OpenPhone - Collaborative phone system

OpenPhone serves as a phone system designed for team collaboration.

This platform consolidates your calls, messages, and contacts into a user-friendly application that functions seamlessly across all your devices, ensuring you never overlook a customer interaction.

With the highest rating in customer satisfaction on G2, OpenPhone is relied upon by more than 50,000 organizations, including rapidly expanding startups and Fortune 500 corporations.

FEATURE

• Foster alignment among team members with shared phone numbers, enabling collaborative efforts to effectively assist customers.

• Utilize AI features for call transcriptions, summaries, suggested next steps, and additional functionalities.

• Enhance productivity through automation tools and integration capabilities.

• As your organization expands, you can effortlessly add new numbers and personalize them to ensure proper routing for callers.

• Additionally, strengthen connections with a mini CRM tailored for your team's contacts, featuring customizable properties and notes.

FAQs

Can I port my existing phone number?

Most virtual phone number providers let you port your existing number into their platform. Some providers charge a porting fee to bring your number over. You can move any existing US, Canadian, or North American toll-free phone number to OpenPhone for free.

What devices can I use a virtual phone number on?

Depending on your service provider, you can use online phone numbers with various devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a solid internet connection.

Can I get a US phone number from abroad?

Plenty of services offer US virtual telephone numbers that you can get online. You can get local phone numbers for any city and state in the US on top of your existing personal number and a virtual business address. You can use your virtual phone line via a mobile app on your cell phone or computer; OpenPhone is available on both. Then you can use your internet connection for calls and text messages.

Just keep in mind that some providers will only work in the US and Canada. Additionally, due to the larger cell phone companies seeking to reduce the spam their customers receive, you’ll need to complete US carrier registration if you wish to text customers from most virtual phone services.

What are the limitations of free virtual phone number apps?

While there aren’t many free virtual number apps available, you may still be interested in trying them out. Here are a few limitations you should keep in mind:

1. Security issues: Free virtual numbers are often recycled across different platforms. They are often flagged as spam, so your customers may not receive your calls and messages. 

2. Limited features: Free virtual phone numbers offer calling and texting, nothing more. You can’t share numbers, schedule messages, sync data to your CRM, or manage your business communications efficiently. If you want to access those features, you’ll have to pay for a cloud-based VoIP provider. 

3. Poor call quality: Free phone providers can’t guarantee call performance and reliability. Expect dropped calls, call jitter, and more issues when you talk with customers.

How to get a virtual phone number – Try for free

From baggy jeans to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, some ’90s trends are worth reviving. But clunky, old-school business phone systems? Not so much. With more companies embracing distributed teams, virtual phone numbers have become the go-to solution for flexible communication. 

A virtual phone system uses the internet to handle calls and texts between your customers and your team. It lets you communicate more effectively with your customers compared to traditional mobile phones at a lower cost.

In this post, we’ll go over how virtual phone systems work, how to get a virtual phone number, and why your business may benefit from having one.

What is a virtual phone number?

A virtual phone number is like a regular phone number, but it’s hosted online instead of at a specific phone or location. You can use it to make business calls and send and receive texts — without giving out your personal number.

How virtual phone numbers work

Traditional landline phones use physical phone lines, known as Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS lines, connected to your home or office phone number. Cell phones convert voice signals into radio waves and transmit them through a network of cell towers. They’re a step up from traditional landlines, but they’re limited because each cell phone has an individual SIM card and a dedicated mobile number.  

You don’t have to purchase any secondary hardware or change your phone number to get a virtual phone number. Virtual phone providers operate cloud-based communications platforms. You just need to log into a provider’s platform to communicate with your customers at scale.

Virtual numbers transmit voice and text data over the internet. This method of transmission is called Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. Once you dial the number you want to reach, your VoIP provider converts your voice into digital data and sends it to the call recipient instantly. Since VoIP phones can make calls wherever you have an internet connection, you don’t have to pay for a separate mobile data plan. You can also take calls on your preferred devices — smartphones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. 

Types of virtual numbers

With a virtual phone system, you can get any kind of number you need. Here are the types of virtual numbers you can choose from:

Local US and Canadian numbers: VoIP service providers offer thousands of local numbers in most area codes. This can help you establish a local presence in whatever markets you serve. For example, if your business operates out of San Francisco and has clients in New York, you can get a local area code in San Francisco as well as a New York phone number. 

Toll-free numbers: Want a classic 800, 877, or 888 toll-free area code to offer nationwide customer support? With virtual toll-free numbers, callers from across the United States and Canada can reach your business without paying long-distance fees.

Vanity phone numbers: Vanity numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS are great if you’re looking for a number clients will remember. Get a custom vanity prefix that matches your brand. 

All three types of numbers also offer international calling, so you can reach customers anywhere in the world.

How to get a virtual phone number in 3 steps

You can get a virtual phone number for your business in just a few steps: 

Create an account with OpenPhone.

Select your city or area code in the US or Canada to get a local phone number — or choose a toll-free number.

After completing the rest of the sign-up process, you can start calling and customizing your phone settings.

8 powerful advantages of getting a virtual phone number

Still on the fence about virtual phone numbers? Let’s get into the many benefits they have for businesses: 

1. Ditch the traditional office setup

Virtual numbers offer more flexibility to your team compared to traditional phone numbers. Regular business phone numbers force team members to come into an office to make phone calls, limiting where they can work. They also don’t sync with your business communications, so your team has to piece together customer requests and ongoing updates. 

In contrast, virtual phones use your existing softphones and computers to make calls and send texts. Your team can make calls wherever they work — from a home office, at a customer location or project site, or on the go — to get work done. Your business communications are synced in real time so everyone on your team can stay aligned. 

Virtual phone numbers are much easier to scale, too. You can easily get new virtual numbers without having to worry about shipping additional desk phones. 

2. Prevent missed calls and lost customers

Anyone with shared access to your business phone number can answer incoming calls and messages. This helps prevent customers from falling through the cracks.