Moved or new number announcement: a call-flow template

When this flow fits

As a temporary message while callers adjust to a move or a newly advertised business number.

Keep each route tied to a caller need. With Auto Attendant each option does one thing: it rings up to three phones one after another (never together), takes a voicemail, or plays a message and hangs up; a line can also skip the menu entirely. A forwarded call shows your business number as caller ID, and the team returns calls from its own mobiles.

Why this flow is built this way

A move or a new number creates a stretch when callers use the old information. The greeting’s job is to bridge it: say what has changed in a sentence, say what has not, and let the caller reach the team. A business that has moved but kept its phone number should say “our phone number is unchanged”, because many callers assume the opposite.

If the number itself has changed, the message has to be repeated clearly, with the digits read in groups, and played for long enough that customers update their records. How long depends on how many people have the old number; a business with printed vans and signs will keep it for a year or more. Use the message as a temporary front of the main greeting, not a permanent fixture.

Flow and keypresses

The diagram shows what the caller hears and where each choice leads. The count is the number of keypad selections from the first menu to that destination; a submenu adds another press.

Original script wording

Replace the shaded fields with details your callers need. Do not read them aloud as written. Word count and duration are calculated from each script; spoken time is estimated at 150 words per minute, so pauses and keypad instructions may make the spoken greeting longer. Auto Attendant reads your wording in a text-to-speech voice; you type the words rather than recording them.

Shaded text is a fill-in field: replace it with your own.

A worked example

Illustration: a physiotherapy practice moves two streets away and keeps its number. The greeting says, “We have moved to 14 Example Street. Our phone number is unchanged. To speak with the team, press 1. To leave a message, press 2.” It stays for six weeks. During the same period the office updates its web listings, its email signature and its letterhead.

A quieter example is a business that has moved its phone service to a new provider. Customers do not need to know, but the team does: test that calls to the old arrangement still arrive and that the main greeting is intact before announcing anything.

Timing, options and common mistakes

Treat the announcement as temporary and set a review date. The live menu can remain available behind the announcement.

Use the premises version only if callers need the location. Use the new-number version only when this is the number callers should save.

• Do not read out an unpublished personal number.
• Remove or shorten the announcement once callers have had time to update their records.

Say the option before its key, put the most frequent caller need first, and repeat the key choices at the end. A practical starting point is no more than about four top-level options: callers must listen, remember the choices and select one. Use a submenu for a less common branch rather than making every caller hear every detail.

For a full routing walkthrough, see call routing and menu design. An Auto Attendant menu has up to seven options; each rings up to three phones in turn, takes a voicemail or plays a message. The menu can be in English, French or Spanish. Voicemails are emailed in the business’s chosen language with the MP3 attached, followed by a transcript in the language of the message.

Standards and rules behind it

Business listings need to match. The IRS accepts a change of business address through Form 8822-B 1, and the Postal Service offers mail forwarding for a change of address 2. Updating each of these on the same day as the greeting keeps records consistent.

If the change involves switching phone providers while keeping the number, the FCC’s porting rules require a simple wireline-to-wireline or intermodal port to be completed within one business day, unless a longer period is requested by the new provider or the customer 3. Plan the switch so the new greeting is in place before the number moves.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state and change; confirm anything that affects your business with the source or an adviser.

Test it before you publish it

• Say plainly whether the phone number has changed.
• Read a new number slowly, in groups.
• Update the IRS address, the postal address and online listings on the same day.
• Put an end date on the message in the calendar.
• Test the number from outside the neighbourhood.

Related templates and guides

• Main business greeting: call-flow template
• Temporary closure: call-flow template
• General voicemail greeting: call-flow template
• Holiday closure: call-flow template
• Moving company: phone menu guide
• Real estate brokerage: phone menu guide
• Accounting and bookkeeping firm: phone menu guide
• Port your number
• Area codes
• Small-business phone system setup