Sales and customers
Business phone and messaging
Do you need a separate business phone number, and what kind of system?
Six short steps. No email or account.
- Who needs it
- Any business where customers call, particularly once more than one person answers.
- When it matters
- Before you advertise a number anywhere you cannot easily change.
- Compare first
- Texting support
- Matters most when
- just started, established, growing, mature
Is this the right tool for you?
When the business runs on your personal mobile, you cannot switch off, share the load or hand the number on if you sell or hire. Calls and texts from customers mix with family, and when you are on a job they go unanswered with no one else able to pick up.
Signs you need it now
- Customers have your personal number and call at all hours.
- Missed calls while you are working are not returned, or not returned quickly.
- An employee answers customers from their own phone and keeps the history.
- You want a local number or a single number that rings several people.
When another area fits better
- You need to send marketing messages to customer lists rather than handle calls and replies. Read the text messaging guide
Recognise two or more of these? Sort out business phone and messaging next.
Tell us how your business runs and get a plan that puts business phone and messaging in order with everything else: what to set up first, your must-haves and what to compare.
What matters at your size
Working alone
An app that adds a business number to your existing mobile, with voicemail, business hours and texting, is usually enough.
A small team
One main number that rings several people, call routing by time of day, shared texting inbox and call recording or notes where permitted.
Several teams or locations
Menus and queues, call routing by department or area, reporting on missed and answered calls, and connection to your CRM.
How the way you work changes the choice
- Trades on the road
- Everything happens on mobiles. Prioritize a good app, shared texting and fast missed-call handling over desk phones.
- Offices and professional firms
- Desk and computer calling, transfers between staff, conference lines and a professional greeting matter more.
- Shops and front desks
- A counter phone plus overflow to a mobile or answering service when the shop is busy or closed.
What to compare
Texting support
Customers increasingly text. A number that cannot receive texts loses enquiries.
Call routing
Ringing several people, or routing by time of day, prevents missed calls.
Number portability
Confirm you can take the number with you before you commit to it.
Cost and setup effort
- Most business phone services charge per user or per line each month; added numbers, texting and call recording can cost extra.
- Moving your existing number to a new provider is usually possible but takes time; do not cancel the old service until the move is complete.
- Business texting often requires registering your business and use case before messages are delivered reliably. Allow time for that.
Trade-offs to weigh
- App on your mobile or full phone system
- An app is quick and cheap to start; a full system handles teams, routing and reporting but takes setting up.
- Answer yourself or use a service
- An answering service catches calls you would miss, but callers get a message-taker, not the expert.
- Standalone or built into other tools
- Some job, CRM and booking tools include calling and texting; that keeps history in one place but may be less capable.
When to sort it out
Before you advertise a number anywhere you cannot easily change.
Your next step
Answer six short questions about how your business runs. You get an operating plan: where business phone and messaging fits among your priorities, the must-haves to hold every option to, and what to compare when you choose.
Where this comes first
Trades and businesses that usually sort this out early.
Often decided alongside
Other parts of sales and customers.