Before you start
- Connect your ad accounts in Marketing → PPC (Google Ads, Microsoft, Meta) and Google Analytics in Marketing → SEO — the conversion send-back needs them.
- Make sure the website is either hosted on Hiveku or you can add one script tag to it.
- Have your CallRail login handy: you will need the list of tracking numbers currently in use, and later you may port them.
The cutover
1
Create your Hiveku pool
Buy tracking numbers on Communications → Numbers, then group them into a pool on Communications → Pools. Size it for simultaneous visitors: a good rule is your busiest hour’s concurrent visitors divided by four, with a minimum of four numbers. Route each number where calls should ring (extension, ring group, IVR, or the AI agent) — pool membership never changes routing.
2
Enable tracking on the site
On the project’s Hosting page, turn on the Phone Tracking card for Production and pick the pool. Hiveku-hosted sites get the script automatically on the next deploy; external sites paste the tag from Manual install into the site head.
3
List the CallRail numbers as swap targets
This is the key step. While CallRail is still active, its tracking numbers are what the page actually displays. Add those numbers (and your real business number) under Numbers to look for on the Phone Tracking card — Hiveku’s script then swaps CallRail’s numbers off the page. From that moment, new visitors see Hiveku numbers and every call attributes in Hiveku, even though your CallRail subscription is still running.
4
Prove it
Use the card’s Watch it swap and Test my live site buttons. Then visit the site yourself with
?gclid=test on the URL in a private window, call the number shown, and confirm the call appears attributed in Analytics → Calls and on the contact’s CRM timeline.5
Turn on conversion uploads
In Communications → Settings, enable Ad conversion uploads (Google, Microsoft, and Meta all ride the connected accounts) and Send call events to GA4. Pause the equivalent integrations in CallRail at the same time so platforms never receive the same call twice.
6
Port the CallRail numbers
Callbacks and saved numbers keep ringing your business either way, but porting the CallRail numbers into Hiveku preserves them permanently. Start on Communications → Porting — the wizard handles the letter of authorization with in-app signing. Once ported, add the important ones to your pool or tag them as offline source numbers. Until the port completes, set CallRail to forward them to your main line.
7
Cancel CallRail
Once ports complete and a week of calls attributes cleanly, you are done. Export your CallRail history first if you want it for reference — going forward, the Hiveku CSV export on Communications → Calls carries the same attribution columns.
What maps to what
Differences worth knowing
- Crawlers see your real number. CallRail swaps numbers for Googlebot; Hiveku deliberately does not, so the number Google indexes for your business stays consistent with your listings.
- Calls land in a real CRM. Every caller becomes a contact with a timeline, dispositions, deals, and automations — there is no separate lead center to check.
- Repeat callers are matched by caller ID for 90 days, so a returning customer whose original tracking number was recycled still attributes to their first campaign and shows a repeat-caller badge instead of counting as a new lead.
Troubleshooting the transition
The page still shows a CallRail number
The page still shows a CallRail number
That number is missing from Numbers to look for, or the CallRail script re-swapped after Hiveku ran. Add every CallRail number to the list; if both scripts are installed, remove CallRail’s tag from the site first — Hiveku’s swap targets make it unnecessary during the transition.
Google Ads shows conversions from both tools
Google Ads shows conversions from both tools
Both integrations were live at once. Pause CallRail’s Google Ads integration; Google deduplicates within each tool but not across two different uploaders.
Old CallRail numbers still get calls after cancellation
Old CallRail numbers still get calls after cancellation
Numbers you did not port were released back to CallRail’s inventory. Port every number that ever appeared on a billboard, listing, or saved contact before cancelling — that is why porting comes before cancellation in the sequence above.