Choose a number

Every number in SimpleVox is a US phone number with a name, such as Office or Crew. Customers call and text the number. The people you give it to work its calls, voicemail and texts from the shared inbox.

You can choose a local number with an area code your customers know, or a toll-free number that customers anywhere in the US can call. Either kind makes and takes calls and sends and receives texts. Already have a number? Bring it with you.

Add a number

These steps add a local number. For a toll-free number, see Toll-free numbers. Only admins can add numbers, and your workspace needs an active plan. See Create your account.

1. Go to Settings → Phone numbers and choose Add a number. In a new workspace you can also choose Get a phone number from Get started.

2. Under City or area code, type a city (such as Austin, TX) or an area code (such as 512).

3. To find a number with certain digits or letters in it, fill in Contains. It’s optional and takes up to 7 characters, such as 2024 or CAFE. Then choose Search.

4. Pick a number from the list. If nothing matches, try a nearby city or area code, or clear Contains.

5. Give the number a Name and an emoji your team will recognize at a glance, such as Office, Crew or After hours. The emoji and name show on every incoming call, so you know which number the customer dialed before you answer. The name also shows in the inbox, in the Call from and Send from pickers, and in answers from your AI tools.

6. Under Assign to, tick the people who should have the number. You’re ticked to start with.

7. Choose Get number.

SimpleVox reserves the number and sets it up, which usually takes a few seconds. When you see Say hello to your new number, choose Set up this number to review how it handles incoming calls. Until you change it, a new number rings the people you chose under Assign to, all at once for 20 seconds, then goes to voicemail. With nobody assigned, calls go straight to voicemail. See Call routing.

Caution

Receiving texts works as soon as the number is ready. Sending texts needs an approved carrier registration (10DLC) first, which the billing owner completes in the Trust Center. See A2P 10DLC registration.

Toll-free numbers

A toll-free number (such as 800, 888 or 877) suits a business that serves customers across the country, or one that wants a single number for every location. It works like any other SimpleVox number: it has its own name, people, inbox and call flow.

To add a toll-free number, email support@simplevox.net. Sending texts from a toll-free number needs toll-free verification, a carrier check that’s separate from 10DLC registration.

Names that work

Names keep a busy inbox straight. A few patterns owners use:

• One number per purpose. Office, Crew, After hours.
• One number per location. North shop, South shop.
• One number per person on Pro or Boost, plus a shared main number.

MAMike AlvarezNorthside Carpentry

Contacts

Inboxes

• 🏡Office(312) 555-01002
• 🔧Service(312) 555-01021
• 📍Oak Park(708) 555-0131
• 🛠️Crew(312) 555-0101

Settings

1. 🏡 Office

   Your main number

   The one on your website and your van. New customers reach whoever is best at winning the job.

2. 🔧 Service

   Service and warranty

   Existing customers get their own hours, greeting and on-call people, so warranty calls never crowd out new business.

3. 📍 Oak Park

   A new service area

   A local number for the next town over, or for a mailer or a yard sign, so you can see which one actually brings in calls.

4. 🛠️ Crew

   The crew's line

   One number the techs share for job-site calls. It rings the field team, and you choose who else can see it.

Each number gets its own inbox in the sidebar, with its name, emoji and unread count.

Each number has its own inbox, people, business hours and call flow. You can rename it any time on its General tab under Name and emoji. The phone number itself doesn’t change.

Who can use a number

Open the number in Settings → Phone numbers and go to its People tab. Admins choose who has the number and what they can do with it:

• Member: uses the number’s inbox and makes and takes its calls.
• Owner: also changes the number’s settings, business hours and call flow.

Admins can use every number without being added. Members only see the numbers they’ve been given. See Invite your team.

How many numbers you get

Each plan includes numbers: 1 on Solo, and 1 for each person on Pro and Boost. Plan & billing shows how many are in use.

When every included number is in use, you can still add one as an extra number for $5 a month, or $60 a year on yearly plans. Only the billing owner can buy it. When they add a number, they see the price on the Get number button, and the card on file is charged right away for the rest of the current billing period. If the purchase fails, there’s no charge. Admins who aren’t the billing owner see who to ask instead. See Plans and billing.

Delete or restore a number

Admins can delete a number from the bottom of its General tab. Type Delete number name to confirm, then choose Delete number.

• Calls and texts to and from the number stop right away.
• You can restore it for 14 days. Open it in Settings → Phone numbers and choose Restore number. If every number your plan covers is in use by then, restoring adds an extra number, which only the billing owner can do.
• Until it’s released, the deleted number keeps its place, so you can’t swap a different number in for free. To add another number during those 14 days, the billing owner adds it as an extra number.
• After 14 days the number is released and can’t be recovered. Someone else may get it later.
• Past calls and texts stay in your history.
• If the number was an extra number you no longer need, it’s dropped from your next charge. There’s no refund for the current period.

Already have a number?

Bring it with you, so customers keep calling the number they already know. Carriers take a little time to move a number, so you can start on a temporary SimpleVox number right away and switch over when the move is complete. See Port your number.