ServiceM8 Phone FAQs

​

Pricing

Is ServiceM8 Phone included as part of my ServiceM8 Plan? No. ServiceM8 Phone is an optional add-on which incurs additional charges on top of your ServiceM8 subscription. How much does it cost? Pricing of ServiceM8 Phone is available at servicem8.com/phone Can I use ServiceM8 Phone without a ServiceM8 subscription? No. You must subscribe to a paid ServiceM8 plan to use ServiceM8 Phone.

​

Setup & Requirements

Does ServiceM8 Phone work in my country? ServiceM8 Phone is available in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and South Africa. Timeframes for supporting additional countries have not been announced. How do I access ServiceM8 Phone? ServiceM8 Phone is a ServiceM8 Add-on, which can be activated from the add-on store online (go to Settings > ServiceM8 Add-ons > ServiceM8 Phone).
You will also need to download the ServiceM8 Phone app to receive and make calls on your iPhone or iPad, install the ServiceM8 Phone Chrome Extension to receive and make calls on the online dashboard. You must use the Google Chrome browser to receive and make calls through the ServiceM8 online dashboard. For step-by-step instructions on setting up ServiceM8 Phone, see this video. Can I use my existing desk phones, or buy desktop phones? No, ServiceM8 Phone does not currently support SIP phones or desktop phone handsets. In an office environment, you can either use ServiceM8 Phone with an iOS device (iPhone or iPad), or with the ServiceM8 Online Dashboard via the ServiceM8 Phone Chrome Extension (a headset is generally recommended). See this video for setup instructions. Can I request a different phone number? Yes. You will be allocated a ServiceM8 Phone number when you first activate the add-on, but you can browse other available numbers and change it — see here for guidance. Your ServiceM8 Phone number can be called directly. You also have the option to:

• Divert your existing phone number/s to your ServiceM8 Phone number; or
• Port your existing phone number from your current carrier, to ServiceM8 (see here for guidance).

Your ServiceM8 Phone number will be used as your default Caller ID for outbound calls you make, however you can go through a quick verification process which allows you to use your current business phone number as your Caller ID for outbound calls. See here for guidance on Caller ID. Can I use the number ServiceM8 gives me, or do I need my own number? You can either use your new ServiceM8 Phone number as your public business number for your clients, or you can divert all calls going to your current number on to your ServiceM8 Phone number (if your current phone service supports call forwarding). It’s also possible to “port” existing phone numbers you have for your business, from the current carrier service, to ServiceM8 Phone (i.e. if you want to use a pre-existing phone number for your business, avoid the need to divert phone calls and pay for one service, you can port the number/s to ServiceM8). For more information on porting, see here. Do I need to have the ServiceM8 app installed in order to use the ServiceM8 Phone app? Yes, ServiceM8 Phone is a separate app to the ServiceM8 job management app. You will need to install and log into both the ServiceM8 app and ServiceM8 Phone app, which are available on the iOS App Store. What is the difference between the ServiceM8 Phone app and the Chrome Extension? The Chrome Extension allows you to use ServiceM8 Phone on your desktop computer/laptop through the ServiceM8 Online Dashboard. The ServiceM8 Phone app allows you to use ServiceM8 Phone on your iOS device. What do I need to do to answer calls on my computer? To answer calls on your computer, you need to have the Chrome Extension installed and be logged into your ServiceM8 account in Google Chrome, and you will need to have speakers and a microphone. We recommend using a headset for the best call quality. Relying on your computer’s built-in speakers and microphone can result in poor audio quality and increased background noise (also, most desktop computers don’t have a built-in microphone). See this video for setup guidance. What do I need to do to answer calls on my iOS device? To answer calls on your iOS device you need to install and log into both the ServiceM8 app and the ServiceM8 Phone app. Both apps are available on the iOS App Store. You will need to be in the Business Hours Call Group for your device to receive inbound calls from clients. If you are not in the Business Hours Call Group, you will still be able to make outbound calls and receive internal calls and transfers. See this video for setup guidance. I have more than one business number — can I have multiple phone numbers with ServiceM8 Phone? To an extent, yes: You can add additional ServiceM8 Phone numbers to your account, at an extra cost per number. To do so, go to Settings > ServiceM8 Phone > Manage > Add a new number, and follow the process. You can also port existing landlines for your business, from the current carrier service, to ServiceM8 Phone (at an extra cost per number) i.e. after you’ve successfully ported the number/s to ServiceM8, you can have them all ringing into ServiceM8. See here for guidance on porting. Alternatively, you can divert as many phone numbers as you like to your ServiceM8 Phone number, however you won’t be able to tell which number the client called when they ring through on ServiceM8 Phone. You will also need to maintain the phone services supporting your existing phone numbers. Note that, regardless of whether you have ported phone numbers to ServiceM8, or are just diverting them to ServiceM8, you can only have one outbound Caller ID i.e. you can only set one phone number to appear to clients when you call them using ServiceM8 Phone. See here for guidance on Caller ID. How many lines can I have going at once? There is no limit on the total number of calls that can be active in your account i.e. one staff member being on the phone will not block the line for other incoming calls. However, both the ServiceM8 Phone app and the ServiceM8 Phone Chrome Extension support a maximum of two simultaneous calls per user i.e. 1 x active call & 1 x caller on hold. If you add more staff members to your Business Hours Call Group, each additional person will be able to handle two additional calls at a time. Can I port my existing number to ServiceM8 Phone? Yes, once you have used ServiceM8 Phone for some time you can become eligible to “port” numbers to ServiceM8. Fees and requirements apply — see here for guidance on porting. How do I divert an existing number to ServiceM8 Phone? If you are with Telstra (Australia) you can divert your phone following the steps provided here. If the number is attached to an iPhone, you can divert calls from your device — go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding. For all other cases, it will depend on your existing phone setup and/or phone service provider as to how to divert your phone calls (you may need to check with your service provider). In the scenario of forwarding calls to ServiceM8 Phone, you should check with your service provider if there are any additional costs associated with forwarding calls. Can I use ServiceM8 Phone with special service numbers, like 1800 or 1300 numbers in Australia? To an extent. If your service supports call forwarding, you could divert incoming calls to your special service number onto your ServiceM8 Phone number, however if you are diverting more than one number to ServiceM8 Phone, you won’t be able to tell which number the customer called when it rings through to you on ServiceM8 Phone. Further, you won’t be able to set the special service number (like 1800 or 1300 numbers in Australia) as your outgoing Caller ID for your business. Can I request a mobile/cell number as my ServiceM8 Phone inbound number? In Australia, you can choose a mobile number. In all other countries, ServiceM8 Phone inbound numbers are landline numbers. However, you can divert a mobile number to your ServiceM8 Phone number, and you can setup ServiceM8 Phone to use your mobile number as your outbound Caller ID. See here for guidance on Caller ID. Can I record my own voicemail message? Yes, you can customise your own Voicemail and Welcome messages by uploading an audio recording in *.wav or *.mp3 format, or type a message which will be converted to an audio message. Do I need to set a Welcome Message? No, you can skip the Welcome Message step of the setup process. However, if you are recording inbound calls then your local laws may require that you notify, or gain consent from, all parties to a call in order to record it. In this case we recommend that you use the Welcome Message for this requirement. How do I set which staff member is on call? In the ServiceM8 app, go to More > Staff, then tap on which staff member you want and select “Set on call”. Online, in the Dispatch Board tab, click the drop-down arrow next to the staff member you want and select “Set on call”. Will all staff receive calls? No, only staff members added to the Business Hours Call Group will receive incoming phone calls. See this video for setup guidance. If I’m using an iPad do I need to have a SIM card? No, you just need internet access. However, if you plan on making and taking calls on an iPad in the field, a cellular iPad with a SIM card and internet connectivity is recommended, as WiFi is not available everywhere and tethering to other devices can be impractical. How does ServiceM8 Phone work in areas with lower internet/connectivity coverage? When using the ServiceM8 Phone app without WiFi, you will need at least one bar of 4G or two bars of 3G reception to receive calls. The app will display an alert on the call if connection quality is poor. Do I need internet access? Yes, as the ServiceM8 Phone is a VoIP service you need an internet connection to make and receive calls. Can I cancel my phone plan with my current provider? It depends. If you want to adopt your new ServiceM8 Phone number as your public-facing business phone number, then you may not need your pre-existing phone number/service. If you want to use your existing phone number with ServiceM8 Phone (covered elsewhere in these FAQs), you can become eligible to port your number to ServiceM8 (see here for more information on porting). Also note that ServiceM8 Phone is a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) system which requires a constant internet connection — all field staff will require a separate mobile phone service to maintain internet connectivity, and all office staff using ServiceM8 Phone via the online dashboard will require fast, consistent & reliable internet. Can I use ServiceM8 Phone with a dual SIM setup? Possibly. There have been cases in which iOS devices with a dual SIM setup have been associated with call quality issues with ServiceM8 Phone, and disabling the secondary SIM has resolved the issue. If you have a dual SIM setup, it’s recommended you thoroughly test ServiceM8 Phone on your dual SIM device/s, in real-world conditions.

​

Features & Functionality

Does ServiceM8 Phone work for on call staff after hours? Yes, you can set one staff member to be on call outside business hours. The on call staff member can be changed from the ServiceM8 app or the online dashboard. See this video for guidance on daily use. Can I call from the online dashboard? Yes, you can make and receive calls from the online dashboard. You will need to use Google Chrome and install the ServiceM8 Phone Chrome Extension. See this video for setup guidance. Can I make and receive international calls? No, international calls are not supported through ServiceM8 Phone. Is call forwarding available for unanswered calls? Yes, you can set up a Secondary Call Group, and an External Phone Number (e.g. if you use an external service to help manage your phone lines, such as a virtual assistant or call-answering service, you can set unanswered ServiceM8 Phone calls to ring through to them rather than go to voicemail) — see How to divert calls to an external number. Do my iPhone contacts get displayed in ServiceM8 Phone Contacts? The ServiceM8 Phone app can use your iOS contacts to show the name of the caller for incoming calls, but they are not listed anywhere inside the ServiceM8 Phone app. In the Contacts tab of the ServiceM8 Phone app, you will only see other staff members in your ServiceM8 account. Are group/conference calls supported? No, ServiceM8 Phone does not support group/conference calls. Can we make internal calls? Yes, you can call any staff member that is logged in and has the ServiceM8 Phone app (via the Contacts tab) or ServiceM8 Phone Chrome extension installed (via the staff icons in the Dispatch Board tab). Does it work with CarPlay? Yes, ServiceM8 Phone can be used to make and receive calls using CarPlay. However advanced features such as allocating calls to jobs and sending Booking Texts to customers are not supported with CarPlay. Can I set up an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system? No, ServiceM8 Phone does not support IVR (i.e. a system where people calling your number will initially hear a recording with instructions to press a specific number to reach certain staff or parts of the business). Can I block staff from being able to see customers’ numbers? No, ServiceM8 Phone will display customer numbers for inbound and outbound calls. Can I have all my staff call out from the business number? Yes, all outbound calls made through the ServiceM8 Phone app or online dashboard will use your configured Caller ID. You have the option to set your outgoing Caller ID to another number you control. See here for guidance on Caller ID. I use two ServiceM8 accounts, can I be logged into both and receive calls from both accounts? No, each device can only receive calls through one ServiceM8 account at a time. Does ServiceM8 Phone have support for Virtual Assistants ServiceM8 Phone doesn’t currently have support for Virtual assistants or call answering services. To make and receive calls the customer must be logged into the ServiceM8 online dashboard or the ServiceM8 Phone app. However, you can divert unanswered calls to an external number via a Secondary Call Group — see here for guidance.

​

Day-to-day Usage

Do I need to have staff in my business hours call group? Yes, you need to select at least one staff member for your Business Hours Call Group. If this person isn’t available to receive calls (e.g. if they’re not logged in to ServiceM8 & ServiceM8 Phone) then incoming calls will go to straight to voicemail. Which staff member should I have in the Business Hours Call Group? Staff who are responsible for answering phone enquiries from customers should be in the Business Hours Call Group. If a customer needs to speak to someone not in the call group, the person who answers the call can transfer the customer to them, provided they have ServiceM8 Phone configured. Is a job created from every call I make or answer through ServiceM8 Phone? No, calls you make and receive can be added to existing jobs. If the call is in relation to a new enquiry, you can create a new job from the call. See this video for guidance on daily use. Can I allocate the record of a call “event” to a different client than the client who actually called me? The record of a call happening is assigned to a job, not a client. When you receive an inbound call, you can pick from a list of jobs which have that client’s phone number, and assign the call to one of those jobs. If none of those jobs are the correct one to assign the call to, you can instead assign the call to the ServiceM8 Inbox and convert it to a new job or assign it to an existing job from there. I want to answer calls at home/away from the office. Do I need to take my headset? No. You can answer calls wherever you are using the ServiceM8 Phone app, or through the Online Dashboard. If you are using the Online Dashboard and Chrome Extension, you will need access to speakers and a microphone, so a headset will be required unless your computer has this hardware built-in. An inbound call stopped ringing before I answered — how do I know if someone else answered the call? You will see in your recent calls list that the call was answered and by whom. If the call was missed but later returned by another staff member, the recent calls list will also show this. See this video for guidance on daily use. What happens when you miss a call? You will see all missed calls in your Recent Calls list, both in the ServiceM8 Phone app and the phone drop-down of the online dashboard. If another staff member has returned the call, this will be noted next to the call. If a voicemail has been received, you can find it in your ServiceM8 Inbox. In the ServiceM8 Phone app, you can also listen to the voicemail from the call details page accessed by clicking the “i” information icon from the Recent Calls list. How does ServiceM8 know which job to allocate a call against? ServiceM8 Phone will match the phone number of the person calling against the contacts in your current Quotes and Work Orders to determine which job the call should be attached to. If multiple jobs match, then the call record will be attached to the most recently edited job. Can I change the job the call is allocated to? Yes, you can change which job a call is allocated to in the Call Details view in the app, or from the Call History list in the online dashboard. See this video for guidance on daily use. What is a Call Summary? A Call Summary is a quick sentence to summarise what a recent call was about. By default, only calls with a Call Summary entered are shown in the relevant job Diary. If you want to view all call events attached to a job, you can view this in the Online Dashboard by scrolling to the bottom of the job Diary and clicking “Show hidden items”. How do I set a Call Summary? You can set a Call Summary from the Call Details view in the app, or within the Phone drop-down in the Online Dashboard. You can set a Call Summary either while you’re on the call, or after hanging up. See this video for guidance on daily use. Will putting my device on Do Not Disturb stop inbound calls from being received? Yes, putting your device on DND will stop inbound ServiceM8 Phone calls from being received. Will ServiceM8 Phone ring if I’m not Clocked On in ServiceM8? Yes. Your Clocked On/Off status in ServiceM8 does not affect your ability to receive calls in the ServiceM8 Phone app. If you’re in the Business Hours Call Group during business hours, or you are set On Call after hours, or if another team member calls you, then your ServiceM8 Phone will ring. See this video for guidance on daily use. If I log out of the ServiceM8 app, will I stop receiving calls? Yes logging out of either ServiceM8 or the ServiceM8 Phone app will prevent your device from ringing. When I log out of ServiceM8 online, will I stop receiving calls? Logging out of ServiceM8 online will stop the ServiceM8 Phone Chrome Extension from ringing. However, if you have closed the ServiceM8 tab without clicking “log out”, then you can still make and receive calls using the Chrome Extension. Will my computer ring if it’s asleep? No, your computer needs to be awake, Google Chrome open, and you need to be logged in to ServiceM8, in order to receive calls via the Online Dashboard and Chrome extension. Can I turn off the keypad tones? With the ServiceM8 Phone app, if your iOS device is not in silent mode you will hear the key tones. In the online dashboard, the keypad tones will only sound if you press a key while a call is in progress. Can I change the ringtone, or make it louder, on my iPhone/iPad? The ServiceM8 Phone app’s ringtone cannot be customised. If the phone’s not ringing loud enough for you, review your device’s ‘Ringer and Alerts’ volume settings in Settings > Sounds & Haptics.