How Can You Use VoIP As A Freelancer?

If you work as a freelancer, your phone is probably the most important tool that you use the most. It’s a way for clients to contact you and how you can resolve any issues. But as you take on bigger projects, you may find that traditional phone calls can begin to feel expensive and unprofessional – especially if you are using your personal number.

At some point, you’ll have clients calling you at all hours of the night because they know they can reach you on your personal line. Or you’re spreading yourself thin on WhatsApp, zoom and emails just to make sure that you can actually be reached.

Fortunately, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is one of the smarter, more flexible way to handle calls. It’s no surprise then that more freelancers are turning to it when it comes to their professional communication.

What Is VoIP In Simple Terms?

With VoIP, you can make a voice or video call using an Internet connection rather than a traditional landline. VoIP is compatible with most devices, meaning you can make calls from your smartphone, laptop or desktop. You aren’t tied to a physical office with a desk phone trying to manage multiple SIM cards.

What you do need though is a stable Internet connection and a VoIP app.

VoIP’s biggest drawcard is that it is far more affordable than standard telephony and with the 2027 landline switch-off looming, it’s a way to future-proof your business even as a freelancer.

How Can You Use VoIP As A Freelancer?

Beyond its affordability, VoIP comes with a host of features to help you look professional and work from anywhere while protecting your personal time as a freelancer.

Create A Business Number

An ongoing challenge that most freelancers face is separating personal from professional communication. When you use VoIP, you get a dedicated business phone number – and an international one if you have overseas clients. This keeps your personal number private and gives you an added touch of professionalism when clients contact you.

You could be working from your kitchen table and really, no one would know.

Save Money On Calls

VoIP is significantly cheaper than mobile calls and most plans will include free or low-cost international minutes. This is perfect for freelancers who regularly interact with overseas clients and need to check in regularly.

Since the calls are made over the Internet, you can budget accordingly knowing that you won’t receive any surprise bills or roaming charges at the end of the month.

You Can Work From Anywhere

This is one of the major perks of being a freelancer and having the flexibility to work from anywhere you like. With VoIP, location becomes completely irrelevant. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can answer calls or make them, staying reachable without needing to carry additional devices.

Your number also stays the same even if you change locations. This is incredibly helpful if you travel frequently or work from different co-working locations.

Separate Work And Personal Time

As a freelancer, it’s usually difficult to switch off. You’ll often find that your work and personal time gets very blurred very quickly, which can cause a lot of stress and eventual burnout. If clients have your personal number, it means they can contact you after hours or on weekends.

VoIP helps you create boundaries. You can set business hours for your VoIP number and automatically route calls to voicemail if calls come in outside of these hours. This way, clients know when you’re available and you still stay professional but without sacrificing your personal time.

Keep Everything In One Place

Freelancers will know the struggle of juggling multiple tools at once. There is a never-ending row of tabs on your computer for email, invoicing and messaging. Fortunately, VoIP can simplify this by keeping all communication in one place and reducing app overload.

You can access your call and messaging history at any time and it all comes from one central channel, instead of you having to switch between your personal and work messages.

It Grows With Your Business

One of the biggest advantages of using VoIP is that it’s highly scalable meaning it can grow alongside your business. As your business expands, you can add more numbers and team members as you need. There’s even features like call routing or shared inboxes if your team starts to grow quickly.

Even if you transition from a freelancer to a small agency, VoIP can accommodate the change smoothly.

Handle More Clients

If your business is growing, you may find that managing calls becomes more challenging. With VoIP features like call waiting and missed call notifications, you can stay on top of your communication instead of losing leads because you forgot to call someone back.

Some VoIP systems even have call recording and call logs so you can stay organised at all times.