How to Get Toll-Free Numbers for Your Business

Toll-free numbers are a long-standing rock in the business world, having existed since 1966. Customers are more likely to contact businesses with these kinds of numbers because they are free to call and because they give the owner a nationwide presence. You almost certainly have called these numbers many times yourself.

Here we will talk in detail about these particular digits, including what they look like, how they work, their advantages and their disadvantages. We’ll also be addressing how to understand whether your company needs one and, if it does, how to get a 1-800 number.

In this article we cover:

• What is a Toll-Free (1-800) Number?
• When Do You Need Toll-Free Numbers?
• How to Get a 1-800 Number for Your Business
• Why Buy a Toll-free Number from MightyCall?
• How Does a Toll-Free Number Work?
• Benefits of Getting a Toll-Free Number for Your Business
• Useful Tips for Getting an 800 Number for Business
• Important Points about Getting Toll-free Numbers for Business
• 1-800 Number Providers Overview
• Best Ways to Get Toll-free Numbers for Your Business
• Getting a Toll-free Number is a Step Toward Growth

What is a Toll-Free (1-800) Number?

These numbers, also known as freephone numbers, are used for calls where the caller does not have to pay; instead, the owner pays. This is great for interested clients, as they let them contact a company or individual from afar without paying long distance fees. In addition to 800 codes, these also begin with: 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833.

Company owners typically use these digits for customer service, for increasing sales, and for providing additional information about the company. All three uses benefit greatly from the fact that these digits cost nothing to connect with.

When Do You Need Toll-Free Numbers?

There are many reasons why businesses decide to get a 1-800 number. Here are some following indications that it may be time for you to follow suit:

• It’s difficult for customers to contact you – perhaps you live far away and they don’t want to pay the cost of connecting with you.
• Personal phone calls getting mixed up with business calls – if you have one number for personal and business calls, it can be difficult to handle all incoming messages. But getting one specifically for your work enables you to keep things clearer.
• Your company is rapidly scaling up and you need to reach new audiences – You’ve expanded lately and you’re ready to get more customers. How can you do it? One solid way is with a 800 number.
• Your company operates in a few areas of the country – congratulations! Your company is spread out and booming. But now you can’t stick with the local number you started out with; after all, why would someone in Pennsylvania want to pick up the phone for someone they don’t recognize, calling from California? But when you get an 800 number, you instantly go national- and everyone recognizes those opening digits.

How to Get a 1-800 Number for Your Business

Choose a toll-free number service provider and analyze the offered features

There are a lot of VoIP phone systems out there. Each provider offers their own combination of features, customer service, and of course, digits available for purchase. Analyze each carefully, as each is oftentimes built for a particular type of customer.

Choose your toll-free number prefix

Firstly, you have to pick the first three digits. Oftentimes known as the “area code”, the prefix for a toll-free number for business is something like we previously discussed, starting with something like 888.

Set up the Account

Next, set up your account. Depending on who you went with you may have to do things like input your call forwarding and your caller ID settings.

Set up a 1-800 number

Setting up these sorts of digits doesn’t require anything particularly different from ordinary ones, at least on your end. If your chosen VoIP company allows for extensions, however, you might want to get those situated.

Start using your toll-free business number

Use your newfound national reach to get into contact with folks from sea to shining sea.

Why Buy a Toll-free Number from MightyCall?

1. Unlike bigger name telecom companies that rent out their physical phones, MightyCall is all virtual and can be up and running in minutes.
2. World class security & reliability: your conversation quality will stand the test of time thanks to our 99.99% uptime, 24/7 network security,  data encryption, and protection from robocallers.
3. MightyCall has any number type an entrepreneur could possibly need: toll-free virtual numbers, local, vanity numbers, and international. Competitors often charge extra for these numbers, but we know customers need variety and all the tools they can use, so we don’t. You can get these different numbers with your plan.
4. Great features: get access to dozens of features, none of which are per month extras. From team-oriented features like call forwarding, call transfer, and conference calls to call recording and voice-to-text, every aspect of the customer-communication cycle is covered to help you convert calls to sales.
5. Competitive price: with some of the lowest per user prices without a drop in call quality or feature set, our packages offer some of the best value on the market.
6. Live Customer support: our customer support consists of real people with years of experience. Our chatbot isn’t there for show and we have numerous ways for customers to reach out if they need help.

How Does a Toll-Free Number Work?

If you’re the caller, it’s simple: just punch the digits into your phone and wait for someone to answer. You won’t pay a dime.

If you’re a business owner, you’ll most likely be buying from a business communications or VoIP company. The fee is oftentimes monthly.

Previously, toll-free business lines were used only to receive calls from customers, and of course the owner paid. But now, modern providers allow you to use new and advanced VoIP features along with the standard functionality.

Benefits of Getting a Toll-Free Number for Your Business

• People Are More Likely to Call When It’s Free to Do So: It costs you nothing to call toll-free – that’s why it’s in the name! And everyone knows it. If you have one of these numbers, folks are way more likely to give you a ring.
• Simple Prefixes: Toll-free 800 numbers have simple prefixes. They’re very, very easy to remember, as pretty much everyone has grown up surrounded by ads with them in them. 
• Professionalism: “Serious” companies have these numbers – at least, that’s what people think. If you have one, you’ll be seen as more established and “real,” even if you’re a very small business.
• Be Accessible Across the Country: These numbers are available from Chicago to LA and back to New York. They massively expand your potential for new clients.
• Make it Easier for Employees to Work Remote: With VoIP, your employees can log on and make calls from wherever they are – including, of course, their home or other remote location.
• Divide Your Personal Life from Your Work Life: Using one strand of digits for all aspects of your life can be frustrating. When you buy one of these, however, a barrier can be erected between your work life and your personal life.
• Keep Yourself in People’s Thoughts: By having a number with a prefix people are already aware of, it becomes much easier for people to remember you, instead of thinking of you as a totally random strand of digits.

Useful Tips for Getting an 800 Number for Business

When getting these types of numbers it can at first seem daunting, especially if you’ve never done so before. But don’t worry – if you follow the helpful tips below, you’ll get through the process just fine:

• Start with why you’re buying a new number – why have you decided to go with a new number? You are moving in the right direction if you’re opening up a new hustle (especially online or e-commerce shop), going national with your existing company, or have a national customer base regardless of region.
• Consider a vanity 800 number – these are a great way to get attention and keep your company in your customers’ thoughts, especially if you’re not a local business that they’re used to seeing.
• Use digits which are easy to remember – think about repeating digits, like 5555, or alternating ones, like 1212.
• Be open to prefixes other than the standard 800 – you can use other prefixes, like 888. These still have a national presence but will change it up from the standard.
• Research which companies offer which toll-free phone numbers – some companies don’t offer these, so you want to make sure ahead of time that they do before signing on.
• Don’t wed yourself to a particular combination of digits – sometimes your preference may not be available. When selecting digits, think of a few possibilities ahead of time.

Important Points about Getting Toll-free Numbers for Business

Toll-free prefixes

When people think about these numbers, they more often than not think of the classic 1-800 prefix. But here’s the thing about that: a standard number has 7 digits. If it starts with 800, there could be around 7 million different combinations in total. That may seem like a lot, until you realize the United States has over 330 million adults. This necessitated more prefixes to be created. Therefore, they can begin with the following codes:

• 800
• 888
• 877
• 866
• 855
• 844
• 833

All of these function the same, but they all start differently. 1-800-555-5555 will go to a different person than will 1-888-555-5555.

What countries support 1-800 numbers?

The 1-800 digits we’ve been talking about operate only in North America. If you make calls outside this area with them, you’ll still end up paying fees (ditto if you call them from outside the US). Other countries do also have these sorts of numbers, but they’ll differ because each country has a “country code” beforehand (America’s is +1, for example, and Australia’s is +61).

Who owns toll-free numbers after purchase?

As soon as you obtain a toll-free number, you become its owner. These are portable; this means that they are your property and that no operator can refuse to port it to another operator. But keep in mind- if you are going to port your to another operator, do not cancel service with your current operator until the porting is complete.

1-800 Number Providers Overview

There are a lot of different business phone number companies. Here’s a handy table to give you a broad overview of the major competitors:

*All prices valid at time of publication.
**Prices dependent upon number of users.

Best Ways to Get Toll-free Numbers for Your Business

There are lots of ways to get a toll-free number. And there are a lot of companies which offer them. Some offer for free, while others are more pricey but come with more features when you get a toll-free business number. Following is a comprehensive look at various business phone services and what makes each of them unique.

MightyCall

MightyCall is a business phone system industry leader and is a great pick for companies of all different sizes. With a focus on strong customer service, powerful security, and the ability to get a toll-free number, more and more callers are increasingly finding that MightyCall is their business VoIP solution. Along with their features, they also offer the ability to get an international toll-free number and the possibility of vanity numbers. For example, a local burger joint looking to open up a second restaurant would be a perfect fit, as would a widespread IT-help company.

Pros:

• Free 7-day trial for all plans
• Full of pertinent features
• Reactive customer service team
• Easy to create a 1-800 number

Cons:

• Only 1000 minutes in the lowest-tiered plan

Price* per month:

• Business: $15 per user
• Enterprise: $150 (unlimited users)

Best for: Mid-sized and small businesses

RingCentral

RingCentral is a cloud-based business phone system for callers with a particular interest in video conferencing. These sort of calls are growing greatly in popularity. As such they would be a great pair with companies helping other companies arrange travel tours.

Pros:

• Video calling accessible
• Texting available in all tiers
• 20 users available for lowest tier

Cons:

• Customers have reported dropped calls
• Voicemail reported as not always operational

Price* (all per user/per month):

• Essentials: $19.99
• Standard: $27.99
• Premium: $34.99
• Ultimate: $49.99

Best for: Home and team-based work

Dialpad

Dialpad is notable because it links seamlessly with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, making work across those platforms very easy. Like RingCentral, they too offer video communication and calling features. They’re very useful for companies who may be spread out across a large geographic area but want to keep a close relationship to their clients, like accountants.

Pros:

• Lowest tier includes unlimited SMS
• Call- and voicemail-transcriptions

Cons:

• Dial-by-extension only available on highest tier
• Global SMS not available on lowest tier

Price* (all per user/per month):

• Standard: $15
• Pro: $25
• Enterprise: Contact Them for More

Best for: Companies with a wide net of customers

Ooma

Unique among many business number companies, Ooma sells itself as both an office and residential-type company for callers. Ooma offers their customers the ability to get hard phones along with their plans. If you do a lot of your work from home and don’t particularly mind mixing personal and work, Ooma might be a choice for you.

Pros:

• A lot of different work configurations
• They also act as an internet provider

Cons:

• Complicated pricing structure
• Lots built around hard phones, which can mean less flexibility

Price* (All Ooma Office and month/per user):

• Ooma Office Essentials: $19.95
• Ooma Office Pro: $24.95
• Ooma Office Pro Plus: $29.95

Best for: Home-based work

Nextiva

As an app-based solution, Nextiva is useful for those entrepreneurs who are frequently on-the-go, as their systems can be accessed on phones or computers. Someone who works in

Pros:

• Strong customer support
• High number of features

Cons:

• Lowest tier does not offer text messaging
• Price for all tiers changes depending on number of users

Price* (all per month, 20-99 users):

• Essential: $18.95
• Professional: $22.95
• Enterprise: $32.95
• Ultimate: $57.95

Best for: Marketing professionals

*All prices valid at time of publication.

Getting a Toll-free Number is a Step Toward Growth

When you get an 800 number for your business, you purchase an effective marketing tool that provides clients and callers with a quick and memorable way to contact your company via toll-free calling. Many VoIP phone systems offer getting an 800 toll-free number as a feature of their services. However, there are situations where the fact that you can get an 800 number for small business may not be a slam dunk for you. If you do most of your operations in one region, you may not need to serve subscribers all over the country, so a local number or a vanity phone number, if you want to grab attention, would be better.

With that in mind, MightyCall might be what you’re looking for in a VoIP phone system. While they offer the potential for you to unlock toll-free service, some people need more than just toll-free calling. Features like call recording, visual voicemail, auto attendant, business hours, and more all come with MightyCall’s respected support staff.

Written by  Anthony Constantini

Anthony Constantini, a copywriter at MightyCall, brings years of experience in telecommunications and beyond.

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