Put a proper 01908, 01296 or other UK landline number on your van, your website and your Checkatrade page. Calls ring your mobile while you are open, go to a professional voicemail when you are not, and your own number stays private.
Pick an area code such as 01908 or 01296, and the exact number if you have a favourite.
Your mobile, a colleague’s, or a desk phone. Then set your opening hours and greeting.
Press 1 to answer. If you are busy or closed, the voicemail arrives by email.
A local code tells people you are nearby. These are the codes around us in Milton Keynes, but any UK geographic number is available.
Somewhere else? You can have any UK geographic number. Choose the code when you sign up.
You set your rules once. After that, every call follows them: which phones ring, when you are open, and what callers hear when you are not.
Customer
Dials your 01908 number from the advert on your van.
Your mobile
Rings. You hear “Business call for Taylor Plumbing, press 1.”
You
Press 1 and you are talking. They never see your own number.
ResultAnswered on your mobile
Customer
Dials your business number after hours.
Opening hours
Say you are closed, so your phone stays quiet.
Greeting
“Thanks for calling Taylor Plumbing. We’re closed for the day. Leave a message and we’ll call you first thing.”
ResultVoicemail emailed to you
Customer
Rings on a bank holiday.
Calendar
England and Wales bank holidays are already in. Nothing to set.
Greeting
They hear your closed message and can leave a voicemail.
ResultVoicemail emailed to you
Your phone
Rings for 20 seconds while your hands are full.
No answer
Your personal voicemail never picks up a customer.
Greeting
Your business greeting takes the message instead.
ResultVoicemail emailed to you
There are no forms to send and no waiting for someone else to update it. These are screens from the account you get, and changes apply to the very next call.
Set your hours day by day. Outside them, your phone does not ring and callers hear your closed message instead. England and Wales bank holidays are already in.
Ring your mobile, your partner’s or the office phone. With call screening on, you hear who the call is for before you are connected.
See who rang, who you called back and who left a message. Voicemails play in the page and are emailed to you as they arrive.
Every plan includes a login for a phone app, a desk phone or your computer. Calls you make with it show your business number, and it can ring for incoming calls as well.
We send step-by-step guides for each, and we are happy to set up a desk phone for you. Read the set-up guides.
Both can work. This is how they compare for a business that spends most of the day out on jobs.
| Feature | Second mobile SIM | Traditional landline | SwitchBoardOne |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local area code such as 01908 | No, an 07 mobile number | Yes | Yes, any UK area |
| Rings the phone you already carry | Only on a dual-SIM phone | No, it rings in one building | Yes, and any others you add |
| Opening hours and a closed message | No | Usually needs extra equipment | Yes, set in your account |
| Voicemail sent to your email | No | Not usually | Yes |
| Moves with you | Yes | No, tied to one address | Yes |
| Getting started | Order a SIM | Engineer visit, often a minimum term | Online, no contract |
You pay the first month when you order, then by Direct Debit. There is no set-up fee, no line rental and no contract. Compare the plans in detail.
Sole traders who want one business number on one mobile.
£9.99a month
Our suggestion
Busy one or two-person businesses that want their own greeting.
£17.99a month
Small teams who share one number between several phones.
£29.99a month
I run SwitchBoardOne from our office at Challenge House in Bletchley. If something is not working, or you would like a hand setting up a desk phone, you ring 01707 818450 and speak to me, not a call centre.
Jack Brown, J Brown Online Ltd
More in help, or call 01707 818450.
No. Calls ring the mobile you already have, on any UK network. If you would rather use a desk phone or an app on your computer, you can, but you do not have to.
No. Customers only ever see and call your business number. When you call them back from our app or a desk phone, they see your business number too.
Your phone rings for 20 seconds (you can change this). If you do not answer, or you are closed, the caller hears your greeting and can leave a message. The recording is emailed to you and kept in your account for 180 days.
Not if you use call screening, which is on by default. When you answer you hear "Business call for…, press 1". The caller is only connected when you press 1, so your personal voicemail never answers a customer.
Ofcom rules mean every UK landline number has to be registered to a real business and address, and the network checks it. We ask for your business address and a document such as a recent utility bill or your company certificate. You only do this once.
Ordering takes about five minutes. Once your payment arrives we check the order, and the network checks your details. Numbers are usually live within one to three working days, and we email you the moment yours is.
Choose a number, confirm your business and pay the first month. Most numbers are live within one to three working days.
Or call 01707 818450, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm
