15 Best Call Center Software for Small Businesses: Find Software to Scale Your Operations
Choosing the best call center software for your small business can significantly impact customer service quality and operational efficiency. Whether you need robust analytics, seamless integrations, or user-friendly interfaces, a solution on this list fits your specific needs and budget. Investing in the right call center solutions for small businesses can lead to more satisfied customers, better-managed teams, and ultimately, a more successful business. Evaluate your business requirements, take advantage of free trials, and select the tool that best aligns with your goals. With the right software in place, your small business can deliver exceptional customer service and stay competitive in today’s fast-paced market.
Evaluation Criteria for Call Center Software for Small Business
When evaluating call center services for small businesses, it’s crucial to consider a variety of key features to ensure the solution meets your needs. By focusing on these key features, you can select the best call-handling software for small businesses. Remember, our recommendations are based on unbiased evaluations to help you make an informed decision.
📱 Ease of use: The call centre services for small businesses should have an intuitive design for quick team onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
🚀 Scalability: The best call center software should grow with your business, offering scalable plans and features.
🔌 Integration capabilities: Seamless integration with CRM, email, and messaging apps for streamlined workflows.
📞 Customer support: Ensure the business call center software provider offers timely and effective support through phone, chat, and email.
📊 Analytics and reporting: Detailed tools to track performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
⚙️ Customization: The tool should have customizable workflows, reports, and dashboards to fit specific business needs.
💰 Cost-effectiveness: Consider the overall value the call center solution for small business provides relative to its cost.
🔒 Security and compliance: Ensure the call center services for small businesses adhere to industry standards for security and compliance.
📶 Call quality and reliability: Evaluate the small business call center solutions’ high uptime, call clarity, and stable connections.
Shifts by Everhour provides an intuitive solution for managing employee schedules with ease. From flexible scheduling options to mobile accessibility, it’s the ideal solution for optimizing workforce management in any industry.
Best Call Center Software for Small Business Solutions Compared
| Tool | Key Features | Pricing |
| Shifts by Everhour | Staff scheduling, kiosk for clocking in/out, mobile clock-in/out, attendance and payroll, open shifts | Free |
| Genesys | Customer self-service, workforce engagement | Starter: €25/mo, Essential: €30/mo, Expert: €50/mo, Custom |
| Five9 | Omnichannel capabilities | Starts at $175/mo |
| RingCentral | ACD with skills-based routing, advanced IVR | Starts at $24.99/user/mo |
| Tixtime | Employee availability, one-click payroll exportss | Starts at $379/mo |
| ZIWO | Omnichannel contact center solutions | Starts at $40/user/mo |
| UJET | Embedding mobile app, photo and video sharing in chat | Starts at $65/mo |
| Aircall | Caller ID, call recording, customer interaction history | Starts at $30/mo |
| Talkdesk CX Cloud | Intelligent forecasts, automated scheduling | Starts at $85/user/mo |
| Avaya Experience Platform | All customer touch-points, AI-enabled analytics and reporting | Starts at $48/mo |
| Panterra | Secure UCaaS platform, customizable solutions | Starts at $24.95/mo |
| 8×8 eXperience Communications Platform | IVR, call routing, web and queued callback | Starts at $85/mo |
| LiveAgent | Automated routing, assignment management | Starts at $15/mo |
| Nextiva | Monitoring and reporting, agent availability | Contact sales |
| Freshcaller | Mobile app, call queues, voicemail | $0 to $55/month |
What is Call Center Software for Small Business?
Call center software for small businesses is a specialized tool designed to streamline and manage customer communication processes. This type of software integrates various communication channels—such as phone calls, emails, live chats, and social media messages—into a single platform. It provides small businesses with the ability to efficiently handle customer inquiries, support requests, and outbound sales calls. Key functionalities of call center software typically include:
- Automatic call distribution (ACD): Routes incoming calls to the most appropriate agent based on predefined criteria, such as agent skills or call priority.
- Interactive voice response (IVR): An automated system that interacts with callers, gathers information, and routes calls to the appropriate resource without human intervention.
- Customer relationship management (CRM) integration: Links the call center software with CRM systems to provide agents with detailed customer information and history, enabling personalized service.
- Real-time analytics and reporting: Offers insights into call center performance through metrics like call volume, average handling time, and agent productivity.
- Call recording and monitoring: Allows for the recording and monitoring calls for quality assurance, training, and compliance purposes.
- Omnichannel support: Ensures consistent customer experiences across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat, and social media.
For small businesses, call center software can significantly enhance customer service efficiency and effectiveness. It automates routine tasks, improves agent productivity, and provides valuable insights into customer interactions. By leveraging call center software, small businesses can offer more responsive and personalized customer support, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
15 Best Call Center Software Solutions for Small Businesses
Shifts by Everhour
Shifts by Everhour is a versatile SMB call center software solution designed to help small businesses manage their customer service operations effectively. It offers a range of features tailored to streamline call center activities and improve overall efficiency.
Key features
- Staff scheduling: Simplify the process of creating and managing staff schedules, optimizing for efficiency and productivity. Copy single shifts or shifts over several weeks to save time, and utilize ready-made scheduling templates.
- Kiosk: Set up a dedicated device (such as an iPad) for clocking in and out. The clock-in/clock-out terminal can be placed in any convenient area, such as a break room or workplace entrance.
- Mobile clock-in and clock-out: Employees can use their mobile phones to keep track of their schedules and track their time, perfect for those away from the desk but still working.
- Attendance and payroll: View all scheduled spots and attendance statistics in one place. Make necessary changes, leave notes, and use this data for payroll without needing third-party tools.
- Open shifts: Create a list of open shifts and send it to all eligible employees, allowing them to schedule themselves based on availability. The list automatically updates whenever someone takes on a new shift.
Pricing
Shifts by Everhour is free, making it accessible for small businesses to start using its robust scheduling and tracking features without any initial cost.
Shifts by Everhour is an excellent choice for small businesses looking for a comprehensive call center software solution. It streamlines scheduling, enhances communication, and provides valuable insights to optimize operations, making it a valuable asset for any call center environment.
Genesys
Genesys stands at the forefront of delivering comprehensive workforce management solutions tailored for call centers and customer support teams. Leveraging innovative features, it enables organizations to streamline scheduling processes, boost operational efficiency, and deliver outstanding service quality.
Key features
- Customer self-service: Genesys provides customer self-service solutions, including speech-enabled interactive voice response (IVR) systems. These self-service options empower customers to resolve issues and access information quickly and efficiently.
- Voice services: Genesys Cloud Voice offers reliable voice services for both inbound and outbound communications. Organizations can leverage advanced voice routing capabilities to ensure calls are directed to the most appropriate agent.
- Inbound routing: Efficient inbound voice routing (ACD) ensures that incoming calls are distributed to the right agents based on predefined criteria such as skills, availability, and priority.
- Outbound campaigns: Organizations can utilize Genesys for outbound campaigns, including proactive customer outreach and marketing initiatives, to enhance engagement and drive business growth.
- Workforce engagement: Genesys offers workforce engagement solutions that include tools for monitoring and managing agent performance, coaching and training capabilities, and workforce optimization features to ensure efficient resource allocation.
Pricing
- Starter: €25/month
- Essential: €30/month
- Expert: €50/month
- Custom: Contact for pricing
Five9
Five9 offers powerful small business contact center omnichannel capabilities, AI knowledge consolidation, agent assistant tools, generative AI for agent productivity, and native workflow automation, making it a top choice for businesses seeking to elevate their customer experience.
Key features
- Omnichannel capabilities: Deliver unified experiences across voice, video, email, SMS, social media, and chat channels. Enable multimodal experiences and build comprehensive inbound, outbound, and blended campaigns with integrated automation capabilities.
- AI knowledge consolidation: Import outbound calling lists and contact details, align the contact center with CRM data, and leverage AI to distill insights from every point in the customer journey.
- Five9 agent assistant tools: Offer real-time guidance, improve agent script adherence and quality scores, and reduce average handling time with automation features and real-time transcription.
- Generative AI for agent productivity: Leverage AI Insights and AI Summaries to interpret customer conversations rapidly, categorize discussions, and automatically summarize interaction transcripts.
- Native workflow automation: Create unique workflows via an intuitive platform, access data across the cloud, and orchestrate more effective omnichannel interactions.
Pricing
- Digital-only: $175/month
- Core (Voice-only): $175/month
- Premium (Digital + Voice): $235/month
- Optimum (Digital + Voice + WEM): $290/month
- Ultimate (Digital + Voice + WEM + Analytics): $325/month
RingCentral
RingCentral Contact Center offers versatile call center software with additional features to address various organizational needs. With its premium plan, businesses gain access to inbound and outbound call management, ACD and IVR capabilities, omnichannel support, workforce engagement management (WEM), AI tools, and UCaaS.
Key features
- ACD with skills-based routing: Ensure calls are directed to the most suitable agents based on their skills and expertise, improving customer satisfaction and resolution times.
- Advanced IVR with visual flow designer: Create customized interactive voice response (IVR) systems with an intuitive visual flow designer, enhancing call routing and self-service options for customers.
- Over 90 real-time and historical reports: Gain valuable insights into call center performance with a comprehensive suite of real-time and historical reports, allowing for data-driven decision-making and optimization.
- Quality management and best workforce management tools: Monitor and evaluate agent performance, manage schedules efficiently, and ensure adherence to quality standards with robust quality management and workforce management tools for call centers.
Pricing
Starts at $24.99/user/month
Tixtime
When it comes to creating custom schedules, Tixtime is the best in the game. While this is a common feature with call center scheduling software, Tixtime’s customization capabilities are much more robust than the competition. If your call center operates with unique schedules, Tixtime allows you the complete freedom to customize the software to your needs. Aside from their web software, there’s also a mobile app available. This makes setting and checking schedules and shifts much more convenient for employees, ensuring no one misses a shift.
Key features
- Employee availability: When using Tixtime, your staff can mark themselves whether they’re available or not, allowing you to instantly see the talent pool available to you when scheduling employees for work.
- One-click payroll exports: The software can automatically calculate your employees’ working hours and what they need to be paid with a single click of a button.
- Email notifications: When you create schedules on Tixtime, you can also send email notifications to all employees with their schedules attached. That way, you know that everyone is informed on when they’re supposed to clock in, avoiding attendance issues.
Pricing
- Team: $379/month
- Business: $779/month
- Workforce: $1379/month
ZIWO
ZIWO is an omnichannel cloud contact center solution designed to meet the diverse needs of businesses across various industries. With its extensive integration capabilities and essential contact center features, ZIWO provides organizations with means to gain exceptional customer service experiences.
Key features
- Omnichannel contact center solutions: ZIWO offers a comprehensive suite of contact center solutions, allowing businesses to communicate seamlessly across multiple channels including phone, SMS, and WhatsApp.
- Customer view tools: Gain insights into customer interactions and history with ZIWO’s customer view tools, enhancing the quality of customer service and support.
- Full API access: ZIWO’s full API access enables easy integration with a wide range of third-party tools and systems, facilitating a seamless workflow and data exchange.
- Call history and tracking: Keep track of call history and performance metrics with ZIWO’s call history and tracking features, providing valuable insights for optimization and improvement.
Pricing
Starts at $40/user/month
UJET
UJET is a promising contender in the contact center arena, emphasizing the omnichannel customer experience. With its focus on integrating various communication channels, UJET offers a platform that consolidates customer interactions for seamless engagement.
Key features
- Embedding mobile app: UJET provides an embedded mobile application, enabling smooth access and interaction for both agents and customers.
- Multimedia support: Customers can easily share photos and videos within chat conversations, enhancing communication and issue resolution.
- CRM integration: Seamlessly integrates with popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, allowing for efficient management of customer data and interactions.
Pricing
Basic to Enterprise plans range from $65 to $120 per month
Aircall
Aircall offers a comprehensive phone service integrated with customer service tools, catering to businesses of all sizes. Its feature set includes caller ID, call recording, customer interaction history, and conference call capabilities, providing a robust solution for managing customer inquiries globally.
Key features
- Local phone numbers: Aircall provides access to local phone numbers, allowing businesses to establish a presence in different regions and enhance accessibility for customers.
- Call recording: Enable call recording functionality to capture important conversations for training purposes, compliance, or quality assurance.
- Real-time tracking and analytics: Gain insights into call performance and customer interactions with real-time tracking and analytics tools, empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimize their customer service operations.
Pricing
Plans priced between $30 to $50 per month
Talkdesk
Talkdesk offers a comprehensive workforce management solution designed to meet the diverse needs of call centers and customer support teams. With its excellent capabilities, Talkdesk enables organizations to optimize scheduling processes, enhance agent performance, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Key features
- Intelligent forecasts: Utilize Talkdesk’s intelligent forecasting tools to predict staffing requirements based on historical data, call volume patterns, and other relevant factors.
- Automated scheduling: Assign shifts to agents based on their availability, skills, and performance metrics, reducing manual effort and minimizing scheduling errors.
- Analytics and insights: Monitor key performance indicators, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to drive operational efficiency and improve service quality.
- Omnichannel support: Deliver seamless customer experiences across multiple communication channels, including voice, email, chat, and social media, with Talkdesk’s omnichannel support capabilities.
- Mobile app and agent request chatbot: Empower agents with 24-hour access to scheduling information and support through Talkdesk’s mobile app.
Pricing
Starts at $85 per user per month
Avaya
Avaya Experience Platform, a seasoned player in the contact center space, offers a wide array of features tailored for advanced contact center operations.
Key features
- All customer touch-points + self-service option: Avaya Experience Platform facilitates interaction across various customer touch-points and includes self-service options for enhanced customer engagement.
- AI-enabled analytics and reporting: Leverage AI-powered analytics and reporting tools to gain valuable insights into customer interactions, enabling data-driven decision-making and optimization.
- Public and private cloud options: Avaya Experience Platform provides flexibility with both public and private cloud deployment options, catering to diverse organizational needs and preferences.
Pricing
Plans range from $48 to $125 per month, depending on the features and channels required (Digital to All Media)
Panterra
PanTerra offers an all-in-one secure UCaaS cloud solution, seamlessly integrating business phone solutions with essential features such as calling, multimedia team messaging, video conferencing, faxing, texting, and file sharing.
Key features
- Secure UCaaS platform: Efficiently run your organization with a secure UCaaS platform supporting various communication channels, including voice, messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing.
- Customizable solutions: Tailor PanTerra’s all-in-one solution to meet the unique needs of any industry or office type, offering unified communication across multiple locations and mobile environments.
- White-glove onboarding: Benefit from white-glove onboarding services and in-house support, ensuring fast and easy migration and deployment, with businesses up and running within a single day.
- End-to-end WAN solutions: Beyond the cloud, PanTerra offers robust Hardware as a Service (HaaS) options, including the latest phones and hardware, facilitating seamless cloud connectivity.
- Flexible network options: Choose from MPLS or Open Internet solutions based on your security and connectivity needs, ensuring secure and reliable data transmission.
Pricing
- Business Plus: $24.95 per month per seat
- Professional: $29.95 per month per seat
- Call Center: $44.95 per month per seat
- Contact Center: Custom
8×8
8×8, a long-standing name in the call center industry, has transitioned to reselling Genesys’ solution instead of building its contact center product. As part of the 8×8 eXperience Communications Platform, users can expect a combination of software with different interfaces, login experiences, and more.
Key features
- IVR: Utilize Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for automated call routing and customer assistance.
- Call routing: Efficiently route calls to the most appropriate departments or agents based on predefined criteria.
- Web and queued callback: Offer web and queued callback options to enhance customer experience and reduce wait times.
- Real-time analytics: Gain insights into the entire customer journey with real-time analytics, empowering data-driven decision-making.
- Integration with leading CRMs: Seamlessly integrate with leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for enhanced productivity and customer management.
Pricing
- X6: $85 per month
- X7: $105 per month
- X8: $140 per month
LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a versatile helpdesk tool that excels in customer support across all channels. Its ticketing system consolidates customer messages into a universal inbox, facilitating seamless collaboration.
Key features
- Automated routing: Efficiently route customer inquiries to the most appropriate agents or departments based on predefined criteria.
- Assignment management: Streamline task assignments and ensure timely resolution of customer issues with robust assignment management features.
- Screen sharing: Facilitate real-time collaboration and troubleshooting by enabling screen sharing during customer interactions.
- Ticket management: Manage customer support tickets effectively with LiveAgent’s comprehensive ticket management system.
- Collaboration tools: Enhance teamwork and productivity with built-in collaboration tools, including internal notes and team chat.
Pricing
- Ticket: $15 per month
- Ticket + Chat: $29 per month
- All-Inclusive: $49 per month
Nextiva
Nextiva offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for both Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), catering to businesses of all sizes.
Key features
- Monitoring and reporting: Gain valuable insights into call center performance with robust monitoring and reporting tools.
- Agent availability: Ensure optimal staffing levels and maximize agent productivity by monitoring agent availability in real time.
- Supervisor dashboards: Empower supervisors with customizable dashboards that provide a holistic view of call center operations and performance metrics.
- Live call status: Monitor live call status and track call queues to ensure efficient call handling and minimize wait times for customers.
- Call disposition: Capture and categorize call outcomes for comprehensive call analysis and follow-up actions.
Pricing
Custom pricing
Freshcaller
Freshdesk Contact Center or Freshcaller, is a robust contact center solution offered by Freshworks. With a range of essential features and seamless integration with other Freshworks products, it provides businesses with the tools they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Key features
- Mobile app: Stay connected and manage your contact center on the go with the Freshdesk mobile app, available for both iOS and Android devices.
- Call queues: Efficiently manage incoming calls and ensure they are routed to the right agents with customizable call queues.
- Voicemail: Allow callers to leave voicemail messages when agents are unavailable, ensuring no customer query goes unanswered.
- Pre-built reports: Gain insights into call center performance and agent productivity with pre-built reports and analytics.
- Caller ID: Identify incoming callers and access relevant customer information with caller ID functionality.
- Custom greetings: Personalize the caller experience with custom greetings and messages tailored to your brand and business needs.
Pricing
- Free to Enterprise: Flexible pricing options to suit businesses of all sizes, starting from $0 to $55 per month.
Best Call Center Software for Small Business: On a Final Note
In conclusion, choosing the right call center for startups can significantly impact your customer service capabilities and overall efficiency. After evaluating the top call center software solutions, Shifts by Everhour emerges as the standout choice for its robust scheduling features, intuitive interface, and cost-effectiveness. By streamlining scheduling processes and optimizing workforce management, Shifts empowers businesses to enhance productivity and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
