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VoIP is a great concept, but isn't going to be nearly as reliable as an old school PSTN connection. The reason for this is that as soon as the VoIP call leaves your LAN, you no longer have control over it. On your LAN, you can use VLANs or QoS to ensure high voice quality, but you have no control over the routers/switches/etc. that your call passes through out in the open Internet.
If you do want to go with VoIP, there are a few things you can do to make everything work better together:
1. Use a SOHO router with QoS...there are many new models with all the bells and whistles for under $150 bucks.
2. Have a solid Internet connection - VoIP calls take 80Kbps UP and DOWN...make sure you have enough to cover however many concurrent calls you need to have at any given time.
3. Some providers I like: bandwidth.com, voicepulse.com, teliax.com
4. For a business, your most reliable setup is going to be a trixbox Pro system with PSTN connectivity. I set these up for a living...if anyone is interested, PM me and I'll fill your head with a ton of info.
-Schw00d
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