Porting Phone Numbers to Conquer Voice (Overview)

Moving your phone numbers to Conquer Voice is called porting. This article covers what we'll need from you, how long it takes, and what to expect along the way.

This is the short version. For the full process, including partial ports, numbers spread across multiple accounts, international numbers, and every reason a port can be rejected, see Porting Phone Numbers to Conquer Voice (Details).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview
• Before You Start: Confirm Where Your Numbers Live
• Information We'll Need From You
• Toll-Free Numbers
• Timeline and What to Expect
• Common Reasons a Port Gets Delayed
• After Your Numbers Port

Overview

Porting lets you keep your current phone numbers when you switch to Conquer Voice. Your current carrier releases the numbers, and we activate them on an agreed date. Most of the work happens between us and your carrier.

Two things are worth understanding before you start. Your current carrier controls the timeline, not us. And almost everything that makes a port go smoothly happens before we submit, in the accuracy of the information you give us.

Before You Start: Confirm Where Your Numbers Live

Before you gather anything else, confirm with your carrier which account your numbers are on today. This step is the one most often skipped, and skipping it is the most expensive mistake in a port.

Phone numbers move between accounts and platforms over time, usually during an upgrade or a system migration, and often without the people using them noticing anything change. A phone that rings today is not proof of which account it sits on. If your carrier's records place your numbers on a different account than the one you give us, the request will be rejected, and that rejection usually comes back with very little explanation.

Ask your carrier for a Customer Service Record (CSR) for the account you believe holds your numbers. A CSR is your carrier's authoritative copy of the account. When you have it, check three things:

• Every number you want to port appears on it. Numbers missing from the CSR will not port from that account, no matter how well they are working.
• The Billing Telephone Number appears on it and is active.
• All of your numbers are on this one account. If they are split across several, each account becomes its own port request.

Pay particular attention if your phones run on a hosted platform sold under your carrier's brand, such as AT&T Office@Hand, Verizon One Talk, or a Webex or RingCentral service resold by your carrier. Those platforms normally have their own account number, their own PIN, and their own records, entirely separate from any traditional phone service you buy from the same carrier. More on this in the Details article.

Information We'll Need From You

Gather all of this from your carrier rather than from internal records or a spreadsheet someone maintains. Internal lists drift over time, and every detail below has to match your carrier's records exactly.

• Billing Telephone Number (BTN): the number your carrier uses to identify the account. It has to be a number that is currently live on that account. Provide it even if it looks the same as your account number.
• Account number with your carrier.
• Account holder's name: exactly as it appears on your bill, not a parent or trading name unless that is what is on file.
• Full service address: street, suite, city, state and ZIP as your carrier has it. This is often different from your billing address.
• Port-out PIN or passcode: if your carrier issues one. Some issue a single PIN per account, others issue one per number.
• Authorized person's name: whoever is permitted to release the numbers. This is frequently not the person coordinating the project.
• Complete list of every number on the account, both the ones porting and the ones staying. Label the list clearly.
• Copy of your most recent invoice for that account, which we use to complete the authorization form accurately.
• Requested port date. See the timeline below for how much notice we need.

If your numbers sit on more than one account, each account needs its own port request, its own BTN, and its own signed authorization form. The same applies if your carrier holds your numbers at more than one service location. Confirm this with your carrier before we submit rather than after.

Toll-Free Numbers

Toll-free numbers (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888) use a different process and a different authorization form, and they frequently sit on a different account from your standard numbers. Tell us up front which numbers are toll-free so we can send both forms together rather than coming back to you for a second signature later.

Timeline and What to Expect

How much notice we need

• Three business days is our minimum. That clock starts when we have every item listed above and a signed authorization form, not when the conversation starts.
• Multi-account and partial ports take longer. Each account is a separate request with its own timeline, and a partial port requires extra handling from your carrier on the lines that stay behind.
• Allow two to three weeks if you do not already have all the information above. Gathering account details from a carrier is usually the slowest part of any port, and it runs on your carrier's schedule rather than ours.

What happens

1. You provide the account and number information above, along with a copy of your current invoice.
2. We agree a target date with you and send the authorization form for signature, timed so it does not expire before submission.
3. We check each number for portability and submit the request to your carrier.
4. Your carrier returns a Firm Order Commitment (FOC) date, which is the date and time your numbers actually move. Until there is an FOC there is no confirmed date, and we will not quote you one.
5. We configure your numbers on your Conquer account ahead of the FOC date so they are ready the moment the port completes.
6. You configure Phone Numbers, Queues and Extensions ahead of time.
7. On the FOC date, your numbers go live on Conquer Voice.

Note: once a request has been submitted we cannot add numbers to it. If more numbers come up afterwards they become a new request with their own FOC date, so it is worth taking an extra day up front to make sure the list is complete.

Common Reasons a Port Gets Delayed

Knowing these ahead of time helps you avoid the most common holdups.

• Numbers on a different account than expected. This is why we ask you to confirm the account before anything else.
• An incorrect or inactive BTN. If the BTN does not resolve to a live account, your carrier cannot locate the account at all and the request stops there. This rejection comes back with very little detail, so it is worth double checking before we submit.
• Address or ZIP code mismatch. One of the most common rejections. Your CSR or a copy of your invoice usually resolves it quickly.
• Numbers split across multiple accounts or service locations. Each one requires its own port request.
• An expired authorization form. The form is valid for 30 days from signature, which is why we ask you to tell us as soon as a date moves.
• Inactive or disconnected numbers. A number that has been deactivated, or that sits on a closed account or a closed line record, will be rejected.
• Numbers that will not validate. Occasionally a carrier cannot confirm a number belongs to your account even when you are certain it does. This has to be resolved with your carrier directly.

Each of these is covered in full, along with what to do about it, in the Details article.

After Your Numbers Port

• Test your inbound calls on the first day. We confirm the port on our side, but it is worth having your team place a few live calls.
• Close your old account. The port does not cancel your previous service, and leaving it open means paying two providers.
• Text messaging is a separate step with its own authorization form. Tell us if you want SMS enabled on your ported numbers.
• Tell us in advance if you ever port a number away from Conquer so we can remove it from our routing at the right moment.

If you have questions at any point during the process, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or our Support team.