FAQ
Questions we are asked
The questions people ask us before they buy, while they run the system, when they pay and when something goes wrong, answered plainly.
Buying
How is a 3CX licence priced?
By the number of calls that can happen at the same time, not by the number of people, and it renews each year. Each size also covers a maximum number of users: the smallest carries 4 calls at once and covers up to 15 users. We size it against your busiest hour and your staff list.
How soon do I get my licence?
Ready within 2 working hours, Monday to Saturday 9:00–17:00 EAT. Paid after hours, on a Sunday or on a public holiday? Ready by 11:00 the next working day. An upgrade or a renewal is ready on the same terms. One of our team buys each licence from 3CX once your payment has cleared, which is why the time is counted in working hours.
Which edition do we need?
It usually comes down to whether callers ever wait in a queue. Basic covers menus, ring groups, the apps and desk phones. Queues, call recording, video meetings, the CRM and WhatsApp start at Pro. The AI receptionist, AI agents and call transcription need AI.
Where does the system run?
Wherever suits you: hosted by us on a server in Nairobi with 3CX Cloud Hosting, or on a server of your own, at your site or in your own cloud account with AWS or a Kenyan cloud provider. The system is the same either way; what changes is whose machine it is and who pays for it.
Do we need new phones?
Not necessarily. Everyone can use the apps on their computer and mobile. IP desk phones that 3CX supports can be set up on the system, and analogue phones can usually stay, connected through gateways.
Can we keep our numbers?
One way or another, yes. Whether a number can move to the new system depends on the operator that holds it, and we check that first. Where it cannot move, it can be forwarded, or the line can stay and be connected to the new system through a gateway.
More on this: Compare editions, Compare deployments, By size
Running it
What happens if the office internet goes down?
It depends on where the system runs and how each site reaches it. Hosted in Nairobi or in your own cloud, the desk phones in that office stop, calls between them included, while staff elsewhere carry on through the apps. With the system on your own site, calls inside that building carry on, and only outside calls wait for the line to come back. A branch whose desk phones reach the system through a 3CX SBC is in the same position as an office on a cloud system: the SBC connects the phones to the system but is not a phone system itself, so when that site's line drops, its desk phones stop until the line is back. People there can keep working on the app over mobile data.
Who does the updates and backups?
On our Nairobi cloud, we do: it is part of the hosting. On your own server or cloud, your IT team does, or we do under a support plan, which is optional, working with whoever runs your IT.
Can staff take calls away from the office?
Yes. The same extension rings on the app on their mobile and their computer, so a call to their number finds them wherever they are, and a call they make goes out on the business line rather than their own.
How long does it take to set up?
On our Nairobi cloud, we aim to have your system ready for its first call within one business day of payment. New numbers from your phone line provider take longer, because its application and KYC steps run on its own timetable, so it pays to start them first.
More on this: Managed 3CX Cloud Hosting, On your own server or cloud, Apps and mobility
Paying
How do we pay?
By M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Pesalink, Visa or Mastercard. A card payment carries the card processing fee as its own line; the other methods do not.
Do you offer credit, or payment in instalments?
No credit. Everything is paid in advance, and there are no credit terms or account balances. You may pay a proforma in more than one payment, and work starts once it is paid in full.
How long does a quote hold its price?
A proforma holds its price for 30 days, whatever the exchange rate does in the meantime. After that it is re-priced.
Are prices in shillings, and do they include VAT?
Every price is quoted in KES. Prices exclude VAT at 16%.
Can we get a refund?
Payments are not refundable, because everything is prepaid, with one exception: a duplicate charge is refunded once we have confirmed it.
More on this: Setup packages, Support plans
Support
What support plans do you offer?
Essential, Business and Premium. Each puts in writing how fast an engineer responds to a system that is down, a major fault and a minor issue or change, with no allowance of hours or tickets to count.
What if we only need help now and then?
Buy on-demand support instead of a plan: one price for one issue, bought when you need it.
Can you support a system someone else installed?
Yes. We look it over first, so we know what we are taking on, and then it moves onto a plan like any other.
Can we move our 3CX to you from another partner?
Yes, and you keep your licence, your system and your number. The system is linked to us from its own Admin Console, and the best time is 60 to 90 days before the licence renews, so the first renewal comes through us.
More on this: Support plans, Move your 3CX to us, Contact
See it on a real system
A 30-minute session on a live system, walked through in your own terms. No obligation.
We confirm your slot within 24 hours. Prefer to write? Email or message us.