Forward the numbers you already have
Forward the numbers you already have
You do not have to reprint anything. The number on your truck, your sign or your old office line can keep ringing as it does today, and the calls you miss can be forwarded to FirstFiveMin, where the assistant answers, captures the lead and, if you allow it, books the appointment.
Adding a line
On Phone numbers, open Forward a number you already have. Give the line a name you will recognise later ("sign line", "old office number"), enter the number and pick its carrier, then choose what to forward:
- Only the calls I miss (recommended): your phone still rings first; a call you do not answer goes to FirstFiveMin.
- Every call: everything goes to FirstFiveMin straight away.
The card then shows the exact code to dial for that carrier, with the FirstFiveMin number already filled in. On a phone, tap the code and it dials itself; the same code is printed beside it so you can dial it by hand. Dial it from the phone on that line.
Every code shown was checked against the carrier's own support page, and the page is linked on the card. When we could not verify a carrier's code we say so and link the carrier's page instead of guessing. Google Voice has no codes: it forwards from its settings, and Google says forwarding to an automated system is not supported, so it may not work reliably.
Checking that it works
Tap Test it: call your number from another phone and hang up when it rings. When the carrier tells us the call was forwarded from your line, the row reads Forwarding: working with the time it was last seen. Not every carrier passes that information; if yours does not, the card says the last time our line received any call instead, and tells you that it could not tell whether it was forwarded.
Where the calls show up
A lead created from a forwarded call carries came via: <the line's name> on the leads list and in the lead's details, so you know which line brought it. The same label reaches your integrations as the via field on the lead event.
Turning it off
Forwarding lives with your carrier, not with us: FirstFiveMin cannot switch it off remotely. Each row shows the carrier's OFF code as a tap-to-dial link; dial it from that phone and forwarding stops. Removing the row from the page only removes our record of it. For a number hosted or ported on FirstFiveMin, the controls on this page are the switch.
Answer each line as itself
On Phone numbers, each forwarded line (and each FirstFiveMin number that can answer as its own line) has Answer this line as. In Name callers hear, type the name callers should hear on that line (for example, "Las Vegas office"), and, if you like, a Business name on this line (optional). It is used only when we know for certain a call came in on this line. Otherwise callers hear your business name. The block shows what the assistant says when it answers a call on that line. A name that suggests callers are speaking with a person can't be used.