To keep track of when messages arrive, most firms find it very useful to have a machine that offers a time and date stamp. This records information about the time of the call before the start of each message.

Many businesses need different messages for different times of the day. Answering machines equipped with a multiple greeting feature can easily handle this requirement. In most cases, you record multiple greetings, and then set specific times when each message should be played.

Some answering machines offer multiple mailboxes that allow callers to route messages to a specific recipient. The caller simply enters a touch tone code and records the message in a specific mailbox. When people return to the office, they can play just the messages left in their mailbox.

For those who do not wish to handle individual messages, an announce-only feature allows a recorded message to be left without giving callers the option to record a response.