This is a concern we often come across as businesses set up in a new office. You’re ready to move on to a new location, but you don’t want to leave your telephone number behind. It’s your advertised point of contact for your customers, so we understand that it’s important to maintain this familiarity. It may be that your main business number is ‘catchy’ (or as catchy as a phone number can be!), and easily remembered.

So, how do you keep your phone number, and ensure you don’t lose that familiarity you’ve worked hard to establish?

You should be able to keep your phone number when your business moves – however, the type of phone system you are currently using will determine how you can move your number over to your new premises. At Beaming, we can help you to keep your number when you move offices so that amidst the upheaval of transferring your staff and office contents, there’s one less thing you need to worry about.

If you are currently using a traditional analogue phone system

Businesses using ISDN, which relies on the PSTN network, will have to port their phone number over to a new phone system. Openreach is no longer accepting orders for new ISDN lines, even from existing customers, as part of the ISDN switch off. This means that if you’re moving premises, there will be no option to purchase an ISDN line – you’ll have to move your business phones over to a system that uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The process of moving phone number from one communications provider to another is called ‘porting’. In most cases it’s a straightforward process, and your new provider will facilitate the move on your behalf.

If you are currently using a VoIP phone system

Because calls are made using the internet on VoIP/Cloud/Hosted systems, your phone number is not attached to any physical location, and therefore it moves with you. Your phone system will work in the same way, using the same number, regardless of where you are in the world – the perfect solution for a modern business.

At Beaming we have developed our cloud phone system, BeamRing, to offer businesses flexibility whenever it’s needed. With quick installation, short term contracts, and a set monthly fee per user, it’s a great option for businesses looking to make the move over to VoIP.

Will moving to a cloud phone system cause disruption?

If you choose the right provider, the process of moving your phone number shouldn’t cause any disruption to your business.

Just ask Roselands heating – we recently moved their team over to BeamRing, and they described the upgrade as ‘a breeze’.