The Number You Print Is the One You Keep
The number on your website and your Google profile is the one you will be stuck with, because clients save it and keep ringing it for years. So choose it by who owns it and whether you can take it with you. The features on the plan matter much less.
For most pet businesses that means keeping the mobile number you already have for calls, on an account the business controls, and never letting it lapse. Texting is a separate decision. If you want clients' replies to land in your booking system rather than on one person's phone, add a number for texts, and keep printing the calls number.
Where we stand. We sell one of the options below, the Petboost messaging number, so weigh what we say about it accordingly. It does less than some of the others. It texts but does not take calls, and you cannot move an existing number into it. What we say about numbers and porting comes from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, listed at the end.
Your Own Mobile
Plenty of sole operators start here, and for a groomer, walker, sitter or trainer working alone it is often the right answer. It costs nothing extra and it is already on your Google profile.
The catch is ownership. A number stays with whoever holds the account with the telco, and if that is you personally, the business's number is, on paper, yours. That matters the day you hire someone to answer it, or sell the business. ACMA says the account holder can ask their telco to move a number to someone else, but the telco does not have to agree. If the business is a company, or you might sell it one day, get the number onto the business's own account while that is easy.
A Second Number on the Same Phone
If you want work and home on separate numbers without carrying two phones, put a second number on the same handset. Apple's support page says an iPhone XS, XS Max, XR or later can hold two active numbers using an eSIM, both able to make and receive calls and texts, and suggests labelling them Business and Personal. To use two different providers, the phone has to be unlocked; otherwise both plans must come from the same provider. On an Android phone, check its settings for dual SIM before you buy a plan.
The business number then needs its own plan, which is a cost, but not a second phone.
A VoIP Line
A VoIP line carries calls over your internet connection. The reason a pet business with a front desk looks at one is ringing more than one place, such as a handset at the desk and an app on a manager's phone, from the same number. Plans differ, so ask the provider whether it can ring several devices at once and send voicemail to email before you sign.
A business line usually has a local number starting 02, 03, 07 or 08. Some businesses add a 13, 1300 or 1800 number, which telcos call an inbound service. According to ACMA, calls to 1800 numbers are generally free, although some mobile providers charge for them, while telcos may charge callers a fixed rate for 13 and 1300 numbers. None of those can be displayed as your caller ID when you ring out, so a client you call back sees a different number from the one they rang.
Ask about power, too. ACMA's advice is that most services connected to the NBN won't work during a power outage, which is why it suggests a charged mobile as a backup for calling 000. And ask whether the number can send and receive texts, because some clients will text whatever number you give them.
A VoIP line earns its place when more than one person answers the phone, such as a daycare or boarding business with a front desk and shifts. Working alone, it mostly adds a monthly bill.
A Petboost Messaging Number
This one is ours, so here is what it does and what it doesn't.
With the Communications Booster, Petboost gives you a new Australian mobile number for two-way texting. Clients text it and you reply from the Messages inbox in Petboost, so the conversation sits in the business's system rather than on one person's phone. The Booster is an add-on on Business Pro, Flex and Max and is included on Enterprise. It isn't available on Calendar Lite or during the free trial, and Petboost verifies the business before the number is issued. What it costs is on our pricing page.
What it doesn't do matters as much. The number does not take phone calls, so keep your existing number for calls and keep printing it. You cannot move an existing number into Petboost, because the messaging number is always a new one. And the number comes with the Booster: switch the Booster off and Petboost releases the number, and switching it back on later may give you a different one. That is the reason not to make it the main number on your website.
The case for it is where the replies go. A text to your personal mobile lives on that phone, and a text to the messaging number lands in the business's inbox. The SMS messaging page shows how the number is set up.
Porting: Moving the Number You Have
Porting means taking your number from one telco to another. ACMA says you can usually port local and mobile numbers, prepaid mobiles included, as well as 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers. The new telco organises it, and it must get your permission and confirm you are the account holder. A mobile port also needs an extra identity check first.
ACMA puts a mobile port at usually about 3 hours. A single local number takes 8 to 15 days, and more complex ports can take up to 30. Your old telco may charge a fee, and ACMA gives $8 for a mobile port as an example.
The rule that catches people out is that only an active number can be ported. If the old service is cancelled first, ACMA says the disconnected number goes into quarantine for 6 to 12 months and you no longer have rights to use it. Sign up with the new telco and let it move the number across. Never cancel first.
Petboost can't take a ported number, because its messaging number is always a new one. Porting is how you keep your calls number when you change phone plans.
The Setup We Would Choose
Working alone, with a dog in front of you most of the day: your mobile for calls, on an account the business controls, or a second number on the same phone if you want to switch work off at night. Add the Petboost messaging number if you want booking texts and the replies to them inside your booking system.
A team with a front desk, such as a daycare or boarding business: a line that rings the desk and a manager, whether that is VoIP or a landline, with the messaging number for texts.
Either way, the calls number is the one on your website and your Google profile, and it is the one you never cancel. If the real problem is calls you can't answer while your hands are full, a new number won't fix that. Start with the calls you are missing.
Sources
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Keep or port your phone number:
acma.gov.au. Last updated 12 August 2025, accessed 27 September 2026.
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Choose your phone number:
acma.gov.au. Last updated 8 April 2026, accessed 27 September 2026.
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Call charges from mobile phones:
acma.gov.au. Last updated 25 March 2025, accessed 27 September 2026.
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Emergency calls:
acma.gov.au. Last updated 21 September 2026, accessed 27 September 2026.
Apple Support, Using Dual SIM with an eSIM:
support.apple.com. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Petboost Help Centre, Communications Booster and 2-Way SMS:
help.petboost.com. Accessed 27 September 2026.
This is general information, not advice about any particular telco plan. Check the provider's own terms before you sign.
