The New Business's Phone Questions, Answered

New businesses ask the same five phone questions in the same order. This page answers each from the published facts — and names the two the published material genuinely cannot answer.

The order to ask the five questions in

Sequence matters even in questions. The landline question comes first because it defines whether you are buying one product or two. The personal-mobile question second, because the answering point depends on it. The number choice third, the growth question fourth — and the moving question last, because it only matters once the first four are settled. Answering question 5 before question 1 is how new businesses end up asking a carrier to solve a problem an inbound number already solved.

Question 1: do I need a landline?

The published products are inbound numbers answered on the point you nominate — the signup flow asks for the number the service will connect to. A landline is a carrier product this site does not sell; whether the business needs one is about where you answer, not about the number. The two-layer model — published number on top, answering arrangement behind — means the answer can change later without touching the contact point.

Question 2: what about my personal mobile?

It can be the answering point, and the published number stays separate from it — a business contact point distinct from the personal line. What the published pages do not describe is device-specific behaviour beyond that answering-point step, so confirm your setup at sign-up if it is unusual.

Question 3: which number should I get first?

The minimum viable one: a plain available 1300 or 1800 tail from the listing on the $10 per month entry plan. The word — from $40 per month, priced on availability and desirability — is an upgrade for when the brand earns it. Shared cost or caller-free in the Australian context is the caller-promise decision, and it is yours.

Question 4: what if the business grows?

The published structure grows in pieces: the number stays constant while plans are re-read against real volume; add-ons (Call Tracking Numbers at $5 per month, an IVR Keypress Menu at $35 per month, a Postcode Prompter at $250 per month) attach when their problems appear; additional numbers are created per job through the same flow. Nothing forces the next stage early.

Question 5: what happens when I move?

The published contact point is independent of the answering arrangement — that separation is the design. How to update the answering point is not published on these pages, so this question goes to the team on 1300 327 934 (standard business hours, AEST) rather than to an assumption here.

And the two the published pages cannot answer

Activation timing — no timeframe is published anywhere, so no schedule appears here. And outcomes — no setup on this page promises calls; the published material describes costs and arrangements.

Related reading: a number before a system, or the new phone number for business pillar.

New-business questions

Can I set up the number before the business is trading?

The published flow asks for a number choice and an answering point — it does not gate on trading history. Read the terms for whatever the purchase commits.

Should the business name be in the number?

If an available number spells it and the brand is worth dialling — that is the Phoneword decision, priced from $40 per month. Starting plain is equally published.

How fast can a new business be reachable?

The setup steps are quick; no activation timeframe is published, so reachability timing goes to the team at sign-up rather than to an estimate here.

Do I need different numbers for different founders?

The published model separates the contact point from the answering arrangement — one company number can answer wherever the right person is. Multiple numbers are for distinct jobs, not distinct people.