Phone number setup basics
Assign numbers to users, campaigns, and workflows without confusion.
Purpose
When to Use This SOP
- Setting up a new CRM account
- Adding phone numbers for the first time
- Assigning numbers to sales, service, or support users
- Adding a new campaign that needs its own tracking number
- Rebuilding a messy phone setup
- Missed calls are not being followed up correctly
- SMS is not being sent from the correct number
- Reporting on call sources is unclear
- The team is unsure which number to send SMS from
Before You Start
- Do not add phone numbers before planning the phone strategy.
You should know:
- How the business wants to receive calls
- How the business wants to make calls
- Whether SMS will be used
- Whether A2P registration is complete
- Which team members need their own numbers
- Which campaigns need their own tracking numbers
- How missed calls should be handled
- How call forwarding should work
- How call recording will be used, if allowed
- How source tags should be applied by inbound number
Step-by-Step Procedure
- 1Define the main business number
Every account should have one clear main business number.
This number is used for:
- General inbound calls
- Public listings
- Website contact area
- Email signatures
- Business cards
- QR code follow-up
- Google Business or directory profiles
The main number should not also be used as a campaign tracking number.
- 2Define campaign or tracking numbers only when needed
Add campaign numbers only when attribution matters.
Examples:
- One number for Facebook ads
- One number for Google ads
- One number for a specific landing page
- One number for a physical flyer or postcard
- One number for a QR event
- One number for a partnership or referral source
Do not add tracking numbers just because they are available.
- 3Assign user-level outbound numbers only when necessary
Some team members need their own outbound number to represent themselves.
Examples:
- Sales reps who call leads directly
- Service coordinators who call customers
- Support agents who make return calls
- Owners who take specific calls
Not every user needs a personal number. Give a user a number only when they need to call from a consistent identity.
- 4Configure inbound call routing
Decide what should happen when the main number rings.
Options include:
- Ring to one person
- Ring to a group
- Ring to a call flow
- Forward to an external number
- Route to a receptionist
- Route to voicemail
- Route to a message + workflow
Do not let the main number ring into silence.
- 5Configure missed-call handling
Missed calls should always have a follow-up path.
Options:
- Missed-call text-back message
- Missed-call automated email
- Task creation for the assigned team member
- Pipeline update, if relevant
- Notification to a manager
- Immediate callback attempt
Missed calls should not disappear.
- 6Connect inbound numbers to source tracking
Each inbound number should feed the CRM correctly.
Confirm:
- Inbound calls create or update contact records
- Inbound calls log the source
- Inbound calls apply the correct source tag
- Inbound calls apply the correct custom field, if used
- Inbound calls do not create duplicate contacts unnecessarily
A number without source tracking creates broken reporting.
- 7Set SMS permissions carefully
SMS should only be enabled on numbers that are approved for that use.
Confirm:
- A2P registration is complete
- The number is approved for SMS
- The number is approved for the correct use case
- The user or workflow sending SMS has permission to do so
- Automated SMS uses the correct number
- Personal outbound SMS uses the correct number
Do not send SMS from an unapproved number.
- 8Configure voicemail messages
Voicemail should sound intentional.
Include:
- Business name
- Reason no one answered
- Next step, such as a call-back time or booking link
- Expected response time
Do not use a default carrier voicemail on the main business number.
- 9Test each number carefully
Before going live, test:
- One inbound call to the main number
- One inbound call to each campaign number
- One outbound call from each user number
- One SMS in each direction, if SMS is enabled
- Missed-call handling
- Voicemail behavior
- Contact creation from unknown numbers
- Source tag application
- Call routing behavior
Do not skip real testing.
- 10Document every phone number
Save a simple record for every number.
Include:
- Number
- Purpose
- Assigned user, campaign, or workflow
- Forwarding behavior
- Missed-call behavior
- SMS status
- Source tag applied on inbound
- Voicemail behavior
- Notes
Documentation makes future changes safer and faster.
Checks Before You Finish
- ✓One clear main business number is defined
- ✓Campaign numbers exist only where attribution requires them
- ✓User numbers are assigned only where needed
- ✓Inbound call routing is configured
- ✓Missed-call handling is configured
- ✓Source tracking is applied to inbound calls
- ✓SMS permissions match A2P approval
- ✓Voicemail messages sound intentional
- ✓Inbound, outbound, and SMS tests are complete
- ✓Every number is documented
Common Mistakes
- Buying numbers before planning the phone strategy
- Using the main business number as a campaign tracking number
- Assigning personal numbers to every user without reason
- Sending SMS from unapproved numbers
- Missed calls with no follow-up path
- Voicemail with no next step
- Numbers without source tracking
- Numbers without documentation
- Skipping testing before going live
- Making changes to phone routing without informing the team