Resilient by Nature: How NQ Businesses Are Using Smarter Technology to Outlast Rising Costs

TIP #1

Stop Losing Customers to a Phone System That Can’t Keep Up

This one surprises a lot of business owners. When we talk about reducing costs, most people think about big-ticket items. But one of the most consistent and hidden cost leaks in a North Queensland business is a phone system that lets customers down.

Think about it this way: every time a customer calls and gets a busy signal, gives up waiting on hold, or can't get through to the right person, that's a potential sale, booking, or referral that walks out the door. In a regional market where you've already spent money on marketing and reputation to earn that call, losing it at the phone is an expensive failure.

During COVID-19, when Townsville's own IMC Steakhouses pivoted to takeaway to survive, this exact problem hit them head-on. Demand surged. The phone couldn't handle it. Customers were frustrated. Brand damage was a real risk. 

“We had frustrated customers unable to call through during peak times… we needed a quick solution in meeting the demand through our phone system before any brand damage could occur. Online ordering was going to be problematic for the type of meals we offered. We needed to speak to the customer which allowed us to control the orders to ensure we would be able to deliver on time, every time.”

Tim Alsop, Operations Manager, Pierre Properties PTY LTD (IMC Steakhouse, Cactus Jack’s, 237 Flinders)

XRX worked with the IMC team to deploy a new cloud-based phone system, quickly, affordably, and with zero disruption. Customer queuing, professional hold messages, and seamless call management transformed the experience almost overnight.

“Working through our issues with Jamie and the team at XRX Business Centre was a great experience. The XRX team understood our limitations right from the start and after a couple of discussions, we had a new, inexpensive, easy to operate phone system that allowed customer queuing, with multiple messages while on hold. This has relieved a lot of customer frustration and has had a positive impact on productivity and general morale within the business. The speed of understanding our temporarily changed business model and the delivery and installation of new equipment was very impressive.”

Tim Alsop, Operations Manager, Pierre Properties PTY LTD (IMC Steakhouse, Cactus Jack’s, 237 Flinders)

The result? More orders converted. Less staff stress. And a business that was able to protect its brand and revenue at its most vulnerable moment.

A modern cloud phone system from XRX through Access4 starts from as little as a cup of coffee per day per user, and for most North Queensland businesses, it pays for itself in the very first month of recovered calls alone.

TIP #2

Audit Your Telco Bill. Is Your Business Overpaying?

If you haven’t reviewed your business phone and internet bill in the past 12 months, there is a very good chance you are paying too much. This is one of the most consistent findings we make when we sit down with a new North Queensland business client.

Many businesses are still locked into legacy Telstra or Optus contracts signed years ago, paying for line rentals, equipment fees, and call charges that have been quietly sitting on their bill, often with no one checking whether better value options exist.

A free XRX Telecommunications Bill Audit typically uncovers:

• Unused lines or services still being charged monthly
• Call plans that no longer match how your team actually communicates
• Equipment rental fees for hardware that could be replaced with cloud alternatives at a fraction of the cost
• Internet plans that are either overpriced for the speed provided or insufficient for your actual usage

Opportunities to consolidate multiple provider bills into one predictable monthly payment

XRX offers this audit completely free, with no obligation. We’ll review your current bill and show you line by line where the savings are. Many NQ businesses we work with save hundreds of dollars per month, money that goes straight back into the business at a time when every dollar counts.

TIP #3

Upgrade to Business-Grade NBN and Stop Paying for Slow

Slow internet costs North Queensland businesses more than they realise. Every minute your team spends waiting for files to upload, video calls to connect, or cloud software to load is a productivity drain. And in 2026, with more business processes running in the cloud than ever before, a sluggish internet connection is a genuine operational liability.

For regional and remote NQ businesses, the gap between what you’re currently paying and what you’re actually getting can be significant. Many businesses are on residential-grade NBN plans that simply weren’t designed for business use, they lack the upload speeds, reliability guarantees, and support response times that a commercial operation needs.

XRX supplies business-grade NBN solutions across Townsville and North Queensland through enterprise-grade providers. We match the right plan to your actual business needs, not the cheapest option that leaves you frustrated, and not an oversized plan that wastes your budget.

Better internet also enables better phone systems, better cloud software performance, and better remote working capability, meaning your team can work effectively from anywhere, reducing the need for costly travel between sites.

TIP #4

Use Technology to Reduce Travel Between Sites and Locations

Fuel is expensive. And if your business involves regular travel between locations, sites, or clients across North Queensland’s vast distances, the cost adds up fast.

Technology won’t eliminate every trip, but it can dramatically reduce the ones that don’t need to happen. A well-configured business phone system means your team at one location can transfer calls seamlessly to a colleague at another site, without the caller ever knowing. Video collaboration tools mean face-to-face meetings can happen without anyone leaving their office.

This is precisely what happened for Apricus Health, a Townsville allied health provider with multiple locations. When they upgraded to a cloud phone system through XRX, calls could flow between sites effortlessly. When they opened a new location in 2022, XRX had the new handsets configured and ready from day one, with no downtime. (Read the Case Study Here)

  Reducing travel costs through smarter technology:

• Calls transferred between locations instantly. No double-handling, no callbacks, no missed clients
• Video conferencing built into your phone system. Fewer trips for meetings
• Remote management of your phone system. No technician needs to travel for most changes
• Multi-site businesses unified under one syste Managed from a single dashboard
• Staff working remotely use the same business number on their mobile. No need to be physically present

TIP #5

Consolidate Your Technology Providers and Simplify Your Overheads

One of the most overlooked cost-saving opportunities for NQ businesses is the hidden expense of managing too many technology suppliers. If you have one company for your phones, another for your internet, another for your printers, and another for your IT support,  you are almost certainly paying a premium for that complexity.

Managing multiple invoices, multiple contracts, and multiple support relationships takes time. And time, as every business owner knows, is money.

XRX Business Centre is one of the very few technology providers in North Queensland that can genuinely serve as your single point of contact for all business technology:

One provider. One invoice. One local team who knows your business. That simplicity saves you time, reduces your administration burden, and often reduces your total technology spend significantly, because bundled solutions almost always deliver better value than separate suppliers.