Conference Call Basics
New to Conference Calls? This is an introduction to the basics of audio conference calling. If you have never done a conference call before this will explain how a Zip Conferencing conference call works, the different rate plans, how to sign up and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions new customers have about the service.
How the Conference Call Works
Zip Conferencing’s conference call service is reservationless. That means that after you sign up for the service you can use the service whenever you need to without telling us or doing any kind of formal invitation process. You will be provided with your own dedicated Toll Free dial in access number to call and two passcodes, a Moderator passcode and a passcode for the participants. In order to hold your conference call you simply need to provide your participants with the Toll Free dial in access number and the passcode and the date and time of your conference call. At the time of the call you will dial the access number and put in the Moderator passcode and your participants will dial the access number and put in the regular passcode and all parties will be joined in conference. At the end of your conference call simply hang up. Its’ that easy. You can have up to 300 participants at any one time on a conference call and it is available for your use 24/7.
The Moderator Passcode
The reason there is a different passcode for the moderator is so the system can identify the Moderator and provide access to the Host controls and other features of the conference call. You can adjust volume in the conference, record the conference, mute and unmute lines and more. As Moderator of the conference call you will be able to access these controls through the touchtone pad on your telephone.
Conference Controls – Accessible by Moderators and Participants
- Press *1 to hear a help menu.
- Press *0 to reach an operator.
- Press *6 to mute or "un-mute" line.
- Press *4 to increase conference volume.
- Press *7 to decrease conference volume.
- Press *5 to increase your voice volume.
- Press *8 to decrease your voice volume.
Moderator Features:
- Press *91 to hear a participant count.
- Press *92 to hear a roll call of participants.
- Press *93 to disconnect all participant lines.
- Press *94 to lock or unlock conference.
- Press *95 to dial out to participants.
- Press *96 to mute all participant lines.
- Press *97 to un-mute all participant lines.
- Press *21 to activate Subconferencing.
- Press *22 to initiate record and playback (*22 again to pause/stop the recording)
- Press *31 to turn Conference Security Code on/off.
- Press *32 to record your Conference Introduction.
Conference Call Features
There are many features that you can control as well as Moderator of the call with Zip Conferencing. The features of the conference call determine how some of the aspects of the call work. For instance, as a default the conference call is set up to play a tone when a participant joins and exits the conference call. If you do not like this feature or would rather have a participants name announced when they enter the call you can change that in the conferencing Hub as part of you Online Account Management tools when you sign up for the service. Other features you can control include playing Music on Hold until the Moderator joins, which is turned off by default allowing the participants to talk until the leader joins, End Moderator exits, which is turned off by default allowing participants to continue the call after the Moderator exists, and several other features.
How much does the service cost?
Zip Conferencing offers a Pay-As-You-Go pricing option for people who are not going to use the service on a regular basis or simply don’t know how much they will use the service. With this option you will only be billed when you use the service. If you do a conference call this month you will be charged for the minutes you use. If you do not use the service next month there are no charges. If you should need the service again three months from now you will be charged for the minutes you use then. There are no monthly charges if you don’t use the service so there is no need to cancel your account. Simply retain your conference call information in case you need it again in the future. The Pay-As-You-Go option costs 5.5¢ per minute per participant. That cost includes toll free access within the US for you and your participants. That is the lowest cost in America for a conference call service without any monthly commitment. Although there is no monthly minimum charge if you do not use the service, there is an invoice minimum charge of $10. Example - If you only do one conference call in an entire billing cycle with 4 participants for 30 minutes, which is a total of 120 conferencing minutes, the conference call charges equal $6.60 and you would be charged a total of $10 for the month. If your actual conference charges exceed $10 you are only charged the actual amount. A conference call with 5 particpants for 40 minutes is 200 minutes of conferencing and would equal $11 in charges. If that was your onlyconference call during that billing cycle, your total charges for the month would be $11. The only Payment option available for this plan is credit card payment.
If you plan to use the service on a regular basis you should consider one of the Monthly Minute Plans that offer a discount for making a monthly commitment. These plans are very similar to cell phone monthly plans. The entry level plan is only $19.99/month and includes 515 minutes. That is equal to 3 – 4 conference calls per month on average. That is only 3.9¢ per minute per participant. If you should go over the 515 minutes you will be charged 3.9¢ per minute per participant for all minutes that exceed that amount. The next plan is the 2,675 minute per month plan. The monthly charge is $99 and that is equal to 3.7¢ per minute per participant. Next we have the 7,500 minute per month plan. The monthly charge for this plan is $259 and that is equal to 3.5¢ per minute per participant for the included minutes. If you exceed those minutes you will be charged 3.9¢ per minute per participant. Then there are three additional plans for high volume users. The $499 a month plan which includes 15,121 minutes which is equal to 3.3¢ per minute per participant. The $1,499 a month plan which includes 50,000 minutes which is equal to 3.0¢ per minute per participant and the $2,400 a month plan which includes 100,000 minutes which is equal to 2.4¢ per minute per participant for the included minutes. Minutes exceeding your included minutes in these plans are charged at 3.5¢ per minute per participant.
How are conferencing minutes calculated?
All rates are per minute per participant. What are "conferencing minutes"? Those are the minutes used by you AND your callers during a conference call. Conferencing minutes (which are the standard time measurement used by all conference call providers) are calculated by adding up the total connection minutes for all participants. The basic formula is The number of participants, including the Moderator times the number of Minutes of the conference call. Example – 5 participants on a conference call for an hour is 5 X 60 (Participants X Minutes) = 300 conferencing minutes.
How do callers outside the US access the conference call?
There are two ways that callers from outside the US can access your conference call. First, when you sign up you are provided a Toll Free access number and a Local access number in the US (Colorado Springs, CO) that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Simply provide your International participants the Local access number and they can join the conference. The participants accessing the conference call in this manner will pay long distance charges to call this number. You pay the same charges as someone who calls the toll free access number. The second method is to hold a GlobalMeet conference call. With this type of conference you are provided a toll free access number for the US participants and access numbers in other countries where participants can dial to get into the conference call. There are local numbers in a number of major cities around the world and toll free numbers in over 30 countries. With this type of access your participants do not pay any long distance charges but the cost to you is greater. The cost of this type of access ranges from 5.5¢ to 59.5¢ per minute per participant depending on the country and type of access. Note – This type of call is a separate service from the regular conference calls and the minutes for these calls do not go towards minutes in a Monthly Minute Plan.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I Sign Up?
A. You can get to the first step of the sign up process by clicking on the 2.4¢ per minute button on the left of your screen, the Start Free Trial button on the right or any of the Red Start Now or Sign Up Now buttons on the site. You simply need to supply your contact information in Step 1, then pick your plan in Step 2, provide credit card information in Step 3, Confirm order in Step 4 and Click the Join Zip button. You will now receive your Account information and conference call details via email within 30 minutes. If you chose the Invoice payment option you must complete the sign up process and then complete the Credit Application and Fax it to 866-954-0226. Once your application is approved you will receive your account information via email.
Q. Is there a Free Trial?
A. Yes, if you select a Monthly Minute Plan the first 60 minutes are free. We are also offering the first billing cycle free with our Web Conferencing service.
Q. I signed up but I haven’t received my information yet?
A. Typically, you will receive your information in less than 30 minutes after you sign up for the service. It can take as long as one hour. Please check your Spam folder and see if the email confirmation ended up in there. All orders are filled between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm EST Mon – Fri.
