How to Set Up a Phone System for a New Australian Business

Option 2, Cloud Phone System With Desk Phones (Offices With Two or More People)

Two or more callers may justify a cloud phone system when the business needs shared routing, transfers, queues or central administration, but team size alone is not determinative. You need a cloud phone system, sometimes called a cloud phone system or VoIP phone system. This is a proper business phone system that runs over your internet connection instead of the old copper landline network.

Cloud phone systems give you everything a traditional office phone system had, ring groups, hold music, call transfers, voicemail, IVR (press 1 for sales, 2 for support), but without the expensive hardware and the technician visits to change settings. Everything is managed through a web dashboard.

What it costs: Typically $25-50 per seat per month including GST. A three-person office will pay around $75-150/month. Inclusions vary: some plans bundle numbers and Australian calls, while others charge separately for calls, lines, users or additional features. Desk phones are extra, budget around $150-400 per phone depending on the model.

What you get:

• Unlimited or large call bundles (AU calls included in most plans)
• Ring groups, all phones ring at once when a call comes in
• Call transfer between team members
• Hold music and on-hold messages
• IVR menus (automated attendant)
• Voicemail to email
• Call recording
• Softphone app, staff can use their mobile or laptop, no desk phone required

The softphone option means your team does not need to be in the office to use the phone system. When supported and configured, a softphone can present an approved geographic or mobile business number; ACMA says 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers cannot be used for CLI overstamping. This is particularly useful for tradies with office staff, or businesses where some people work from home.

For a deeper dive into how cloud phone systems compare to traditional setups, see VoIP vs Traditional Phone Australia.

Getting a Business Phone Number, Local, 1300, or 1800?

When you set up a business phone system, you need a number for callers to reach you on. You have three main options in Australia:

Local geographic number, These are standard Australian numbers with a geographic area code (02 for NSW/ACT, 03 for VIC/TAS, 07 for QLD, 08 for WA/SA/NT). They look like a regular landline number. What callers pay depends on their telco plan and whether the call is treated as local, national or included. Cheap to run, usually included in your phone plan or very low monthly cost. Good choice for most small businesses that serve a local area.

1300 numbers, These are national numbers. What callers pay to call a 1300 number depends on their phone provider and plan; calls may be included or charged separately. The business pays the inbound-call charges set by its provider, which can vary by plan, included minutes and where calls are answered. Good for businesses that serve customers nationally and want to present as a national business. Costs more to run, typically $20-40/month plus per-minute charges on incoming calls. ACMA regulates how 1300 numbers are allocated and used. See 1300 Numbers Australia for full details.

1800 numbers, Freecall. Calls to 1800 numbers are generally free for callers in Australia, although ACMA advises checking the caller's plan because some providers may charge. You pay for all incoming calls. Costs more to run than 1300. Best suited to customer service operations where callers might be reluctant to call if they have to pay. Not usually the right choice for a small business starting out, the cost adds up quickly.

What should a new business get? For most new Australian small businesses, a local geographic number is the right call. It is cheap, it is familiar to customers, and it signals that you are based in a specific area (which is actually a positive for local service businesses). If you are trading nationally from day one, a 1300 number makes sense. Skip 1800 until you have significant inbound call volume and a clear reason for freecall.

You can always add a 1300 number later. Your existing number can be ported to a new provider or kept as a secondary number.

Setting Up After-Hours and Voicemail (Why This Matters From Day One)

After-hours handling is the thing most new business owners skip because it feels like a detail. It is not a detail. It is the difference between a caller who leaves a message and calls back, and a caller who hangs up and calls your competitor.

At a minimum, every business phone should have:

• A professional voicemail greeting: Your business name, a brief note that you will call back, and your hours if relevant. Not your personal 'leave a message' recording.
• An after-hours message: A short message that plays outside your business hours telling callers when you are open and/or directing them to your website or email.
• Voicemail to email: Most cloud phone systems will email you a recording of new voicemails. This means you see them immediately, in your inbox, with a subject line including the caller's number, rather than having to remember to check your voicemail.

These are basic settings in any modern phone system and take about 10 minutes to configure. Set them up on day one. Callers form impressions fast, and a business that goes straight to a generic mobile voicemail or does not acknowledge after-hours calls looks like it is not serious.

What It Costs at Each Level

Here is a summary of typical AU pricing (all including GST) so you can plan your budget:

• Virtual number plus mobile app (sole trader): $5-15/month. No desk phone needed. Calls to your mobile. Local number included.
• 1300-number monthly fees, setup fees, included minutes, GST treatment and inbound rates vary by provider, plan and answer destination; check the current Critical Information Summary.Cloud phone system (per seat): $25-50/seat/month. Includes calls, voicemail, ring groups, softphone. Desk phones extra ($150-400 each).
• Cloud phone system (2-person office, total): Approximately $80-150/month for the service, plus a one-off phone purchase if using desk phones.

For a detailed calculation based on your specific team size and needs, use the VoIP Cost Calculator. It will give you a monthly cost estimate for your situation.

What to Budget for Phones in Your First Year of Business

Starting costs for a new business phone setup are low. A virtual-number app may avoid additional handset costs, but setup or activation fees depend on the provider and plan. Handset and setup costs vary by model, provider and configuration; current business-phone listings include handsets both within and above this range, and setup may be free or separately charged. Porting fees vary by provider and number type; check both the receiving provider's porting fee and any applicable charges from the existing provider.

Monthly cost varies by provider, user count, call bundle, number type, add-ons and GST treatment; obtain a current itemised quote rather than treating these figures as an all-in range. In your first year, choose month-to-month plans rather than 24 or 36 month contracts. Your requirements will change as the business grows, and being locked in makes it harder to switch if the setup does not suit you.

The trigger to move from a virtual number app to a full cloud phone system is usually when two or more people regularly need to take calls, or when you need call routing, ring groups, or a separate reception number. Setup time and switching costs vary by provider and scope; a month-to-month plan may avoid an early-termination charge but does not guarantee a sub-week or free migration.

Check Your Internet First

Cloud phone systems rely on IP connectivity, but not every current Australian phone service is internet-based. Unlike the old copper landline network, your phone calls travel as data packets over your NBN or business internet service. This means your internet quality directly affects your call quality.

Before committing to any cloud phone system, check that your internet connection can handle it. Important metrics include upload and download capacity, latency, jitter, packet loss and available bandwidth during busy periods. As a rough guide, most cloud phone systems need around 100 kilobits per second (kbps) of upload bandwidth per simultaneous call. NBN 25 wholesale plans may have 5-10 Mbps maximum upload depending on access technology, but real concurrent-call capacity depends on actual available bandwidth, codec, overhead, other traffic and network-quality controls. But if your internet is slow or your connection is shared with other heavy users (video streaming, large file transfers), you can run into problems.

Two things to check before you set up:

1. Your connection type: FTTP and HFC are different fixed-line technologies; HFC uses a coaxial-cable final segment, and actual VoIP stability depends on measured latency, jitter, packet loss and congestion. Fixed wireless and satellite NBN can introduce latency and jitter that degrades call quality. See NBN VoIP Compatibility Australia for a full breakdown by connection type.
2. Your upload speed and available bandwidth: Run a speed test during business hours (not at 2am) and compare it to what your office needs. Use our VoIP Bandwidth Calculator to check your connection.

Also worth knowing: when the NBN power goes out, your internet goes out, and your VoIP phones go with it. If you are in an area with frequent power outages, a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your modem and phone equipment is worth considering. For more on this, see PSTN Shutdown Australia and what the end of the copper network means for business phone continuity.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your First Business Phone System Set Up

Here is a practical sequence to get your business phone system running:

1. Decide on your option: Sole trader working alone? Start with a virtual number plus mobile app. Two or more people? Get a cloud phone system from the start, it is much harder to migrate later without disrupting customers.
2. Choose your number type: Local geographic number for most businesses. 1300 if you serve customers nationally and want to look national. Avoid 1800 until you need it.
3. Check your internet: Run a speed test and use the bandwidth calculator. If your connection is marginal, sort your internet first, your phone system depends on it.
4. Sign up with a cloud phone provider: Provisioning time varies by provider, service and number type; confirm activation timing before advertising the number. Do not lock yourself into a long-term contract for your first year, month-to-month plans exist and are worth the small premium while you are figuring out what you need.
5. Configure your basics: Set up your voicemail greeting, after-hours message, and call forwarding rules before you give anyone the number. This takes 20-30 minutes and makes a big difference.
6. Port your existing number if you have one: If you have been using a mobile or landline number as your business number, you can transfer (port) it to your new provider. For mobile numbers, 90% of ports complete within 3 hours and 99% within 2 business days. A landline-to-VoIP move does not automatically use Category C. Under C540:2023, Category A applies to eligible simple services and Category C to ports requiring manual coordination; Category C targets are 80% within 15 business days, 90% within 20, and 99% within 30, subject to stated exclusions. Keep your old service active until the port completes. For details on the process and what can go wrong, see Number Porting Australia.
7. Test everything: Call your own number from a different phone. Check your voicemail plays correctly. Make a test call out. Check your after-hours message is triggering at the right times.
8. Tell your contacts: Update your email signature, website, Google Business Profile, and any business cards or stationery with the new number.

What Most Businesses Get Wrong When Setting Up a Phone System

Three mistakes come up consistently when new Australian businesses set up their phone system for the first time:

Mistake 1, Starting with a desk phone instead of a service. The instinct is to buy a phone. But the phone is the last thing you need to think about. First, choose your service provider (the cloud phone system that manages your calls). Then choose your number. Then, if you need a physical phone at all, choose the handset. Buying a desk phone first is like buying furniture before you have signed a lease, you do not know if it will fit the space. Many businesses use softphone apps on their existing laptops and mobiles for the first 6-12 months without ever buying a desk phone.

Mistake 2, Locking into a long-term contract without testing first. Most Australian cloud phone providers offer month-to-month plans. Some offer discounted annual contracts, those discounts are real, but do not take them until you have used the service for a few months and are confident it does the job. Getting out of a 24-month contract you regret is painful. Start month-to-month, lock in annually once you are happy.

Mistake 3, Not setting up after-hours handling before going live. The most common gap in new business phone setups: the number goes live, it rings during business hours, but calls outside hours go to a generic voicemail or ring out entirely. Set up your after-hours message before you give anyone the number. It takes 10 minutes. Every call outside business hours is a potential customer forming an impression of your business, make it a good one.

Your Next Steps

A practical checklist to get your new business phone system running:

• Decide: sole trader app or cloud system? (Team size is the deciding factor)
• Choose your number type: local geographic, 1300, or 1800
• Run a bandwidth check on your internet connection before committing to a provider
• Sign up on a month-to-month plan for the first 3-6 months
• Configure voicemail greeting, after-hours message, and call forwarding before going live
• If you have an existing geographic business number: initiate a port, allow 8 to 15 business days for an individual port and up to 30 business days for a complex port
• Test: call your own number, check voicemail, make a test outbound call
• Update email signature, website, Google Business Profile, and business cards
• Revisit your plan at 6 months, upgrade to a cloud system if you have hired anyone

If you are buying hardware for a new phone system, avoid compatibility surprises by checking your shortlisted handsets against your platform before ordering. Our Phone Compatibility Checker screens phones and ATA adapters against all major Australian business phone companies.

New businesses setting up VoIP for the first time should verify their internet connection and network are configured correctly before signing up. Our Office Phone Readiness Check covers the full network stack and produces a readiness score in under 5 minutes.

New businesses setting up their first phone system often underestimate the ongoing management overhead. Our Do I Need an IT Company for My Phones? quiz takes 3 minutes and gives a clear answer based on your business size, phone system type, and technical requirements.

If you have purchased IP desk phones and want a detailed walkthrough for getting them online, our new IP phone setup guide covers everything from choosing your business phone company through to entering SIP credentials, connecting via Ethernet, and making your first test call.

Before setting up your phone system, you need to decide what business number you will be using. A geographic number, a 1300 number, a virtual mobile, and porting your existing number each take different amounts of time and cost different amounts to run. Our guide to how to get a business phone number in Australia explains each option and how long each takes to get live.

For new businesses with a small team, the phone system decision comes down to a short list of hosted VOIP providers that are genuinely set up for one to five users, without unnecessary complexity or per-seat pricing that only makes sense at larger scale. Our guide to the best phone systems for 1-5 users in Australia covers the specific options, pricing structures, and setup requirements for small-team businesses.

If you're not sure which option is right for your business size and setup, the fastest way is to ask. Tell us how many people will take calls, whether you work from an office or remotely, and what matters most: cost, simplicity, or features. We reply personally, usually within one business day.

Every new business has a different starting point. A sole trader who makes 5 calls a day needs something very different from a 3-person team sharing a reception number. Tell us how many staff need to take calls and what your biggest phone concern is. We'll give you a specific recommendation. We reply personally. Not a bot, not a form letter.