Call US vendors and customers for your client from a +1 number, and take their call-backs in an app.
Virtual assistants outside the US use a US virtual number to call vendors, customers and offices for a US client, and to take their call-backs on a familiar +1 number. The TripoSIM number includes 300 minutes a month of calls to the US and Canada, plus voicemail. You can keep one number per client. It cannot send texts.
A lot of admin work for a US small business ends in a phone call. You confirm an order with a supplier, reschedule a delivery, chase an unpaid invoice or call a customer back about a booking. A US vendor is more likely to pick up a +1 number, and calling you back is an ordinary call for them.
The TripoSIM US Virtual Number runs in an app on your phone over Wi-Fi or mobile data, from Manila, Lagos, Bogotá or wherever you work. Calls you make to US and Canadian numbers show your US number. When you are offline or asleep, callers leave a voicemail.
Ask the client first. If they already have a business phone system, the simplest answer may be to add you as a user on it, so customers see the number they know. If not, a US number of your own works well for the calls a VA makes.
| Setup | Best when | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| The client's business line | You speak as the business and callers already know the number | The client adds you to their own phone system; the line stays with them when you leave |
| Your own US number for each client | You call vendors and customers for one client and want a greeting that names them | Each number has its own plan, minutes and voicemail, in your name |
| One US number for all your clients | Mostly calls out to vendors, few calls back | One plan to look after; your greeting names you, not a client |
Agree who owns the number before you print it anywhere. A TripoSIM number is in your name, after your own short ID check with a photo ID and selfie. If customers will keep calling it after your contract ends, the client's own line is the better home for it.
Yes. The same person can have as many TripoSIM US numbers as they like on one account, each with its own plan, minutes and voicemail greeting. With two clients on two numbers, a vendor who calls back reaches a greeting that names the right business, and you know which client the call is for before you answer.
Each number has its own 300 outgoing minutes, so count each client's calls on their own. When a contract ends, turn off the renewal for that number only. It works to the end of the period you paid for, then it is paused and kept 30 days on the yearly plan or 90 days on the monthly plan, and released after that.
Say who you are, who you work for and, if asked, where you are. For example: "Hi, this is Ana, the assistant at Brightside Dental in Austin. I'm calling about the order we placed on Monday." Ana is a made-up example. If the vendor asks, "I work remotely from the Philippines" is a fine answer.
Only calls you make use your 300 minutes to the US and Canada. Each outgoing call is rounded up to the next full minute; unanswered calls are free. Three typical weeks for one client, worked out for a year:
| Example | Calls out to the US and Canada | Extra minutes | One year on the yearly plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor and booking calls | 8 calls a week, 5 minutes each: about 174 minutes a month | None: within the included minutes | $100 |
| Plus customer call-backs | the same, plus 4 call-backs a week of 8 minutes: about 313 minutes a month | 2 × $5 = $10 a year | $110 |
| Phone support all day | 25 calls a week, 6 minutes each: about 650 minutes a month | 42 × $5 = $210 a year | $310 |
Incoming calls do not use your minutes (fair use 300 minutes a month). Each plan includes 300 minutes a month out; extra minutes are $5 per 100, and unused extra minutes carry over to the next month, so the year counts the packs for all 12 months together. Prices before tax.
The first week fits inside the plan. The second goes just over, so a few extra minute packs cover the year. The third is a phone desk, not admin work, and a business phone system built for that suits it better. The monthly plan is $12.99 with the same minutes. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
Calls vendors and customers make to you are included up to a fair use of 300 minutes a month, separate from your outgoing minutes. Count them on their own; do not add the two together.
| Month | Calls to you | Incoming minutes | Within fair use? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiet month | 20 call-backs of 5 minutes | 100 | Yes |
| Busy month | 40 call-backs of 6 minutes | 240 | Yes |
| Answering the front desk | 90 calls of 5 minutes | 450 | No: after 300 minutes, callers reach voicemail until the next month |
Many calls will reach you outside your shift, so record a greeting with the client's business name, your name, your hours in a US time zone and when you call back:
"You have reached Ana at Brightside Dental's office line. I return calls Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central. Please leave your name, number and what it is about, and I will call you back the same working day."
Messages can be up to 2 minutes, up to 30 a month, kept 30 days. Send the client a short daily note of who called and what you did. The voicemail guide has setup steps.
The number receives texts from US and Canadian senders, and verification codes from apps. Sending texts is not included, so a vendor who texts you will not get an answer from the number. Ask vendors to call or email, and answer any text with a call.
For the client's own accounts, ask them to add you as a user with your own login rather than sending their sign-in codes to your number. Then the client keeps control when your contract ends.
Two plans with the same number, minutes and app.
$100per year
About $8.33 a month, paid once a year
Renews yearly until you cancel
$12.99per month
Cancel the renewal anytime. $155.88 over 12 months
Renews monthly until you cancel
Prices in US dollars as published by TripoSIM. Payments are not refunded, except a full refund if your ID check fails or your number is not delivered within 72 hours, or where local law requires. Checkout continues on TripoSIM. Right after payment you complete an ID check with a selfie, then choose from the numbers available.