One of the miracles of modern technology is being able to receive faxes via email. It was indeed a wonder when the fax machine was first invented. The ability to send documents back and forth at the push of a button was something made out of science fiction and Star Trek. But, every day, businesses in every industry rely on sending documents back and forth via the fax machine. These businesses include real estate companies, law offices, and even your local restaurant that receives and processes faxed in lunch requests. Imagine the savings in both time and money.
As technology progressed so did the fax machine and its limitless possibilities. I was recently reminded of the reason why faxing to a dedicated fax machine is virtually a thing of the past when I was asked to send some documents to an “old school” attorney recently. The first thing he told me was to “wait … don’t send anything until I can switch on my fax machine.” Of course, being the polite person that I am, I said “sure.” He called me back in about 5 minutes to tell me that the machine was on and to proceed with the fax transmission. On my end, I pressed the send button on my computer and waited patiently for him to call me back to inform me that he’d received my fax. 10 minutes … 20 minutes … 1 hour. Finally, 2 hours later he called me back and said that he had to use the “fax machine” to take a call. In other words, the fax was on the same line as his phone number. Over the course of 5 days, we played this game of fax tag.
Let’s fast forward to the 21st century. On my end, I’ve been able to send and receive faxes by email for years. But, then again, I’m a technology geek, so I tend to adopt technology early. Mind you, though, sending and receiving faxes by email is not rocket science stuff. If you can turn on a computer, open your email and attach a file, you can send a fax via email. Those are literally the steps you take to do this 21st century task. And, the receiver of the fax has no idea that the fax was not sent via a regular fax machine. Conversely, receiving a fax to your email is just as easy. The fax is sent by the sender to your “fax number”, which essentially turns it into an email attachment. If you can read an email and open an attachment, you’ve just figured out how to get a fax by email.
What are some of the benefits of a solution like this? Let’s see let me count the ways. Firstly, I’m a big proponent of everything virtual … virtual phones … virtual office … virtual assistant, and yes, virtual faxes. One of the biggest benefits of getting your fax via email is saving on the massive amounts of paper faxes generate. Virtual faxing is good for your pocket book and good for our planet. In other words, print only what you need. Another great benefit is the ability to be anywhere on the planet. You can literally be on the beaches of Hawaii and receive your faxes. Isn’t that a lovely thought? Finally, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, you don’t have to hang up on the person you’re talking to in order to send or receive a fax … keep on talking!
What are the downsides to receiving faxes via email? For one thing, there is a monthly fee associated with it. But, the costs are minimal, some as low as 7 bucks a month. What about signatures? I’ve scanned my signature into my computer. So, I simply cut and paste my signature onto a fax document and voila, I’m done. I hate paper and love the freedom to be anywhere I want to be, unshackled by a physical device. Now, isn’t that worth the prices of a couple of What are the downsides to receiving faxes via email? For one thing, there is a monthly fee associated with it. But, the costs are minimal, some as low as 7 bucks a month. What about signatures? I’ve scanned my signature into my computer. So, I simply cut and paste my signature onto a fax document and voila, I’m done. I hate paper and love the freedom to be anywhere I want to be, unshackled by a physical device. Now, isn’t that worth the prices of a couple of Starbucks Frappachinos a month?
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