Business phone line · small teams
Business phone line What it is, what it costs, and one ringing today.
A business phone line is a number that belongs to your business instead of your personal phone, so customers always reach the company and not whoever happens to own the cell. Today most new lines run over the internet. On Tonet one costs $12.50 a month for one person, rings the whole team, and is live in about five minutes, with no contract.
US dollars. No contract, no seat minimum, no setup fee.
- One person, one line
- $12.50 a month + 1¢ a minute
- Unlimited US calls
- $15 a user, a month, texts included
- Each number
- $2.50 a month, any US area code
- Set up
- 5 min no hardware, no contract
The short answer
What is a business telephone line?
A business telephone line is a phone number registered to your business and used only for it. Customers call it, it appears as your caller ID when you call out, and it stays with the company when people come and go. It used to mean a copper line into the building. Now it is usually a number on a cloud phone system that rings in an app, a browser or a desk phone.
There are four common ways to get one. The real choice is whether more than one person will ever need to answer it.
A second line on your cell plan
Your mobile carrier adds a second number to the phone you carry.
Good for one person keeping work calls apart from personal ones.
Where it stops it rings one phone. No menu, no shared line, no business hours, and the number sits on a personal plan.
A virtual number app
An app gives you a number and forwards calls to your cell.
Good for a solo owner who wants a number on a business card this afternoon.
Where it stops recording, a menu or a second person often sit on higher plans, and some free apps reclaim numbers.
A cloud phone system · what Tonet is
A full business phone system that runs over the internet on the devices you already have.
Good for one number that reaches a team, with a menu, hours and voicemail that work without you.
Where it stops it needs an internet connection, on Wi-Fi or mobile data.
A landline
A physical line from the phone company into your building.
Good for a fixed front desk that never moves.
Where it stops it rings in one place, and carriers are retiring copper. What that means for your line.
A real month
What a business line costs a small team
Month to month, in US dollars. On Tonet a team can share one number that rings everyone, so we count only the numbers each team needs. For comparison, Nextiva's entry plan, one of the providers that ranks for this search, priced month to month from its own pricing page.
Which Tonet plan. Pay As You Go is cheaper until a person talks about 500 minutes a month, roughly 25 minutes every working day. Past that, Unlimited at $15 flat costs less. A light month on Pay As You Go: 100 minutes is $11 for the user. Both plans have every feature.
Nextiva: pricing page. Core is $23 a user month to month; the $15 price needs a 12-month or longer term agreement. Nextiva's column is user price only.
Side by side
A Tonet line next to a contract line
Nextiva plan contents and prices from its pricing page.
What the line does
One number. Everyone behind it.
Pick a local number in any US area code, or toll-free, and it works right away. Answer in a browser, in the iOS or Android app, or on a desk phone.
When a second person joins, add them as a user and the same number rings you both. Nothing has to be rebuilt.
Honest limits
What to know before you switch
It runs on a connection
Calls need Wi-Fi or mobile data. You can forward the line to any outside number, such as a cell, as a routing step.
Verification codes vary
A Tonet number is a VoIP number. It usually does not work for banking-style 2FA and is case by case elsewhere, so keep a personal cell for logins and use the business line for customers.
Register each location
E911 works with a registered address per site. The usual VoIP limits apply: no power or internet, a wrong address on file, or a suspended account.
Getting started
From nothing to a ringing line
Sign up and add $15
An email and a card. No US address, company registration or SIM card is needed.
Pick your number
Local in any US area code, or toll-free. Or port in the number customers already know, at no charge.
Answer anywhere
Open the dashboard in a browser or sign in to the app. Record a greeting and the line is open.
Porting: most ports complete in 7 to 10 business days. Some carriers and toll-free numbers take longer, up to a few weeks, and the releasing carrier controls the timing, so no date is guaranteed. Your number keeps working with your current provider until the switch, with no downtime.
Comparing plans? See business phone plans and the small business phone system page, or read the second-line decision guide.
Questions
Business phone lines, answered
What is a business telephone line?
A business telephone line is a phone number registered to your business and used only for it. Customers call it, it shows as your caller ID when you call out, and it stays with the company when people change. Most new business lines today run over the internet on a cloud phone system instead of a copper line into the building.
How much does a business phone line cost?
On Tonet one person with one number is $12.50 a month on Pay As You Go ($10 for the user and $2.50 for the number) plus 1 cent a minute and 3 cents a text, or $17.50 a month on Unlimited with US calls and texts included under a fair-use policy. A team can share one number, so three people on one line is $32.50 on Pay As You Go or $47.50 on Unlimited. There is no contract, no seat minimum and no setup fee.
Is a VoIP line a real business phone line?
Yes. It is a real US local or toll-free number that customers dial like any other, and it can be ported in or out. The difference is that it rides on an internet connection instead of copper, so it can ring a whole team on their phones, browsers and desk phones.
Can several people answer one business line?
Yes. On Tonet you put people in a ring group and the number rings all of them at once, in the app, in a browser or on desk phones. With the queue on, callers wait with hold music until someone picks up.
Do I need a desk phone or special equipment?
No. Tonet works in a web browser with a microphone and in the iOS and Android app. If you want desk phones, standard models from Yealink, Grandstream, Poly, Cisco and Fanvil work.
Can I keep my current business number?
Yes. Porting it in costs nothing. Most ports complete in 7 to 10 business days. Some carriers and toll-free numbers take longer, up to a few weeks, and the releasing carrier controls the timing, so no date is guaranteed. Your number keeps working with your current provider until the switch, with no downtime.
Will a business line work for bank verification codes?
Do not count on it. A Tonet number is a VoIP number. It usually does not work for banking-style 2FA and is case by case elsewhere. Keep a personal cell for logins and use the business line for customers.
Can I text from a business phone line?
Yes. Tonet numbers send and receive SMS and MMS. Receiving works right away. Sending needs a one-time carrier registration (10DLC), filed from the dashboard.
Open your business line today.
Start with $15, pick a number, and the whole team can answer it in about five minutes.
Start with $15