Keep your business number, or get a new one?
Three ways to put an AI receptionist on your phone line: forward the calls you miss, move your number across, or take a new local number. What each one means, how long it takes and which to pick.
The number your customers already ring is worth protecting. It is on your van, your website and a thousand old invoices. The good news is you do not have to give it up to get calls answered. There are three ways to connect an AI receptionist, and most businesses should start with the first.
1. Forward the calls you miss (most businesses)
Your phone still rings first. Only the calls you do not answer, the ones you decline, and the ones that come in while your phone is off go to the receptionist. Nothing changes for your customers and you can switch it off any time.
It takes about two minutes: you dial a short code on your phone. The codes differ by phone company. We have step-by-step guides for Spark, One NZ and 2degrees and for the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. In Aroha, the codes for your phone company are shown in the app when you choose Keep my number.
2. Move your number across (for good)
This is called porting. Your number stops being with your old phone company and lives with the receptionist's provider instead, so every call arrives there first. It suits a business that wants one line for everything, including texts.
It takes from a few days to a few weeks depending on your phone company, and your phone keeps working until the day it moves. You will need your account number and sometimes a PIN from your current provider. Check that you are not breaking a contract first.
3. Get a new local number
A new number is ready in minutes. It is right for a second location, a new brand, a dedicated after-hours line, or a business that does not have a public number yet. You can choose a local area code so it looks familiar to your customers.
Some countries ask for proof of a local address or ID before a number activates. Australia and much of Europe do; New Zealand, the US and Canada usually do not. Aroha shows what your country needs before you order, and walks you through it after.
Which to pick
- You have a number customers know: forward the calls you miss.
- You want everything, calls and texts, on one line with no forwarding: move your number.
- You are opening a second site or want a separate line: get a new number.
You can combine them. Plenty of businesses forward their main number and add a new one for a second location.
What about texts?
Forwarding sends calls, not texts. If you forward, confirmation texts to your customers come from the receptionist's texting number rather than your own. If you move your number or take a new one that supports texting, they can come from that number. In New Zealand, local numbers on the networks Aroha uses are for calls only, so texts come from Aroha's texting number either way.
Questions
Will my phone still ring if I forward calls?
Yes. With conditional forwarding your phone rings first, and only the calls you miss, decline or cannot take are forwarded.
Can I stop forwarding later?
Yes, with another short code, and your phone goes back to ringing through to voicemail as before.
How much does a new number cost?
With Aroha, a number is included in monthly plans; on pay as you go it is NZ$5 a month. See pricing.