Phone & Email Systems
Business phone lines and email that stay in your name and under your control. We design the call flows, migrate the mail, and leave you with systems your own team can administer.
One set of systems, planned together
Phones and email are usually bought separately and end up as two disconnected services with two support paths. We plan them as one: numbers, extensions, mailboxes, aliases and shared inboxes are designed around how your team actually communicates, so a new hire gets a working extension and mailbox on day one.
- Numbering plan, extensions and call flows agreed before install
- Mailboxes, aliases and shared inboxes mapped to your team structure
- New-starter and leaver procedures documented for your own admin
From first call to steady state
- 01
Audit
We list every number, extension, mailbox and alias in use, including the ones nobody remembered.
The starting point is what is actually in use, not the billing summary. - 02
Design
A plan for numbering, call flows, mailboxes and the migration sequence, approved before anything moves.
You see what changes for each person before cutover day. - 03
Migrate
Phones and mail are cut over in stages, with the old systems still running until verification passes.
Rollback stays available until you sign off. - 04
Run and support
Day-to-day changes, new starters, leavers, and support for both systems as one service.
One place to call for a phone or an email problem.
This is usually when we get the call
- Nobody can explain which numbers are live and who answers them
- Email deliverability problems get blamed on the internet provider
- A leaver’s mailbox and extension are still active months later
- Every mailbox change needs a call to a vendor before it can happen
Migrations that do not lose anything
Moving providers is where phone and email projects quietly go wrong: a missed DNS record, a mailbox that never synced, a number left behind. We migrate in stages, verify every mailbox and extension before the cutover, and hold a rollback path open until you have signed off. The same discipline applies whether your mail lands on Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or a service you host yourself.
- Staged cutover with pre-migration synchronisation
- DNS, MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC switched in a controlled window
- Verification pass on every mailbox and extension before sign-off
Cutover weekend, hour by hour
Number port submitted earlier in the week; the old system keeps taking calls as normal. Changes freeze for the weekend.
Ports complete and handsets are provisioned while nobody is missing calls. Voicemail greetings and ring groups are rebuilt to match what you had – or improve on it.
You and your team test: call each other, call in from a mobile, check that voicemail lands in email. Anything odd gets fixed with a whole day of margin left.
Staff log in as usual and calls arrive on the new system. The old one stays warm for a week, just in case – then it is retired.
A phone migration should be the most boring project of your year. The trick is doing the risky part at 2am on a Saturday, not at 10am on a Monday.
Scope, spelled out
- Business phone numbers, extensions, and call flows
- Desk phones, softphones, and mobile extensions provisioned and tested
- Business email on your own domain, with deliverability configured correctly
- Mailbox, alias, and shared-inbox setup mapped to your team
- Staged migration from any provider, with rollback
- Ongoing administration, changes, and support
Straight answers
Can we keep our existing phone numbers and email addresses?
Yes, and most clients do. Numbers are ported or redirected as part of the migration, and email keeps your own domain throughout. What changes is the provider behind them, not the identity your clients already recognise.
Do we need to replace our phone handsets?
Not necessarily. Existing desk phones are reused where they are compatible with the new call platform. Where they are not, we say so up front, with the replacement cost per handset, before you commit rather than after.
How long does a migration usually take?
The planning stage is typically one to two weeks, and the cutover itself is scheduled outside business hours to minimise disruption. Mail is copied in the background beforehand, so the switch is a controlled window rather than a marathon.
What happens if we need changes after handover?
Day-to-day administration is documented so your team can handle the common changes, and anything beyond that is covered by ongoing support. Either way you are not locked into calling the original installer.
What happens if our number port is rejected?
Port rejections are common and rarely serious: usually a mismatch between the name or address on the current carrier’s record and the details we submitted. We check those details before submitting, and deal with a rejection directly if it happens. The old line keeps working the whole time, and the cutover date moves by days, not weeks.
Where do voicemails and call recordings go?
Voicemail-to-email is configured as standard, so a message lands in the right inbox and nobody has to dial in to check a machine. Call recordings, where you enable them, are stored in your own system with a retention period you choose. We set the defaults, document how to change them, and remind you about the consent announcement your callers should hear where recording is used.
Before the first call
- A list of every number, extension and mailbox in current use
- Access to the current phone and email providers, or a signed authorisation
- A decision on who approves the cutover window
- Your domain registrar login, or someone who can change DNS when asked
Most delays in any engagement trace back to access, decisions, or content. Naming these up front is what keeps a project on schedule.
Services that pair with this one
Who this is for
Businesses outgrowing a consumer setup: calls on personal mobiles, no handover history, and voicemail nobody checks.
Companies whose phone vendor just went quiet, or whose system is one warranty claim from retirement.
Anyone expecting phone system magic. A new PBX does not fix an unanswered-call habit – but it does make the answer measurable.
Ready to start?
Tell us what you are working with and we will tell you plainly what it takes. No obligation, no pressure.