Phone Numbers

What it is

Phone Numbers is the master list of every business number your company owns in Joby. From this one page you can:

• See every number, its nickname, which call group it belongs to, and whether it is switched on.
• Pull in numbers you already own with Sync numbers.
• Buy a new local or toll-free number with Buy Numbers.
• Give a number a friendly name so your team recognises it in dropdowns and reports.
• Put a number into a call group, which is what decides who the phone rings for.
• Turn a number on or off, one at a time or many at once.
• Download the whole list as a spreadsheet with Export CSV.

The page has four areas. Learning them in this order makes setup and troubleshooting much faster.

The list updates by itself. If a teammate buys or renames a number while you have the page open, your list refreshes within a few seconds — you do not need to reload.

When to use it

• Opening day. You are setting Joby up and need your main business line in the system.
• New location or new campaign. You want a fresh local number for a city, or a toll-free number for advertising.
• A number is missing. You know you own it but it is not in Joby yet — run Sync numbers.
• Calls ring the wrong team. The number is probably in the wrong call group, or in no group at all.
• Tidying up. Your list has grown and nobody can tell the numbers apart, so you need better friendly names.
• Cutting costs. You want to switch off numbers you no longer advertise.

You do not use this page to decide who answers, how long the phone rings, or what the greeting says. That lives in Call Groups and Visual Call Flows.

Before you start

• You need the right permission. Your role must include Phone Numbers. An owner grants it in Settings›Team Roles, in the Admin & Settings group of permissions.
• Create your call groups first. A number can only be put into a group that already exists, so set those up in Settings›Call Groups before you start assigning.
• Buying a number needs a paid plan and available credit. During a free trial the button reads Buy Numbers (Paid) and will not open. On a paid plan, top up in Billing›Credits if a purchase is refused for lack of credit.
• Decide a naming pattern up front. Something like Sales - Miami or Service - Toll Free. Renaming later is easy, but consistent names keep your reports readable.
• Sending text messages has a separate approval step. Adding a number here does not register it for SMS — see Phone Registration.

Step-by-step

Open the page

1. In the left sidebar, click your name at the very bottom.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Scroll to the Channels group and click Phone Numbers.

Tip: the Search settings… box at the top of Settings finds it instantly if you type “phone”.

Bring in numbers you already own

1. Click Sync numbers in the top right.
2. Wait for the button to stop spinning. A message tells you how many numbers were found.
3. The list fills in with your numbers.

Buy a new number

1. Click Buy Numbers. The Buy Phone Numbers window opens.
2. Pick a tab: Local (Area Code) for a normal city number, or Toll-Free for an 800-style number.
3. For a local number, type a three-digit Area Code (for example 212). For toll-free, choose a Toll-Free Prefix from the list — 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 or 833.
4. Click Search.
5. Under Available Numbers, click the number you want. City and state are shown beside each one where available.
6. Under Assign to Group, pick the call group this number should ring. Leave it on Default Group if you want your standard routing.
7. Click Purchase Number.

The new number appears in the list straight away. If you see a message about running out of credit, add credit in Billing›Credits and try again.

Give a number a friendly name

1. Find the number in the list.
2. Click the text in the Friendly Name column — a small pencil appears when you hover over it.
3. Type the new name.
4. Press Enter, or click anywhere outside the box, to save. Press Esc to cancel.

Point a number at a call group

1. Find the number in the list.
2. Open the dropdown in the Group column.
3. Choose a call group, or choose Unassigned to take it out of every group. The change saves as soon as you pick.

Turn a number on or off

1. Find the number in the list.
2. In the Actions column, click Activate or Deactivate. The Status badge flips between Active and Inactive.

Only Active numbers can be chosen as the “from” number when your team sends a text or runs a campaign, so switching a number off removes it from those pickers.

Turn on many numbers at once

1. Click Bulk Activate.
2. In the Phone Numbers box, paste your numbers, one per line. Any format works — (888) 469-7542 and +18884697542 are both fine.
3. Under Call Group, pick the group all of them should ring. This is required.
4. Click Activate Numbers.

A message reports how many succeeded, how many failed, and which group they went to — for example “18 of 20 numbers activated successfully to Miami Sales.”

Download the list

1. Set your search box and status filter to whatever you want to export.
2. Click Export CSV.

The file covers every number matching your filter, not just the page on screen, and is named with today’s date. It contains the phone number, friendly name, group and status, plus a few extra setup columns you can ignore.

How to check it worked

1. Find the number. Type it into the search box on the Phone Numbers page. It should appear with the friendly name you typed.
2. Check the row. The Group dropdown shows your call group (not “Unassigned”) and the Status badge reads Active.
3. Count the list. The line under the table reads something like “Showing 1-50 of 62 numbers”. Use it to confirm a purchase or a bulk activation raised the total.
4. Call it. Ring the number from a mobile phone. It should ring the team in the call group you chose.
5. Confirm it was recorded. Open Calls in the sidebar. Your test call should be listed against that number.
6. Check it can send. If the number is for outgoing texts, open a conversation and confirm it now appears in the “from” number list.

Common mistakes

“My number isn’t in the list”

• Click Sync numbers — newly added numbers do not appear until you do.
• Clear the search box. A leftover search term hides everything that does not match it.
• Set the status dropdown back to Show All. It may be sitting on Active Only or Inactive Only.
• Check the page counter at the bottom — the number may simply be on page 2.

“Calls to the number don’t reach anybody”

• Check the Group column. If it says Unassigned, pick a call group.
• Check the Status badge. Inactive numbers are not in use.
• If the group is right, the problem is inside the group itself — open Call Groups and confirm it has team members and a ring strategy.

“The Activate button is greyed out”

• That happens when the number is not yet linked to your phone service. Click Sync numbers, then try again.

“Buy Numbers won’t open, or the purchase is refused”

• If the button reads Buy Numbers (Paid), you are on a free trial. Upgrade first — the message that appears explains how.
• If you are told you are out of credit, add credit in Billing›Credits and purchase again.
• If a search finds nothing, that area code or prefix has no numbers free right now. Try a neighbouring area code or a different toll-free prefix.

“Bulk Activate didn’t take my list”

• Put exactly one number per line — commas and spaces on one line will not split them.
• You must choose a Call Group; the window will not submit without one.
• Numbers you do not actually own are counted as failures. Compare the “X of Y” result against the list you pasted.

“Another admin sees Access Denied”

• Their role is missing the Phone Numbers permission. Turn it on in Settings›Team Roles, under Admin & Settings, then ask them to reload.

Sloppy naming

• Numbers with no friendly name show a dash, so your team has to memorise digits. Name every number the day you add it.
• Keep one pattern across the whole list — department, then city, then use. Mixed styles make reports hard to read once you pass a dozen numbers.