Phone Numbers & Calling

Buy a number, port an existing one, register for A2P, and route calls the way you want.

• Forwarding vs. buying a new numberThe AI answers on a FrontDesk number, and each location has one. To keep the number clients already dial, either forward it to the location's FrontDesk number from your current carrier (always, or only when busy, unanswered or after hours), or port it into FrontDesk so it becomes the location's number. Forwarding is set up in minutes at your carrier and is undone just as fast; porting takes two to four weeks, and your service continues at the old carrier until the switch. A brand-new number suits a new practice or a location without an established line. Get the number under Settings → Phone & SMS → Set up a phone number; start a port from Have a number you want to keep? on the Calls tab.
  2 min
• Get a phone numberEach location gets one phone number, and the first one is included in your plan. Open Settings → Phone & SMS and click Set up a phone number, choose Get a New Number, enter a three-digit area code, click Search Available Numbers, then Get This Number. The number is live for calls within seconds and attached to the location you are viewing. Your account email must be verified first (the page shows Verify your email to activate a phone number with a Resend email button). Free and Pro plans include one number, Elite three, custom plans whatever was agreed; an add-on number beyond that is charged monthly at the price shown on the Monthly cost row and needs a card in Settings → Billing. Texting stays off until you complete texting registration on the Texting tab; calls work immediately.
  2 min
• Why is the assistant asking for an area code?Until a location has a phone number, the Setup Assistant opens by asking what area code to search, or offers to take you to the Phone setup page instead. It needs a real three-digit US area code (like 817 or 415) or a five-digit ZIP code, because the carrier searches its available numbers by one of those, and it will not guess one for you. Once you answer, it shows a card of about five available numbers; pick one and confirm on the card that follows. The number is live for calls within seconds. Ask for more options if none suit, or say you want a toll-free number and it can search those too. There is no search for particular digits.
  2 min
• Turn on texting (SMS registration)Texting from your FrontDesk number stays off until carriers approve your business, a US rule called A2P 10DLC. Any paid plan can register; on the Free plan or a trial, add a card first (the button reads Add a card; registering is free and the card isn't charged for it). Open Settings → Phone & SMS → Texting, click Set up texting, and fill in Enable SMS Messaging: Legal Business Name, EIN (or tick I'm a sole proprietor without an EIN), and Business Address, then Agree & Enable SMS on the compliance screen. FrontDesk submits the rest and hosts the SMS privacy policy and terms. The card then reads Texting registration pending for three to seven business days, and Texting is on when approved, with a Send a test message panel. No texts can be sent while pending. A rejection shows the reason with Fix & Resubmit; the usual cause is a business name, EIN or address that does not match IRS records.
  3 min
• Port your existing numberPorting brings your current number into FrontDesk so the AI can answer it, without changing what clients dial. The account owner opens Settings → Phone & SMS, Calls tab, clicks Have a number you want to keep? and then Port a Phone Number. The form asks for the number, your current carrier, the carrier account number and PIN if it needs one, the business name and service address exactly as the carrier has them, an authorized contact, and notes; Save as Draft or Continue & Submit. You get a confirmation email, and the request card shows the status: Submitted, In Progress, Awaiting LOA, Port Scheduled with the port date, Completed, or Porting Rejected, which you can edit and resubmit. It typically takes two to four weeks; your service continues at the old carrier until then.
  2 min
• Toll-free numbersFrontDesk is built around local numbers: the Phone setup page (Settings → Phone & SMS → Set up a phone number) searches by area code and has no toll-free option. The Setup Assistant can search and buy a toll-free number (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 or 833) if you ask for one, and it counts toward your plan's one-number-per-location allowance like any other number. Calls work on it straight away. Texting is different: carriers require a separate toll-free verification before a toll-free number can send texts, and the in-app texting registration on the Texting tab covers local numbers only, so contact support before relying on a toll-free number for reminders. Porting an existing toll-free number is also arranged with support.
  1 min
• Phone numbers across locationsEach location has one phone number, and you manage it from that location: switch location at the top of the page, open Settings → Phone & SMS, and the Calls tab shows the number, an Answering calls badge, when it came into service, and a Test call button. Plans include a number of locations and numbers (one on Free and Pro, three on Elite, custom plans as agreed); an extra number beyond the allowance is an add-on billed monthly at the price shown when you buy, and needs a card on file. A location cannot hold a second number: to change it, release the current one in the Inbox (gear menu, Phone number & billing, Release Number; permanent after 7 days) and set up a new one. Moving a number between locations, or labelling it, is done by support.
  2 min
• Caller ID and outbound callingWhen you call out from FrontDesk, the patient sees your FrontDesk number (not your personal cell). Staff dial from the browser with the phone button in the top bar (Make a Call), choosing which of your numbers to call from. Staff calls use the plan's staff calling minutes, a separate allowance from the AI's minutes; calls the AI places use AI minutes. Branded caller ID (the business name on the recipient's phone) is set up under Settings → Phone & SMS → Caller ID on a paid plan, with no extra FrontDesk fee: carriers review it in a few days, then it takes 48–72 hours to show.
  4 min