Phone number and forwarding

Get a number for your assistant, forward your existing business number to it and register the forwarded number.

You need: for a German number, your registration document (a commercial register excerpt or a tax office letter stating your tax number) and access to your phone provider's settings. Time: about 15 minutes, plus the regulatory review.

Your assistant needs a phone number of its own. Your customers, though, know your existing number: from the sign, the website, every directory. You keep it and forward it to your assistant's number.

1. Apply for activation

For German numbers, the Federal Network Agency requires a one-time proof of your business. Under Phone numbers, click Start activation and work through What you need, Business details, Document and Review & submit. Enter the business details exactly as they appear on your document. The review takes a few working days; you see its status under Phone numbers.

2. Buy and assign a number

Once the activation is Approved, click Buy a number under Phone numbers. Pick the country, optionally an area code, and the assistant that should answer the calls. A number always belongs to exactly one assistant. Everything else about numbers is under Phone numbers.

A phone number incurs ongoing monthly costs until you release it.

3. Forward your existing number

You set up forwarding with your own phone provider, not in FlowCaptain. Two variants are common:

Forward immediately: every call goes straight to your assistant.
Forward when nobody answers or the line is busy: it rings with you first, and after a few seconds the assistant takes over.

Your provider's documentation explains how to set this up.

4. Register the forwarded number

Open your assistant under Assistants, switch to the Phone tab and enter your forwarded number under Phone numbers forwarded to FlowCaptain. If you forward several lines, enter all of them.

This step is not optional. With many providers, a forwarded call arrives carrying your own number instead of the caller's. Without the entry, FlowCaptain would take it for every caller's number: one caller could be told another person's appointment, and the second caller of the day would be turned away as a duplicate booking. With the entry, the assistant asks callers for their callback number instead.

Your other business numbers, such as reception or workshop, go under Contact on the Business page. FlowCaptain treats those as yours too.

Check

Call your existing number from a phone that is listed neither on the assistant nor under Business. Your assistant picks up. Under Live or in the email after the call, you can see whether the caller's number came through correctly.

When your assistant puts a call through to you or your team is set under Assistant settings. The settings of the Phone tab are explained under Phone.