There can be little doubt that for most businesses their most critical channel of communication with customers and prospective customers is their phone system. Few business owners would dispute this contention, but ironically they have never considered that there was any need to manage their phone systems.

Contrary to popular wisdom a business phone system must be treated as productive asset. They're not just an unavoidable business expense. If potential customers are frustrated in their attempts to speak with representatives of a business over the phone they will go elsewhere and probably not make another attempt. In a business where this is happening the phone system is in fact a liability.

We have all encountered businesses where the phone system negates the best efforts of the sales and marketing departments. The classic symptoms include: calls ringing out, calls on hold, disconnected calls , no ability to leave a message, no ring back facility, transferred to the wrong extension, impolite operator ... ad nauseum.

Assets need managing to get the most out of them, but how does this apply to a phone system? Tom Demarco said it this way: "You can't manage what you can't control, and you can't control what you don't measure." The management of a business phone system as an asset involves continually quantifying and measuring how it's used. It cannot be done by casual observation or reliance on hunches or manual systems. The optimum solution to this challenge is to implement call accounting software package or call management software as it's also known.

Call accounting software can be used to monitor and record the details of every in-bound and out-bound call. The resulting database of call detail records can then be analyzed to identify trends, patterns, bottlenecks and problems. Best of breed solutions will highlight issues on an exception basis and provide the ability to drill down on actual call records associated with an event

Modern call accounting software will also deliver real time alerts to managers and administrators via text message, email or screen pop whenever user specified conditions or thresholds are encountered. These may include: more than X calls on hold; more than Y calls not picked up inside 5-6 rings; all lines in use ... These same mechanisms can also be used to alert management to calls from specific customers, head hunters, competitors or even attempts at telephone fraud.

Just about every business can achieve a significant improvements in business outcomes by implementing a mechanism to manage their phone systems. Treat them as assets (not expenses) and continually monitor their use with appropriate tools.