Frequently
Asked
Questions
Find the answers to all your 1300 or 1800 number related questions here…
Essential Questions
1300 Numbers are virtual numbers, meaning they only exist in the telecommunications cloud. This means they aren’t physical, like your office phone, your mobile or your home phone. 1300 numbers operate the same as internet domain names, so the service just lives in cyberspace and you point it to your webserver where your website lives. Ok, so that’s how they technically work, from a practical point of view all you really need to know is where you want the 1300 number to connect to. Most customers just connect their 1300 number to their office phone or mobile phone – which ever is more practical to there business.
1300 numbers are specific to Australia and can only be dialled from phones within the telecommunications network in Australia. If you do need to provide a phone number for callers outside of Australia, we suggest providing a specific +61 number for this task. We can supply you a dedicated number for this that has a full set of routing options just like the 1300 number does. The services is called “Line Hunt” and is available for $10 per month. For more details on Line Hunt you can contact us here. You can connect your 1300 number to almost any international destination. Different pricing applies depending on the destination country, see here for specific 1300 international pricing.
The first step in getting a new 1300 number for your business is to decide what type of number your business needs. We provide you with 2 options, one simple and one not so simple.
- Free Number: This is the easy and simple option. You will probably not get a number that spells a word, but the process is simple and quick and we will work with you to get the best number for your business.
- Smart Number: This is the option if your after a 1300 number that makes a word or a specific pattern or sequence of numbers. The buying process is an auction and takes a couple of weeks. Once you have selected what type of number you want, you need a company to connect and host the 1300 number for you, however you don’t need to look any further because we would love to host your number.
Yes you can.
We provides services to stacks and stacks of Australian businesses people who do exactly this. We always caution people as it can get expensive, so we always recommend keeping the calls short and sweet. Just focus on collecting the callers details and then giving them a call back from your mobile (which is probably on a cap plan anyway) or from your landline where calls will be cheaper.
We are of course!
Simple Telecom has been specialising in supplying 1300 and 1800 numbers to Australian business over a decade. We have innovated the online signup, online customer service management (Simple Console) and provide the best and simplest product offering on the market.
Here’s a few more reasons why:
- Great service
- Make things simple for you
- Great pricing
- Advanced addons
- Online detailed reporting
Affordable solutions for your business
Free Features for Inbound Numbers
1300 numbers and 1800 numbers have lots of features such as:
- Timed based routing – setup a static 9am-5pm configuration connecting to 1 answer point, then 5pm-9am (after hours) connecting to another answer point (live answer, voice to email etc)
- Call overflow – setup a configuration that dials a list of numbers one after another. The call will move on if the answer point is busy or does not answer in time.
- Call SPLAY – disperse calls between a selection of numbers by percentage, so Answer Point A receives 50%, answer B receives 30% and answer point C receives 20%. This system works fairly accurately for large volumes of calls, not really that effective for small volumes.
- State based routing – works for fixed lines and mobiles – great when you have offices in each or a couple states.
- Region based routing – each state is broken down into sections. these sections do vary, however it can offer a different method of routing calls. Works for fixed and mobiles.
- Exchange based – only works for fixed lines, route each exchange in Australia to an answer point. Mobiles have to use another system such as postcode dialler.
An Answer Point is where a 1300 or 1800 number connects to.
It can be:
- your mobile
- your home phone
- your office fixed line
- your Skype number
- your other Voip number
Basically, whatever phone you can dial can be your answer point.
All of the features listed as free are free! As per all the Simple 1300 Number plans, you just pay for the time spent on the call.
As the answer points can vary dramatically, each call is rated individually based on the caller phone (fixed or mobile and the location of the caller) and the answer point. The appropriate rate is then applied for that call and charge on a per second basis.
Time based routing is an awesome feature, great for making use of global time zones where you route call traffic to certain locations based on the open hours of that region. On the other end of the scale, its a great method of disciplining your customers to call during business hours such as 8-5 Monday to Friday. All other times it can connect straight to your Live Answering Service.
To setup the time based routing contact us once you have signed up for your service through the simple console and we will set it up for you at no charge!
Contact us through the simple console to setup state based routing. Most of our customers use state based routing when they want to connect all callers from one state to the office that handles the respective state.
- QLD
- NSW
- VIC
- TAS
- SA
- ACT
- WA
- NT
Splay is a great way of spreading out call traffic between answer points, or handling heavy call traffic between multiple call centres.
Contact us through the simple console once your service is active and we will setup SPLAY for you at no extra charge.
You can order the Line Hunt add-on which is also known as “Call Recording” (which includes Voice to Email, Call Recording, Recorded Voice Announcements and live configurations updates via the Simple Console. Just select the add-on during the signup process and we will set it up for you.
To setup the free feature overflow, you can contact us with your desired configuration through the simple console. Generally most people use this so they can receive calls in the office when they are there, and on the road on the mobile when required by having it ring the office first, for 15 seconds then the mobile. This is the perfect setup for the road warrior business person.
The free setup has a average turn around time of 2 business days for updates.
Integrate solutions for your business
What other services do you supply?
NEED TO ADD TABLE
Yes we can, we offer the Live Answering add-on which provides exactly this feature. Pricing starts at $30 per month and includes 15 calls for the month.
We will answer every call using your greeting, we will take message, grab the callers name and number. We will then email and/or sms this through to you for you to followup yourself. This is a cost effective way of answering your calls, saving you from needing a staff member to take your calls, and office expenses.
We have a massive call centre with staff waiting to take calls 24/7. When your call comes through, we will answer it using your greeting (eg. Thanks for Calling ACME Inc, your local handyman shop. This is [name] speaking, how can I help you today?). We will then dialog with the caller as required, deflect questions and advise them that we will have someone call them regarding their enquiry. Then we will collect name, number and brief message from the caller.
We can extend this service to offer a highly customisable service so speak to us about your requirements and we will come up with something special and specific just for your business.
We believe the era of faxing is dying, so we do not offer the ability to send faxes anymore. So it used to be a service we offered, but its no longer included – sorry. You can receive as many faxes as you like in the mean time until the rest of the business world throws out there fax machine and moves to email.
The IVR Keypress service includes functions such as:
- Route 0 through to 9 and even the * and # key.
- Line Hunt – Just like the addon, except inside the IVR.
- Keypress Split – to provide further detailed options to the caller so you can route them correctly.
- Recorded Annoucement – play an sound file to the caller to give them key information regarding their call.
- Whisper – Annouce the origin of the call to the destination answer point (so the person receiving the call knows where the caller has come from)
- Call Recording – record calls in Mp3 format for legal or training purposes.
The Office of Australian Information Comissioner states:
“If a call is to be recorded or monitored, an organisation must tell you at the beginning of the conversation so that you have the chance either to end the call, or to ask to be transferred to another line where monitoring or recording does not take place (if this is available).”
This confirms that you legally have to tell the caller the call is being recorded at the start of the call.
Selecting a number
There are two types of 1300 and 1800 numbers;
Free public numbers
- They are free (as in free beer)
- We look for rhyming, or sequences of numbers that sound good and are easy to remember
- Quick to setup, usually its done same business day.
Premium
- Get your brand name in your 1300 or 1800 number (i.e.. 1300 DOMINOS)
- Get specific sequence of numbers (i.e. 1300 33 44 55)
- Minimum cost of $292 ($250 minimum bid at auction plus $42 signup fee to smartnumbers)
- Beware it is an auction, so there might be competition
- The auction process does generally take a couple weeks depending on when you enter the auction.
Great news, we have FREE numbers! The numbers from either let us choose or public are both free, all you will pay is the monthly service fee, which is a minimum of $10 or $15 per month!
Remember, the caller pay’s a toll to their telecommunications supplier, this is usually a local call charge. You (as the owner of the service) pay the difference. The amount you pay depends on how you answer (fixed line or mobile) and the location and phone type of the caller.
When you select your new 1300 or 1800 number, the first step will ask you what type of number you would like. There are four options, each with a varied response time. In order of speed;
- Let Us Choose – usually be ready same business day
- Public list – 1-2 business days
- Activate smart number or Port your 1300 number – 1-2 business days
- Auction is usually 2 weeks minimum
Firstly, lets discuss what premium numbers are. Premium or Smart Numbers are 1300, 13 or 1800 numbers which have a particular pattern of numbers or the numbers spell a word. The ACMA make this decision.
Smart numbers have a public website with a public Auction process where you can search for numbers and place bid’s on numbers. The process will require you to register ($42 once off).
The Auction process takes a few weeks and the auction start dates and closing dates are clearly listed on there website.
What do I do if my number is “Not for Auction” or “Auctioned”
There really is very little you can do. First test is to call the number and see if its connected. If it is connected you have zero chance of getting it (unless you contact the owner and convince them to sell it to you).
If it is disconnected, again as above contact the owner of the number and they may lease it to you, or sell it to you outright.
Numbers that make words are called “Smart Numbers”, or sometimes premium numbers. To get a number that makes a word, goto the smartnumbers website: www.smartnumbers.com.au and use the search facility to see if its available.
If it is available, signup and place a bid on the number. Expect to pay $42 for registration, and at least $250 for the number through the auction process. Also allow a few weeks for the process to complete.
1300 Numbers
1300 numbers are used by 95% of our customers who advertise to the Australian consumer (Business and Individual).
1300 is well known by everyone and they associate it with business and they are used to it.
1300 is cheaper To own.
1800 Numbers
1800 numbers are in less demand, and therefore its easier to find better numbers.
1800 numbers have no free local calls.
Commonly used for feedback lines, community service style services.
1800 numbers can sometimes be more expensive from mobiles (as they aren’t included in many major mobile cap plans), but free from pretty much all standard fixed lines.
Making informed decisions
Most people should start on either the PREPAID plan or the LIGHT plan. Just remember you can always change plans at any stage through the simple console.
PREPAID $10:
- just starting out in business
- putting the number on your website/business cards
- not expecting that many calls
- looking to keep costs very low
CAP PLANS:
if you are expecting at least 5 calls per day with an average 3 minutes on the phone, you should look at getting one of the cap plans – this will save you a heap of money.
$99 HIGH VOLUME:
once your spending over $100 per month on any plan, you should probably jump straight to the HIGH VOLUME plan to save as much as you can on the call charges.
No, there is no contract on any 1300 number service. We do require 30 days notice if your cancelling your service, or if your transferring it to another supplier.
We do not offer free trials on our 1300 or 1800 number services. These services don’t need trials, they just work. Our network is amazing, we have had 100% uptime for the past 5 years.
We have been selling them since 2007 without a glitch, to all sorts of business and the results speak for themselves.
There is no cost to cancel, however you will have to pay for any unbilled call charges, and the remainder of the billing periods monthly charge.
Yes!
The Prepaid payment option does not charge a credit card surcharge and supports Visa and Mastercard
Other payment methods allow you to pay by credit card: Visa Mastercard and Amex. There is a 2% surcharge for Visa and Mastercard, and 3.5% for Amex. We can charge your card automatically each month via the direct debit service – or you can login to the Simple Console and make payment through our payment gateway each month. We will require either your credit card or bank account when you signup to verify your availability for credit.
We accept;
- Direct deposit
- Direct debit from a nominated bank account
- Credit card
- Cheque
What can I do with my service?
We provide a few options to change your answer point. The best method is logging into the Simple Console, navigating to the serves page, locating the service you wish to change the answer point on, clicking the control button.
Then you will have the ability to change the answer point. It will give you a drop down with other services on your account, and/or provide you a text field where you can manually select the desired answer point.
If you cannot access the simple console, you can call on 1300 858 751 or email through to info@simpletelecom.com.au and one of the customer service representatives will assist you.
There are two methods of viewing your the call details.
- You can login to the simple console, navigate to the services page and click on the View Reporting button. This will load up the current billing period usage graphs and call detail listings.
- You can find a list of each call billed at the end of your invoice. Invoices are sent at the start of each calendar month and will provide you with a number of useful graphs and summaries to help you track your call usage.
Yes, we have some fantastic reporting tools for your 1300 number.
- We have a cost vs number of call bar and line graph. This is the perfect tool to monitor your services call volumes and cost on a monthly basis. It also allows you to easily identify any trends with your services. See some examples here: Monthly Reporting
- There is also a state based map of Australia, with a breakdown of the number of calls from each state. This is very helpful in identifying keep markets and advertising penetration for national marketing campaigns. See some examples here: Monthly Reporting
- Finally there is a detailed listing of each call received, including details such as
- Time
- Originating Number
- Called Number
- Duration of the call
- Call Cost
See some examples here: Call Details
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