Faxes stop piling up on a tray nobody watches
Every inbound fax lands as a PDF in a monitored mailbox, so a referral that arrived Friday night is not discovered Tuesday.
Online Fax
Fax without the machine, the paper or the second line.
Incoming faxes arrive as PDFs in email; outgoing faxes go out from your inbox or a browser — on the fax number your referral partners already have on file.
- Keep your existing fax number
- Send and receive by email
- ATA for a legacy machine
Example
+1 (416) 555-0150
Fax
Received
DeliveredReferral — 4 pages
Sent
DeliveredRequisition — 2 pages
Sent
PendingQueued — 1 page
fax@… → PDF
3CTel Online Fax sends and receives faxes through email and a web portal instead of a fax machine and a dedicated phone line. Incoming faxes arrive as PDF attachments to the addresses you choose; outgoing faxes are sent by emailing the document to the destination number. Existing fax numbers can be ported, delivery confirmations are logged, and an analog adapter can keep a machine in service where a workflow requires it.
What changes for your business.
Sending takes a minute, not a walk down the hall
Attach the document, send to the fax number, and get a delivery confirmation without standing over a machine listening for a tone.
The number on every referral form still works
Your existing fax number ports across, so partners, insurers and lawyers who have it filed away do not need to be told anything.
A searchable record instead of a paper trail
Sent and received faxes are logged with time, number, page count and status, and the PDFs live where your other documents live.
Core capabilities.
Send and receive by email
Inbound faxes arrive as PDF attachments; outbound faxes are sent by addressing an email to the destination number from an authorised address.
Web portal for sending and history
Upload a document, choose a cover page, send, and review the full send and receive history with status per attempt.
Dedicated fax numbers
Add a local or toll-free number used only for fax, so voice calls and faxes stop competing for the same line.
Port your existing fax number
Transfer the number already printed on your forms and referral sheets. The current line keeps working until the port completes.
ATA for a legacy fax machine
Keep a physical machine where a workflow depends on it: an analog adapter connects it to the service so staff carry on as before.
Routing to people or departments
Different fax numbers deliver to different mailboxes — intake, accounts, claims — instead of one inbox everyone has to sort.
Confirmations and delivery status
Each transmission returns a result: delivered, busy, failed, with page count and retry attempts recorded for follow-up.
Controlled access
Only addresses and users you authorise can send on your fax numbers, and delivery mailboxes are ones you already administer.
Common use cases.
Medical and dental clinics
Referrals, requisitions and imaging reports arrive as PDFs in the intake mailbox instead of on a shared tray at the front desk.
Law firms and notaries
Documents go out with a confirmation record, and the office keeps its long-standing fax number through a move or a phone system change.
Insurance and brokerage offices
Claim forms from carriers route to the claims mailbox, separate from general correspondence, with a log of what arrived when.
Real estate brokerages
Offers and conveyancing paperwork are sent from a laptop at a showing, not from a machine back at the office.
AI workflow filing inbound faxes
When a fax arrives, an AI workflow reads the cover details, matches the sender to a contact in your CRM or helpdesk, opens or updates the ticket and notifies the right person, with the action held for one-click approval where you prefer.
Setup and migration.
Fax setup is short. Most of the work is deciding which numbers exist, where each one delivers, and whether a physical machine stays in the picture.
Confirm numbers
We identify which existing fax numbers to port and whether you want any new dedicated fax numbers alongside them.
Set delivery and permissions
Each number is pointed at the right mailbox or user, and the addresses authorised to send outbound faxes are set.
Connect any physical machine
If a machine or multifunction printer stays, an ATA is configured and tested with it so nothing about the counter workflow changes.
Test both directions, then port
You send and receive test faxes on a temporary number, then the ported number switches over on the date the carriers confirm.
AI in this product
AI on incoming faxes
Received faxes are read, classified and routed to the right person or system, so nobody has to open each one to find out what it is.
Document classification and routing
Each inbound fax is read and tagged, for example referral, claim, order or invoice, and delivered to the mailbox, folder or queue you map for that type.
Key fields extracted for follow-up
Names, dates, reference numbers and requested actions are pulled from the fax and presented as a short summary in the delivery notice, with the original image attached for verification.
Workflows started from a fax
A classified fax can open a ticket, update a record or schedule a callback through a workflow, in automatic or approve-first mode, where the destination system is connected and scoped.
Common questions, answered directly.
How does online fax work without a fax machine?
The fax number is hosted in the cloud. When a fax arrives, the service converts it to a PDF and emails it to the inbox or group you selected, and it is also visible in the web portal. To send, you email the document to the destination fax number in the format provided and receive a delivery report. No line, modem or paper is involved.
Can more than one person receive faxes for the same number?
Yes. A fax number can deliver to a shared mailbox, a distribution list or several individual addresses, so a clinic or office does not depend on one person checking a machine. Access to the portal is set by user, and sent and received faxes are searchable by date, number and status.
Why do businesses still use fax in Canada?
Some sectors, including healthcare, legal and government-facing work, continue to exchange documents by fax because counterparties expect it. Online fax keeps those workflows without the machine: documents arrive where the work happens, delivery is confirmed and nothing sits face-up on a tray. How sensitive documents are handled remains your organization’s decision under its own policies.
Learn more
- DID (Direct Inward Dialing)A phone number that reaches a particular extension or department directly, bypassing the main menu.
- Number portingMoving an existing phone number from one provider to another without changing it.
- Number portingHow a port works, what you need to provide, what causes delays, and what 3CTel does at each step.
- Medical & Dental ClinicsAppointment lines, provider routing and after-hours coverage for clinics.
- Professional ServicesPartner extensions, assistant coverage and call records for firms that bill their time.
- Business phone systemNumbers, routing, apps and desk phones, designed around how your calls actually arrive.
Learn more
Works with the tools you already use.
Integrations are scoped during planning based on your systems; availability is confirmed before activation.
- Microsoft 365Productivity
- Google WorkspaceProductivity
- Outlook / Google CalendarCalendar
- Webhooks & APICustom
Related products.
Business Phone Numbers
Local, toll-free and campaign numbers that all land in one system.
Learn more: Business Phone NumbersDevices
Phones and headsets that arrive ready to plug in.
Learn more: DevicesBusiness Phone
Reliable calling with routing your team will actually use.
Learn more: Business PhoneMedical & Dental Clinics
Appointment lines, provider routing and after-hours coverage for clinics.
Learn more: Medical & Dental ClinicsFrequently asked questions.
Yes. Fax numbers port the same way voice numbers do. Your current fax line keeps working until the transfer completes, and the date is confirmed with you beforehand.
No. Most offices send and receive entirely by email and the web portal. If a machine is part of a workflow you want to keep, an analog adapter connects it to the service.
Address an email to the destination fax number in the format we provide, attach the document, and send from an authorised address. You receive a confirmation with the delivery result.
PDF and common document and image formats are typical. We confirm the supported list and any page or size limits during setup.
Fax tones are sensitive to how a line is delivered, and a dedicated fax service handles retries and delivery reporting that a shared voice line does not. It also frees the line for calls.
That is a decision for your organisation and its own privacy obligations. We can tell you how delivery and access are configured; the policy on what may be faxed, and to whom, stays with you.
Plan your fax numbers and where each one delivers.
Answer a few questions and get a setup covering ported numbers, mailboxes and any machine you are keeping.