An easy-to-use multi-line phone system

What is a multi-line phone system?

Essentially, a multi-line telephone system lets you manage multiple phone calls at the same time. That means you can screen all incoming calls from one device and have multiple phones operating at the same time.

These lines can be both internal and external, meaning that you can connect to customers, clients, colleagues—pretty much anyone you need to talk to for work.

How do multi-line phone systems work?

Multi-line phone systems (sometimes referred to as multi phone line systems) typically have the same fundamental functionality as single-line telephone systems—the main difference is they let you sustain more than one conversation at a time.

Before, if you were taking a voice call on a single-line phone, any other incoming calls would be sent to a busy tone or straight to voicemail—not great if you have lots of customers calling in.

With Dialpad, you get more than just the best multi-line phone system features

Why do small businesses choose Dialpad when they're looking for a multi-line phone system?

Easy setup

Downtime can be a serious financial drain, especially if you’re a small business owner. Luckily, setting up with Dialpad is super easy—it can take just a few minutes and requires no technical skills.

Works across computers, mobile phones, tablets, browsers...

Dialpad's desktop and mobile app works across iOS, Android, PC, and Mac—and yes, even your web browser. This is important because if you regularly have calls or video conferencing with clients or prospects who may not feel comfortable downloading an app, they'll still be able to join your video meeting from a web browser by clicking a link. Oh, and Dialpad even lets you text them a meeting link for screen share(!) if they don't have the app:

Customer support, worldwide

With Dialpad, you won't be stuck with just an online Help Center when you need a hand. (Although our Help Center is extremely robust and probably has the answers you're looking for.) Dialpad has live chat and phone support worldwide, to make sure that any questions or issues you have are resolved as quickly as possible. Messages not sending? We’ll sort it.

Enterprise-grade security and compliance

Security is everything, especially when it comes to customer conversations and call recordings. Dialpad strictly complies with SOC Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, and CSA guidelines, and equips all of our solutions with enterprise-grade security features like access management and data encryption. It's a big reason why businesses and organizations across regulated industries like healthcare, insurance, and law use Dialpad. Learn more here.

(And if there's a power outage, you can still use your cell phone! Can't do that with desk phones.)

Unique dual-cloud architecture

Dialpad's unique dual-cloud architecture is designed to give you better call quality, from all around the world. (And if you really want to get into the details, it does it more efficiently too, which means it doesn't need as many data centers to do the same job as other providers. But you can ask us more about that if you're interested.)

Super scalability

Ease-of-use. Stress-free scalability. With a VoIP phone system, you can have both. That means you can add and remove users, phone lines, features, and even locations as and when you please. There’s no technical knowledge required to do the job either—you can usually handle pretty much everything from your online dashboard.

A quick note: 2 types of multi-line phone systems to be aware of

As you're shopping, you'll come across traditional landline phone systems and more modern cloud-based phone systems.

• Traditional analog multi-line systems (like your basic landline or traditional PBX system) have been steadily growing obsolete because they have lots of hardware requirements and aren't very remote-work-friendly. Typically, they offer a limited number of lines and have only basic switching, holding, and speakerphone functionality.

• Cloud-based multi-line phone systems, on the other hand, use

  Voice over Internet Protocol

  (VoIP) technology to let you make voice calls over an Internet connection. There’s no expensive hardware needed and hardly any of the device and line restrictions that come with traditional systems. In fact, as long as you have a stable Internet connection, you can have as many lines as you need.

Today, most companies are moving toward cloud-based phone systems because of this (not to mention they also come with a lot of advanced features to streamline your communication channels, along with the essentials like call transferring, call waiting, and speed dial).

How to set up a multi-line phone system for your business

1. Sign up for one of Dialpad's plans

Creating an account with Dialpad takes just a few minutes. Go to dialpad.com/signup and you'll be able to sign up with your Google or Microsoft 365 account, or your email address.

After you've signed up, you'll be sent to the “Clients” tab, where you can choose the type of business you have and the number of lines you want to have to cover. This will get you started with a 14-day free trial. Once that trial is over, you’ll have the choice of converting to a paid account.

2. Assign phone extensions

Once you’ve created your account, you will be able to set up your business line. If you have multiple locations, you can add each location as a separate location. By assigning phone extensions, you can make sure all phone lines have their own unique code.

3. Start making and answering calls

Now you're all set up and ready to start making and answering calls! To make a call, just open up the desktop or mobile app (or log in on a web browser) and click the phone icon. In the Connect box, you can enter the number you’d like to call or the name of the person you are calling if they're in your Contacts list.

4. Customize your call settings

Any good phone system will let you set customized greetings and ringtones, but there are also several other call settings and features that you can manage with just a few clicks in Dialpad.

From the Settings menu, click the Advanced tab, where you can do things like port over existing phone numbers, add a new virtual phone number, set call forwarding numbers, and more.

5. Record and upload your own personalized greetings

To record personalized greetings for each of your phone lines, just go to your Settings and hit "Call handling & Voicemail." From there, you'll be able to record or upload a greeting: