What a softphone is
A softphone is software that makes and receives calls on a business phone number, instead of a physical handset doing it. The number lives with your provider rather than in the device, which is why the same number can ring on your laptop, your mobile and a desk phone at once.
What it gives you that a handset does not: the number follows you anywhere with a connection, calls can be transferred between devices mid-conversation, the caller sees your business number rather than your personal one, and anything the platform does with a call (recording, transcription, routing) happens the same way wherever you answered.
What it does not do: work when the device has no connection, and survive a power cut any better than the laptop it runs on.
Setting one up
Roughly ten minutes, and the same five steps with any provider.
- Get a business number from a provider, or port the one you already have. On SoundLine this takes under five minutes; porting an existing number is free and your old number keeps working throughout.
- Install the app on each device you want to ring: desktop, mobile, or both.
- Sign in with your account. Modern platforms provision the line automatically. If a provider hands you a SIP username, password and server address to type in manually, that is a sign of an older system, and it still works fine.
- Allow microphone, notifications and, on mobile, background activity. Skipping the last one is the single most common reason a softphone misses calls: the operating system suspends the app and the call never arrives.
- Set your ring rules. Which devices ring, in what order, how long before voicemail, and what happens outside business hours.
The four checks before you rely on it
1. Call yourself from another phone, twice. Once with the app open and once with it closed and the phone locked. The second test is the one that finds the background-activity problem, and it is the one almost nobody runs.
2. Check your upload speed, not your download speed. A voice call needs roughly 100 kbps in each direction. Most connection problems in calls are upload problems, and most speed tests are quoted on download.
3. Use a headset. Laptop microphones pick up the room and the keyboard. A ten dollar headset improves call quality more than any setting in the app.
4. Set what happens when the internet drops. Calls to your number keep arriving at your provider. Whether they then reach you depends on a rule you set in advance: forward to a mobile, ring a second device, or go to voicemail with a message that says what is happening. Five minutes now, and it is the difference between a quiet morning and a missed customer.
Softphone or desk phone
Not an either-or. Most businesses end up with both, and the division is usually obvious once stated.
A softphone suits anyone who moves, anyone who takes calls from more than one place, anyone whose work is already on a laptop, and any business that does not want hardware to buy, mount and replace.
A desk phone still suits a front counter, a warehouse, an exam room, a workshop, a reception desk, and anywhere a visitor or a staff member needs to pick up a handset without unlocking a device first. Shared spaces want a shared phone.
Both can ring on the same number at the same time, which is usually the right answer: the handset on the counter and the app in your pocket.
When a softphone is the wrong choice
If your connection is genuinely unreliable and there is no mobile signal as a fallback, a softphone inherits that problem. If a regulated environment requires a physical line, that is a different conversation. And if nobody in the business wants to carry an app, the honest answer is that a desk phone will be used and a softphone will not.
Questions people ask
What is a softphone?
Software that makes and receives calls on a business phone number using a computer or mobile device, instead of a physical handset. The number lives with the provider, so it can ring on several devices at once.
How do I set up a softphone?
Get a business number from a provider, install their app, sign in, allow microphone and background activity permissions, then set which devices ring and in what order. It takes about ten minutes.
Do I need special equipment for a softphone?
No. A computer or smartphone and an internet connection are enough. A headset improves call quality noticeably and is the only purchase worth making.
How much internet speed does a softphone need?
Roughly 100 kbps up and down per concurrent call. Upload speed is usually the limiting factor.
Why does my softphone miss calls on mobile?
Most often because the operating system is suspending the app in the background. Allowing background activity and notifications for the app fixes it. Test by calling yourself with the phone locked.
Is a softphone as reliable as a desk phone?
On a good connection, yes, and it goes where you go. During an internet outage a desk phone in the same building fails too, while a softphone on a mobile network keeps working.
Set one up in the next ten minutes
Seven days free, a real business number, and the app on every device you want it to ring.