me all of your ideas! It looks like the MyFax service will be less expensive than the extra telepone line that I am paying for. Time to switch ;~) Love the idea of no Fax RINGING in the middle of the night too!!

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Just catching up with this topic after vacation but very interested. I would, in fact, like to keep my phone line - it's only $10 per month, on my letterhead, business cards, website, etc - but would really like it to go to my computer/email. I can't figure out how to do that, though, and didn't see or understand that here. I can connect that line to my computer and/or to a mfc that is connected but the directions are beyound my brain capacity now. Any guidance here?

[Lion EA]

You might want to install Fax that comes with Windows:

Using Fax

Using Fax

Fax provides you with complete fax facilities from your computer. You can configure fax settings, send and receive faxes, track and monitor fax activity, and access archived faxes. Using Fax, you can choose to send and receive faxes with a local fax device attached to your computer, or with a remote fax device connected to fax resources located on a network.

Fax is not installed by default during Windows Setup.

To install the Fax component

1. Open Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.
2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3. In the Windows Components Wizard, select the Fax Services check box, and then follow the instructions on your screen.

Notes

• To open Fax after installation, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Fax Console.
• For more information on using Fax, click Help in Fax Console.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Thanks for this information. Of course my windows setup doesn't show that, possibly because my computer guy who built it didn't think it was needed. The search shows the file there in April 08 and uninstalled in May. He will burn a disk copy for me if I want to reinstall.

Then I wondered if I have to have a modem for this. I don't now have one in this computer but could get it installed. But then do things have to be transmitted and received via modem and not my dsl? And do I then have to leave my computer on 24/7 to receive faxes? I do assume that I would still be able to scan, save the document and fax through the computer but am missing some important pieces of this funtionality for sure!

In trying to make some things easier, I kinda feel that it's getting ever more challenging - for me, at least!

[Lion EA]

With eFax, faxes are received in their message center and an email sent to me with the fax attached. When I turn on my computer and check my email, or check my email from some other computer, or go on line to their message center from any computer (or my iPhone to go on line or check my email, for that matter), I can read my faxes. They're stored for me until I read them and then for a year or so. Think of receiving email when your computer is off; it's waiting for you when you check on it and doesn't get turned away just because you're not on right now. Ages ago I used the built-in Windows fax to send but not to receive, so really don't remember much about it.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Okay, thanks, Lion. I think maybe this won't work for me then as I want to do both ways with my existing fax line but through the computer. Maybe it just isn't possible to have it all the way I want it. Ahh, the sacrifices... It's just that I have a phone and internet plan that is priced for life and if I change anything, all the costs increase immediately. So it's worth keeping the $10 per month fax line, buy the paper and ink and scan and keep the things I want to keep. I just can't turn the ringer off completely - a minimum of 2 rings is required. This isn't always fun..

Thanks again!

[Lion EA]

I'm tech-challenged, but the Windows help mentioned using an existing fax machine. It might be worth a consult with a techie to see if you can network your existing line to send and receive. It seems like it should be possible. And, to keep a good monthly package.... Hopefully, someone who does that will jump in. Also, over on the TMI board, The Tax Book, there's a techie MAJ I think who offered his services for preparers posting questions and has provided some great plain English explanations. Come join us: http://www.thetaxbook.com/

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Thanks, Lion. I will check it out!

[taxit]

I have an old computer that is only used for receiving and sending fax's. The fax program is part of Windows and on my screen is called Fax Console. This computer stays on all the time, mainly to receive payroll information. I am not good with these things but I pay a guy that is good with computers. The only problem is if you want to fax a paper that is not in the computer , you will need to be able to scan it in. I have a fear of using a fax service because of clients information. I'm not sure who has access to those fax's wherever they are being stored.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Now that sounds like something I can do. And I can network my main computer so as to share a folder to send and receive. I will definitely look at that option after I finish these extended returns. There is likely to be the full fax function and a modem on my older machine. You do use a modem, don't you? I have extra monitors, too, even an extra flat screen that would work. Thanks, taxit!

[taxit]

Yes that computer does have a modem and I have a 14" flat monitor on it and yes it is networked. This works very well for me. The phone line for the fax also acts as a 2nd line to make and receive calls.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I have an old computer that is only used for receiving and sending fax's. The fax program is part of Windows and on my screen is called Fax Console. This computer stays on all the time, mainly to receive payroll information. I am not good with these things but I pay a guy that is good with computers. The only problem is if you want to fax a paper that is not in the computer , you will need to be able to scan it in. I have a fear of using a fax service because of clients information. I'm not sure who has access to those fax's wherever they are being stored.

Okay, so I have just spent a couple of hours and $100+ for a computer to be set up just as you described. All works pretty well except for one major issue. The principal reason I wanted this was to save the faxed documents to the respective client files as pdf's like all documents. So I can print to a regular printer or save as a tiff. I tried to add Adobe Pro as a printer and it goes through all the motions asking me where to save the file, says it's printing, etc. but nothing shows up as saved. Ideas?

It seems silly to have this capability only to have to print everything, scan and save when all I wanted to do was save the electronic document in the first place. Should I just go back to my regular fax machine after all? Thanks!