Black Bean — prepaid cloud PBX and outsourced IT, Cape Town
Black Bean is a Cape Town IT managed-service provider, started in 2016, that sells VoIP to small and medium businesses alongside IT support, networking and Microsoft 365. Its cloud PBX runs on prepaid call credit with no contract, free remote support and free calls between extensions and branches. Number porting is published at R150 per number; extensions and call rates are quoted.
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Key facts
| Who they are | Black Bean, an IT managed-service provider founded in 2016 by a technician with a software background. Its about page counts 250 customers served and more than 146,000 support tickets resolved from one office, and it describes its market as small and medium-sized enterprises across South Africa |
| Cloud PBX | A hosted PBX with free calls between extensions and between branches on the same system, softphones on a cellphone, IVR menus, manual or rule-based call forwarding, and an online portal for call logs, recordings and call statistics. Call recording keeps up to 1TB of call history |
| Account types | A SIP account is a plain number with no features; a Smart account gives one number the cloud PBX feature set, including voicemail and call recording |
| Billing | Prepaid: you top up by paying into Black Bean’s bank account with your account number as the reference, and can set a low-balance notification. The VoIP page says there are no contracts and that remote support is free |
| Numbers and phones | Existing numbers port in at R150 per number and take 10 to 15 working days once the paperwork is in; new numbers can be issued. Handsets ship in 1 to 2 working days, from a Yealink range that includes the T33G, W60P cordless, SIP-T58V video phone and CP960 conference phone |
| Beyond voice | PC, Mac and server support, network design and cabling (CAT5e, CAT6 and fibre optic), Wi-Fi, VPNs, cloud and local backups, 24/7 remote monitoring, Microsoft 365, ESET and domain hosting. It is not an internet provider; it helps customers choose and manage their connectivity |
| Support contracts | IT support is sold ad hoc (first hour paid up front), as block hours with a set response time, or as an SLA with a dedicated account manager, in fully managed or co-managed form |
| Head office | 504 Buitengracht Centre, 125 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8000, with technicians in Cape Town and Johannesburg |
| Contact | +27 21 205 1115; [email protected], or a support ticket on its website. Office hours Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00 |
| ICASA licence | No public licence reference found on the provider’s website at our last check (November 2026); we’ll update this once a reference is confirmed |
| Pricing | Only the R150 porting fee is published. Extension or PBX charges, call rates and handset prices are not listed, so voice is priced per business through a quote request |
| Listed In | VoIP Providers · Phone System Providers |
Black Bean sells phones the way an outsourced IT team would: one supplier, no lock-in
Black Bean’s pitch is that it becomes your IT department, and VoIP is one of the services that come with it. For a small office that already relies on it for laptops, the network and Microsoft 365, adding a cloud PBX from the same team means one number to call when a phone stops working. The commercial model is unusually light: prepaid call credit you top up yourself, no contract on the voice service and free remote support, which suits businesses that dislike 36-month telecoms agreements. The trade-off is transparency. Apart from the R150 porting fee, nothing is priced on the website, the PBX platform and the network that carries the calls are not named, and no ICASA licence reference is shown. Ask for the monthly charge per extension or Smart account, the per-minute rates and billing increment, and who carries your numbers before you port them.
Who Black Bean is a fit for
- Cape Town and Johannesburg small businesses that want their phones, computers and network looked after by one IT company.
- Offices that prefer prepaid call credit and no fixed term over a contract with bundled minutes.
- Firms with more than one branch that want free calls between sites on a single cloud PBX.
How Black Bean sits in the VoIP category
- 284 verified VoIP providers on WhichVoIP; 173 carry a Google rating.
- No published Google rating for Black Bean (173 of 284 in the category have one; median 37 reviews).
Computed from the WhichVoIP provider register; refreshes as ratings and reviews change.
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Compare VoIP providers →Commonly asked questions
What does Black Bean’s VoIP service include?
A cloud PBX with IVR menus, call forwarding, softphones on a cellphone, call recording with up to 1TB of history, an online portal for call logs and statistics, and free calls between extensions and branches. A basic SIP account gives you a number only; a Smart account adds the PBX features, voicemail and recording.
Is there a contract on Black Bean VoIP?
Its VoIP page says there are no contracts. Calls run on prepaid credit that you top up by bank payment, with an optional low-balance notification and the balance shown in the online portal. Confirm whether any monthly per-extension charge applies on top of call credit (checked 2 November 2026).
Can I keep my number if I move to Black Bean?
Yes. Black Bean ports existing numbers at R150 per number, and porting takes 10 to 15 working days from when it has your documents. Keep your old service active until the port completes, and ask which network will hold the numbers afterwards.
Where is Black Bean based?
Its headquarters is at 504 Buitengracht Centre, 125 Buitengracht Street, in central Cape Town, and it has technicians in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Phone +27 21 205 1115 or email [email protected], Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00. The cloud PBX itself works anywhere with a stable internet connection.
Does Black Bean also supply internet?
No. Its remote-work page says it is not an internet provider, though it advises on and facilitates connectivity. VoIP call quality depends on that line, so plan your fibre or wireless link, and a UPS for the router and phones, alongside the phone system.
How does Black Bean compare with other VoIP providers in South Africa?
Black Bean competes as an IT partner that also does voice, rather than as a telecoms specialist, so its strengths are bundled support and no-contract prepaid calling, not published rate cards. For scored providers with published prices, see the VoIP comparison or WhichVoIP’s Switch Telecom review for a national benchmark.
This listing is maintained by WhichVoIP, an independent South African telecoms comparison service running since 2019. Details are verified against the provider’s public website and were last checked on 2 November 2026.