Below you can find examples of different phone system setups for different use cases, along with the licensing needed for each.
Example #1: Shared line for an owner and assistant
A business owner needs a phone line that can be shared with their assistant to handle calls and texts.
Configuration:
One phone number, assigned directly to a ring group
2 user accounts, for the business owner and the assistant
Both users added as members of the ring group
Licensing: 2 user licenses are needed. The free number included with the account can be assigned directly to the ring group, so calls are distributed between the business owner and the assistant. Users added to a ring group don't need their own individually assigned number.
Example #2: Single business phone line with extensions
A company has 1 office with 6 employees. All employees can receive calls from the main phone line using extensions.
Configuration:
One main phone number with 6 extensions
6 user accounts, one for each employee to access the system
1 admin account, for the admin who sets up the system
Licensing: 7 user licenses are needed. The free number included with the account can be used as the main phone line. Users are invited to the account and assigned extensions that work with the main phone line.
If some users also need their own personal numbers, ones they can use in the app or on desk phones, up to 5 additional numbers can be added at no extra charge.
Example #3: Partial team access with personal numbers
A company has 10 employees total, but only 4 need phone system access: 3 sales reps who make and receive calls using personal numbers, and 1 office manager who handles calls to the business line and needs to make/receive calls. The remaining 6 field crew members never take calls and don't need a DialLink account.
Configuration:
One main phone line for the office manager
4 user accounts to get access to the system
1 admin account, for the admin who sets up the system
Licensing: 4 user licenses are needed. One free number can be used as the main business line for the office manager. The other 3 users each come with a free number as well.
Example #4: Main business line plus a dedicated support line
A company wants to have a main company line and a dedicated support line, so customers can call specifically for service requests. The support line should ring 5 people.
Configuration:
One main company phone number
One number for the dedicated support line, with a support team ring group/call queue assigned
5 user accounts for the support team
1 admin account, for the admin who sets up the system
Licensing: 6 user licenses are needed. The free number included with the account can be used as the main company line. Another free number can be used for the dedicated support line, and this number is assigned directly to the ring group/call queue. Users added to the ring group/call queue don't need their own individually assigned number.
Example #5: Multi-team setup with a main line, extensions, and a support call queue
A company has 14 employees, and all 14 need access to the phone system. They want a main phone line with an auto-receptionist that uses a phone menu to route callers to a billing team of 3 people and a sales team of 4 people. They also want a separate number for a support team, set up as a call queue of 7 people. 3 people need individual phone numbers used on desk phones. 5 people need extensions for direct access from the main phone line.
Configuration:
One main phone number, assigned to an auto-receptionist with a phone menu
One phone number, assigned directly to a support team call queue
3 phone numbers, assigned individually to 3 users and used on their desk phones
5 users assigned extensions for direct access from the main line
14 user accounts, one for each employee
1 admin account, for the admin who sets up the system
Licensing: 15 user licenses are needed, since all employees and the admin require access. The free number included with the account can be used as the main line, assigned to the auto-receptionist. Users in the billing and sales ring groups don't need their own individually assigned number.
The support team's call queue requires its own number, which can be taken from the free numbers that come with user licenses. Users in the call queue don't need individually assigned numbers either.
The 3 individual phone numbers for desk phones also fall within the free number threshold.
Example #6: Individual desk phone numbers, a main line, and a sales ring group
A company has 6 employees, and all 6 need access to the phone system. They want a main business line, each employee needs their own individual phone number to use on their desk phone, and an additional number used for sales team that's assigned to a ring group.
Configuration:
One main phone number, used as the main business line
6 individual phone numbers, each assigned directly to a user and used on their desk phone
One additional phone number, assigned directly to a sales ring group
6 user accounts, one for each employee
1 admin account
Licensing: 7 user licenses and 1 additional purchased phone number are needed. The free number included with the account can be used as the main business line. Each of the 6 users comes with a free number that can be assigned to them individually, covering the 6 desk phone numbers. The sales ring group requires a separate phone number, which falls outside the free allowance and must be purchased.