PhoneShield for Small Businesses
PhoneShield team
The people who build and run PhoneShield
Written and kept current by the team behind PhoneShield, a sister company of Byte Federal, whose staff spent years meeting scam victims at cryptocurrency ATMs with the scammer still on the line.
In this article
Introduction
For a small business the phone is where the work comes from, and also where most of the interruptions come from. PhoneShield puts a front desk in front of the number you already have, so the calls that matter ring you with a name attached and the rest become messages or go away.
One plan, one number
There are no business tiers. Every account gets one PhoneShield number, one private line, one assistant, and all of the features in this guide.
Small Business Phone Challenges
Nobody free to answer
Missed calls are lost customers
Spam on the business line
No way to tell which calls matter
What You Get
A front desk for the line you already have
Nora as receptionist
Favorites ring straight through
Messages the team can act on
Setting Up for Business Use
- Subscribe and get your PhoneShield number
One number per account. It is assigned after you subscribe and shown at the top of Shield settings.
- Set the private line
The phone that should ring for vetted calls, usually whoever is on the desk. Verify it with the spoken-code call.
- Forward your business line
Dial the carrier code shown on Shield settings from the business phone, then use “Test that forwarding is on”.
- Name your assistant and pick a voice
Nora by default; Marin or Cedar. Write a greeting that names the business: “Thanks for calling Harbor Dental, this is Nora at the front desk.”
- Give her the facts
In the AI profile: hours, address, what you do, prices if you want them given, and the questions callers always ask.
- Instructions: who gets put through, what to collect from new customers
- Knowledge: the answers she can give without you
- Conditional responses: fixed answers for parking, insurance, refunds
- Choose Receptionist mode and connect a channel
Receptionist mode lets her talk to callers. Slack, email, Telegram or a webhook gets each message to the team.
Keep your number
PhoneShield works by forwarding. You do not change the number on your signage, your listings or your invoices; you forward it. Turning forwarding off puts the line back exactly as it was.
- Works with mobile lines and most business phone providers that support forwarding
- The carrier codes for your line are on Shield settings
- The loop-back test confirms it without a second phone
How Business Calls Are Handled
Pick the mode that fits the day on Shield settings:
Receptionist
Nora answers. She puts real customers through with a whisper, answers the easy questions herself, takes a structured message for everything else, and ends pitches politely. The usual choice for a business line.
Open
The front desk vets the caller and rings you with the whisper. Good when you are at the desk and want to take every real call yourself.
Do not disturb
Nothing rings but favorites; everyone else leaves a message. For the site visit, the surgery, the evening.
In every mode
Blocked numbers are refused before answering at no cost. Favorites ring straight through. Every call is in call history with its outcome and the reason.
A Receptionist-mode call
Front desk:
“Thanks for calling Acme Web Design. Who’s calling, and what’s it about?”
Caller:
“Hi, this is Dana. I run a bakery and I need a website with online ordering.”
Nora:
“Hi Dana, this is Nora at Acme. Online ordering is something we do a lot of. Michael handles new projects; can I try him for you now, or take your number and a good time to call?”
Caller:
“Take my number, I’m free after three.”
Nora:
“Got it. Michael will call you after three today. Thanks, Dana.”
Michael gets the message in Slack thirty seconds later: Dana, bakery, online ordering, callback number, after 3pm.
Messages and Where They Go
Every message and every assistant call lands in the Messages feed, with a summary, the caller’s number, a callback number and the reason given. Open a note, tap “Call back”, mark it done.
Slack
A post in a channel the whole team reads. Whoever is free picks it up. Setup
To a shared office@ address or to one person. Setup
Telegram
A bot in a group chat, instant on every phone. Setup
Webhook
A JSON POST with outcome, summary, caller and callback number, for your own tools. Setup
A routine that works
- Deliveries to one shared channel
- Whoever calls back marks the note done; the done state is shared
- “Waiting on you” empty at the end of the day
Analytics
The Analytics page shows outcomes per day: how many calls were blocked before answering, declined at the front desk, rang you, became messages, or were handled by your assistant.
What to look at
- Blocked and shielded per day: the interruptions you no longer have
- Rang you versus message: whether the mode you picked matches the day you had
- Assistant calls: how much Nora answers without you; if it is high, her knowledge is doing its job
Call history has the detail
Every line in the chart is a call in call history, with its outcome, reason, transcript, and FTC complaint count for the number.
Pricing and What Is Not Here
$29.99 a month, 150 Nora minutes included
The flat price includes your number, scam refusals, front-desk screening, messages and calls that ring you. Only Nora's talk time is metered, at $0.12 a minute beyond the allowance; blocked calls and the time you spend with a customer who rang through cost nothing. PhoneShield is in early access; there is no free trial and no monthly minimum.
Not here today
- More than one number or private line per account
- Team seats, roles, or department routing
- CRM, calendar or helpdesk integrations (use the webhook)
- Account managers or industry templates
For how a team of two or three shares one line, see One number, one line.
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Ready to try PhoneShield?
Start screening your calls today and take back control of your phone.