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How to replace an office fax machine
An office fax machine comes with a dedicated phone line, toner, paper, maintenance and a device sitting in a corner where anyone can read what comes in. Many Canadian offices have switched to online fax so staff send and receive from a browser instead, and the phone line bill disappears. This faxservices.ca guide walks through a practical switchover, from choosing a plan to retiring the old machine, including the one step people often miss: telling everyone your new number.
Get Started NowTake stock before you switch
Write the answers down. Your page count tells you which plan to pick, your list of contacts becomes the mailing list for your new-number notice, and your list of places the number is printed becomes your update checklist.
- How many pages do you send and receive in a typical month? Check your machine's activity report or count a week's worth.
- Who needs to send or read faxes, and should anyone have view-only access?
- Which organisations fax you most often: suppliers, clinics, insurers, government offices?
- Where is your fax number printed: letterhead, website, invoices, forms, email signatures?
- Are there any automated sends, such as a supplier who faxes orders on a schedule?
Choose a plan and a number
For a single person, the Personal plan includes 200 pages a month and one user for $18.99 a month after a first month at $4.99. For an office, the Business plan includes 500 pages, five users and a shared inbox for $39.99 a month after a first month at $14.99, with more users at $10 a month each. Pages over your allowance cost $0.10 on Personal and $0.07 on Business. Annual billing saves about 17%.
Porting your existing fax number isn't available yet, so you'll choose a new one. A local number with your area code is a natural choice for most offices; a toll-free number may suit a business that receives faxes from across Canada.
Set up FaxToFax
- Go to FaxToFax.com and enter the email of the account owner.
- Enter the one-time code sent to that email.
- Pick your new fax number.
- Activate your plan.
- Invite staff and assign roles: owner, admin, member or viewer.
- Create a cover page template with your logo, and choose the idle sign-out time of 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
Run both side by side, then switch
Don't cancel your old fax line on day one. Keep it connected while you move contacts over, so nothing sent to the old number is missed. Ask your phone company what options they offer for the old line during the transition.
Update your letterhead, website, email signatures and any forms with the new number. Then send a short notice to your regular fax contacts. You can fax it to up to 50 recipients at once, each number confirmed before sending, or schedule it for the start of the business day. Over a few weeks, watch how many faxes still arrive on the old machine. When they've slowed to a trickle, call those senders directly, then cancel the line.
Retire the old machine safely
Many fax machines and multifunction printers store copies of sent and received documents in memory. Before you recycle, sell or return a leased machine, follow the manufacturer's instructions to clear its memory, and shred any paper faxes you don't need to keep. Once that's done, your office's faxes live in an encrypted inbox with an audit log instead of a paper tray. You can find more guides for clinics and law firms making the same move on faxservices.ca.
How to Replace an Office Fax Machine: questions
Can I keep my existing fax number?
Not yet. Number porting isn't available, so you'll choose a new local or toll-free number and let your contacts know.
Do I still need a phone line?
No. FaxToFax runs in a browser over the internet. Keep your old line only while contacts switch to the new number.
Can several people use one fax number?
Yes. The Business plan includes five users and a shared inbox, so the whole office can see and send from the same number.
What happens to faxes on the old machine's memory?
They stay on the device until cleared. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to erase stored documents before disposing of it.
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