Set up your phone number

The first time you open Callify, it asks you to choose a plan. Plans are picked on Shopify’s own plan page, which Callify opens for you, and every charge lands on your Shopify bill. → Plans and pricing

Once you’re on a plan, Callify walks you through two things: which number customers will call, and which phone should ring when they do.

It takes about two minutes, and you can change the forwarding number later.

Step 1 — Choose your toll-free number

Callify offers you an available toll-free number straight away. If it looks fine, take it and move on — there’s no wrong answer here.

If you’d rather have something memorable, press Choose a different number to see a list and a search box:

• Type digits to find numbers containing them — 1234, or your street number.
• Type letters to find numbers that spell something on a phone keypad. Searching SHOP looks for numbers containing 7467.

You can also switch the country between the United States and Canada. Pick the country where most of your customers are — a US toll-free number is still free to call from Canada and vice versa, but it reads as more local to the country it belongs to.

Why toll-free?

Toll-free numbers cost your customers nothing to call, which makes people more likely to actually pick up the phone and ask. They also work nationwide across the US and Canada, and they read as a real business rather than someone’s mobile.

Step 2 — Set your forwarding number

This is the phone that rings when a customer calls your Callify number. For most merchants that’s their mobile.

Choose the country, then type the number. Callify formats it as you type, so just enter the digits.

A few things worth knowing:

• Customers never see this number. They only ever see your toll-free number. When a call is forwarded to you, your phone shows the caller’s number.
• It can be any US or Canadian phone — mobile, landline, a VoIP line, an answering service.
• You can change it whenever you like in Settings → Phone Number.

When you press Continue with this number, Callify buys the number and points it at your phone. From that moment it’s live: anyone who calls it will ring you.

What happens next

You land on the Callify home page, where you’ll see:

• A card confirming your number is ready, with the number itself.
• A Setup Guide with four remaining steps — business hours, voicemail, texting registration, and a test call.

None of those four are required for calls to work. Your line is already taking calls. They’re the difference between a phone line that works and one that works well, and the setup checklist explains what each one buys you.

If setup won’t let you continue

You keep landing on “Choose a plan”. Callify can’t set up a number until your store is on a plan. Press Open the plan page, approve a plan on Shopify’s page, and you’ll be brought back to set up your number.

“That number was taken while you were choosing. Please pick another.” — someone else got it first. Pick another number.

“Your store’s phone service is still being set up. Please try again in a moment.” — exactly that. Wait a moment and press Continue with this number again.

Anything else — a search that fails, or a number that won’t finish setting up — is usually temporary. Try again, and if it keeps happening, email support@callify.co.