Set up departments: admins, main lines, wallets and cards

A department is a space inside your account for one team or office, such as Sales or a branch. Owners and admins create departments and move people and numbers into them. Departments are on both Business and Business Plus.

Create a department

1. Select Departments in the sidebar.
2. In New department, type a Name, for example Sales, and select Create department.
3. Select Manage next to the department to open it.
4. Under People, pick someone in Move someone in. Tick Their numbers come too to bring their numbers along, then select Move in.

Only members join departments. Owners and admins work across the whole account. You can also invite someone straight into a department: on the Team page, pick it in the Department list on the invite.

Make a department admin

In the department, select Make admin next to a person. Their role shows as Department admin on the Team page. A department admin can:

• decide who holds each department number and who the main line rings;
• invite people into the department when it has a free seat;
• see the department's calls, inbox and analytics;
• ask the owner for more numbers, and manage the department card.

Buying numbers and seats, and moving money out of the main wallet, stay with the owner and admins.

Add a main line

1. In the department, find Main line. Pick a number under Use a number you have and select Make main line, or select Get a new one to add a local or toll-free number.
2. Under Who it rings, choose Everyone at once or One by one, 20 seconds each.
3. Pick up to 10 people, use Up and Down to set the order, then select Save.

With nobody picked, the main line rings the department admin. If nobody answers, the caller leaves a voicemail. Use Call menu and hours to add a phone menu or business hours to it. A main line is $5 a month for local or $8 for toll-free, paid from the main wallet.

Fund the department wallet

The department wallet pays for its calls and texts past the plan and its international calls. Plan minutes and texts are still shared by the whole account.

• Owners and admins type an Amount and select Add from main wallet or Move back to main wallet.
• Anyone running the department can select Add with a card.
• Tick Top up automatically to refill it when it runs low, and pick whether it is Paid from the main wallet or the department's card. Leave it off to give the department a fixed budget.

Let the department pay with its own card

1. An owner or admin opens Seats and billing, sets Seats for the department and selects Give seats.
2. Under Department card, select Add a card. Nothing is charged now.
3. Under Who pays for the seats, select Pay with the department's card. Billing moves to the card at the next renewal, at the same price per seat.

Ask for more numbers

A department admin uses Need more numbers?: enter How many and a Note, then select Ask for numbers. The owner gets an email, adds the numbers on the Numbers page and selects Mark done or Decline.

To forward a department number to a teammate for a while, use Forward on the Numbers page. To let people call out showing the main line, see Caller ID and hiding your number.