Call flows are what get your customers off the starting block. 

They ensure a smooth journey from the moment they dial your company’s phone number to the point they get connected to a customer service agent, sales team, or whoever is the right person to answer their call.

They can be as simple as dialing a number and being greeted by a receptionist. But they can also be complex, with custom menus and multiple options to hop between.

Here, we detail how a call flow works, tips for handling inbound calls efficiently, and examples of common strategies for call routing.

What Is a Call Flow?

A call flow is the path you direct your customers down when they dial your number or call your contact center.

From the completion of the number being dialed to connecting the caller to a live agent, you can apply directions, include messages, and offer callbacks inside a preconfigured call flow.

Call flows include interactive voice responses (IVRs), where callers can choose from the numeric dial pad options. They also include different types of routing (such as round-robin, time-based, and skill-based), making up an entire call management system if you so choose.

The conversation flow will vary depending on the caller’s input. If a caller chooses a specific option, they’ll get routed to the respective team or contact center agent.

If there is no input, you can automatically route the call to a human or a new menu.

How a Call Flow Works (in 6 Steps)

From simple to complex, there are a number of steps in every call flow. It’s important to understand how each one fits into the process so you can add layers or remove friction.

1. New business call comes in

All call flows are triggered by someone making a call to your phone number.

This could be your local number, a non-geographic number, or even a custom vanity number. 

Whatever the number, it will connect to your phone system, recognize it as a main call flow number, and apply the sequence you’ve preconfigured.

This might be a direct connection to a team or more menu options.

2. IVR activates

The main number on your phone system is set as your IVR number. Every time someone dials this number, they will be greeted by your IVR menu.

Here, you offer a welcome message and options for the caller to choose from.

These could be simple options, such as 1 for sales, 2 for customer support, and so on.

You can also use voice input, where the caller can state their reason for calling. These are called “intelligent IVRs” and can do more than just accept key presses.

3. Caller inputs

When all your options have been read aloud, the caller selects their desired option using a key press or their voice. 

At this stage, you may have a secondary menu to help qualify exactly which team you should route the call to. 

For example, there is a difference between sales and renewals. Choosing option 1 for sales might be a reflex option for some callers.

Breaking down the different types of sales teams in the next menu will help them get through to the most relevant contact.

4. Call routes

Your back-end phone system setup recognizes the key press or voice command and transfers your caller to the preconfigured destination. 

This could be an individual, a department, a queue, or a custom group.

If the call routes to a queue, you have several options.

4a. Add to a call queue

If nobody is available to take the call center call immediately, callers can be placed in a queue.

It’s common practice to offer hold music. The purpose of this music is to reassure your caller that they’re waiting for an answer. On the other hand, silence might make them think their call has been disconnected.

An alternative to music is a comfort message. This can be as simple as stating, “Your call is important to us, and someone will be with you shortly.”

The music or message stops when the call is connected to an agent.

4b. Connect to an agent

Following successful call routing, with or without queuing and hold music, an agent answers the call, completes identification, and may start authentication for the account.

Unlike traditional business phone systems, enterprise VoIP phone systems help call center agents by presenting caller information such as the phone number and which queue they came from.

If you’re using computer telephony integration (CTI), detailed caller information will pop up on the agent’s screen, such as their name, company name, and details of past transactions.

If you’re using a CRM, you can choose to integrate the systems and enable access to all available information.

The start of the call is the point at which call recording kicks in. Customer conversations don’t get recorded until this point. 

👉 Note: Recordings pause during call transfers and stop at the end of the call.

Now, your agent can assist the caller — who experienced a swift and helpful call flow that got them to the right place — with their question.

Related: What Is ANI? Here’s How Automatic Number Identification Works In a Call Center

10 Tips When Designing a Call Flow

Options inside call flows are vast. What you present to your customers is up to you and may vary depending on your business size or call volume. A good call flow leads to happy customers. 

1. Keep it simple

While the back end of your call flows may look complex, callers need an easy experience.

Make sure your IVR options are clear and simple and there’s no overlap between menu options. It must be obvious that option 1 will result in a transfer to a specific department or solve a specific problem. 

Failure to keep your customer service call flow simple can result in frustrated customers before they even say hello to your agent. Looking for technical expertise and support building your call flows?

Work with Nextiva’s professional services experts. 

2. Use comfort messages

Have you ever been holding for someone but been unsure whether you’ve been disconnected?

Using comfort messages is best practice in contact centers. Overplaying is seen as better than underplaying so customers know exactly where they stand.

Ideal for periods of unplanned queuing and unexpected high call volumes, comfort messages reassure callers that you’re actually there and working to get to their request.

3. Focus on efficiency

You can do a lot of things with a call flow. But it’s easy to get carried away with options, queues, and messages.

Your primary goal should be to minimize the number of steps a caller must go through to reach each desired outcome.

The path of least resistance is always the one your customer wants to take. When configuring your call flows, conduct dry runs using other team members to see how they feel trying to get through to departments.

If there are too many key presses or it takes too long to reach the right person, consider shortening the process by finding a more direct route.

For example, if option 9 is your most pressed, consider moving that to option 1. Likewise, if everyone chooses your option for “Something else,” then you need to make your options clearer. 

4. Use virtual numbers

Virtual phone numbers serve three purposes:

1. Provide a nice-looking, memorable number for customers to dial.
2. Act as shortcuts for priority and VIP customers.
3. Assist with call routing, with different numbers in local areas.

By using a call center feature called Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS), two different callers within the same queue could have different experiences — including different music on hold and wait times.

Your IVR recognizes a caller has dialed a virtual number with special treatment applied and pulls them to the front of the queue. 

When an agent sees an incoming call, you can choose to display messages such as “VIP,” “Urgent,” or whatever message ensures they know the caller is using your virtual number.

Virtual numbers are often used in the following instances:

• Customers nearing the end of their contract
• Customers who select “Cancel service” on your IVR
• VIP customers who pay a premium for fast service
• Customers responding to TV and radio advertising that directs calls to a sales team
• Escalations when support tickets have reached extreme circumstances

Related: Understand How DNIS Works in Call Centers: A Complete Guide

5. Make escalation a priority

In some cases, callers may not be in the right frame of mind to listen to options and make the right choice.

If you provide support services for the elderly, for example, it’s a good idea to include an option to talk to a human.

While putting a call flow in place is all about efficiency, don’t let it detract from the human experience all callers expect. It’s best practice to always offer the option to talk to an agent or an advisor. How you express this is up to you.

6. Design with scale

When creating your menu, think about your busiest period when you experience your highest call volumes. 

It could be the run-up to Christmas when customers are calling to check on their orders. It might be when you suffer an outage, and thousands of customers are calling to report it.

These situations need your IVR to be scalable to the point of maxing out your phone system without a drop in service.

Think about implementing multi-level auto attendants to help scale with simpler choices/menus. 

Instead of having option 1 for support and connecting to a support team, introduce sub-menus:

Or, in times of unplanned high call volumes, you could play a message stating you’re aware of a specific problem. 

If the business broadband team can do no more than say, “We’re aware of the problem, and our engineers are fixing it,” there’s no need for them to receive repeat callers. 

Instead, record and configure a one-off message that you can upload to your IVR. Now, when callers hit the option for business broadband support, they get informed of the common outage and an expected fix time.

7. Keep hold times short

It goes without saying that customers prefer shorter wait times. But, in some cases, longer wait times can’t be avoided. 

Best practice here is to provide estimated wait times so callers have an expectation early on. If the call gets answered quicker, they’re delighted. If not, you at least set their expectations.

If you’re experiencing particularly long wait times, or if you want to do this as a standard practice, provide a callback option so callers can leave the call but keep their position in the queue and then receive a callback when an agent becomes available. 

When a caller selects, “I’d like to receive a callback,” they enter their phone number, and your contact center system holds their position and triggers an outbound call when it’s their turn.

If your customer doesn’t answer, you can ask your queue to try again or send the customer an SMS to say you tried to call back.

8. Keep it updated

Making great first impressions is the key to kickstarting great customer experiences.

If you let your IVR stagnate, you run the risk of providing incorrect information, losing out on business, and frustrating customers.

Every time there’s a change in your business that customers need to be aware of, make sure you update your IVR. 

Building this into your change process ensures customers are always aware of the following:

• Changes to business hours (seasonal or permanent)
• Self-service FAQs
• Limited-time promotions
• New services you offer

Having a central place to update your call flows is the easiest way to stay organized across teams and systems.

Nextiva’s NextOS portal makes it easy for firms to access and review accounts, including adding call flows, adding or removing users, and accessing client information.

9. Test, test, test

Failure to test your IVR on a regular basis exposes you to out-of-date information, friction getting through to the right teams, and a poor customer experience.

Testing your call flow is as simple as making a call in and trying to get through to the correct department. 

You’re looking for the following:

• Out-of-date options
• Longer than desired hold times
• Messages played in the wrong place
• Options that could be in a better order
• Delays getting through to your desired team

Depending on the size of your business, call volume, or number of changes, implement a monthly, quarterly, or yearly test of your call flows. 

Ask for help from peers and other departments to remove your personal bias from the test. You configured the call flow, after all!

As part of your quality assurance process, factor in the options pressed and whether your agents were aware of the caller’s problem. If they are struggling with context, ask how you can improve the call flow to best prepare them.

10. Train your team

As well as IT staff and contact center management, make sure call center agents are well-trained on the call flow and can navigate it to assist callers as efficiently as possible.

Understanding what goes where (and why) sets everyone up to expect phone calls from certain places and make changes when needed.

If you make a major change, make sure you communicate it to everyone who is likely to receive a call. Otherwise, agents may be surprised when they receive more or new calls without warning.

6 Types of Call Flows to Configure

1) Linear call flow

A linear call flow is the most basic type of call flow. Inbound calls are routed directly to an available agent or a common voicemail if no one is available.

If you press Option 1 for sales, you get a member of the sales team.

If you press Option 2 for support, you get a member of the support team.

That’s it. No bells and whistles.

Best for small businesses with limited call volume, linear call flows are free of complex routing and require the least management.

2) Time-based call flow

Depending on the time of day or week, phone calls can be routed to different people, departments, or voice messages. 

For example, you might offer 24/7 customer support and use different locations to do so. 

Instead of trying to connect callers to call center agents in your New York office at 2:30 a.m., calls get routed to your London office, where it’s 9:30 a.m.

If you don’t operate extended business hours and someone calls after hours, you can choose to play a message stating you’re closed and informing callers when you reopen. You can also choose to route calls to personal or centralized voicemails.

3) Direct extension call flow

If callers know exactly who to talk to, don’t make them go through all your options and cause unnecessary delays.

Instead, allow callers to dial an extension directly to reach a specific person or department. 

Common in both small businesses and larger organizations, direct extensions provide customers with extra special treatment while reducing hold times and boosting customer satisfaction. Everybody wins.

4) Skill-based call flow

Popular in support teams where different agents specialize in different products, skill-based call flows route customers to agents who have the relevant skills assigned to their profile.

For example, if you call with a specialist wiring issue, you don’t want to be routed through to a generic support team member who can only complete basic troubleshooting. 

By assigning specific skills to agents and matching your IVR options, you can ensure customers get through to highly skilled agents, and you can improve metrics such as first call resolution (FCR) and average handle time (AHT).

5) After-hours business call forwarding

Imagine it now: you close up shop Friday at 5:00 p.m. and don’t want to handle any more business calls until Monday morning. But sure enough, at 4:59 p.m., an eager prospect calls in, hoping you can schedule them in for a last-minute appointment.

Do you let the call roll to voicemail or direct it to a team member who works after hours? By the time you check your voicemail, they’ll be talking to your competitor, who does answer their calls.

For many companies, these calls are worth answering. Why? They need help now and are willing to pay a premium for last-minute, after-hours help.

You can forward incoming calls after hours with Nextiva. In this video, Jessica explains how it works.

6) Round-robin call flow

When you work in a call center, it can feel like you’re always on the phone. Agents who feel like they’re answering more calls than their peers often get frustrated, as they’re doing more work than others around them.

By recognizing who has the least talk time or who has answered the fewest calls, round-robin selects the next agent in a fair way.

So, when Andy has answered five calls but Jessica has only answered three, the next call will ring on Jessica’s phone.

Ideal for teams with the same skill level, a round-robin call flow distributes calls across available agents and ensures a balanced workload among team members.

7) Auto attendant call flow

Suitable for businesses of all sizes, auto attendant call flows route callers based on the options they choose. Auto attendants are also commonly called “IVRs.” 

What gets pressed in your IVR menu dictates where calls get routed, resulting in a specific team or individual.

The classic example is Option 1 for sales and Option 2 for support. You wouldn’t want a sales team member to answer support calls just because they hadn’t answered many calls that day (as in a round-robin call flow). 

You can go deeper than this using sub-menus. The more detail you gather at the IVR level, the more specific the agent or team you can route callers to. 

A little time spent upfront can lead to fewer transfers and a faster resolution time for the caller.

How to Create a Call Flow in 70 Seconds

When you create a call flow for the first time, you’ve taken a great step toward streamlining your customer experience.

Getting customers to the right place in the most efficient manner is a crucial component of any customer journey.

When designing call flow processes in your business VoIP provider, be aware of the following:

• Call flows can be as simple or complex as you choose.
• Testing is crucial before and during implementation.
• Making changes (even real-time changes) is simple enough for anyone with the right training.
• Keeping information, messages, and timings up-to-date helps both customers and agents.

Choosing a virtual phone system that enables customer satisfaction is high on the list for every call center manager looking to route calls more efficiently. Call flows do exactly that.

Ready to plan your first call flow? Check out Nextiva’s enterprise VoIP phone system.

While it might appear convenient to use your cell phone, sometimes you want an easy way to use your desktop or laptop for phone calls.

Using your computer to place calls is far easier now than ever. In this guide, we’ll cover six different tools and methods to let you answer incoming calls, send text messages, and even place free calls to others.

You need an internet connection, a microphone, and speakers (or a Bluetooth headset). With those, you’ll be ready to begin placing audio calls from your computer.

How Calling from Your Computer Works

It’s worth first pointing out how calling from your computer works. 

All phone calls must originate from a service provider, such as an internet-based or mobile phone provider.

Your cellular provider probably has a phone number for you to use. This is important. You can only make audio calls to other users on a meeting platform like Zoom without a phone number.

But with an assigned phone number, you’re good to call anyone—including those on landlines, toll-free numbers, or international calls.

At a high level, here’s how to call and text from your computer:

• Mac and iPhone users: iMessage, after syncing your macOS computer with iCloud
• Windows and Android users: Set up Microsoft Phone Link to integrate with your Android phone.
• Everyone: Use an online phone service that includes a free calling app.

The big picture here is that you’re authenticating your computer to interact with your mobile device over Wi-Fi securely. We’ll walk through these options below.

Free Calling and Texting with iMessage on macOS

iMessage is a popular messaging app Apple provides for macOS and iOS devices. Aside from sending texts and photos, it is also used to make calls from the computer using FaceTime.

Ensure that your iPhone and Mac have Wi-Fi turned on and are connected to the same network.

Making calls from your computer

• Step 1. Sign in to iCloud from your Mac device using the same Apple ID on your iPhone.
• Step 2. On your phone, go to Settings > Phone > Calls on Other Devices, then turn on Allow Calls on Other Devices.
• Step 3. Open the FaceTime app on your Mac.
• Step 4. Finally, dial the call button next to the known contacts. To call others not on your contacts list, you need to initiate the phone call from your iPhone or add them to your contacts list prior to calling.

Pros	Cons
– It’s included with Apple products and built into the Apple iOS ecosystem. – No additional fees to use – It is intuitive to share messages, photos, and videos.	– Not a suitable option for businesses because it’s meant for personal use. – Calling from your computer ultimately comes from your cell phone number. – Advanced features aren’t available to Android recipients.

Free Calling and Texting on Windows 10 & 11

Using your Windows computer for phone calls and text messages differs slightly from macOS. Microsoft Phone Link syncs up your notifications, phone calls, and text messages on your computer. It works similarly across Android and iPhone mobile phones.

Alternatively, keep reading for universal ways to place phone calls from your PC.

Making calls from your PC

• Step 1. From the search bar, type Phone Link and open the Phone Link app.
• Step 2. Sign into your Microsoft account. You’ll use this same account on your phone.
• Step 3. Download the companion app to your smartphone and sign into your Microsoft account. You’ll be prompted to scan a QR code.
• Step 4. On your PC, click the Pair with QR code button. Scan the QR code with your mobile phone. Afterward, you need to grant it full permission to interact with your phone system and notifications.

Pros	Cons
– Supports both Apple iPhone and Android devices. – Let users exchange SMS text messages, photos, emojis, GIFs, and media content. – Access your phone’s contact list when looking up names or phone numbers. – View, dismiss, pin, or clear all mobile notifications from your computer.	– Phone Link is available for Windows 10 and Windows 11 exclusively. – Some users may find the tech setup challenging. – Granting permissions might feel intrusive, even just for phone call functionality.

Related: 10 Easy Ways To Send & Receive Text Messages From Your Computer

Send and Receive Android Text Messages in a Web Browser (Easy Method)

Sometimes, you don’t need a full-fledged calling app; you just want to text.

Google Messages for the Web is a great option if you want a simpler way to send and receive text messages from Android on your web browser. And it works on any computer (Mac, Windows, and Linux).

Visit messages.google.com/web on your computer, then open the Messages app on your Android phone. Tap your profile and click Device Pairing; scan the QR code, and you’re done.

While this doesn’t support phone calls, you can read and send SMS text messages.

Dedicated Online VoIP Services

The most popular method for placing voice calls from your computer is to use a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider like Nextiva. This way, you can answer incoming calls from an assigned phone number, dial out to any person you want, and forward calls to another user or telephone number.

And with a separate virtual phone number, your cell phone number stays private.

Nextiva

When you need a communications solution for professional phone calls from a computer, look no further than Nextiva. It offers amazing features that distinguish it from other business phone providers.

Follow the steps below to use Nextiva.

• Step 1. Sign up for a business phone plan starting at $18 a month.
• Step 2. Choose your phone number. You also get a complimentary toll-free number with your account.
• Step 3. Download NextivaONE to your Mac, Windows PC, or mobile device and sign in with your username and password.
• Step 4. You’re ready to accept incoming calls, place outbound calls, or exchange text messages with anyone you want. Your phone app even works great on the go with Wi-Fi calling.

Pros	Cons
– Unified communications provides voice, video, text, and team collaboration features on one platform. – Exceptional uptime and call quality from an enterprise-grade calling network across North America. – Flexible for adapting to your changing business needs with support for call centers, remote employees, and a vast lineup of VoIP phones.	– It’s not free. Nextiva provides the best phone service for hundreds of thousands of businesses that count on it for billions of phone calls every year. – Best for companies, not residential use. Its top features include call flows, voicemail transcription, call recording, and conference calls.

Nextiva isn’t the only VoIP provider in town, so here are a couple of other free ways to make calls from your computer.

Google Voice

Google Voice is a free solution that you can use to make phone calls and send texts on your smartphone and PC. To make a call via this platform, you will need a Google Voice number, which you can only get with your Google account.

To use Google Voice, you would use your existing Google account. You’ll also need to verify yourself using a separate cell phone number — we checked.

• Step 1. Visit voice.google.com and sign in.
• Step 2. Click the for personal use button and click continue on the following screen.
• Step 3. Provide a city or area code to search for available VoIP numbers.
• Step 4. Select the desired phone number.
• Step 5. Verify your number by linking to your cell phone. Google will send a six-digit verification code. Google doesn’t allow other VoIP or Google Voice numbers here.
• Step 6. Begin making calls from the online dial pad or by downloading the Google Voice app to your phone. Then you can just open up your phone app to place or answer phone calls.

Pros	Cons
– Call forwarding is straightforward, and phone call quality is decent. – Text messaging (SMS) is included with your Google Voice line. – Call recording is available by pressing 4 on the dial pad. – Voicemail transcription is nice but sometimes inaccurate.	– International calls on Google Voice are not free. Charges are applied for international calls. – Account setup may be complicated for those without a current phone number. -Advanced phone features like call flows aren’t available.

Skype

Skype is a global VoIP service founded in 2003 and was among the first on the scene for internet-based calls. Renowned for group calls, video calls, and sharing files, With a good internet connection and a downloadable app, you can start making voice calls on Skype.

In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype and shifted the product from a peer-to-peer service to a centralized model through Microsoft’s servers. And now, a lot of Skype’s technology is built into Microsoft Teams.

Here is a simple step-by-step guide to making calls from a computer using Skype:

• Step 1. Download and install Skype on your computer or smartphone.
• Step 2. Sign in to your Microsoft account (Live, Outlook, Hotmail, etc.).
• Step 3. Grant the Skype app permissions for your microphone and camera.
• Step 4. Search for known contacts on the Skype service. You can begin exchanging messages, and to begin a call, click on the phone icon (or video camera) in the upper right corner.

Pros	Cons
– Pioneered free phone calls and video meetings on the internet – Global reach with HD voice call quality for millions of users – It supports PSTN phone numbers, but it costs $52 annually	– Mixed reviews regarding its non-voice communication functions, like emoji – Primarily used for Skype-to-Skype calls and conferences – Does not support emergency calls

You’ve Got Options for Calling From Your Computer

Using your computer to call others is no longer an impossible feat. You can either use your mobile phone with your computer or opt for a separate phone line using just your internet connection.

Free phone services are great for personal use, but for businesses, you’ll value the communication features that only a cloud phone provider can deliver.

Ready to do more than a few phone calls from your computer? Get a no-hassle personalized quote from Nextiva and see how easy cloud-based calling can be.

“We want to do things slowly, with a bunch of tech issues, taking hours to answer customer calls or solve their basic problems.”

…said no business, ever.

When customers put their trust and money towards your business, they expect the exact opposite of that. And that’s what great companies — small businesses and enterprises alike — strive to give them.

But the way those businesses work today — often combining in-office work with remote and hybrid approaches — really challenges the business communication side of things.

How can you ensure your communication, internally and with customers, still runs smoothly and solves issues efficiently?

With a conventional PBX phone system, you can’t. But with a cloud-based PBX, the sky’s the limit because you can shape it to exactly what your business and working style needs.

If you’re thinking about replacing your PBX with a VoIP phone system, this guide is for you.

Why Businesses Replace PBX Systems

Private branch exchange (PBX) operates on a company’s internal telephone network. It’s powerful. It handles calls to and from the outside world and provides features such as customized greetings and call routing.

But, the PBX setup has significant limitations. The more fast-moving, flexible, modern business you are, the bigger the barrier a traditional PBX becomes.

Here’s what makes your on-premises phone system a hassle:

• High setup cost: Equipment, installation, and space, such as a server room, are quite an expense. PBX setup costs around $1,000 for each user, plus hardware costs.
• Maintenance challenges: You need an on-call or in-house IT expert for any troubleshooting. Ongoing costs of a PBX system can be up to $100 per month for each user.
• Limited scalability, flexibility, and upgrade options: Each new user requires adding a new physical phone line, and opening new locations or offices is a big, costly endeavor.
• Dependence on physical infrastructure: Many changes you want to make to your PBX phone system require the presence of an expert, as well as potential downtime.
• Lack of integration with modern business tools: Want to integrate with a CRM, a webinar tool, or a team chat app? Tough luck.

The better way? A unified communications approach that can do it all — business phone, email, video, and collaboration in one place and on any device.

Advantages of Choosing a VoIP Phone Service

Going the cloud-based route makes everything about your business phone system better, including:

Scalability and flexibility

Do your business needs for phone lines change with time? Think: adding new phone lines for new employees, expanding your call center capacity during holidays and reducing it after, or opening new temporary or permanent locations and offices.

With cloud PBX, you don’t need additional physical infrastructure, new copper wires, or a consultant on your location. All it takes is a tweak in your phone system admin dashboard so you can scale your phone system in hours, not weeks.

Cost savings

Upfront costs of hosted PBX are low to none because the only hardware you need is an internet router and internet-connected devices such as laptops and smartphones, not huge server rooms or analog phones. Using IP phones with your system can be great, but it’s optional.

Additionally, you’re paying a stable, predictable monthly subscription, which can be as low as $25 per month per user, and your VoIP provider handles any maintenance required. It’s hands-off and cost-effective.

Advanced features and integrations

You might have been happy with basic phone calls so far, but VoIP supercharges them with calling features such as voicemail-to-email, auto attendant, call recording, advanced call management, routing, and so much more. There’s also a bonus of additional channels such as video conferencing and SMS messaging.

It also lets you integrate your telephony with powerful tools you already use, like a helpdesk platform, a CRM tool, or a collaboration platform. Instead of jumping from one tool to another to log customer conversations, everything happens automatically.

Mobility and remote work

Do you have employees who work from home or travel regularly? VoIP lets anyone in your business access your phone system wherever they have an internet connection.

This is thanks to a softphone: a mobile app that allows you to make and receive calls from your business phone number.

This way, you can keep talking to customers or collaborating internally without a moment of friction.

Reliability and uptime

Cloud-based telephony is secure and reliable. For example, Nextiva’s network relies on multiple carrier-grade data centers — if there’s an issue with one of them, others are there so your phone system can keep working smoothly regardless.

Call encryption, the highest security standards, and round-the-clock monitoring are what ensure a 99.999% uptime. With VoIP, you’ll never miss a beat with your customers.

The Ultimate PBX Migration Checklist

A successful PBX replacement plan is made of four stages:

• Stage 1: Pre-migration planning
• Stage 2: Technical preparations
• Stage 3: Migration
• Stage 4: Post-migration

We’re covering every step you need to take in each stage to smoothly transition from your PBX phone system to a cloud-based Voice over IP system.

Stage 1. Pre-migration phone system planning

In the planning stage, there are three essential tasks for you to complete. You might already have a head start on upgrading your company’s telecom system.

🔲 List requirements you need from your phone system

To pick the right business phone service for you, start with a list of what you need so you can later match it to a provider that offers those features.

• The number of lines and extensions: How many employees do you have that need their own phone line? What about departments and specific phone extensions for each?
• Must-have communication features: Consider national and international minutes, HD phone calls, auto attendant, call routing, voicemail features, call screening and recording, call forwarding, and custom music on hold.
• Business tool integration: List types of tools and specific providers you want to integrate with your new phone system. For example, if you need a CRM integration, note whether that’s Salesforce, HubSpot, or something else. Take the same approach with helpdesk, productivity, and collaboration tools.

🔲 Determine your budget and the costs you’ll incur

The migration to a cloud phone system, a.k.a. the setup itself, won’t be a big expense. You don’t need hours of a technician’s time. With most providers, all you need is your vendor to provide you with your account details and either port your existing numbers over or create new ones.

If you don’t have these already, here’s what might add to your VoIP costs: a quality broadband connection, Ethernet ports, adaptors, and IP phones (if you need them).

At this point, take some time to gauge what you’re already paying on an ongoing basis for your PBX phone system, possibly around $100 per user each month, plus any regular maintenance and hardware you’ve needed to replace over time.

Compare it to what most VoIP service providers charge you monthly per user, typically ranging from $30 to $50 for rich feature sets.

Use this information to estimate your upfront costs and the monthly budget you’ll need.

🔲 Research and choose your ideal service provider

Do your research when choosing a VoIP provider that matches your needs and budget.

You’ll find the best options on the market are review sites such as GetVoIP, G2, and Trustpilot. Analyze each provider’s website and take note of:

• Features offered: Including essential features and optional add-ons
• Pricing: How it changes based on the features you need, the payment frequency you choose, and the number of users you’ll have
• Existing phone number: Whether they port your current number so you can keep using it uninterrupted
• The SLA: The provider’s service level agreement and average uptime

Finally, analyze reviews from customers similar to you — from the same industry, similarly sized, and with needs comparable to yours — to narrow down your VoIP provider selection.

Stage 2: Network and environment prep

Here’s what matters in the technical prep stage:

🔲 Conduct a network assessment

Your VoIP phone system won’t work without an internet connection. And not just any kind — you need a high-speed broadband connection rated for at least 100 kbps for each phone line, upload, and download.

This should be a breeze for most quality internet service providers, but take some time to check this with your telecom provider for the number of phone lines you need right now and the number you might grow to in the future.

Also, make sure to implement Quality of Service (QoS), which is a method that prioritizes network traffic going through a router. VoIP can suffer from network congestion and jitter, creating echoes, lag, and dropped calls.

You’ll want your settings to prioritize voice traffic. Here’s what you need to know:

🔲 Take relevant security measures

Every phone call, whether with a customer or a colleague, must be encrypted. Otherwise, you’re potentially exposing your business to a data breach, phishing, spam, and malware — and a drop in customer trust.

Key VoIP security measures include SOC 2 compliance (for privacy, security, availability, and data integrity), PCI compliance (for card payments), and ISO/IEC 20071 (for security threats). 

You also need call encryption with standards such as Transport Layer Security and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol, which protect all your calls from interception.

And if you work with particularly sensitive data, such as patient information, make sure your provider of choice is HIPAA compliant.

🔲 Test every integration you want to use

In the planning stage, you identified the tools you want to integrate your VoIP service with. Now, it’s time to put those integrations to the test.

For example, if you integrate your phone service with a CRM such as HubSpot, test if the information from your VoIP provider seamlessly goes into HubSpot and vice versa. If not, speak to your provider to explore fixes and investigate if that could be an issue in the long run.

You want to make sure everything is running smoothly so you can lean on your provider for many years to come.

Stage 3. Phone system setup

The migration stage is technically off your to-do list — these are the steps your service provider will handle for you.

Still, it’s worth knowing what’s ahead; these key processes will take place in this stage of your PBX replacement process.

🔲 Back up all your PBX configurations, voicemails, and all relevant data

You don’t want to start from scratch with your new communication system.

There’s nothing worse than knowing there was a phone number, a note, a voicemail, a setting already in place, only to realize you no longer have it.

That scenario slows down your work, makes your customers wait for your support longer, and it’s frustrating for everyone involved. 

Document your existing PBX configuration the best you can so you aren’t guessing later. That’s why a solid provider will ensure you can get up and running exactly where you left off with your previous PBX setup.

🔲 Port your existing phone numbers to the new phone service

Number porting is the process of transferring your existing phone numbers between your previous carrier and service provider to the new one.

For you, it means you’ll have to prove you own the numbers you’re looking to port. Your provider’s porting specialists will then work with carriers to make sure everything moves over correctly.

Talk to your provider to test your existing numbers after they’re ported over to verify they’re functional and work flawlessly — you want to ensure your customers don’t hit a dead end when reaching out to you.

🔲 Set up system configuration to match your needs and workflows

Double-check how your phone system is set up and whether it matches what you need it to do.

This can include:

• Extension numbering scheme for each location or department.
• Toll-free numbers for non-local customers in key geolocations.
• Advanced call routing and call flows based on business hours, menus, extensions, or departments.
• Voicemail inboxes, including greetings, forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and voicemail-to-text.
• Custom music for callers on hold, in a queue, or being transferred.

This is how you’ll ensure you can get a running start from day one of your new phone system in place — no hiccups or customer frustrations.

🔲 Train and empower your employees

The best business tool is the one you actually use on a regular basis.

That’s why you need to make sure all employees are onboarded and comfortable using your new phone system.

There are two key ways to ensure this:

• Run focused training sessions that highlight the crucial features and functionalities of your new phones and apps. When employees know what your system is capable of, they’ll be empowered to make the most of it and work efficiently.
• Give access to a knowledge base of resources, guides, and tutorials for future reference. Lean on your provider for this — for example, Nextiva’s support center is packed with videos and guides for different features, devices, and goals.

Stage 4: Post-Migration VoIP phone system launch

These are your final to-dos once the PBX migration is complete:

🔲 Thoroughly test call management features

Give everything that matters to you with your new phone service a thorough test run.

That can include:

• Placing concurrent phone calls to ensure clear, quality audio even during busier periods
• Calling different extensions and phone numbers at various times to check that call flows run as expected
• Checking that business tool integrations work in both directions
• Leaving test voicemails to make sure your voicemail inbox and forwarding works
• Test-routing calls to confirm it’s working correctly

🔲 Monitor system performance and optimize where needed

Run regular performance tests, such as a speed test, to create optimal conditions for high-quality voice calls. Any network issues, lower bandwidth than expected, or less-than-ideal network settings can affect your customer experience.

With Nextiva Speed Test, you can examine:

• Latency
• Download and upload speed
• Packet loss
• Jitter

If you see less than at least 100 kbps for each phone line, more than 0% packet loss, more than 70 ms ping, or more than 70 ms jitter, it’s worth reaching out to your internet service provider. It can also pay off to review your QoS configuration

🔲 Collect feedback about the new system from employees

Proactively seek feedback from employees about the new system and their experience with it.

Send out a survey with questions like:

• Which features have you used so far?
• Which functionalities do you use on a daily basis?
• Have you experienced any issues or challenges with the new phone system?
  • If so, were you able to solve it yourself and/or with help from the provider’s support team?
• Are you missing any phone system capabilities from before the migration?
• Are you able to run your communication efficiently and smoothly on a regular basis?

Use these answers to develop potential improvements and generate future surveys after more time has passed.

🔲 Ensure ongoing support from your provider to all employees

Your business VoIP provider should offer support so well that you’ll never have to worry about individual employees struggling with a service issue.

During your training and on an ongoing basis, clearly inform your team of the best ways to reach support and the standards to expect from it.

The best providers make sure you’re always happy with their service, not just during setup and onboarding — their customer support should reflect that.

Nextiva’s approach to customer support is called Amazing Service® — we make sure our tech simply works. But if you need to reach out to us, we’ll take care of everything.

Ongoing white-glove service is how our customers are able to win, time and time again.

PBX to VoIP Migration Checklist

Stage 1. PBX migration planning

• List everything you need from your phone system
• Determine your budget and the costs you’ll incur
• Research and choose your ideal service provider

Stage 2. Network and environment prep

• Conduct a network assessment
• Take relevant security measures
• Test every integration you want to use

Stage 3. Phone system setup

• Back up all your PBX configurations, voicemails, and all relevant data
• Port your existing phone number to the new phone service
• Set up system configuration in a way that matches your needs and workflows
• Train and empower your team members

Stage 4. VoIP phone system launch

• Thoroughly test every call management feature
• Monitor system performance and optimize where needed
• Collect feedback about the new system from employees
• Ensure ongoing support from your provider

Telecom Migrations Made Easy With Nextiva

Smart, ambitious businesses know that time’s running out for their old PBX system. They’re craving a modern, flexible phone service that grows and adapts to their needs.

Take it from Shelby American when they moved their PBX phone system to the cloud. They wanted to improve the customer experience, enhance team communication, and simplify common admin functions.

The company’s PBX migration was quick and seamless, and the calls they relied heavily on to keep their businesses running kept coming smoothly — even amid growing customer demand. 

That’s the key: choosing a provider that will help you replace your PBX system by guiding you every step of the way.

You’ll get that when you choose Nextiva’s business phone service. You’ll leave your PBX struggles in the past and communicate smarter in the present and future.

Whether switching from a traditional landline or PBX to a virtual phone system, you need a simple process without headaches.

The good news is that you can set up a virtual phone service for your business in minutes. All you need is a reliable internet connection.

We’ll walk you through five easy steps to set up your virtual phone system with Nextiva.

What Is a Virtual Phone System?

A virtual phone system handles your incoming and outgoing business phone calls via an internet connection. This cloud-based system can be used on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

Tom from Nextiva explains virtual phone systems in greater depth below:

Tip: Read our detailed guide to virtual phone systems for a deeper dive into their benefits and core functions.

Now, let’s walk through setting up a virtual phone system.

How to Set Up Virtual Phone System Software

1) Choose a Business Phone Plan

Most companies aren’t one-size-fits-all. Your phone service needs to match your business needs.

We pack a ton of features into all of our business phone plans. You can choose between essential, professional, and enterprise plans based on your size and business communication needs.

Get a virtual phone system. In minutes.

Get your business phone, messages, video meetings, contact management and notes–integrated in ONE powerful app.

Get started

Keep in mind that with Nextiva, you get a toll-free number as well as a virtual phone number (numbers that aren’t tied to a fixed location) in any area code. Talk as much as you want with unlimited calls nationwide. You can port your existing telephone numbers over later, too.

If you’re not sure which plan to purchase, sign up for a free trial to set up your account and get started with Nextiva. Pick out the plan that fits your business, and we’ll guide you through selecting the virtual phone numbers for your phone system.

2) Assign Phone Extensions

You’re now ready to assign extensions to your team members.

Phone extensions are how users dial each other, and you can route calls to them. These virtual numbers are meant to be used internally, so you don’t have to worry about them.

Sign in to the Nextiva Voice Portal. Under the Users menu, select Voice Setup to set up the extension for each user to receive inbound phone calls.

Here’s a video to take you step by step.

You can change your settings anytime, like call forwarding, voicemail, and Caller ID.

Next, you’ll set up how your phone system directs calls to these extensions. Your team can answer business calls on their computer, desk phone, cell phone, or any mobile device.

3) Record Your Phone Greeting

When someone calls your business number, they’ll hear a greeting. This is also known as an auto attendant. 

In the Nextiva Voice Portal, under Voice Settings, select Call Flows. From there, you can manage your company’s call routing in one spot.

After you select your primary inbound phone number, you can record or upload custom greetings for your business.

How to manage your greeting from your browser

In the Nextiva Voice Portal, hover over Advanced Routing and select Auto Attendants. From there, you can manage your company’s call routing in one spot.

After you create your first auto attendant, you can upload recorded custom greetings for your business.

Setting up a call flow is easy with Nextiva. Here’s a video to help you with the steps.

4) Begin Placing and Answering Calls

You can now begin using your new phone system. Make as many calls as you need and receive incoming calls from your business line.

Enjoy the freedom to call anyone with your computer using the free business phone app. You can even complete calls using your iOS or Android smartphone using the NextivaONE mobile app.

If you need to step away, simply forward calls to any number you want, including your personal cell phone.

Related: How to Make & Receive Phone Calls From Your Computer (6 Methods)

5) Train Your Team for a Seamless Switch

Once you’ve set up your virtual phone system, train your team on how to use it to get the most out of it. Your business phone service should provide helpful resources, training materials, and support for ease of use and better adoption.

With Nextiva, you don’t sweat the small stuff. Our Support Center offers a self-paced online training portal with a variety of interactive courses on using the Nextiva virtual phone service for different user roles.

Nextiva also offers regular live webinars on getting started, including setting up call flows and using Nextiva’s analytics tools.

If you don’t find the right training material for your team or need more in-depth specialized training, you can customize your training programs on demand.

Choosing the Best Business Phone Service

Business phone system providers come in all sizes and prices. You don’t want to be stuck with a communications platform that doesn’t match your needs, offer the right functionality, or burn holes in your wallet.

Traditional phone systems, while still in use, don’t offer the same calling functionality as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers.

Reliable business phone service is just the beginning. From advanced video conferencing, voicemail transcription, IVR, and call recording to text messaging, Nextiva has you covered with one powerful virtual phone service with 99.999% uptime.

As your company grows, simply add local numbers, toll-free, or fax numbers. Give your team members dependable VoIP desk phones or ask them to download the Nextiva App on their mobile phones for better functionality.

If you’re ever stuck or want a second opinion, you can always reach our live customer support. Our friendly support team can handle virtually any question about your business phone system from troubleshooting and training to more complex issues.

Small business owners, in particular, benefit from a VoIP service provider like Nextiva, which is there to support them in every business situation.

Nextiva and Dialpad are robust Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers designed to meet the communication needs of small and big businesses. They have plenty of great features designed to help brands take their communication to the next level. 

Still, all the bells and whistles of a phone system don’t make up for key things businesses need that may be difficult to assess at first glance, such as reliability, quality, scalability, and excellent customer support.

We’ll cover features, usability, price plans, customer support, and other aspects of both VoIP phone systems, so you will have a better idea of which provider is best for you.

Nextiva vs. Dialpad VoIP Phone Systems 

Feature	Nextiva	Dialpad
Monthly Price	Starts at $18.95 per user	Starts at $23.00 per user
Video Conferencing	Up to 250 participants per meeting	Up to 10 participants per meeting on a free plan Up to 150 participants per meeting on a business plan
Toll-Free Numbers	One toll-free phone number is included in all plans	Charges an extra fee for toll-free, international, and fax numbers
Unlimited Online Fax	Included on all plans	An additional fee for an extra fax line + $0.10 per page after 1,000 pages
Integrations	Google, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Dynamic, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, ServiceNow, ConnectWise, NetSuite, SugarCRM, Oracle, Lotus Notes, GoldMine, Workbooks, Bullhorn, Act!, and more	Salesforce, Google, Zendesk, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier, G Suite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, Okta, OneLogin, APIs, Copper, Helpwise, and more
24/7 Support	Self-service, online ticketing, chat, email, and phone support on weekdays and Saturdays for all customers	The basic plan includes chat and web support; Pro and Enterprise have 24/7 support
Customer Reviews (G2)	4.5 out of 5 2,716 reviews	4.4 out of 5 1,752 reviews

Nextiva’s Essential plan starts at $18.95 per month, making it a great economical VoIP solution compared to Dialpad. 

Despite having the lowest cost, Nextiva offers extensive customer support and various integrations. Nextiva offers 24/7 live support, and it has unlimited online fax and one toll-free number for all plans, whereas Dialpad charges you for both. 

Dialpad’s Pro and Enterprise plans have 24/7 support, but its basic plan only includes chat and web support. 

Let’s dive deeper into the differences between Nextiva and Dialpad. 

Nextiva vs. Dialpad Pricing 

Nextiva’s monthly costs are lower than Dialpad’s. Furthermore, Dialpad charges more additional fees compared to Nextiva.

Dialpad’s potential additional fees include: 

• SMS Cost: Dialpad imposes an extra $0.08/SMS fee beyond the 250-message limit. In contrast, Nextiva’s plans encompass higher message limits (up to 1,000 or 2,000) and unlimited business SMS through the Productivity Plugin.
• Toll-Free Cost: Dialpad imposes extra fees for a toll-free number ($15–$17/month and $0.02/minute), whereas Nextiva includes toll-free numbers and minutes across all plans.
• Fax Cost: Dialpad imposes extra fees of $5 for fax numbers and an additional $0.10/page beyond the 1,000-page limit. In contrast, Nextiva offers inclusive unlimited online faxes. 
• Number Porting: To port an existing toll-free number to Dialpad will cost you $20. Nextiva provides a toll-free number with all its business phone plans, including toll-free minutes and no additional fee to port. 
• Pricing Transparency: Nextiva’s pricing plans are available to the public, while Dialpad requires you to contact their sales team to learn about Enterprise-level pricing and device pricing. At Nextiva, we believe in transparency and guarantee you’ll receive the service you paid for.

Related: Dialpad Pricing & Plans: Is It Worth It for SMBs?

Nextiva vs. Dialpad Product Features

Nextiva and Dialpad offer similar VoIP functionality. Beyond that, they differ significantly. 

Here’s a thorough comparison of the product features and functionality. 

VoIP features 

Dialpad’s starter package includes the following features:

• Meetings of up to 45 minutes
• Screen sharing
• Unlimited calling and call recordings
• Unlimited SMS and MMS
• Call control 
• Voicemail transcription
• G-Suite & Office 365 integrations
• Off-hours routing 

Users need to upgrade to the Pro plan for additional integrations, international SMS, hold cues, desk phone support, and unlimited meetings of up to five hours. They also need to pay more for toll-free numbers. 

Nextiva’s Essential package offers the following benefits and features:

• Unlimited voice and video calling
• Toll-free numbers
• 99.999% uptime
• Auto attendant
• Outlook and Google Contacts integrations
• Voicemail-to-email
• User-friendly mobile app and desktop app for both iOS and Android 
• Unlimited internet fax
• 24/7 dedicated support 

Nextiva’s Enterprise plan includes the additional following features:

• Screen sharing
• Unlimited voice and video conferencing participants
• Multi-level auto attendant
• Three professionally recorded greetings
• Unlimited video and conference recording
• Call recording
• Voicemail transcription
• Custom integrations
• SMS/MMS
• Single sign-on

Unified Communications as a Service 

Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) blends internet-based phone and messaging into a robust communications platform. In many cases, UCaaS solutions work across desktop apps, mobile apps, and desk phones, integrating phone, chat, and video conferencing. 

Dialpad and Nextiva both offer UCaaS features, including video conferencing, SMS/MMS, and voice-to-email features. Unlike Nextiva, Dialpad does not offer voicemail-to-SMS. 

It’s worth noting that some of Dialpad’s UCaaS features are only available under separate plans. Its VoIP services are under the Dialpad Voice product line, for example, and video conferencing is available under its AI Meetings product. The Business plan for AI meetings costs $15 per month. 

Nextiva prioritizes UCaaS features, many of which are included under a single plan.

NextivaONE is an all-in-one communications app that allows you to effectively manage all communication, team collaboration, and customer engagement in a single place.

Nextiva vs. Dialpad Analytics

Dialpad’s phone system comes with native analytics. The analytics menu intuitively arranges data, enabling supervisors to get clear insight into their team’s performance. 

Users can customize call routing and IVR menu options using their web dashboard with relative ease. 

Both platforms let you measure metrics, including:

• Active calls
• Average response time
• Abandoned calls
• Agent availability
• Inbound vs. outbound calls 
• Total call time 
• Text volume 

The most substantial difference between the two platforms’ analytics is that Nextiva Analytics benefits those inside and outside contact centers. You can gain insight into trends impacting your business, call center performance, management, and scheduling. 

Dialpad’s analytics tends to be geared more toward call center data, specifically focusing on the call center’s logistics and performance. 

Nextiva vs. Dialpad Call Pops

Dialpad can integrate with your CRM tool to pull up customer data with call pops. It uses screen pops to load matching customer records as the phone rings, pulling up dedicated customer information windows. 

Operators and agents can then manually open an integrated CRM system and search for the matching customer record. When they ask for the customer’s name, they may have the full file on hand.

Nextiva’s Call Pop feature displays essential information about the caller on the screen before answering the phone. It stores engagement and interaction data for customers and displays that actionable data in their call pops. The screen will stay up for the duration of the conversation. 

When a customer calls, Nextiva’s Call Pop feature displays their contact information and data, including their customer experience score, latest survey score, account value, and last interaction sentiment.

All the information your agents may need is readily available to best serve your customers, even before they answer the call. 

Dialpad vs. Nextiva Performance

Performance is often a top consideration when choosing between VoIP systems, so it’s critical to compare Dialpad vs. Nextiva performance.

Dialpad claims 100% uptime, which is solid. 

However, it has reported recent outages and a number of incidents. Still, when you’re maintaining a network with multiple users, some outages are normal. 

The incident reports indicate that performance issues can occur, with 13 incidents in September 2023 alone. 

Recent customer reviews for Dialpad also report issues with dropped or “choppy” phone call quality, which can drive customers to consider Dialpad’s competitors. 

Nextiva’s network is one of the most reliable in the world. It has eight points of presence and carrier-grade data centers dedicated to providing 99.999% uptime, ensuring that you can always stay connected with your customers without sacrificing security.

Throughout October, there were only a few incidents to report from Nextiva’s service, and there was 100% uptime. 

Nextiva vs. Dialpad Customer Support

When it comes to customer service, Nextiva takes the lead with its unique Amazing Service promise. 

Nextiva’s starter plan provides online ticketing and, if needed, an online chat service. It also offers email and phone support Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. MST and on Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. MST.

Only Dialpad’s higher-priced plans provide access to 24/7 live support. Its basic package includes 24/5 support solely through chat and the web. There’s also a comprehensive online Help Center database to get answers.

For a comprehensive breakdown, Gartner Peer Insights compares Nextiva’s and Dialpad’s respective customer support ratings here: 

	Nextiva	Dialpad
Overall Support Rating	4.6 / 5	4.5 / 5
Timeliness of Response  How quickly customers connect to a support agent or a support agent reaches out	4.7	4.5
Quality of Technical Support  Technical expertise of the support team and easy resolution of technical issues	4.7	4.2
Quality of Peer User Community  A community forum for people to engage in discussions, ask questions, and find and connect with peers	4.6	4.4

Dialpad includes an old screenshot of GetApp as proof of a 4.3-star score on its site, comparing that score to Nextiva’s then-4.2-star score, with only 79% of Nextiva customers saying they’d recommend the app. 

Nextiva has since caught up. 

Its GetApp user review rating is 4.4 stars, and 85% of consumers now recommend the service. Since the original date of publishing, Nextiva’s recommendation percentage has increased, whereas Dialpad’s has decreased.

The difference between the two is marginal, although Nextiva’s overall support score outranks Dialpad’s by 4.4 to 4.3. 

Ask yourself if you want a communications provider that’s improving its customer satisfaction score or one whose score is declining.

Dialpad vs. Nextiva Setup and Usability

Setup and user management are easy to do with Dialpad’s cloud-native platform — in most situations, on your own. Additionally, Dialpad is particularly web-centric, with a user-friendly user interface and user experience.

Nextiva’s user interface was designed to be user-friendly. Its setup is simple, and the overall usability is intuitive. Complex features are simple with the online dashboard, including call flows, user management, and voicemail changes. 

Should You Choose AI over Reliability?

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic in VoIP right now, with some providers going all-in on AI functionality. Dialpad’s article called out Nextiva for “missing” AI capabilities, but AI often comes at the expense of a reliable and scalable solution.

While AI is popular, long-term usability and functionality are paramount. While AI features may help you automate tasks and increase efficiency, there are concerns that businesses should consider. In many cases, AI offers complex features that may be unnecessary or don’t scale well over time.

It’s key to balance AI features (and the efficiency they bring) and the reliability you need to scale.

Consider the following:

• Your business size and industry: If you have a small business, you may not need many flashy AI features.
• Your budget: Some AI features can be expensive, so you must consider the cost when deciding which service to use. There’s no point in paying for features you don’t actually need. 
• Your future growth plans: If you expect your business to grow, choose scalability over AI-heavy features, which may not scale well and aren’t as important as reliability.

You need a phone system with features that allow you to run your business efficiently, but you also need a system that can grow with you.

This is where Nextiva can help, providing a business phone system with the right balance of AI features and scalability. 

The cloud-based phone system prioritizes ease of use when it comes to setup. Nextiva has a global network of data centers, meaning it can easily scale to meet the needs of any business, regardless of size.

It also has flexible pricing plans, so you can find a plan that fits your needs and your budget. 

At Nextiva, one of the most reliable VoIP service providers, we know that consistency in service quality matters more than a few extra flashy features. 

Nextiva Is Future-Ready, Are You?

Nextiva delivers a truly connected communications experience through NextivaONE, combining business productivity and communications. Whether you’re a small business or a call center, Nextiva’s got your team covered. 

It brings conversations into a single stream from voice, text, video, and email to facilitate better collaboration all in one tool.

You can streamline customer engagement and support, creating a positive and seamless customer experience no matter how they get in touch.

You can communicate confidently, work smarter, impress customers, and scale faster with Nextiva. Are you ready? Get your personalized quote today.

If you’re having difficulty deciding whether Nextiva or 8×8 will provide the best full-service business VoIP communications for your company, you’re in the right place.

Although Nextiva and 8×8 provide comparable products, the comparison isn’t always apples to apples. While the products are similar in many ways, each provider has unique strengths in cloud communications.

Our guide compares the platforms to enable you to make the right decision for your business. While we believe Nextiva is superior in multiple ways, there are a few reasons why 8×8 could meet your business’s needs.

Nextiva vs. 8×8 VoIP Comparison Table

Features	Nextiva	8×8
Monthly Price	Starts at $18.95 to $32.95 per user per month	Starts at $15 to $44 per user per month
Overall Customer Ratings (Gartner)	4.5 out of 5623 reviews	4.4 out of 5287 reviews
Customer Support Ratings (Gartner)	4.6 out of 5623 reviews	4.2 out of 5285 reviews
Video and Audio Conferencing	Unlimited participants on voice and video conferencing (Professional plan)	A cap of 500 participants per conference (X4 plan)
U.S. Presence	Eight data centers in the U.S.	Three data centers in the U.S.
Live Customer Support	Live support included with every Nextiva plan	8×8 Express isn’t eligible for live-assisted support

The side-by-side comparison shows that Nextiva typically outperforms 8×8’s VoIP system in terms of overall customer ratings (including support ratings), U.S. data center presence, and live support. 

Nextiva’s Professional plan also offers unlimited participants on voice and video conferencing, while 8×8’s X4 plan has a cap of 500 participants. 

8×8’s starting cost is slightly lower than Nextiva’s, costing $15 per user per month instead of $18.95. 

If you’re prioritizing cost above all else, this may be a reason to select 8×8. However, note that this can potentially result in the loss of features or support. 

Nextiva’s upgraded plans cost less than its 8×8 equivalents, so if you plan to upgrade down the road, you’ll want to factor that in. 

Nextiva vs. 8×8 VoIP Product Features & Pricing

Both Nextiva and 8×8 ultimately offer similar business communication features at comparable prices. There are, however, a few areas where one service may outperform the other, so let’s review each platform’s product features and pricing. 

Nextiva plans, pricing, and features

Nextiva has multiple pricing plans that offer something for every business and every budget. 

Our Essential plan, for example, starts at $18.95 per month and includes the following key features:

• Unlimited calling for voice and video within the U.S. and Canada
• Competitive international calling rates
• Voicemail
• Local phone numbers 
• Toll-free numbers and up to 1,500 toll-free minutes 
• Unlimited internet faxes
• Outlook & Google Contacts integrations 
• Up to 45 minutes per video call
• Voicemail-to-email notifications
• 24/7 customer support 
• Free number porting
• Auto attendant
• Call logs
• Notes on contacts and calls
• Desktop apps and mobile apps for both iOS and Android cell phones

Our Enterprise plan, which costs $32.95 per user per month, includes these additional features:

• Unlimited conference call participants
• Up to 45 minutes per meeting
• 12,500 toll-free minutes
• Voicemail transcription
• Single sign-on
• Unlimited video conference recording
• Up to 2,000 messages received and sent per user
• Call recording 
• Integrations with CRMs like Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot 

Nextiva is a unified communications platform, using a single system for voice phone calls, video calls, and team messaging with your favorite integrations in one place.

This gives companies more internal and external control over their business communications, which they can manage through their desktops or mobile devices with dedicated apps. 

Regarding pricing, Nextiva excels compared to 8×8 in the following scenarios:

• For businesses with 100 or more users: Nextiva’s pricing becomes more competitive for businesses with 100 or more users. For example, Nextiva’s Professional plan is $18.95 per user per month for businesses with 100–999 users, while 8×8’s X2 plan is $24 per user per month for businesses with 100–999 users.
• For businesses that need contact center features: Nextiva’s contact center features are more affordable than 8×8’s contact center features. For example, Nextiva’s ACD feature is included in its Professional plan, while 8×8’s ACD feature is only available in its X4 plan.

8×8 plans, pricing & features

8×8 has many features that are similar to Nextiva, though you need to get into its higher-cost pricing plans to take advantage of most of the functionality.

The base plan costs only $15 a month, but this x1 plan isn’t even advertised on its site, and it packs very few features.

The x2 plan includes features like the following:

• Unlimited users
• Unlimited voice calling to 14 countries (this increases to 48 countries with its x4 plan)
• HD video and audio conferencing 
• SMS, MMS, and team chat
• Microsoft Teams integration

Reporting and analytics features aren’t available until the x6 plan, and speech and text analytics are only available with the x8 plan. 

8×8 does have better international calling capabilities and pricing. While its initial base plan costs less than Nextiva, it lacks features at that price point. 

Finally, 8×8 doesn’t openly share pricing information on its site; you need to contact its sales team to get a quote. This may make it more difficult to assess which plan is right for you. 

Nextiva vs. 8×8 Analytics

The 8×8 single platform offers clear, aggregated analytics throughout its cloud communications, allowing you to concentrate on what the data means to your workforce. 

Its analytics are effective and can allow businesses to concentrate on critical voice data. 

Nextiva has a built-in business intelligence tool to help you make faster, better business decisions, uncover hidden insights, and improve employee performance — no tech wizardry required. 

The Nextiva platform features a voice analytics tool that gives you a real-time overview of all of your contact center’s activities, ranging from call performance metrics to customer conversation and sentiment analysis. 

Nextiva’s analytics also excel in the following areas:

• Interactive maps and graphs: See complex data in easy-to-understand formats to gain actionable insight.
• Ease of use: Even for users with no prior experience with analytics tools, the platform features a user-friendly interface and pre-built reports, making it easy to begin.
• Depth of insights: Provides a wide range of insights into your business communications, including call volume, duration, customer satisfaction, and agent performance. 
• Real-time reporting: Tracks your performance and identifies any potential problems immediately.
• Voice analytics: Includes a voice analytics tool to analyze customer conversations and identify trends and patterns. 
• Gamified analytics: Includes leaderboards and multiple themes, showing how many calls each agent has completed and using real-time tracking, including average talk time, total talk time, inbound calls, and more. The overall user experience is much better with Nextiva.

Nextiva vs. 8×8 Screen Pops

When businesses receive incoming calls through their VoIP services, agents may see a screen with customer data like their name, contact information, and purchase history. This is called a “screen pop” or a “call pop,” which is a common business phone and call center feature.  

Nextiva and 8×8 both offer screen pop features.

Nextiva Call Pops are customizable, allowing you to choose the caller information that you want to display and where you want it to appear on the screen. 

Call Pop also allows you to:

• Preview voicemail messages without having to pick up the call.
• Transfer calls to other call center users without having to hang up.
• Place calls on hold from the call pop.
• Send text messages to the caller from the call pop. 

8×8 pops are simpler than Nextiva’s but are still effective. They show a caller’s name and number, along with a button that you can click to answer the call. They don’t have the same kind of customization, but they get the job done. 

Nextiva vs. 8×8 Performance

Performance — which includes reliability, call quality, and uptime — should always be an important part of the decision-making process.

Both Nextiva and 8×8 consistently deliver reliable VoIP performance, with uptime SLAs of around 99.999%. 

Nevertheless, there have been some reports of dropped phone calls on 8×8, especially when those calls were made over Wi-Fi. 

One review on GetApp claimed that the platform was difficult to set up and that even when they were up and running, “immediately [they] noticed the call quality was poor and unreliable.” 

Multiple reviews cited specific concerns regarding Wi-Fi calls. 

Nextiva’s customers, however, generally praise their call quality and technical support.

Jay H., one of Nextiva’s customers, said that they were glad they had switched to Nextiva from another provider, claiming that “The support has been stellar, and the quality of our calls is significantly improved.” 

When reading reviews, make sure you see reviews discussing call quality for both inbound and outbound calls. Some services may struggle with dropped calls for one but not the other. 

Nextiva vs. 8×8 Support

Support is another critical consideration; you don’t want to be unable to get help with your business phone system when you need it. 

Many customers have reported issues with the 8×8 support team. Concerns have ranged from difficulty reaching the support team to agents that lack the necessary expertise. 

Multiple reviews stated that they didn’t receive proper support. In some cases, customers said they could only get help from an account manager but were unsure of whom to contact, especially if their account manager changed regularly. 

Nextiva prides itself on outstanding customer support that is available 24/7 with multiple support options. We only hire qualified and expert agents who can resolve any customer concerns ranging from sales questions to technical problems, and more. 

Many online reviews for Nextiva describe strong customer experiences, beginning with the sales team and continuing on through their entire lifecycles. 

8×8 vs. Nextiva Setup and Usability

Setup is important, especially when you need to switch technology and onboard an entire team. Ongoing usability, however, is also essential.

8×8 offers a self-service setup process. While there are resources to get users started — including video tutorials and documentation — the process can be complex, especially for large businesses.

8×8 does have paid installation services for businesses struggling to set up their systems.

And while the 8×8 user interface is objectively well-designed with easy navigation, the dashboard can be overwhelming due to the sheer number of options available. Training resources are available, but depending on the size of your team, the learning curve may be steep.

Nextiva’s setup process is both straightforward and user-friendly. Most users are able to quickly get up and running. Nextiva assigns a dedicated account manager to each customer who can help with setup and configuration when there are questions.

This ease of use continues on through our overall usability. The user interface is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. And while we do offer expansive features and customization options, they’re presented in a way that’s easy to navigate, understand, and use. 

Which VoIP Provider Is Right for You?

Choosing a VoIP service can seem to be overwhelming, but having a side-by-side comparison makes the process easier. 

Ultimately, the right choice will depend on the needs of your business.  

Nextiva is best for you if:

You want a provider that puts effective call management ahead of other functionalities.

You should also choose Nextiva if you:

• Want to get the most value for your money. 
• Prefer native functionality, including for collaboration features.
• Plan to scale (or hope to scale) in the future.
• Want video communication services. 

8×8 is good for you if:

Your business caters to worldwide markets, and you need a partner that will help you expand internationally. Targeting new regions could be easier with its extensive analytics and unlimited calling to 48 countries.

So, which one should you choose? 

Nextiva offers a broader range of features than 8×8, including unlimited video conferencing, call forwarding, and voicemail transcription.

And while 8×8’s pricing seems lower at first glance, that’s only true for its base plan, which is light on features. 

Long-term scalability and growth would most likely require more advanced features, even for small business VoIP systems, which would ultimately make Nextiva more cost-effective. Nextiva’s pricing is also more transparent, making it easier for you to plan ahead.  

Finally, Nextiva has a long-standing reputation for high reliability and outstanding customer service. Those are two qualities you can’t afford to overlook when choosing business phone services. 

Nevertheless, the best VoIP services for your business ultimately depend on your budget, your specific business needs, and which platform features are most important to you.

Get Nextiva VoIP service. Simple. Affordable.

Get your business phone, messages, video meetings, contact management and notes–integrated in ONE powerful app.

Get started

Tired of reaching someone’s voicemail? It might not be you – it could be your business phone number. Thankfully, you can get a new number thanks to the power of virtual phone numbers.

We’ll explain all the ins and outs of virtual phone numbers for your company and what you should know about how they work. And, of course, we’ll also walk you through how to get a virtual number.

What Is a Virtual Phone Number?

A virtual phone number is not tied to a physical location. It allows you to use a local phone number with any area code you want.

When someone calls a virtual number, they dial a phone number managed by virtual phone system. From there, the call is instantly routed through the internet to the intended recipient. Unlike forwarding, the caller only knows your virtual phone number. Users can also send the caller to voicemail or block unwanted calls entirely.

Claim your virtual phone number. And it's free.

Get your business phone, messages, video meetings, contact management and notes–integrated in ONE powerful app. FREE.

Get started

Why use a virtual phone number?

• More privacy – Your real number stays hidden
• Flexibility – Route calls to any phone, even when traveling
• Local presence – Get a local number in another city or country
• Only internet access (or Wi-Fi) is needed – The phone company directs incoming calls to whichever device you choose over the internet.

You can select which devices receive calls from the virtual phone number and change them when needed. Such devices include VoIP desk phones, cell phones, or softphones. Virtual phone numbers also provide increased anonymity over your landlines, which people can find in online directories.

The call quality is the same or better as any ordinary phone call. Since the call routing occurs through the internet connection, it has much more bandwidth.

Related: What Is VoIP? The Newbie’s Guide to Voice over IP

Types of Virtual Phone Numbers: 

1. Local phone numbers – These telephone numbers are based in certain geographic areas, also known as rate centers or local area codes.
2. Toll-free numbers – These are special numbers that start with 800, 888, 866 and others that allow people to call it without any tolls or fees.
3. International numbers – For organizations with a global presence, this business phone number lets you place and accept international calls with a local presence in the country.
4. Vanity numbers – These numbers are catchy, memorable numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS. You would want to purchase these and port them in.

💡 Remember: You can keep your current phone number and take it with you to a virtual phone system. As your company expands, you can pick out new numbers or swap out others whenever you want.

Benefits of Using Virtual Phone Numbers

Now that you have a better idea about these types of phone numbers, it’s time to decide if your business needs one.

There are advantages to using virtual phone numbers, but here are the ones that matter most to business owners.

1) Take phone calls from anywhere

A traditional telephone number connects to one desk phone. What happens when the person at that desk is out of the office? You have no choice but to send them to voicemail. Some research suggests that customers won’t call you back if they reach your voicemail.

Virtual phone numbers solve that problem.

You can turn their desk phone connection off and have another employee answer calls on their mobile phones or forward calls to another department. When you’re traveling, your business phone number remains the same.

2) Separate business from their personal phone

It’s not just incoming calls a virtual phone number comes in handy. Use the same number for outgoing calls for your customers or coworkers. Plus, it conceals your caller ID when you do so.

This advanced feature makes virtual phone numbers ideal for remote workers. More than 38% of companies have team members who work remotely.

3) Cut expensive add-ons with local phone numbers

You probably know that people can call you through your virtual phone system from anywhere in the world. But unless you have a local phone number in their area, prospective customers will be hesitant to call due to international calling charges.

Toll-free numbers encourage callers to dial you regardless of their calling plan. Establishing a virtual phone number in the countries where you operate helps make calling more accessible and encouraged. 

Pro Tip: Nextiva includes unlimited calling between the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Be sure to check out these affordable international calling rates — they’re cheaper than you think!

4) Modernize your voicemail

When inbound callers reach your voicemail, you have several ways to respond. The last thing you want is to send callers to your personal phone line. Checking voicemails with a traditional landline is clunky, and no one remembers their PIN; virtual phone services are the antidote.

Virtual phone services email you a voicemail transcription to you within seconds. Is that a robocaller or your child’s school calling? With voicemail to email, you’ll know. You can also get updates via SMS text messages so you never miss a call.

5) Improve caller satisfaction with auto attendants

Traditional phone systems lack call routing functionality. Alternatively, asking an IT manager to configure your PBX to forward calls separately is a lot of unnecessary work.

VoIP phone service providers like Nextiva include auto attendants.

An auto attendant greets callers and provides a straightforward menu to reach the right person. When paired with a virtual number, auto attendants give callers a choice to reach you personally or speak with a customer support representative.

When in doubt, a cloud PBX is the way to go. Simply reserve a bloc of virtual phone numbers and assign them to your team.

6) Track your marketing and advertising campaigns

Where did that customer hear about you? Now you’ll know with a virtual phone number. Include your virtual number on billboard, magazine, or TV/radio ads. Virtual phone numbers let you track the impact of your campaigns down to the actual phone numbers that called it.

By tracking the calls received on these phone numbers, businesses can measure the performance of their campaigns and conduct market tests to evaluate their effectiveness. This allows for data-driven decision making and optimization of marketing strategies.

How to Get a Virtual Phone Number

There’s no doubt that virtual phone numbers are more beneficial than traditional landline numbers. They work for small businesses with remote staff and larger companies that need to manage communication in their call centers.

Claim your virtual phone number. And it's free.

Get your business phone, messages, video meetings, contact management and notes–integrated in ONE powerful app. FREE.

Get started

Step 1: Pick the local area code for the phone number you want. Here are some of the most popular virtual phone numbers sold by Nextiva:

Metro Area	Area Codes
New York, NY	212, 315, 332, 347, 363, 516, 518, 585, 607, 631, 646, 680, 716, 718, 838, 845, 914, 917, 929, 934
Los Angeles, CA	213, 323, 738
Chicago, IL	312, 773, 872
Dallas, TX	214, 469, 945, 972
Houston, TX	281, 346, 713, 832
Washington, DC	202
Philadelphia, PA	215, 267, 445
Atlanta, GA	404, 470, 678, 770, 943
Miami, FL	305, 645, 786
Phoenix, AZ	480, 602, 623, 928

Step 2: Compare pricing and purchase the plan that fits your needs.

Step 3: Purchase your virtual phone number from a VoIP provider, like Nextiva.

How Does a Virtual Phone Number Work?

Virtual phone numbers do not require a SIM card or a physical address. Instead, phone calls are connected using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP telephony is the same technology used to make phone calls and text messages through iMessage, WhatsApp, or Google Voice.

Virtual numbers work using any internet connection, including Wi-Fi or cellular (LTE or 5G). Typically, the phone service provider uses a mobile app that works on iOS and Android for voice and text messaging.

If you want to transfer your existing number to your virtual phone number provider, follow the number porting process to ensure your business phone number works regardless of your VoIP provider.

Call routing flexibility

You have the freedom to direct calls however you want. Say you only want to permit calls during daytime hours — you can. Maybe you like to screen incoming calls? You can direct all callers to leave a voicemail first and you’ll get it in your email.

But for most people, a virtual number serves two functions:

1. Operate as a dedicated phone line.
2. Act as a proxy to forward calls to another private line.
3. Provide a menu of options (auto attendant) that lets callers choose where to go.

Either way, a virtual phone number gives you plenty of choices for routing calls.

Differences Between Virtual & Regular Phone Numbers

Traditional Phone Numbers

Traditional phone numbers usually are installed and provided by the local telephone company. Most people don’t know they own the number, not the telephone company. Telephone companies typically assign phone lines to the street address where it’s installed.

Traditional phone lines require phone lines to run throughout the building to each desk phone. Installing telecom lines isn’t always easy or feasible in every office.

Virtual Phone Numbers

Virtual phone numbers are location-independent and are not assigned to a specific location. It works for employees in and out of the office because they share the same cloud PBX.

That means your in-house or virtual team can pick up calls from the virtual number in the office, at home, or on their cell phone. And you can choose who receives incoming calls from the virtual phone number depending on your staff availability.

Remote employees don’t need to install a desk phone in their home office, nor use their cell phone to take business calls. The virtual phone number protects their caller ID, which gives them greater control and peace of mind when calling contacts.

Claim your virtual phone number. And it's free.

Get your business phone, messages, video meetings, contact management and notes–integrated in ONE powerful app. FREE.

Get started

They don’t need to be concerned that customers know your private number. With a professional VoIP provider, you can select business hours for the virtual phone number to accept inbound calls or divert them to a voicemail.

That means your in-house or virtual team can pick up calls from the virtual number in the office, at home, or on their cell phone. And you can choose who receives incoming calls from the virtual phone number depending on your staff availability.

Virtual Phone Number Limitations

Here are some disadvantages to know regarding free virtual phone number providers like TextNow and TextFree. In short, they have less functionality, but they can work fine for a startup.

Risks

• Number reassignments: Virtual phone numbers often get reassigned to paying subscribers. Likewise, you have limited telephone numbers available in specific local area codes.
• Lack of advanced features: Free phone apps only offer basic functions like voice phone calls and text messages. Even at that, they are limited by minutes or messages.
• Not desktop/laptop friendly: You’re fine if you enjoy taking calls on your mobile device. But if you want to move the call to your desktop or laptop, most virtual phone apps won’t work.
• Premium features cost extra: Features like business call recording, interactive voice response (IVRs), auto attendants, and call transfers aren’t included for free. You’ll also deal with intrusive, unskippable ads when you want to make a call.
• Less trusted: Some services that provide two-factor authentication (2FA) generally don’t trust most virtual numbers. Unfortunately, bad actors made it more challenging to use for texting. But with Nextiva, you get a secure, authenticated virtual number used for text messaging.

With a cloud-based VoIP provider like Nextiva, you get all the unlimited calling and advanced features you want for a predictable, flat rate. Plus, you can add additional virtual phone lines anytime you need.

Tracing virtual phone number ownership

Despite a virtual phone number’s benefits, it has also been used by fraudsters. Newer countermeasures like 10DLC registration aim to prevent abuse, but it’s not foolproof.

Here are a few ways to find the owner of a virtual phone number:

1. Reverse Phone Number Lookup: Utilize online tools that offer reverse phone number lookup services. These sites allow you to enter the phone number to view directory or user-provided information.
2. Caller ID Name (CNAM) Lookup: In addition to the actual phone number, many providers also include the subscriber name in the CNAM database. This is important as caller ID alone can be easily manipulated or falsified. Check CallerIDTest for free (up to five searches) to view the caller ID name associated with the calling number. (You can also check your business phone number, too!)
3. IP Address Lookup: You can attempt an IP address lookup as a last resort. If you have a fraudulent phone number submitted along with a web form, you probably have access to the IP address. This method provides general location information down the city and state and the internet service provider.

By using these methods, you can find out who a phone number belongs to. However, please note that not all phone numbers may yield accurate or available information, as some users may take steps to keep their identity private. In the event of a crime, contact law enforcement for assistance.

Virtual Phone Number FAQs