Numbers are inventory, not a plan tier
Phone numbers, and what each one can do.
A number belongs to your account rather than to a person. Point it at a line, a group or a call flow, and move it whenever you like. Getting one takes two minutes. Deciding what should happen when it rings is the interesting part.
Three ways to get one
Local, toll-free, or the one on your van already
Each behaves differently once it is on your account, and the difference shows up on the bill.
Local numbers
A number in the area code your customers recognise. What is available depends on inventory in that rate centre. Ask us and we will tell you what is free in yours.
Toll-free numbers
Free for the caller, billed by the inbound minute to you. Worth it when customers are calling from outside your area and would otherwise hesitate.
The number you already have
Most numbers can move to us. We check yours against the current carrier before anyone commits to a date, and the old line keeps working until the switch.
How numbers behave
How a number behaves once it is on the account
- A number belongs to the account
- Not to a person. Point it at a line, a ring group or a call flow, and repoint it whenever you like without anyone re-learning an extension.
- A line does not need one
- Lines make and take internal calls, and dial out through whatever number you nominate, before they are given one of their own. Numbers are optional inventory.
- One number, one call flow
- Each number has exactly one diagram behind it, so the answer to "what happens when someone dials this" is a picture rather than an investigation.
- Outbound caller ID is a choice
- Set it per site or per line. A dispatcher calling a customer back can present the main number rather than their own extension.
What sits behind it
A number is a front door with a diagram behind it
Getting the number takes a couple of minutes. Deciding what happens when it rings is the part worth thinking about, and it is one picture you can point at.
Coverage
We check availability before you commit to anything
Inventory in a given area code is a real constraint for every carrier, and it changes week to week. Tell us the area code you want and we will tell you what is free in it.
- Ask before you order
- Send the area code, or the town. We check live inventory and answer with what we can supply, including when the answer is nothing this month.
- Porting is checked per number
- Portability is a property of a specific number rather than of a place. We check yours against the carrier holding it before anyone picks a date.
- Toll-free is always an option
- If the area code you want is thin, a toll-free number works from day one and can sit in front of the same call flow.
- You keep what you buy
- Numbers on your account are yours to point wherever you like, and to take with you if portability allows it where you are.
Next
Tell us the area code and we will tell you what is free
If you already have a number, start with the porting page instead. It changes the order things happen in.