Faxing using your computer

ok...so DH started a new job last week and he's going to need to do some faxing from home.  i've done a bit of research and here is what i've found/want:

~ i don't want to fax over our landline, i.e. splitting the line to accept either phone calls or faxes....there's too much switching back and forth between when an actual call is coming in and knowing when to turn on the fax machine to accept a fax

~ i did find out that XP has a faxing function...but as far as i can see it still requires the use of a land line (please correct me if i'm wrong)

~ a friend of mine using eFax...which she says works great for her...so that's definitely an option...but they charge a monthly fee.

basically, i'm trying to find a way to fax (send and receive) via my computer, and do it for free.  doesn't anyone know how i can do this?  or is the free part just not a possibility?  DH has a lot of start up costs with this new job (granted...there could have definitely been a lot more) and i'm just trying to figure out ways to save money wherever we can. 

any help is greatly appreciated!!

edited to add:  i forgot to mention that i don't want to have to buy a fax machine either.  opps....forgot that small detail.

Hiya

I think you'll find recieving faxes is free, it's the sending that will cost you (as you'll be sending to a recipients fax number)  - to my knowledge, there's isn't an option for total freeby faxing - Although I may be wrong.

The companies like eFax and YAC are the market leaders, I think YAC are cheaper though, eFax is aimed at corporates or larger businesses. Have a search around in  a search engine for PC faxing and check out the smaller players. However, they may have different terms & conditions etc so check carefully.

I'm about to go on the Business tarriff on Vonage, at £18.99/month for unlimited UK 01 & 02 numbers voice calls, free calls anytime to other Vonage customers AND it includes a free fax line as well (obviously the cost of it is included in that subscription) it seems to be good value as I'm a startup Software Consultancy myself. I haven't had time to check everything yet, but I'm fairly sure you can choose to recieve faxes as email attachments, thus negating the need for a hardware fax machine, just like eFax and YAC do.

I understand the cost savings are important at this stage - they are for me as well! keep yer eye open for any deals etc you may come across!

hope this helps!

Dennis! West London & Slough UK!!

thanks for the YAC suggestion.  quickly looking at their site, they are about 1.50GBP less than eFax.  but i'll have to look into more of what each offers based on what i'm looking for/need.

i guess the "free" part was wishful thinking....at least it was worth a shot.

at the moment i don't think my husband is going to be doing too much calling from home...tho if he could it would save a bunch of money on his mobile bill.  we made sure to get the best mobile rate we could (1,000 minutes for about 75GBP a month).  if he does start making calls from our landline, i will definitely suggest Vonage.  we currently have a package deal with our phone, internet and cable...so i think taking the phone off would increase the price of our NTL, in addition to having a Vonage payment as well.  but i'll definitely keep it in mind.

thanks for your help!!

Hi again,
I just had a little thought, I'll try it out to see if it works soon.

I have a package with swiftcall on my landline (mum's phone line really!!) where we pay £20/month and all 01, 02 and about 25 Euro Countries and of course USA and Canada calls are included for anytime calling. So we know our landline phone bills will always be this plus the BT line rental plus any small amount of non inclusive calls (a quick buzz on mobiles and non geographic no.s)

I'm thinking if I dial into the system, plug in my PIN number as per normal from my FAX machine, I can then call another FAX number and it should then connect and make the fax tones and bobs yer uncle!

This would then make my fax calling 'free' or 'inclusive'. It'd fall down of course where a fax number is advertised as a non geographic number. I'll give it a go once I get a chance!

As for the mobile tarriff you mentioned, is it with O2 by any chance?! if so , thats the same one I have! except as I 'know' people working in the HQ in Slough (see Slough is good for stuff!!!) I get the tarriff at 50% reduced rates! so I only pay £37.50 per month for it ! 

there are other 'specials' aimed at small business's that I'm evaluating, currently not quite what I'd want although the convenience is good - I'm like you, hunting out the best deals of individual items/packages

Cheers!

Dennis!