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How do I add phone lines to my Beside account?

Learn how to add, manage, and remove multiple phone lines and inboxes with the Beside Business plan.

Livie avatar
Written by Livie
Updated over a week ago

This guide walks you through the practical steps to create, switch between, and delete phone lines and inboxes in Beside.

📚 Looking to invite teammates to your inbox?

For team access and collaboration, see: Can I share my Beside inbox with my team?

ℹ️ Before you start

  • 👥 Business plan required

You need to be on Beside’s Business plan to add multiple phone lines under the same account and collaborate with your team.

  • 👤 Starter plan limitation

The Starter plan includes one phone line and one inbox, with no ability to add additional lines or share your inbox with teammates.

📚 Not sure which plan you’re on, or whether you need to upgrade?

Check out: Which Beside plan is right for me? Starter vs Business

How to add a new line to your Beside account

➡️ Steps (iPhone + Android)

  • Open Beside → go to Settings

  • Under Inboxes → tap + New Inbox

  • Name your inbox and Customize it (icon & color) to stay organized

  • Set up the AI Receptionist for this line, including:

    • voice

    • preferred name, company name

    • industry, role,

    • email, website, address

    • operating hours, FAQ & knowledge,

    • greeting & call handling scope

      💡 You can use the demo call feature to test your setup.

That’s it. Your new line will appear in your inbox list. ✔️

⏭️ Next step

Once your line is set up, you can invite teammates to join this inbox when you’re ready.

📚 See: Can I share my Beside inbox with my team?

🎨 Need to change your inbox's the name or icon later?

You can update them anytime:

  • Go to Settings → select the inbox → Customize Inbox → Name & Icon

  • On Android, this may appear as Edit inbox

Switching between lines & inboxes

Once you have multiple inboxes, you’ll see an Inbox selector dropdown in your main Inbox tab (where your conversation history appears).

➡️ Steps to switch between lines:

  • Open Beside → go to Inbox

  • Tap the Inbox selector dropdown at the top left of the Inbox tab

  • Select the Inbox you want to view

This filters your conversation history to show calls and messages for that inbox only.

What is the Personal Inbox?

Once you have more than one inbox, you’ll see them all in the Inbox selector dropdown at the top left of the Inbox tab.

In the list, you’ll see:

  • An inbox called “My Inbox” (unless you’ve renamed it), which is the inbox tied to the first line you created when you joined Beside on the Starter plan.

  • Any additional inboxes you’ve created on the Business plan.

  • An inbox called “Personal Inbox”

The Personal Inbox is not tied to a phone number and is a private space just for you. It contains items that shouldn’t be shared with teammates, including:

  • Voice recordings (voice memos recorded using the in-app In-Person Recorder)

  • Meeting captures (if you use Beside Desktop for macOS)

  • Daily Recaps, which centralize recaps from all your lines into a single daily notification

  • Team DMs and chats with other Beside users

  • Any item marked with a 🔒 lock

Assign a contact to a specific line & inbox

Beside remembers your preferred inbox for each contact, but you can change it anytime from the contact’s card.

📱 iPhone only

➡️ Steps

  • Open Beside → go to Inbox

  • Open the chat with the contact you want to update

  • Tap the contact’s name or phone number at the top of the conversation

  • Under their profile picture → tap to select the inbox you want to assign them to

Once assigned, calls and messages to that contact will use the selected inbox by default. ✔️

Remove a line / delete an inbox

➡️ Steps (iPhone + Android)

  • Open Beside → go to Settings

  • Under Inboxes → tap the inbox you wish to delete

  • Scroll down to Manage → tap Delete Inbox

  • Confirm deletion

⚠️ What happens after deleting an inbox?

Deleting an inbox is permanent and cannot be undone. This will:

  • Permanently remove all chats, call logs, and inbox settings

  • Remove the line from your home screen, settings, and all dropdown menus

  • Automatically remove any teammates who had access to this inbox

💳 Billing note

  • Deleting a line does not affect your subscription or billing amount.

  • If you want to downgrade back to the 👤 Starter plan, you can do so anytime from Settings → Manage Plan.

FAQs

Will I lose data when upgrading to Business plan?

No. Your messages, calls, and settings remain intact when switching plans.

Can I downgrade from the Business plan back to Starter?

Yes. You can switch back to the Starter plan at any time from Settings → Manage Plan.

What happens if I downgrade from the Business plan back to Starter?

  • The downgrade takes effect at the end of your current billing period

  • You lose access to additional phone lines and inboxes created under the Business plan

  • All team members are removed and shared inboxes are deactivated

  • Your original line (created when you first joined Beside on the Starter plan) and your Personal Inbox remain active

  • Additional inboxes are not deleted, but become inactive:

    • You can still view past conversations

    • You can’t make or receive calls or texts from those inboxes

  • Conversation history remains visible, but original inbox associations are no longer shown

  • Inbox-specific filters and settings are hidden until you upgrade again

How much does the Business plan cost?

The plan is billed through Apple, Google, or Stripe (for web subscriptions).

  • $49.99 / month or

  • $299.99 / year (save ~50%)

📌 All billing and plan changes are managed directly in the app: Settings → Manage Plan. For full details, visit our pricing page.

Can I have different AI Receptionist greetings for each line? Can I set separate Call Forwarding and Caller ID per line?

Yes. Each phone line and inbox can have its own:

  • AI Receptionist greeting, knowledge and behavior

  • Call Forwarding and Caller ID settings

All of these are managed individually from Settings → Inboxes.

How many lines can I create?

You can create up to 5 phone lines per account on the Business plan.

Can I share my line and inbox with my team?

Yes. The Business plan includes team collaboration.

You can invite up to 15 team members per inbox, allowing them to:

  • Handle calls and messages for that line

  • Collaborate on the same inbox in real time

📚 For step-by-step instructions, see: Can I share my Beside inbox with my team?

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