Outbound Caller ID
Your outbound caller ID is the number people see when you call or text them from Close. You can change it from the Phone Settings popover in the desktop or web app, or from the phone popover on mobile.
Which numbers you can use
A number is available to you as an outbound caller ID if either of these is true:
- You are a member of the number. Any number you’re a member of is always available to you.
- Anyone in your organization can use it. Each number has an Allow anyone in your organization to use this number as caller ID setting. When it’s on, anyone in your organization can select that number as their caller ID, whether or not they receive its inbound calls.
If you have more than one number, you don’t have to pick one. Turn on Local Presence and Close chooses the best number for each call and text. See Local Presence.
This is deliberately separate from inbound ringing. A shared main line can be answered by three people but used as caller ID by the whole team; a rep’s direct line can ring only them and be usable only by them.
Changing your caller ID
Open your Phone Settings, click your current number, and pick from the numbers available to you. The top option, Local Presence, picks a number for you per call; any specific number below it is a fixed caller ID. Picking a specific number turns Local Presence off until you choose it again.
Local Presence
If you have more than one number, Local Presence can pick your caller ID for each call and text — a number the contact already knows, or the one closest to their area code. It only picks numbers you’re a member of, and each number’s Local Presence settings control whether it’s included. Local Presence is available on the Essentials, Growth and Scale plans.
See Local Presence for how it picks a number.
Letting anyone in your organization use a number
Open the number under Settings > Communication > Phone & Voicemail and, under Members, turn on Allow anyone in your organization to use this number as caller ID. This requires the Manage Team Phone Numbers permission. See Who can change what.
Turn this on for numbers that represent the business rather than a person — a main line, a toll-free number, a number used by the Predictive Dialer. Leave it off for numbers that belong to one rep.
Sharing a number’s inbound calls and sharing its caller ID are separate choices. A number can ring a small team while the whole organization calls out from it, or ring a team and be usable only by them.
The Predictive Dialer
Predictive calling dials from the system rather than from a specific user, so it needs a number that anyone in your organization can call from. Only numbers with Allow anyone in your organization to use this number as caller ID turned on can be used.
You can also choose Local Presence for a session. The dialer then picks per call from the numbers with that setting on, using the same rules as above.
If none of your numbers has it on, an admin can enable it on the number’s settings page. See Using the Predictive Dialer.
Voice agents
A voice agent can dial from any number in your organization. When you set up an agent, you can pick any number you’re a member of; users with the Manage Team Phone Numbers permission can pick any number.
A voice agent can also use Local Presence instead of a fixed number. It then picks per call from the numbers with Voice agents’ calls turned on in their Local Presence settings. That checkbox only controls the Local Presence pool, not which numbers you can pick for an agent.
See Voice Agent Setup.
Your primary number
One of your numbers is your primary number. It’s your caller ID until you change it, and the number Local Presence falls back to when it can’t find a better match.
Your primary number is shown at the top of your list under Settings > Communication > Phone & Voicemail. Changing your caller ID doesn’t change which number is primary.
If you need your primary number changed, contact Support.
External numbers as caller ID
You can also verify a number you own elsewhere (for example, one from your mobile carrier) and use it as caller ID for outbound calls only. External numbers can’t receive inbound calls or SMS in Close.
Add one under Settings > Communication > Phone & Voicemail > + Add > External Number and follow the verification steps. Once verified, it appears alongside your other numbers in the Phone Settings popover. See Calling Setup.
A number remains verified with our provider even after you remove it from Close, so re-adding a number you have previously verified skips the verification call. Close confirms the number is verified and ready to use.
Displaying your business name (CNAM)
Close can display your business name alongside your number in the United States. This requires submitting business information to our carrier for approval — contact Support to start.
CNAM is not available for Canadian numbers, and a US number calling a Canadian number won’t display CNAM.
If your business name displays incorrectly, Support can investigate, though the final display depends on the receiving carrier’s configuration and isn’t something Close controls end to end.
Any questions?
Our Support Team is always happy to help.