Business phone numbers

A business number is a local Canadian phone number that your clients can call and text. The business number is connected to your Interdatum CRM inbox, calls, and voicemail, so every conversation stays attached to the client record.

Which plans include a business phone number?

A business phone number is included with the Starter and Pro plans. The Free plan includes the full CRM but no business number. Each paid plan includes one business number, plus a monthly allowance of call minutes and texts (Starter: 300 minutes and 500 texts; Pro: 1,000 minutes and 2,000 texts).

If your workspace is on the Free plan, the business number card in Settings → Phone & Text shows "Phone numbers are included with Starter and Pro." with a See plans button that opens Settings → Billing, where you can start a 14-day trial.

If your Interdatum payment is past due, you can't set up a new business number until you update your payment method in Settings → Billing. When a payment is past due, outgoing calls and texts from the business number keep working for a 7-day grace period and are then paused. Incoming calls still ring through while outgoing calls and texts are paused.

Who can set up the business number?

Only a workspace owner or admin can search for and activate the business number. Other team members see "Ask a workspace owner or admin to set up the business number." on the business number card.

The person activating the business number must also have a verified email address. If your email isn't verified, you can still browse available numbers, but the Activate button stays disabled and the card shows "Verify your email address before activating a number."

Once the business number is active, everyone on your team can use it from the Phone widget on the dashboard, unless an owner or admin has turned off phone or texting access for their worker account.

How do I get a business number?

1. Go to Settings → Phone & Text. The first card is Get your business number.
2. In Area code, enter a 3-digit Canadian area code (for example 416 or 604). The area code field is often prefilled with a best guess based on your forwarding number or a team member's phone number.
3. Click Find numbers. Up to 10 available local numbers are shown, each with its city and province.
4. Pick a number from the list.
5. Read the terms and tick the checkbox (see "What do I agree to when I activate a business number?").
6. Click Activate followed by the number.

Activation usually takes about a minute. If the card shows "Your number is being set up. Refresh in a minute.", wait and reload the page. When the business number is ready, the card title changes to Your business number with an Active badge.

If someone else takes the number you picked in the moment before you activate it, Interdatum automatically gets you the closest match in the same area code and tells you so on the card.

Are business numbers only available in Canada?

Yes. Only Canadian business numbers are available right now. The area code search accepts Canadian area codes only; entering a non-Canadian area code shows a message such as "212 isn't a Canadian area code. Try one like 416, 604, or 514."

Every number offered can both send texts and receive calls. Popular big-city area codes (such as 416, 604 or 514) are often sold out. When no numbers are left in the area code you searched, Interdatum automatically widens the search to other local numbers in the same province and shows "No numbers are left in [area code], so here are other local numbers in [province]." If nothing is available at all, try a nearby area code.

What do I agree to when I activate a business number?

Before you can activate a business number, you must tick a checkbox accepting Interdatum's acceptable-use terms and Canada's anti-spam law (CASL) requirements. By ticking the box you agree to:

• Use the business number for your own business only.
• Only text people who have agreed to hear from you.
• Identify your business in your messages.
• Stop texting anyone who replies STOP.
• Not send spam, bulk marketing to purchased lists, or illegal content.

Interdatum may limit or suspend texting and calling on the business number if these rules are broken. Interdatum records when and by whom the terms were accepted. If texting and calling are suspended for your workspace, contact [email protected].

Why can't I activate a business number?

The business number card in Settings → Phone & Text explains what is blocking activation. Common reasons:

• "Coming soon": self-serve business numbers aren't switched on yet. Email [email protected] and Interdatum will set one up for you.
• Plan required: business numbers are included with Starter and Pro only.
• Payment past due: update your payment method in Settings → Billing.
• Not an owner or admin: ask a workspace owner or admin to set up the business number.
• Email not verified: verify your email address first.
• Already has a number: each workspace can have one business number, and yours is already active.
• Already being set up: another activation is in progress. Refresh in a minute.
• "New business numbers are temporarily unavailable": Interdatum limits how many new numbers are activated per day across the platform. Try again tomorrow or contact [email protected].

What happens when someone calls my business number?

When a client calls your business number and call forwarding is not active, the call rings in Interdatum CRM through the Phone widget on your dashboard. The Dial tab shows "Online — ready for calls" when your browser is ready to receive calls, and "Incoming call" when a call is ringing. The call rings for about 20 seconds; if nobody answers, the caller hears your voicemail greeting.

Interdatum matches the caller's number to your clients and campaign leads, so the incoming call shows the client's name when the number is known, and "Unknown caller" otherwise. Calls are logged under Recent calls in the Dial tab, where you can call back or text the person.

When a call isn't answered, missed-call text-back can automatically text the caller (see the missed-call text-back article).

How do I forward calls from my business number to my cell phone?

Call forwarding sends calls from your business number to another phone, such as your cell, during the hours you choose. To set up call forwarding, go to Settings → Phone & Text and find the Call Forwarding section:

1. Turn on Enable call forwarding.
2. In Forward calls to, enter a full North American number.
3. Under Forwarding hours, switch on each day you want forwarding and set a start and end time. Each window is within a single day, and the end time must be later than the start time. Hours use the CRM timezone set on the same page.
4. Save your settings.

Here is how a forwarded call works:

• The caller first hears the Caller challenge message (default: "Press 1 to reach the business.") and must press 1 to continue. If the caller doesn't press 1, the call goes to CRM voicemail.
• Your phone then rings, showing your business number as the caller ID. When you answer, you hear "This is an incoming business call. Press 1 to accept it." Press 1 to connect. Because you must accept the call, calls that go to your cell's own voicemail return to CRM voicemail instead.
• Outside your forwarding hours, calls go straight to the CRM voicemail greeting.

Your forwarding hours also count as your "business hours" for the AI text receptionist's "Only outside business hours" option.

How does voicemail work on my business number?

When a call to your business number isn't answered, the caller hears your voicemail greeting and can leave a message after the beep. A voicemail message can be up to 3 minutes long, and the caller can press # to finish.

To set your greeting, go to Settings → Phone & Text → Voicemail Greeting and type your message in the Greeting box (up to 1,000 characters). Your greeting is read aloud to callers. If you leave the greeting blank, a default greeting is used.

To listen to voicemail, open the Voicemail tab in the Phone widget on your dashboard. The Voicemail tab shows a count of new messages. Each voicemail shows the caller's name or number, the recording, and a transcript when one is available. Use Mark heard to clear a voicemail from the new count, or Mark new to flag it again.

Can I set a caller ID name for my business number?

In Settings → Phone & Text → Caller ID, the Assigned Phone Number field shows your active business number. The CNAM Display Name field lets you request the name shown on recipients' phones when you call them, up to 15 characters.

Caller ID names (CNAM) require carrier registration. Interdatum stores the name you request, but outgoing calls still show only your number until CNAM is approved for your business number, and the name may not appear on every recipient's phone.

Can I record calls from my business number?

Call recording settings are in Settings → Phone & Text → Recording & Monitoring:

• Record Calls stores recordings for calls that start after you turn it on.
• Transcriptions stores transcripts of recordings when they are available.
• Admin Listen & Whisper routes new outbound campaign calls through monitorable conference rooms, so an admin can listen to a live call and coach a team member.

Only record or monitor calls where you have the consent required by the law that applies to you.

Can I change or release my business number?

Each workspace can have one business number at a time. Once your business number is active, there is no option in Settings → Phone & Text to release it or swap it for a different number yourself. If you need to change your business number, contact Interdatum at [email protected], the address the app lists for business number help.

Because the business number is tied to your conversations, calls, voicemail, missed-call text-back, and the AI text receptionist, keep in mind that clients who saved your current business number will keep calling and texting it. Settings such as call forwarding, voicemail greeting, and caller ID name are saved in Settings → Phone & Text separately from the number itself.