Choosing Your Phone Setup

As part of getting started with Sage Care, you'll need to decide how to handle your agency's phone number. This is one of the most important decisions in your onboarding process, and we want to help you choose the option that works best for your team.

The good news? All three options work seamlessly with Sage Care, and we'll guide you through whichever path you choose. This guide will help you understand the tradeoffs and pick the approach that fits your agency's needs.

Your Three Options

Option A: Create a New Phone Number with Sage Care

We provision a brand new phone number for your agency through Sage Care. You'll use this new number for all client communications going forward.

Option B: Port Your Existing Number to Sage Care

We transfer your current phone number from your existing provider directly to Sage Care. Your clients continue calling the same number they've always used.

Option C: Forward Calls to Sage Care

You keep your current phone number and provider, and simply forward incoming calls to a new Sage Care number. This lets you test Sage Care alongside your existing setup. However it carries with it higher implementation baggage, and you will not be able to use Sage Care with your existing phone number for outbound phone calls.

Comparison Table

Option A: New Number Option B: Port Number Option C: Call Forwarding
Setup Time 1-2 days 7-14 days 1-2 days
Technical Complexity Low Low Medium
Risk to Existing Operations Low (no changes to current setup. May want to update phone numbers published in digital/paper materials) Medium (brief downtime possible during port) Low (keep existing system running)
Caller Experience Clients call a new number Clients call the same number as always Clients call the same number as always
Ongoing Management Simple - everything in Sage Care Simple - everything in Sage Care Moderate - manage two systems
Cost Save on your existing VOIP costs by migrating to Sage Care Save on your existing VOIP costs by migrating to Sage Care Continue paying existing VOIP fees + potential forwarding charges
Best for New agencies, or agencies ready for a fresh start with clear transition plan Established agencies with strong number recognition Agencies that want to test Sage Care before fully committing, or need gradual migration

Pros and Cons of Each Option

Option A: Create a New Number with Sage Care

Pros: