One cheap alternative: if you already have a server running various things, you could simply add Asterisk on it to manage your external VoIP account, create PBX VoIP accounts for every employee and simply have them load CSipSimple or similar on their smartphone or tablet.
If you want to use a single ATA and some mix of wired and cordless phones, most ATAs can only handle 6-10 phones so you would probably need to use some form of cordless solution to reduce the ATA's load. Panasonic has a fairly decent DECT6 kits with four handsets (expandable to six) for $130-170 so 15 phones would set you back around $600 or ~$40 per phone.