Receive faxes in your home office without paying for a fax machine and phone line

Many small-business owners and people who work at home need
to be able to send and receive documents via a fax machine.
In the past, that meant buying or leasing a fax machine and
paying for additional phone service. Now, several companies
offer Internet-based virtual faxing services. These services
typically assign fax numbers to customers so they can receive
faxes from traditional fax machines.

Typically, fax services charge a monthly fee. Many offer
different levels of service, from accounts that can only
receive faxes to unlimited local faxing. Some also offer
additional services like voice mail.

Here's how the process works:

1. You sign up for the service.
2. The service assigns you a fax number and provides
instructions for how to send a fax from an email program or
a Web interface.
3. You send and receive faxes as attached documents via
email.
4. The service bills you on a monthly or per-fax basis,
depending on your service plan.

Sending and receiving faxes through these services works much
like with a traditional fax machine. To send a fax:

1. You attach the document to an email message and address
the message to the recipient's fax number. Depending on your
service provider, you may add a domain name (for example:
18005551234@emailfaxes.com). The document can be a scan of
a paper document or other types of documents, if the service
supports them.
2. The service translates the attachment so that the
recipient's fax machine can read it.
3. The service sends the data across the phone line.
4. The recipient's fax machine decodes the data and prints
it.

To receive a fax:

1. The sender dials your fax number.
2. The fax machine translates the data and transmits it
over the phone line.
3. The service receives the data and translates it into
an image file.
4. The service sends the image file to your email address.
5. You open the email message and the attachment and view
the file.