Frequently asked questions - GFI FaxMaker Online

General

Can I try GFI FaxMaker® Online before purchasing the software?

Yes, you can use GFI FaxMaker Online on a 30-day trial basis by completing the following registration form.

NOTE: GFI reserves the right to cancel a trial at any point if its use violates our terms of service.

How to can I order a GFI FaxMaker Online plan?

GFI FaxMaker Online can be purchased via a GFI partner or from GFI from within your GFI FaxMaker Online trial. If you have not started a trial, please do so before you elect to purchase.

What options do I have for a fax plan?

GFI offers several different types of fax plans:

  • Monthly subscription that gives you the equivalent of X number of local fax pages depending on the plan you choose. This is a recurring charge billed at the start of your subscription. If you exceed the number of equivalent local pages, any fax pages over are charged at overage rates And billed at the end of the subscription month
  • Corporate Monthly plans that set your page rate at a flat rate, per page, for local fax pages no matter how many you send and receive. There is a minimum per month charge, billed at the beginning of the subscription month and if this is exceeded during the month the balance is billed at the end of the subscription month the charge was incurred in.
  • Page bundle plans let you purchase a block of local faxes pages up front and these expire 1 year from the date of purchase. This is typically the most economical way to purchase fax pages. If you get close to running out of pages, you can purchase another bundle which also gives you another 12 months from the date of purchase to use these pages.
  • Enterprise fax plans – for companies that fax over 50,000 pages per month, call GFI for a plan that suites your needs

What happens if I let my trial expire?

You have a 2 day grace period to order your GFI FaxMaker Online fax plan, after this your account is removed from the system and any fax number you have chosen is placed back into our trial pool.

What happens if my page bundle plan expires?

When you reach the end of your 12 months and do not renew, you have a 30 day grace period to use any remaining fax pages. If you do not consume your fax pages and do not renew, your account is removed from the system entirely. Any fax numbers you have are placed in a 30 day holding pattern and are then released back into the GFI trial fax pool. If you have ported a fax number to our service and wish to retain those fax numbers when leaving the service, please remember to submit a port out request to GFI. If you do not submit a port out request, your fax number will be held for 90 days and then released into the GFI trial fax pool.

What are the maximum number of recipients I can send a fax to in one email?

GFI FaxMaker Online has a limit of 100 recipients, however, mail services may have a lower limit and larger number of recipients could flag the email as spam.

What happens if my email server goes down and I can’t receive my faxes?

GFI FaxMaker Online queues email fax messages and retries delivery several times over 120 hour period.

How do I convert my trial account to a paid account?

GFI FaxMaker Online can be purchased via a GFI partner or from GFI from within your GFI FaxMaker Online trial. You can switch subscription type going to the subscription section within your GFI FaxMaker Online portal

How do I send a fax?

Sending a fax is as simple as sending an email. You would create a new email, add any attachments you need faxed, enter information in the body of the email that you would want to appear in a fax “cover page”. Address the “To” field as number@gfifax.com, (where number is the fax number of the person you are sending to). You must include the complete number with country and area code, e.g. +19785551212@gfifax.com. Hit send.

What types of files can I send as a fax?

When using the FaxMaker Online printer driver, you can fax anything that can be printed. When using email to send a fax, the supported file types include:

  • .DOC, DOCX - Microsoft Word
  • .XLS, XLSX - Microsoft Excel
  • .PPT, PPTX - Microsoft PowerPoint
  • .TIF/TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
  • .TXT - Plain Text
  • .HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
  • .RTF - Rich Text Format
  • .PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format
  • .JPG - JPEG images
  • .VSD - Visio drawings
  • .GIF - Graphics Interchange Format

What happens if I send a fax but do not receive notification that it was (or wasn't) sent?

There are a few things you can do:

  • Check with your administrator to make sure you have been set up to receive status notifications of successes or failures.
  • If this is the first time you have used GFI FaxMaker Online, check your spam settings to make sure your spam filter has not inadvertently detected the status notification as spam.
  • If you have checked both of the above and still have not received notification within 60 minutes, please contact GFI support at http://support.gfi.com/Support/supportrequest.aspx.

How do I receive faxes?

Inbound faxes are sent to you in an email.

What types of files can be received as faxes?

Your faxes can be received in several file types. This is determined by the person with administrative rights who sets you up as a GFI FaxMaker Online user. File types can include: PDF, TIFF, TIF HiRes and XPS.

Can I change to a different monthly plan?

Yes. You can change to a different monthly plan, but a change in plan will only become available at the beginning of the following month. It is not possible to change plans in the middle of a month.

What happens if I need to send faxes when my monthly balance reaches zero?

You will still be able to send and receive fax pages when your balance reaches zero. Overage charges will apply and are billed at the end of the month along with your next month’s subscription. Please send an email to sales@gfi.com, or if you have an existing GFI FaxMaker Online account, please log in to the GFI customer area to find the rates.

Can I cancel a subscription?

Yes. Please note, however, that the cancellation takes effect only at the end of the month. Please send an email to sales@gfi.com if you would like to cancel your subscription.

Installation and Setup

Do I need to install GFI FaxMaker Fax Server to use GFI FaxMaker Online?

No. All you need is an Internet connection to get up and running.

Can I have more than one fax number?

Yes. You can request more fax numbers in the GFI shopping cart. Please note that extra fax numbers are charged per direct inward dialing (DID) monthly. Contact a GFI Partner or GFI for pricing.

Is there a limit to the number of fax users I can have?

No. Unlike other fax providers, GFI does not limit the number of fax users you can have.

How do I get fax numbers in my area/region?

GFI has an extensive list of fax numbers available for our customers. However, there are some countries and areas that we may not have a number for in our pool at any given point in time. If you do not see a number available in your area when you first sign up for the service or you do not see a number in your area when you “request fax pool” from within your GFI FaxMaker Online portal, you can contact GFI to request a fax number for your area.

Please note, if you are requesting a fax number in Germany, under German law an exact address verification is required before a number can be issued. Any number being issued must match a physical address and proof is required the business resides at that address, such as a certificate of registration/incorporation (Handelsregisterauszug).

Features

How do I see how many faxes I have sent or received?

GFI FaxMaker Online has a powerful reporting section that allows you to run reports on faxes sent and received, as well as export these reports to common file formats for further analysis.

For more information on reporting please see: http://manuals.gfi.com/en/FaxMakerOnline/Default.htm#topics/reports/reports.htm

How do we get new features?

Any features GFI adds that are included in your plan, will be made available automatically via the GFI FaxMaker Online website or in the administration console itself.

What types of files can be received as faxes?

Your faxes can be received in several file types. This is determined by the person with administrative rights who sets you up as a GFI FaxMaker Online user. File types can include:

  • PDF
  • TIFF
  • TIF HiRes
  • XPS

What types of files can I send as a fax?

When using email to send a fax, the supported file types include:

  • .DOC, DOCX - Microsoft Word
  • .XLS, XLSX - Microsoft Excel
  • .PPT, PPTX - Microsoft PowerPoint
  • .TIF/TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
  • .TXT - Plain Text
  • .HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
  • .RTF - Rich Text Format
  • .PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format
  • .JPG - JPEG images
  • .VSD - Visio drawings
  • .GIF - Graphics Interchange Format

Do I get usage notifications?

Page Bundle customers: Yes. The GFI FaxMaker Online system will send the registered administrator usage notifications at 50%, 75% 90% and 100% of fax page usage.

Monthly subscription customers: Your registered administrator will receive notifications when you have entered into overages.

Are there APIs available for me to integrate my applications?

Yes, GFI FaxMaker Online has a full set of web services APIs for both inbound and outbound faxing. APIs are used when you wish to programmatically integrate your online electronic faxing with third party applications for full fax automation. For details please see:

Inbound: http://go.gfi.com/?pageid=FMO_IWS
Outbound: http://go.gfi.com/?pageid=FMO_IWS

What options do I have to send or receive faxes securely for HIPAA or other regulatory requirements?

GFI FaxMaker Online has several ways you can send and receive faxes securely

  • Inbound and Outbound web services: GFI FaxMaker Online comes with a complete set of web services APIs that use HTTPS to connect to the service for sending and receiving faxes. This allows you to programmatically integrate faxing with your third party applications for secure fax automation.
  • GFI FaxMaker Online Mobile App allows you to securely send faxes from your mobile device using HTTPS to connect to the fax service. For more information please see: https://www.gfi.com/products-and-solutions/email-and-messaging-solutions/gfi-faxmaker-online/downloads/online-mobile-app
  • GFI FaxMaker Online also support TLS for companies that must use email to send and receive faxes via email but require strict security measures to ensure data remains secure. For more information on our TLS option please contact GFI.

Number Porting

Can I port a number while I am in trial?

No, porting a fax number is a major change, and we want to make sure you are 100% happy with the service before we port fax numbers. We will only accept port requests for paid accounts. If you want to test receiving faxes on the service while in trial, we suggest you use the free fax number you choose at trial sign up, or forward your existing fax number to the new number while in trial.

Do I need to port my existing fax number?

No. When you sign up for a GFI FaxMaker Online account, you will receive one fax number free with the service. As a result, you can keep running your existing fax number the way you have been, while transitioning to the new service and number. If you wish to use your existing fax number with the service, you can choose to port your fax number to the GFI FaxMaker Online fax service.

How can I check if my number may be portable?

To request a number port, please follow the instructions at:

http://manuals.gfi.com/en/FaxMakerOnline/Default.htm#topics/gsg/porting.htm

How do I port an existing number?

While it is possible to port an existing number, a number porting fee does apply. You will need to supply GFI with certain information to port an existing fax number. It is very important to first find out if your carrier will allow you to port your number. You will need to supply us with your company name and address, authorized contact and billing telephone number. You also will need to let us know if you require a full port or partial port, supply a letter of authorization, a copy of a current phone bill. Please send an email to sales@gfi.com to request porting your fax number.

Where can I find a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to complete for my number port?

In most countries, a number port will be denied by the losing carrier if that number is part of a DID range. LOAs are available at:

https://www.gfi.com/pages/GFI-FaxMaker-LOA-downloads

Can I port a number that is part of a DID range?

In most countries, a number port will be denied by the losing carrier if that number is part of a DID range.

If you wish to port a number that is part of a DID range please ensure you have contacted your existing carrier to confirm they will allow that number to be ported away from them. If they confirm you can, please ensure you keep a record of the confirmation and the name and contact details of your carrier’s representative

How long does it take to port a number?

Depending on your existing carrier and the accuracy of the information you supply GFI, number porting can take from one to five weeks, so please allow plenty of time.

IMPORTANT: If you do start the number porting process, do NOT cancel your service until you have been notified that the number has been ported successfully.

Can fax numbers always be ported?

No. In most cases they can, however there are many instances where a losing carrier will deny a number port. Reasons for this include situations such as the number is part of a range, the LOA has been completed incorrectly, there is an existing work order in place on the number in question, there are outstanding invoices on that number, and so on. Each country can have different requirements for number porting.

GFI can check on your behalf if it is "possible" to port a number, however this check does not guarantee that it can be ported.

If you have any doubts, you can check with your existing carrier as to whether they will allow your fax number to be ported away from them.

Note: GFI FaxMaker Online does not support number porting in Italy.

What happens if my number fails to port?

GFI will work with you to resolve the underlying issue the losing carrier has. Remember, when a number fails to port, it is generally because the losing carrier has denied the number port. If it eventuates that your number cannot be ported it is possible for you to forward your fax number to your new GFI FaxMaker Online number. This helps you transition your customers to use the new fax number and allows you time to update your websites, stationary and your contacts with your new fax number.

Can I port a number away from GFI FaxMaker Online?

Yes, you may do so at no charge.

If I cancel my subscription, what happens to my fax number?

If you cancel your subscription, the fax number you have been using is taken out of service for 30 days and may then be reassigned to another account.

Can I port my number if my number is part of an ISDN range of numbers?

In most countries, the losing carriers will not allow you to separate a number(s) from a range of numbers. For example, if you have an ISDN line with numbers from 919 555 0100 to 919 555 0199, you cannot port the single number 919 555 0102 to a different service. If you are unsure, please check with your existing carrier if they will allow you to port your number away from them, before requesting a number port to GFI FaxMaker Online.

Billing and Charges

How will I be billed?

Your monthly subscription fee and overage charges are applied to your credit card. You can view your usage and billing summary by logging into the GFI customer area.

Are inbound and outbound faxes charged?

Yes, both inbound and outbound pages are charged against your account. Each page sent and received is deducted from your monthly plan balance regardless of whether it is a local or international number. If your balance reaches zero, you will be charged an overage amount per page.

Are international fax pages charged at a different rate than local fax pages?

Yes, the cost per page varies based on the destination country. Please contact us for more information.

Updates

How do I get updates to GFI FaxMaker Online?

As the GFI FaxMaker Online portal is web based, any updates we make to the console are automatically available for our customers on release.

Upgrades

If I send and receive more pages than the largest monthly plan available, what are my options?

GFI offers a corporate plan for customers who exceed 1,000 pages per month. A corporate plan has a minimum monthly charge of €150 per month and local fax pages are charged at a flat rate of €0.07 per page. International pages are charged at the applicable rate for the country of destination.

If I upgrade, do I get to keep my fax number?

Yes.