Phone numbers

Your workspace's phone numbers: buy them, assign them to an assistant, release them, and get approval for Germany.

Application › Phone numbers

All of your workspace's phone numbers are here. A number is where callers reach your assistant; you forward your existing business number to it, see Phone number and forwarding. Until there is a number, the page shows No phone number yet.

Only workspace members with the Owner role can buy numbers and start the activation.

Buy a number

Click Buy a number. In the Buy a phone number dialog you choose:

Country — Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the US or Canada
Area code (optional) — the local area code you want
Assistant — the assistant that answers calls on this number, or Don't assign (parked)

Buy sets the number up straight away. You then see Number ready with Call now and Copy number, or Number is being set up if it takes a moment.

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

If the chosen country needs a regulatory approval that is still missing, the dialog shows a note instead of the purchase. For Germany you start it yourself (see below); for other countries we handle the submission.

Your numbers

With one number, it is shown large at the top with its Regulatory status. With several, they are grouped by country. Each number shows its status: Active, Pending (being set up), Releasing or Failed.

Assign assistant — shown on an active number without an assistant. If there is no assistant yet, it says Create an assistant first.
Unassign — in the number's menu. The number stays yours but is no longer assigned to an assistant.
Release number — in the number's menu. To confirm, you type the number. Releasing is permanent: the number is no longer yours afterwards.
Try again — shown when setting up a purchased number has Failed, together with the reason.

On the call: When someone calls a number, the assistant it is assigned to answers.

Activation required

For German numbers the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) requires proof of your business. We submit it for you; you need your business details and one document, once. Start activation opens Activate a German phone number in four steps:

What you need

Exactly one document, depending on your legal form:

Your situation	Matching document
GmbH, UG, AG or registered merchant	Commercial register excerpt (Handelsregisterauszug)
Freelance professional (e.g. consulting, practice, design)	Tax office letter stating your tax number
Registered trade, no commercial register entry	Tax office letter stating your tax number

A trade registration alone is not enough. The number gets the area code of the place where your business is registered; the address must match the one on the document, and a PO box is not accepted.

Business details

Business name including legal form, register or tax number, website, first and last name of the authorised representative, email address and the business address, exactly as on the document. Differences lead to rejection.

Document

The document as PDF, JPG or PNG, at most 5 MB, with everything legible.

Review & submit

You check your details, confirm that you are authorised, and send with Submit.

Activation status then shows where it stands: Under review, Approved or Rejected. The review usually takes one to three working days; you don't need to do anything meanwhile. Once Approved, you can buy a German number. If Rejected, the reason is shown; get in touch with us.

Good to know

A purchased number without an assistant is parked. Assign it before you set up call forwarding to it.
Release number can't be undone. If your business number forwards to it, change the forwarding first.