Skip to main content
A phone number is how customers call and text your business. A local number has your area code, so callers know you are nearby. A toll-free number works across the country. This guide finds a Portland number for Northwind and compares it with a toll-free number. It stops before Order, so nothing is bought.
Phones come with paid plans. Before your first number, an account owner or admin clicks Set up phones in Communications (it is free). Someone on your team then reads and accepts how 911 works with Hiveku phones (Read the 911 notice on the overview), and you add a 911 address.

​
Search for a local number

1

Open Find a number

Click Communications in the left rail, then Numbers in the Routing menu, then Find a number.
2

Say where

On Local, type an Area code, or a City and State, and click Search.
Find a number on Local, with Area code 503, City Portland and State OR, outlined

Portland, Oregon, in the 503 area code

3

Read the results

Each number shows its state, what it can do (SMS, MMS, Emergency for 911) and its monthly price. When no number matches exactly, the nearest ones are listed and marked Nearby: check the area code before you order. Here nothing matched 503, Portland and OR exactly, so the nearest are in 971, Portland’s other area code.
Search, outlined, beside the note No numbers match exactly right now, these are the nearest available; and a number in 971, OR, Nearby, with Emergency, MMS and SMS and $1.00/mo + $0.50 911 fee, outlined. The last four digits of each number are blurred

The nearest numbers, with their prices

​
Choose a number and order it

1

Click the number you want

It is marked with a tick. Click more than one to order several at once.
The 971 number selected with a tick, outlined, beside another result. The last four digits of each number are blurred

One number chosen

2

Check its 911 address

Under E911 address, check the address where the number is used, so 911 can find you. Only verified addresses are listed, and the first one is picked for you. If the list is empty, add an address first: E911 in the Admin menu, then Register address. A local number can’t be ordered without one.
3

Order it

The button counts what you chose, such as Order 1. Click it to buy the number.
1 selected, Cancel, and the Order 1 button, outlined

Order 1

4

Choose where its calls go

A new number turns calls away until you choose where they go. On the Numbers page, click the pencil beside the number and pick a choice under Inbound routes to.

​
Or get a toll-free number

On Toll-free, pick a Prefix such as 888, or Any prefix, and click Search. A toll-free number costs $5.00 a month plus $0.03 a minute for calls to it. It needs no 911 address, and it works nationwide, so there is no city or state to choose. A toll-free number can take up to 2 business days to switch on after you order it.
Toll-free with Prefix 888 and the line Toll-free numbers bill $5.00/mo each plus a $0.03/min surcharge on inbound calls, outlined; and a toll-free number at $5.00/mo, outlined. The last four digits of each number are blurred

Toll-free numbers in 888

​
Good to know

  • Prices are monthly. A local number shows its monthly price and its 911 fee. A true 1-800 number isn’t available here.
  • Texting. A number can send texts only after your business is registered: SMS registration in the Admin menu. Approval usually takes 1 to 3 business days.
  • Already have a number? You can move it to Hiveku instead of buying a new one: Port existing numbers on the Numbers page starts it.
  • More: Phone numbers covers what to do with a number once you have it.