Conference calling comes of age with a multitude of scenarios.
Conference calling does not have to cost you an arm and a leg.
Telus web conferencing costs $0.49 per minute, per user.
A 30 minute, 3 person, conference would cost $44.10.
While I don't know about the rest of you, these kind of prices would really eat at my profit margins.

With a little ingenuity you can have all the bells and whistles, and get it free.
I will show you how in a minute.

Some of you might be asking "Why would I need computer based conference calling? I am a small business and I work well using the phone".
Some of the reasons would be:

• Decreased costs.
  Elimination of long distance charges.
• Higher production.
  Conferences can speed the business processes considerably.
• Instant messengers record text chats. Phone calls don't.
  These can prove to be a valuable resource when differences of opinions surface.
• Clients and co-workers can see when you are available, if you wish them to.
• Less time consuming than the phone.
  

Conferencing online offers

• Instant Text Messaging
• Voice Conferencing
• Video Conferencing
• File Transfer
• Desktop Sharing
• Remote Control

So let's look at the simplest form of conferencing which is instant messenger conferences.
MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and Skype all offer conferences in text chats, video and voice.
MSN is the only service that does not offer computer/phone calls.

Earlier I said that with some ingenuity you could have a superior conferencing system.
Taking advantage of the strong points in each system it would work like this:

• Yahoo IM for text and video.
  Yahoo video because it will send your webcam's output to multiple recipients simultaneously.
  Yahoo text chats as you can set it to show time stamps. If you are billing for the time, you not only have a record of the conversations, but they include the time they were sent.
  Yahoo IM is also excellent for file transfers.
  
• Should you need voice, go to http://www.goteamspeak.com/ and check out the TeamSpeak voice program.
  We have been running a personal TS server for well over a year and it has proven to be stable and with the highest quality of any the chat instant messengers.
  It has the desired push to talk function which can be configured to any key or mouse button.
  Here are some of the more important voice conferencing features:
  
  • Bandwidth limitation settings in order to adapt the client to your needs
    Works well on dial up as well as broadband.
  • Address book for easier management of multiple TeamSpeak servers.
    Simply open the connect window and choose your connection.
  • Highly flexible and scalable user permission system
    Set login passwords, assign moderators and single/multiple channels.
  • Whisper functions so you can speak privately to individuals, groups of persons, or other channels
  • Ability to record your TeamSpeak session
  • Moderated channels that allow better coordination of meetings or conferences
• TeamSpeak is available for commercial use for $29.95 for a 25 user license.