October 15, 2021  |   

If you're a business owner looking to save time and money by using email to send and receive faxes, we'll teach you how to send a fax online, saving you from wasting your precious resources operating and maintaining a traditional fax machine or spending your money on unnecessary faxing fees at your local post office. Read on to find out just how simple it is to send faxes online and bring your business into the digital age today!

How to Send a Fax Online in 8 Simple Steps

1. Create an aFax™ Account

The first step to sending and receiving faxes online is signing up for an aFax™ account. Our award-winning app pairs easily with your existing Gmail account, making the sign-up process simple, streamlined, and hassle-free. Our first priority is saving your business time and money, so signing up for an account takes less than a minute. Once you're signed up, you can create and send your first fax right away – there's no waiting around to have your account approved.

While most businesses already use Google for almost everything, it's possible that you don't already have a Gmail account. If this is the case, you'll need to sign up with Google first before creating an aFax™ account. The aFax™ app works in conjunction with Gmail as an essential add-on to your existing business suite. This partnership is what makes our sign-up process so easy and quick – it's essentially the same as signing in to your existing Gmail account!

2. Compose a New Email

With the aFax™ app, you can easily and affordably bring your business into the digital age. Chances are, you and your employees already have the skill set necessary to start sending faxes online, meaning no more time wasted on training new hires to operate and maintain expensive equipment. You can utilize your employees' existing skills to make your business run more efficiently. If they know how to send an email, then they know how to send a fax online.

Once you've signed your business up, all you need to do to send your first fax is to compose a new email. You can do this from the aFax™ app or directly from your Gmail account. In place of a standard email address, you'll write your recipient's fax number in the addressee field. At the end of the fax number, you'll need to affix “@onafax.com” (ex: 1334445555@onafax.com). This is what tells the aFax™ app that you're sending a fax, not an email. It's as simple as that!

3. Craft a Cover Page

This step is optional but adds a personal touch. In the body of the email, you can write a personal message or cover page that will be faxed alongside your documents. Because you're not being charged by the page, sending a cover message comes at no extra cost, and your clients will appreciate the customized communication. Just fill out the body of the email with whatever additional communication you'd like to send to your recipient along with your fax.

4. Attach Your Documents

Sending a fax online is no more complicated than sending an email with attachments. Clicking the paperclip icon will allow you to attach the files you'd like to fax. You can select files from GoogleDrive, your hard drive, or even Dropbox. Free accounts can upload up to 2 pages, while paid accounts can send and receive up to 200 pages per month.
As an added bonus, aFax™ will convert your attachments to .pdf files for you. We've made the extra effort to ensure your faxes are always sent in the best format for viewing because we know how important clean, efficient communication is. Whether your clients prefer to view faxes digitally or in print, .pdf files offer the best visibility so there will be no miscommunications between you and your fax recipients!

5. Just Hit Send

Now that you've composed your email, entered your clients' fax number with “@onafax.com” at the end, uploaded your desired documents as attachments, and written your personalized cover page, there's only one step left: hitting send! Yes, with the simple push of a button, your fax is sent off to your recipient and you can move on with your day. When you make the switch to online faxing, there'll be no more standing around making sure your fax goes through.
When you send an email, you never have to sit around and wonder if your message went through. This is one of the best reasons to switch over to online faxing. When you don't have to worry about busy signals, you won't waste time waiting around on unsent faxes and dial tones. Online faxing will save you and your employees a lot of time, which means more time to spend on more important tasks. Just hit send and move on!

6. Create a Custom Fax Number

Now that you've brought your faxing process online, you may be wondering how your clients with old-fashioned fax machines can fax you. Don't worry – aFax™ has you covered. Once you've signed up for your account, you'll be given the opportunity to create your own custom fax number. Your aFax™ fax number works just like a standard fax phone line and is compatible with both traditional fax machines and online fax services.

Although your aFax™ fax number works like any other fax phone line, there are no dialing rules or busy signals. This means that your customers can fax you at any time, from anywhere in the world! You can also receive multiple faxes at once, unlike traditional fax machines that can only receive one fax at a time. Because of these benefits, your fax line will be accessible to your clients. We also offer both toll-free and local numbers for your convenience.

7. Set Up Text Alerts

In the past, receiving a fax often meant sitting idly by a fax machine, waiting impatiently for incoming communication. Waiting around a machine can eat up precious office hours, but when you're receiving vital or time-sensitive communication, we know you can't afford to miss a fax. With the aFax™ app, you can set up custom text alerts. We'll send notifications directly to your phone whenever you receive a new fax so you never miss an important document again.

8. Fax Securely on the Go

Once you've learned how to send a fax online, you can take the show on the road. The aFax™ app is convenient and portable, so there's no need to be at the office to send or receive a fax. Sending and receiving faxes online using your mobile device allows you to fax on the go. Incoming faxes are stored in a secured inbox, keeping your information safer and more secure than email or traditional faxing.

Visiting your local post office to send faxes or owning and operating a traditional fax machine can be time-consuming, inconvenient, and costly. Faxing online is easily more accessible, affordable, and efficient than outdated modes of faxing. With the aFax™ app, you can send and receive faxes as easily as you send and receive emails, with no additional training necessary. To sign-up for your $1 trial and start faxing online, visit aFax™ today.