What to Expect: Onboarding with Cannon VoIP

Most businesses put off switching phone providers because they're picturing weeks of downtime, a confusing setup, and a sales rep who disappears the moment the contract is signed. That's not how it works here. Since we don't lock anyone into long-term contracts, we don't get your business by making it hard to leave, we get it (and keep it) by making the switch itself painless. Here's what actually happens between signing up and going live.

Step 1: A quick setup call

We start by figuring out what you actually need: how many extensions, whether you're keeping your existing number(s) or starting fresh, which add-ons make sense (eFax, an AI receptionist, a forwarding call center, branded calling), and whether you need new desk phones or plan to bring your own. No pressure to overbuy, if you only need the basics, that's the whole quote.

Step 2: Keeping your number(s)

If you're porting existing numbers over, that process starts right away. Number porting is $15 per line, most numbers port the next business day, though it can take up to 5 business days depending on your current carrier. Whichever line is porting will only be down for a maximum of two minutes, and that two-minute window happens only at the moment the port actually completes, not while you're waiting for it. Starting fresh instead? New numbers can be assigned immediately, no waiting required.

Need to be live today and can't wait on the port? We can forward your calls to temporary numbers on your new Cannon VoIP system so your business is fully up and running the same day, while the port quietly finishes in the background. Once it completes, everything cuts over to your original number with that same two-minute window, and the temporary numbers go away. You're never stuck waiting on a carrier to take a call.

Step 3: Hardware, sorted out (or skip it entirely)

Ordering new desk phones? They arrive plug-and-play and pre-provisioned, so there's nothing to manually configure once they're on your desk. Prefer to keep the phones you already have? As long as they're on our approved compatibility list, we'll provision them onto your account for a flat $15 per phone (with a $300 minimum per order for BYOD-only orders). And if you'd rather skip desk phones altogether, that's completely fine too, plenty of businesses run entirely on the softphone app, no hardware purchase required at all. Whatever you choose, it's handled before your go-live date, not after.

Step 4: Extensions and training

Each employee gets their own extension, voicemail box, and direct dial number set up before launch. Remote or mobile team members get the softphone app so they can take their extension anywhere, no desk phone required. Before you go live, we walk your team through the basics: making and transferring calls, checking voicemail, and using whatever add-ons you picked, so nobody's guessing on day one.

Step 5: Go live

Once your system is configured and hardware (if any) is in place, we flip the switch. If you're porting numbers, that cutover window is a maximum of two minutes of downtime, most customers don't even notice it happen. From there, you're live on Cannon VoIP with real 24/7 support behind you, and still no long-term contract holding you in place.

So, how fast is this, really?

Configuring your system itself is quick, on average about two hours for accounts under 10 extensions. In most cases, that means the whole system goes from order to fully configured the same day. The one variable outside our control is number porting, since that runs on your old carrier's timeline (next business day to 5 business days), which is exactly why the temporary-number option above exists: it lets your business go live same day regardless, without waiting on anyone else.

What's included in onboarding