How to switch business phone providers without missing calls

1. Gather what you have today

• A recent bill from your current provider. It shows your account number and the name and address on the account, which the port request must match.
• A list of every phone number you use: main line, direct lines, fax lines and toll-free numbers.
• Who answers which calls, and where calls go after hours.
• How many desk phones, cordless phones and fax machines you have.

2. Do not cancel your old service yet

This is the most common mistake. If you cancel before your numbers move, the numbers can be lost. Your old service gets canceled automatically when the port completes, or you cancel it afterward.

3. Build the new system first

Your new provider sets up the phone system, menus, voicemail boxes and phones before anything changes. With us, phones arrive already programmed with names and extensions, so on switch day you just plug them in.

4. Move your numbers (porting)

Your new provider submits a port request to your old carrier using the information on your bill. The old carrier confirms a date. On that date your numbers start ringing on the new system, usually within minutes.

Most ports finish within 1 to 2 weeks. Toll-free numbers and numbers spread across several carriers can take a bit longer.

5. Switch day

Plug in the new phones, make a few test calls in and out, and check voicemail. Your provider should be on hand that day. We stay with you until everything works.

6. Cancel the old service

Once every number works on the new system, confirm with your old provider that the account is closed and ask for a final bill.