Small business and home users can find themselves in a situation where they have to send or receive fax messages, but they don't have an available landline or a working fax machine. Fax messages are messages that you need sent or received quickly and are rather valuable to both sender and receiver, so getting to know some of the options in front of you is a good idea.

How to send a fax without a landline

1. Online fax services

   As long as you have an internet connection and a computer, or even one of the handheld iOS devices (including iPhones and iPads), you can send and receive a fax with relative ease. Smart phone, tablet and a computer can remove the need for having a physical fax machine, reducing the operative cost for small business and home owners.

2. Paid-for enterprise fax server

   Medium sized business owners that do not want to go through the hassle of maintaining and operating a fax machine, let alone a quality network of fax machines, can use companies that specialize in setting up and maintaining enterprise fax servers. This option involves using an internet-reliant fax server connected to an (or many) fax machines with preset settings that can be managed remotely. It saves you from having to do the maintenance and setup yourself, it avoids the problem of poor landline connection, but it's a costly option.

3. Using a nearby fax machine

   Businesses, even small ones, that rely on sending and receiving fax machines are usually very understandable when it comes to people having to use their fax for something urgent, as they know what's it like when this method of communication becomes unavailable. Your store down the street or a local post office may well have a fax machine they use for business correspondence, and if you're in a pinch, you will find them more then accommodating as long as you ask politely.

Matt Gerchow

Matt Gerchow is an author, marketer, inventor, husband, father and yoga enthusiast. He enjoys travel to distant lands , fine wine, time with his family and dinner with friends.