Questions people ask before buying.

What is an auto attendant?

It is the recorded menu that answers a business line and sends each caller where they need to go — the "press 1 for sales, press 2 for service" you have heard a thousand times. The industry also calls it an automated attendant, a virtual receptionist or a phone tree. The full definition covers how it differs from an IVR and an ACD, which are three different things that get used as synonyms.

Do I need a desk phone, an app, or new hardware?

No. Everyone on your team keeps using the phone already in their pocket, with their normal dialler and their normal mobile plan. There is nothing to install, nothing to log into and nothing to charge overnight. Calls arrive as ordinary incoming calls.

If you actively want desk phones, we do not support them and you should buy something that does. Google Voice, for instance, documents desk phone and ATA support on every tier.2

Can I keep the number I already have?

Yes. If you already advertise a business number you can port it across and keep it, and your old line keeps carrying calls for the whole time the transfer is in progress, so nothing breaks while you wait.

In the United States the FCC requires simple wireline-to-wireline and simple intermodal ports to complete within one business day, with four business days for non-simple requests.1 Porting your existing number covers what makes a port non-simple, why ports get rejected, and the one mistake that loses a number permanently.

Will my personal mobile number show up to callers?

No. Callers dial your business number and that is the only number involved on their side. Your mobile number is never displayed, never published and never given out.

That is the main reason most people buy this: you can put a number on your website, your van and your Google Business Profile without handing your personal line to the entire internet. Note the honest limit — if one of your team rings a customer back directly from their own handset, that call is an ordinary mobile call and carries their own caller ID.

How many people can it ring?

As many as you like. You are not billed per person, so adding your whole crew costs nothing extra. Each menu option can ring one mobile, ring several at the same time so whoever is free answers first, or try them one after another in an order you choose. Designing your menu explains when to use each pattern.

What happens after hours?

You set a schedule, and outside those hours callers hear a different greeting. You can send them to voicemail, to an emergency mobile, or to whoever is on call that week. Voicemails arrive in your inbox as a recording plus a written transcript.

Is this an answering service?

No, and the difference matters. An answering service employs people who answer on your behalf, take messages and book appointments. Published rates run from around $99 a month for 50 minutes4 to $300 a month for 30 calls3 depending on the pricing model.

Nobody here speaks to your customers. The menu routes the call and a real person on your team picks it up. The comparison sets out which businesses genuinely should buy the more expensive product instead.

How is this different from Google Voice?

Google Voice is a good product and for some readers it is the right one. The short version: its standalone plan supports a maximum of one user and is US only,2 and an auto attendant and ring groups require the Standard or Premier tier,5 which for a team means a Google Workspace subscription as well.

We are built for the case where more than one phone should ring and the caller should be asked which one. The full comparison includes a section on when you should stay on Google Voice.

What about 911 and emergency calls?

We route incoming calls to ordinary mobile phones. We do not place outbound calls and do not provide 911, E911 or any emergency calling service. To reach emergency services, dial your local emergency number directly from a phone that supports emergency calling on its own network.

Because everyone keeps their own mobile on their own carrier, emergency calls from those handsets work exactly as they did before. Emergency calling sets out what Kari's Law and the FCC's dispatchable-location rules require of multi-line telephone systems, with the rules linked.

Can I have sub-menus, or different schedules per option?

Yes. Sub menus, a different schedule per option, ring groups and fallbacks are all included. Most businesses need three or four top-level options and nothing more; if you find yourself wanting seven, one option is usually doing too much work and wants a sub-menu behind it.

What if nobody answers?

The call takes a voicemail, and the recording plus a written transcript arrive by email. Send those to an address more than one person reads — a voicemail sitting in one person's inbox while they are on holiday is a lost customer.

Can I get a toll-free number?

Yes. Toll-free numbers use the 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 and 833 codes6 and behave differently from geographic numbers, including when you move providers — they move by a change of Responsible Organization rather than an ordinary port.7 Local vs toll-free covers which one your business actually wants.

Is there a contract?

No contract and no notice period. It is a flat monthly price and you can cancel in any month. There is no annual commitment discount because there is no annual commitment.

How long does setup take?

About ten minutes. Pick a number, write the greeting, and point each option at a mobile. Bringing an existing number across takes longer because the port is a regulated process between carriers, but your old line keeps working throughout.