How to Get a Business Phone Number (Local or Toll-Free)

Here is how to get a business phone number: pick a phone service for your business, choose a local, toll-free or vanity number (one that spells a word), or bring the number you already have, and set it to ring the phones your team uses. With a cloud phone system, you can do it online in an afternoon.

If you are starting a business, or still giving customers your personal cell number, here is what to decide along the way.

Should You Use Your Personal Number for Business?

It is tempting when you are starting out, and many owners do. But it gets harder to change the longer you wait. Your personal number ends up on business cards, invoices and websites. Customers call at dinner. If you ever hire someone to answer the phone, they cannot. And if you sell the business, the number goes with you, not with the business.

A separate business number fixes all of that, and it does not need a second phone. Our post on using a cell phone or a business line goes into the trade-offs.

Local, Toll-Free or Vanity?

• Local. An area code where you do business, such as 404 or 770 in metro Atlanta. Good for businesses that serve a local area. You can have a local number in a city where you have no office.
• Toll-free. Numbers starting with 800, 888, 877 and similar. Callers do not pay; your business pays for incoming toll-free minutes. Good for customers spread across the country.
• Vanity. A number that spells a word on the keypad. It can be local or toll-free. Good for radio, billboards and trucks, where people need to remember it at a glance.

Many businesses use more than one: a local main number and a toll-free number for out-of-town customers, all ringing the same team. You can search by area code, toll-free or word on our business phone numbers page.

Can You Keep a Number You Already Have?

Usually, yes. If you already have a number customers know, such as an old landline or a number with another provider, you can move it. Moving (porting) a number to Telonium costs $10 per number, one time, and the number keeps working with your current provider until the move is complete. Check it on our keep your number page.

Do not cancel the old service before the move is done. That is the one mistake that can lose a number.

Can the Number Ring Your Cell Phone?

Yes. The Telonium app runs on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows. Calls to your business number ring in the app, and when you call out from the app, customers see your business number, not your personal one. You can add a desk phone too, and they ring together.

When you grow, more people can answer the same number. A call group rings everyone at once, so whoever is free picks up, and an auto attendant (the "press 1 for..." phone menu) can send callers to the right person.

Can You Text from It?

Yes, after one extra step. To text customers from your business number, the mobile phone companies need to know who you are. That sign-up is called 10DLC registration, and it covers your business and the kinds of texts you will send. You can apply for registration through Telonium.

How Do You Keep It from Showing as Spam?

A new number has no history, so it helps to start with good habits:

• Use Verified Caller ID. Telonium signs your outgoing calls (STIR/SHAKEN), telling the receiving phone company the number really belongs to you.
• Call from the same business number every time, so customers learn it.
• Avoid lots of very short calls in a row, which can look like robocalling.
• Leave a short voicemail when nobody answers.

For incoming calls, Telonium shows "[Unverified]" before the caller's name when a call fails the caller ID check, so you know to be careful.

How Long Does It Take to Get One?

Picking a new number is instant once you have an account. You can sign up for Telonium online in about ten minutes, and accounts are usually approved within one business day. Moving an existing number usually takes one to two weeks; we confirm the exact date with your current phone company.

One phone number is included for every two users, and extra numbers are $5 a month.

A Short Checklist

• Decide whether you need a local number, a toll-free number or both.
• Search for a number, or check that your current one can move.
• Install the app on your cell phone and make a test call.
• Record a short greeting and set your business hours.
• Register for texting if you will text customers.
• Put the number on your website, cards and listings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Get a Business Number Without a Second Phone?

Yes. The app puts your business number on the cell phone you already have, separate from your personal calls.

Can I Get a Local Number in Another City?

Yes. You can pick a number in any area code you serve, even without an office there.

What Does a Business Phone Number Cost?

With Telonium, one number is included for every two users at $24.95 per user per month, plus taxes and fees. Extra numbers are $5 a month.