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

# Buy A Phone Number

> Learn how to purchase and configure a dedicated business phone number in the HoopAI Platform for SMS and calling.

export const CourseTracker = ({courseId, lessonId, videoId}) => {
  const [progress, setProgress] = useState({});
  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false);
  useEffect(() => {
    setProgress(loadProgress());
    document.body.setAttribute("data-academy", "true");
    return () => document.body.removeAttribute("data-academy");
  }, []);
  const course = COURSES[courseId];
  if (!course) return null;
  const lessons = course.lessons;
  const currentIndex = lessons.findIndex(l => l.id === lessonId);
  const completedCount = lessons.filter(l => !!progress[courseId + "/" + l.id]).length;
  const percent = lessons.length > 0 ? Math.round(completedCount / lessons.length * 100) : 0;
  const isCurrentDone = !!progress[courseId + "/" + lessonId];
  const prev = currentIndex > 0 ? lessons[currentIndex - 1] : null;
  const next = currentIndex < lessons.length - 1 ? lessons[currentIndex + 1] : null;
  const totalDuration = formatTotalDuration(lessons);
  const handleToggle = () => {
    const key = courseId + "/" + lessonId;
    const updated = {
      ...progress
    };
    if (updated[key]) {
      delete updated[key];
    } else {
      updated[key] = Date.now();
    }
    setProgress(updated);
    persistProgress(updated);
  };
  const lessonPath = lesson => "/academy/" + course.dir + "/" + lesson.id;
  const videoEmbed = videoId ? <div style={{
    position: "relative",
    width: "100%",
    paddingBottom: "56.25%",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-lg)",
    overflow: "hidden",
    marginBottom: "24px",
    background: "#000"
  }}>
      <iframe src={"https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/" + videoId + "?rel=0"} title="Lesson video" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen style={{
    position: "absolute",
    top: 0,
    left: 0,
    width: "100%",
    height: "100%",
    border: "none"
  }} />
    </div> : null;
  const lessonList = lessons.map(lesson => {
    const isActive = lesson.id === lessonId;
    const isDone = !!progress[courseId + "/" + lesson.id];
    const itemStyle = {
      display: "flex",
      alignItems: "center",
      gap: "8px",
      padding: "10px 16px",
      borderTop: "1px solid var(--academy-border-subtle, #f3f4f6)",
      background: isActive ? "var(--academy-active-bg, #f9fafb)" : "transparent",
      textDecoration: "none",
      cursor: isActive ? "default" : "pointer",
      color: "inherit",
      transition: "background 0.15s"
    };
    const titleStyle = {
      flex: 1,
      fontSize: "13px",
      fontWeight: isActive ? 600 : 400,
      color: isActive ? "var(--academy-text, #111827)" : "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
      overflow: "hidden",
      textOverflow: "ellipsis",
      whiteSpace: "nowrap",
      lineHeight: "1.4"
    };
    const durationStyle = {
      fontSize: "12px",
      color: "var(--academy-text-muted, #9ca3af)",
      whiteSpace: "nowrap"
    };
    const inner = <>
        {isDone ? <CheckCircle /> : <VideoIcon />}
        <span style={titleStyle}>{lesson.title}</span>
        <span style={durationStyle}>{lesson.duration}</span>
      </>;
    if (isActive) {
      return <div key={lesson.id} style={itemStyle}>
          {inner}
        </div>;
    }
    return <a key={lesson.id} href={lessonPath(lesson)} style={itemStyle}>
        {inner}
      </a>;
  });
  return <div className="not-prose" id="academy-course-tracker">
      {videoEmbed}
      <div className="academy-tracker" style={{
    fontFamily: "Inter, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, sans-serif",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-lg)",
    border: "1px solid var(--academy-border, #e5e7eb)",
    background: "var(--academy-bg, #ffffff)",
    overflow: "hidden",
    marginBottom: "24px"
  }}>
        {}
        <div style={{
    padding: "16px 16px 0"
  }}>
          <h3 style={{
    margin: 0,
    fontSize: "16px",
    fontWeight: 600,
    lineHeight: "1.4",
    color: "var(--academy-text, #111827)"
  }}>
            {course.title}
          </h3>
          <div style={{
    display: "flex",
    gap: "12px",
    marginTop: "8px"
  }}>
            <span style={{
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "5px",
    fontSize: "12px",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
    padding: "3px 8px 3px 6px",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-sm)",
    border: "1px solid var(--academy-border, #e5e7eb)"
  }}>
              <BookIcon /> {lessons.length} lessons
            </span>
            <span style={{
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "5px",
    fontSize: "12px",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
    padding: "3px 8px 3px 6px",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-sm)",
    border: "1px solid var(--academy-border, #e5e7eb)"
  }}>
              <ClockIcon /> Approx. {totalDuration}
            </span>
          </div>
        </div>

        {}
        <div style={{
    padding: "14px 16px 16px"
  }}>
          <div style={{
    display: "flex",
    justifyContent: "space-between",
    fontSize: "12px",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)"
  }}>
            <span>Your progress</span>
            <span style={{
    fontWeight: 500,
    color: "var(--academy-text, #111827)"
  }}>
              {percent}%
            </span>
          </div>
          <div style={{
    height: "6px",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-full)",
    background: "var(--academy-track, #f3f4f6)",
    marginTop: "8px",
    overflow: "hidden"
  }}>
            <div style={{
    height: "100%",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-full)",
    background: "var(--academy-progress, #3b82f6)",
    transition: "width 0.5s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1)",
    width: percent + "%"
  }} />
          </div>
        </div>

        {}
        <div className="academy-lessons-desktop">{lessonList}</div>

        {}
        <div className="academy-lessons-mobile">
          <button onClick={() => setExpanded(!expanded)} aria-expanded={expanded} style={{
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    justifyContent: "space-between",
    padding: "12px 16px",
    cursor: "pointer",
    borderTop: "1px solid var(--academy-border-subtle, #f3f4f6)",
    background: "transparent",
    border: "none",
    borderTopStyle: "solid",
    borderTopWidth: "1px",
    borderTopColor: "var(--academy-border-subtle, #f3f4f6)",
    width: "100%",
    textAlign: "left",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
    fontSize: "13px",
    fontWeight: 500,
    fontFamily: "inherit"
  }}>
            <span>
              {expanded ? "Hide lessons" : "Show all " + lessons.length + " lessons"}
            </span>
            <ChevronDown open={expanded} />
          </button>
          {expanded && lessonList}
        </div>

        {}
        <div style={{
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    justifyContent: "space-between",
    borderTop: "1px solid var(--academy-border, #e5e7eb)",
    padding: "10px 16px"
  }}>
          {prev ? <a href={lessonPath(prev)} style={{
    fontSize: "13px",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
    textDecoration: "none",
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "4px"
  }}>
              ‹ Previous
            </a> : <div />}
          <button onClick={handleToggle} style={{
    fontSize: "13px",
    fontWeight: 500,
    cursor: "pointer",
    padding: "6px 14px",
    borderRadius: "var(--ds-radius-md)",
    border: isCurrentDone ? "1px solid var(--academy-border, #e5e7eb)" : "none",
    background: isCurrentDone ? "var(--academy-bg, #ffffff)" : "var(--academy-btn-bg, #111827)",
    color: isCurrentDone ? "var(--academy-complete, #10b981)" : "var(--academy-btn-text, #ffffff)",
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "6px",
    transition: "all 0.2s",
    lineHeight: "1.4",
    fontFamily: "inherit"
  }}>
            {isCurrentDone ? <>
                <CheckCircle /> Completed
              </> : "Mark as completed"}
          </button>
          {next ? <a href={lessonPath(next)} style={{
    fontSize: "13px",
    color: "var(--academy-text-secondary, #6b7280)",
    textDecoration: "none",
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "4px"
  }}>
              Next ›
            </a> : <div />}
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>;
};

<CourseTracker courseId="sms-phone-numbers" lessonId="buy-a-phone-number" />

Purchasing a dedicated phone number is a critical step in establishing seamless communication with your audience. This lesson walks through selecting a number, configuring call settings, enabling recording, and setting up call forwarding and timeouts.

<Frame caption="The Buy A Phone Number lesson in the HoopAI Academy SMS & Phone Numbers section">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/hoopai-84ec0cdc/gyU98wGhFXcTdqFf/images/academy-onboarding-buy-phone-number.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=gyU98wGhFXcTdqFf&q=85&s=ef2b18bc4019dd33e411f28c4cf5e1c5" alt="Buy a phone number article" width="1536" height="826" data-path="images/academy-onboarding-buy-phone-number.png" />
</Frame>

## How to buy and configure a phone number

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Phone Number settings">
    Go to **Settings** in the left sidebar and select **Phone Numbers**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Add Number">
    Click the **Add Number** or **+** button to begin the purchase process.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select your country and area code">
    Choose your country and enter the area code you want. Choosing a local area code improves answer rates since contacts are more likely to answer a familiar number.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose and purchase a number">
    Browse available numbers and select the one that best fits your business. Click **Buy** to complete the purchase.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure number settings">
    Click on your new number to open its settings. Configure:

    * **Name:** A descriptive label for this number (e.g., "Sales Line" or "Support Number")
    * **Forwarding number:** A phone number to forward incoming calls to
    * **Caller ID pass:** Shows your business number to the recipient on outbound calls
    * **Call connect:** Requires a keypress before connecting a forwarded call (prevents robocall connections)
    * **Whisper message:** Plays a brief note to you before connecting a call
    * **Call recording:** Automatically records all calls for this number
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set call timeouts">
    Configure inbound and outbound timeout durations — how many seconds the system rings before timing out or routing to voicemail. Adjust based on your typical availability.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Key points

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Local vs. toll-free numbers">
    Local numbers tend to have higher answer rates from contacts in your service area. Toll-free numbers project a national or enterprise presence. Choose based on your business model and audience.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Call forwarding setup">
    Forwarding routes incoming calls to any external phone number — your cell phone, office line, or team member's number. Combined with Caller ID Pass, it keeps your personal number private.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Call recording compliance">
    Before enabling call recording, review recording consent laws in your state or country. Some jurisdictions require informing all parties that the call is being recorded.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Whisper message use cases">
    Whisper messages are useful when you manage multiple numbers or campaigns. For example, the whisper can say "Incoming call from your Google Ads campaign" so you know how to greet the caller.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Key benefits

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Seamless communication">
    A dedicated number gives leads and clients a reliable way to reach your business.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Professional image">
    Separate business and personal calls with a dedicated business line.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Call management">
    Forwarding, caller ID, and whisper messages improve how you handle inbound calls.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Call tracking">
    Recording and reporting provide visibility into team performance and lead activity.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="SMS capabilities">
    Your number is also used for sending and receiving text messages through the platform.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  See the Account Settings guide for a full reference on all Phone Numbers configuration options.
</Tip>