> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.verbu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Verbu as a soft phone

> Skip the PBX entirely — let Verbu be the phone number customers call.

If you don't already have a phone system, or you'd rather not deal with one, Verbu can be the phone system. You get a real number, customers call it, and your agent picks up. No PBX involved.

## When this is the right choice

* You're a new business and don't have a phone setup yet
* Your existing phone system is a pain to change, and you'd rather move on
* You want a number dedicated to a specific agent — for a campaign, a support line, or after-hours coverage — without touching anything you already have
* You want all calls (or all calls to a specific number) handled by the agent, with no human queue behind it

## What you get

* A real, callable phone number — in your country, your area code where possible
* An agent that answers it 24/7
* Forwarding to a real person whenever the agent decides to (configurable per agent)

## How to set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick a number">
    In the dashboard, go to **Phone numbers** and click **Get a number**. Pick the country and, if available, an area code that matches where you are.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign it to your agent">
    Open your agent, go to **Channels → Take incoming calls**, and choose the new number. The toggle is now green — incoming calls will go to this agent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Try it">
    Call the number from your mobile. The agent picks up. That's the whole flow.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Forwarding to a real person

The whole point of using Verbu as a soft phone is usually that the agent handles most things on its own. But sometimes a real person should step in — a complex complaint, a VIP customer, or simply when the caller asks for it.

Under your agent's **Forwarding** capability, add the contacts the agent should be able to transfer to. Each contact is just a name, a phone number, and (optionally) a short note about when to use them ("for billing questions", "weekdays only", and so on).

When the agent decides a forward is the right move, it tells the caller, transfers the call, and steps out.

## What the caller experiences

* The number rings normally
* The agent picks up within a second or two
* The conversation feels like a real conversation, not an IVR menu
* If the agent forwards, the caller hears "I'll connect you to Maria — one moment" and the next thing they hear is Maria

## Common scenarios

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I want a local number in my country">
    Most European countries are supported. Pick the country in the **Get a number** flow and you'll see what's available. If your country isn't listed, contact Verbu support — we add countries based on demand.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I want to keep my old number too">
    You can. Set up your new agent with a Verbu number for now, and ask your old number's provider to **port** it to Verbu when you're ready. Porting takes a few weeks because the providers have to talk to each other, but you keep the number forever.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I want different agents on different numbers">
    Get one number per agent. The dashboard lets you have as many as you need, and each one is assigned to exactly one agent at a time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I want the agent on for some hours, the team on for others">
    Two options. Either set up time-of-day forwarding inside the agent (so the agent always picks up and forwards to the team during business hours), or keep your old PBX in front of Verbu and let it do the routing — see [Most PBX solutions](/en/pbx/most-pbx-solutions).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

* Build out the agent itself: [Building your first agent](/en/getting-started/building-your-first-agent)
* Add the contacts the agent can transfer to, under **Forwarding** on the agent
* Connect a [booking integration](/en/integrations) so the agent can do more than just answer questions