Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to our Help Centre

Here you will find the answers to questions we're frequently asked.

We’ve grouped the questions into categories on the left, so simply choose the section you’re interested in and you’ll be presented with a list of categories relevant to each service we offer.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Accounts and Billing

Direct debit

Sign up to direct debit and we'll take payment on your assigned collection date each month. Using direct debit is both convenient and practical.

However, please note that payment for your first month's service will be collected in advance via your credit or debit card.

Add a card to your account

You will be required to provide your card details when you first sign up to our service. However, should you ever have to add another card, the instructions below will explain how you can do this.

To add a card to your account you must first of all log in to your account and on your Control Panel select “Account Details”. Once you have opened this, scroll down to Payment Details then click the link “Add a new card”. Here, simply input your details then click the “Add card” button at the bottom.

Remove card details from your account

To remove an old card from your account click “Delete this card” from the Payment Details section within “Account Details” where your cards are listed.

Please note that at least one valid card must be held on your account at all times.

All of our services are provided on a 30-day monthly rolling contract. We want to give our customers the greatest flexibility when using our service, so you are able to upgrade, downgrade or cancel entirely online, at any time you like.

In order to confirm a change to your account, such as a cancellation, we'll send a link via email to the address registered on your account which you'll need to click on before the change is actioned.

Receptionist calls

Please see your individual package plan for full details of charges for calls answered by your Receptionists or Service Desk Team.

Additional Calls: What if I go over my allowance?

Please see the chart below for a simple breakdown of all additional call charges for the Simply66 packages. These are the charges for each call we take for you after you have exceeded your call allowance:

Additional Call Charges
Simply Starter Simply Lite Simply Standard Knowledge20 Knowledge40 Knowledge100
£1.50 per call £1.50 per call £1.50 per call from £2.00 per call from £2.00 per call from £2.00 per call

Call Transfer

Call Transfer is an optional feature with a small additional charge, which comes with all of our services and packages except for Electronic Receptionist.

It's available at a cost of 50p per transfer for up to 1 hour, and then the standard call rates will apply after this.

Each transfer we make will carry this charge, including transfers that reach a voicemail system and those that simply ring-out without being answered. See below for a breakdown of our Call Transfer charges:

Call Transfer Charges
Prefix Description Up to 1 hour After 1 hour Connection Fee
- Call Transfer 50p Standard rate* 0.0p
*1p per min to landlines, 8.5p per min to mobiles

Calls made from your Simply66 Number

The number you receive with your Simply66 package allows you to make and receive calls. As a VoIP provider, our call rates are extremely competitive. Please see below for full pricing information:

Summary of UK call charges
Prefix Description Peak per min Off Peak per min Connection Fee
01, 02, 03 UK Landline 1.0p 0.5p 0.0p
07* UK Mobiles 8.5p 8.0p 0.0p
0800 Freephone 0.0p 0.0p 0.0p
*Excludes 070 revenue share

To view the relevant Terms and Conditions or Policies, please click the relevant link below:

In the event that you end up with an outstanding invoice, there is a simple solution to resolve it to automatically reinstate your services with us. This can be the result of a card simply expiring or a payment being declined by your bank.

To resolve this, log into your Control Panel and select “Account Details” from the right-hand side. Locate Payment Details, select the “Add a new card” link then enter your card details.

Once you have done this go back to the main Control Panel. Here, click the number next to “Outstanding Invoices” above the main Invoices button. On this page, select the Pay Now button and this will take the payment from your newly added card on your account.

Please remember, you must have at least one valid card on your account at all times.

What if we can't take a payment?

If, as we outlined in the “What methods of payment do you accept?” section, you pay in advance for the first month of your service via credit or debit card, we will then start taking your payments via direct debit.

However, if for any reason after this we cannot take a payment for a particular month via direct debit we will charge your credit card this amount for the month.

To cancel a service, please log into your Control Panel. You'll see a 'Cancel a Service' button. You should click that, and then follow the relevant instructions.

We'll send you an email to confirm that you'd like to cancel – simply click the link within the email and the services you have selected will be cancelled.

If you don't complete the cancellation process by clicking this link, your services will continue.

Please note that if you do have any outstanding invoices on your account, the “Cancel a Service” feature will not work. You will need to resolve any outstanding amount before the service can be cancelled.

How do I upgrade/downgrade my package?

We don't tie customers into contracts, so you can upgrade or downgrade at any time. Simply reduce or increase your package, and the changes will take effect on your next billing date.

As outlined in our Terms & Conditions of Services, Simply66 reserves the right to terminate a customer account at any time should we suspect any irregular activity.

In such circumstances we will first of all contact the customer to obtain any information we need, which will help us understand any issue we may have with the account in question.

If, after this, we are still not satisfied with the activity of the account, we reserve the right to suspend the account.

In these circumstances we will write to the account holder to inform them of this decision.

You can read more in point "17. Termination" in our Terms & Conditions of Services here.

Virtual Receptionist

Email

After receiving a call, your virtual receptionist will type up all of the information gathered and will email you with details of the call, unless you instruct us otherwise.

For example, you may inform us to not notify you about any generic sales calls that our team take on your company's behalf.

The email will be sent to either the email address which you used when you set up your Simply66 account, or if the call was for a particular individual within your company, the receptionist will use any instructions given within your 'Company Information' questionnaire to email them the information directly.

Call Recording

Once a call to our receptionist is completed, the full recording will be automatically uploaded to your account. In the email detailing the message left by the caller, you'll be provided with a link to download or listen to the full recording.

Can you send messages to multiple email addresses? Is there an additional charge for this?

Yes, we can send messages to multiple email addresses and there is no extra charge for this – you are charged for each call and not each message that we send.

How do I stop sales/marketing calls being passed over as a message?

After clicking Virtual Receptionist on your Control Panel, click Settings and in the "Notes" section you can add information which will be seen by the receptionist when they take a call from a customer.

You should use this to state that you would not like any sales or marketing calls to be sent to you in a message.

Please see the chart below for a simple breakdown of all additional call charges, including our Service Desk packages.

Additional Call Charges
Simply Starter Simply Lite Simply Standard Knowledge20 Knowledge40 Knowledge100
£1.50 per call £1.50 per call £1.50 per call from £2.00 per call from £2.00 per call from £2.00 per call

Where can I find out how many calls I have left this month?

From your Control Panel select "Account Details" and here, under your Account credit details, you will see how many calls you have left for the month beside "Inclusive Receptionist calls remaining"

We offer an assurance of quality, based on our internal procedures and transparency.

Standards through self-regulation

We're completely open about the service you receive. Every message is recorded and a link to the recording sent to you via email.

You will also be able to access a full list of all recordings within your Simply66 account. In your Control Panel, click on "Virtual Receptionist" and your previous calls will be listed below.

Our receptionists are aware of this procedure, ensuring that each of your calls means as much to them as they do to you.

Getting it right, every time

As a Simply66 customer, you’ll have access to a range of areas to enter information about your business, and how you’d like us to deal with specific calls.

Whether a customer asks a specific question or needs details for a particular individual or department, you can rest assured that our receptionists will get it right, every time.

As long as you have provided the details, our instant pop up box ensures that your receptionist has access to the information you want to give.

Failsafe routing options

Once you’ve selected the way you’d like your calls to be routed, simply sit back and relax, knowing that the process will run like clockwork.

We have perfected our own systems over many years, so whether you’d like a call to ring your mobile for 30 seconds before being forwarded on to your Simply66 receptionists, or if you’d just like to forward all calls on a certain day or time, you can rest assured that your calls will be routed exactly how you have specified.

There are two parts to the Standard Business Information with your Simply66 service: the basic information about your business that you wish to provide us with so we can use this to inform customers; and secondly, the basic information we will take from the customer.

Your standard business information

The Standard Business Information feature covers your basic company information and is available across all three packages.

It is basic factual information about your business. This may be information on your business opening hours, your business address, your website and so on.

You can keep this information up to date in your account and it will be presented to a receptionist member when they answer a customer's call, in the form of a screen pop so they will have this information readily available on the screen as the call is taken which will allow us to take the call for you exactly the way you want.

The customer's standard business information

This covers the basic information we will take from a customer on a call for you and is available across all three Virtual Receptionist packages.

These will be basic details about the customer and the nature of their call, which as a general rule will be: the customer’s name (and company name if applicable), their phone number, email address and a brief message provided by the caller.

We can swap taking their email address to an alternative request of information more relevant to your business, if you would prefer.

Your company information is what our live receptionists see in the form of a screen pop when a customer calls your number which is diverted to us – it gives our receptionists an overview of your company's core information enabling them to seamlessly appear as part of your organisation.

To update your information, log in to your account and on your Control Panel select “Virtual Receptionist”, then click "Settings".

In this window you will see various areas where you can update your business information including business name, its correct pronunciation, contact details, what the company is/does plus many more.

Once saved, this information is immediately updated and transferred to the receptionists.

Service Desk

We make it our priority to know your business inside out. By empowering our receptionists with information, we can provide your customers with a seamless service, whilst allowing you time to manage your business without distraction.

Getting to know you

Our service desk team are keen to get to know your business, so as soon as you've joined Simply66, one of our team will check the information you have provided in your business information, General FAQs and Customised FAQs to ensure everything is clear.

We'll contact you with any specific questions, for example pronunciation of your company name or anywhere we think we might need further information to answer calls on your behalf.

Rapport with your customers

When a customer calls, our service desk team are able to quickly see any previous correspondence with the same caller. This allows them to know the customer's name, and any previous dealings with your business.

Knowing a caller's history is great for continuity, and provides an image of competency and integration between your Simply66 service desk and your organisation.

Fitting with your business needs

Whether you need our team just to pick up calls as an overflow, or if you'd like us to take all calls to enable you to concentrate on running your business, the service is flexible in meeting your needs.

The level of knowledge our service desk team can have on your products or services means that we rarely need to transfer calls to you.

Performance feedback

Receiving a recording of each interaction between our service desk team and your callers gives you a great opportunity to let us know how we can improve the way we answer your calls.

Whether it's recognising certain frequently asked questions and letting us know the answers to them, or providing us with more detailed instructions on a particular subject, we're always open to suggestions of ways to improve our closeness to your business.

Standard Business Information

The Standard Business Information sheet covers your basic company information and is available across all three packages.

It is basic factual information about your business. This may be information on your business opening hours, your business address, your website and so on.

You can keep this information up to date in your account and it will be presented to a Service Desk staff member when they answer a customer's call, in the form of a screen pop so they will have this information readily available on the screen as the call is taken.

Customised FAQs

The number of FAQs you provide us with are variable across the three package levels: Knowledge, Wisdom and Guru.

These will be straightforward, standard answers that remain the same each time the question is asked, however unlike the Standard Business Information form, the topics and potential questions are entirely customisable by yourself.

For example, you may be frequently asked if you are able to deliver to the Scottish Highlands, but this field is not available on the standard business information form. Simply add this question, and provide the answer.

The Difference Between Virtual Receptionist and Service Desk?

In a nutshell, the Virtual Service Desk service offers you the chance to get more than just basic call answering out of your service with us.

Whilst our Virtual Receptionist service significantly helps you look more professional and capture each call and potential business lead, the Virtual Service Desk allows you to integrate us more closely with your business.

It does this by giving you 15 FAQs, on top of an allocation of calls per month, that you can fill in to give us more information about your business, its products or services.

Time-saving benefits

This is typically beneficial if you find you're often pushed for time carrying out your day-to-day duties, whilst finding yourself being distracted by customers ringing your phone and frequently asking the same sort of questions that a receptionist or PA would be able to do for you.

Your FAQs can be open-ended or close-ended – the whole point is that it saves you from answering the same old FAQs yourself.

Electronic Receptionist

Organise your calls

Electronic Receptionist allows you to organise your calls the smart way, by giving you the ability to choose clear call routing paths which will come into effect as soon as a customer calls your number.

It gives you the opportunity to configure your routing in a way which suits your business.

Without it, when a customer calls your number and asks to speak to someone, the person answering the call has to manually transfer the caller to the relevant person – this is both time and labour consuming.

The Electronic Receptionist takes away the need for this by doing everything a real person could do.

This means you or someone else within your organisation is not taken away from their main duties, by having to constantly answer calls that may be of no relevance to them and then manually transferring the call to the correct person.

Build a professional image

The Electronic Receptionist, often referred to as an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu, is something most people associate with big companies and large corporations, but with Simply66 you have the opportunity to use the technology available to these larger businesses to create your own IVR menu – regardless of your size.

This will enhance your business professionalism and make your company appear larger than it may actually be; giving your customers and leads confidence that they're dealing with a reputable company.

Ensuring your calls are routed to the right place is configured by two areas within your account with us: Routing Wizard and IVR/Call Director.

Routing Wizard

This is what ultimately controls how your calls are routed – for example; to an internal/external number (including a mobile phone), to an IVR menu or elsewhere.

Firstly, log in to your account and in your Control Panel click on “Your Numbers”.

Click on the number which you're configuring and then on the next page locate a green button labelled “Routing wizard” and click it to begin – the steps beside this button shows your current routing.

The Routing Wizard works in steps and you can define as many as you wish in your routing plan, including:

  • Send the call to your IP telephone (the default VoIP extension for your number)
  • Send the call to one or more internal/external destinations (this could be one or many mobile, landline or extensions)
  • Forward the call to your Virtual Receptionist
  • Send the call to Call Director (Interactive Voice Menu)
  • Play a message to the caller
  • Finish by sending the call to voicemail
  • Finish by hanging up without going to voicemail

At each step, you define how long you want that step to ring for.

For example, you might want to send the call to your mobile for 30 seconds and then go to voicemail if you don't answer. In this case you would define:

  • Step 1: Send the call to one or more internal/external destinations for 30 seconds
  • Step 2: Go to voicemail

Note that the Routing Wizard will skip a step if all the devices it tries to ring are busy in any step. So in the above example, if your mobile phone is busy, then it would skip Step 1 and go straight to voicemail.

IVR

You can also decide to route a call to an IVR menu (“For sales, press 1”) – this is useful if you have different personnel within your company for dealing with different types of customer enquiries.

If you plan on using an IVR menu within your call routing, you will firstly have to create the menu before implementing it into your Routing Wizard.

Please refer to the "How do I add an electronic receptionist menu?" section for information on how to set up your IVR.

The amount of menus you can create with your Interactive Voice Menu is limitless.

Whether you'd like two or three options, or multiple levels, our IVR can be adjusted to perfectly match your business's requirements and size.

What's more, we don't make any additional charge for extra levels you decide to implement.

How do I find a particular call recording?

Once you've selected 'Call Recording' within your Control Panel, you'll be presented with a list of your most recent inbound and outbound calls. You'll notice each call has the following labels:

  • Ref
  • Date / Time
  • From
  • To
  • Duration
  • Download

If the call you are looking for isn't on your recent list, use the search function at the top of the page.

Here, you can filter results by telephone number involved, extension, or the date of the call. Once you've chosen your parameters, simply select 'Apply'.

How do I turn recordings on/off?

Within the 'Change settings' tab in the Call Recording section of your Control Panel, you have the option to decide which calls you'd like to record.

By default, all calls made to and from your number will be recorded. Untick this box if you'd like to specify which calls you'd like recorded and simply follow the instructions and press 'Save.'

Can I download the sound files?

All of your call recordings can easily be downloaded by clicking the 'Download' button to the right of the corresponding file. Files are downloaded in mp3 format, and can be played with most standard audio programs.