Number Pools

What are Number Pools?

Number Pools make it easier to organize, manage, and protect your numbers so they meet the ongoing needs of your business. A number pool is a group of numbers that share rules and settings to help you optimize inbound and outbound call experiences.

When purchasing a new number, it will automatically be added to a pool on your account on the Numbers settings tab.  From here, you can create new pools (by clicking “Add Number Pool”), buy additional numbers (“Get Numbers”), or manage your existing pools.

Managing Pools

Every pool you create will need a “Pool Name” and a “Routing Strategy”

The Pool Name will be displayed and available to select in the Caller ID dropdown at the start of a dial session (or when configuring a dialer preset), so be sure to create names that make sense for your needs. 

When a pool will be used by an individual we recommend naming the pool accordingly (e.g. “My Phone”, “Bob’s Pool”, “VA3 Number”), and when it will be used by a team or multiple users, reference the purpose or use-case (e.g. “Team Numbers”, “East Coast Campaign”, “Cold Lead Outreach”).

Next, you’ll identify the inbound routing strategy for the pool. This determines where incoming calls to numbers in the number pool will be routed. The Select a Routing Strategy dropdown offers 4 choices for multi-seat teams:

“Myself” (calls will only be routed to the team admin)

“Team Member” (calls will be routed to a specific team seat other than the admin)

“Best Member” (calls will be routed to the team seat that most recently called the contact) ( these numbers can be used with Local Presence)

“External Number” (calls will be routed outside the system to any verified caller ID in your Caller ID Library)

Note: For Premium accounts, SMS is only available on pools with a routing strategy of “Myself” or “Team Member”.  

Single-seat team users will only have “Myself” and “External Number” routing options.

Inbound Settings

When a contact calls back a number in a pool using “Best Member” routing, PhoneBurner will automatically route this call back to the team seat that most recently called the contact.  All calls to numbers in the “Myself” and “Team Member” pools will be routed to the seat that the pool is assigned to.  

When a call is routed to a specific seat, the settings on the “Inbound” tab in Settings determine what happens to that call. 

For Standard and Professional members, the only option is to forward this number to an outside line, such as a personal cell, work number, or office line.  

Premium seats have two additional options:  

The “Inbound Calls in the Dialer” option allows Premium accounts the ability to accept inbound calls while in a live dial session. 

The “Voicemail” option will route the call into your voicemail inbox within PhoneBurner, which can be accessed from the vPhone tab.  

If you select "Inbound calls in the Dialer" and are in a dial session the system will only notify you in the dial session window and will suspend forwarding. Once you end your session any inbound calls will be forwarded to the external number. Inbound in the dialer will allow you to use Dynamic Dispositioning to use the set that was used for the original call. 

If Forwarding and Voicemail are both enabled in PhoneBurner, your PhoneBurner voicemail will supersede the voicemail on your outside line. When the Voicemail option is enabled calls to the external number will be announced: "This is a PhoneBurner call from {Callers Name} press any key to accept". Any calls that are not accepted (key not pressed) will be routed to your voicemail greeting.

Note that the “External Number” routing option entirely bypasses inbound settings - numbers routed in this way will only ever be forwarded to the selected number.

Here are some additional resources:

How to create and organize Number Pools

Frequently Asked Questions about Number Pools