Call forwarding to multiple numbers: Why it doesn’t work, and what to use instead

It’s a typical Monday, your business phone is ringing off the hook, and you and your team are struggling to keep up. The team manager spends the morning manually forwarding calls to different departments. Half the team is stuck in a meeting and doesn’t pick up their phones, so several customers call more than once with no response.

It quickly becomes clear that forwarding calls to one number at a time doesn’t meet your business needs. “If only there were a way to do call forwarding to multiple numbers,” you think. “Then we’d stop losing so much business to missed calls!”

In this article, we’ll explain if you can send calls to multiple team members at once. By the end, you’ll also have a better solution to ensure you can answer as many calls as possible — and still give customers a great experience when no one is available.

Can you set up call forwarding to multiple numbers?

You can configure call forwarding on an Android, iPhone, or a traditional landline, but only to one phone number at a time — not multiple. That means if the person can’t pick up, the call gets missed — and the customer is left waiting, or they phone a competitor instead.

To truly send customer calls to multiple numbers, you need more than basic call forwarding. That’s where shared numbers come in. With a shared number, multiple people can use a single number to receive and make calls or texts at the same time. It doesn’t matter where they are or what devices they use — all they need is an internet connection.

Let’s take a closer look at how shared numbers help you avoid missed calls.

Using a shared phone number in Quo

A business phone system like Quo lets you set up shared phone numbers so multiple devices can ring at once when a customer calls. Team members assigned to the number have the flexibility to call and text from a computer, cell phone, or tablet using Quo’s web, desktop, or mobile apps.

To reduce the chances of missing a call, Quo provides three different ring orders that function like call forwarding to multiple phone numbers — but with more flexibility and control. Here are the options you can choose from:

•         Simultaneous: Ring all team members at once

•         Random: Ring batches of team members in random order

•         Custom: Ring team members or groups in a specific order

You can also let Quo’s AI agent, Sona, take the call for you. Sona can answer common questions based on your company’s documentation and take a message so you can follow up instead of missing a potential new customer. Calls sent to Sona are logged and transcribed automatically with a summary that appears in call views so team members have all the information they need to follow up.

Team members can also filter conversations using call views to see when phone calls came in and which customers are still waiting for replies. 

If you plan on using your shared number for texting but worry about multiple people responding at once and confusing your customer, Quo has you covered. It shows if another rep is typing, which helps prevent them from accidentally sending replies to customers at the same time. Plus, all conversations — both calls and texts — are stored in one shared inbox, so your team always has the full context before jumping in.

5 benefits of using shared phone numbers for call forwarding

Here are five reasons to use shared phone numbers with a system like Quo for call forwarding to multiple numbers.

1. Team members can work from anywhere. Shared numbers work on any mobile device connected to data or WiFi, which lets team members answer calls when they’re offsite or working remotely.
2. You can set business hours to protect personal time. No more getting interrupted by business calls during dinner. Everyone on a shared number can set custom business hours so only available team members receive notifications when a call comes through. You can also set up conditional call forwarding so that calls go to a different phone menu or external number (such as an answering service) after your business hours. 
3. You can record incoming calls automatically. Whether a team member picks up, a customer leaves a voicemail, or Sona handles a call, you can get a recording of the conversation along with an AI-generated transcript and summary. This means your team can listen to the conversation later or quickly scan what was said to get context and follow up faster.
4. You can create new numbers for different departments in your company. Quo lets you set up unlimited US and Canadian phone numbers you can assign to different departments, like sales, customer support, billing, and so on.
5. Customer conversations are kept in the same inbox. All calls, voicemails, and text messages for a shared number are available in a single place. When team members click on a shared number, they can quickly tag each other and spot unread messages and prioritize follow-ups.

Quo: The best small business communication tool

Traditional call forwarding leaves you scrambling to avoid missing calls — and losing customers. Quo’s shared numbers free you from the limitation of not being able to set up call forwarding to multiple numbers. With features like ring groups, business hours, and call recording, shared numbers ensure that someone always answers or has the information they need to follow up. You’ll also get access to third-party integrations like HubSpot, Zapier, and Make, letting you connect your business phone system to your tech stack. You’ll also be able to use texting automations that save your team time, like snippets, auto-replies, and scheduled texts.

Want to see how switching to shared numbers can make call handling easier for your business? Start a free trial of Quo today.

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