A virtual landline is not the same as a telephone answering service, although the two are often used alongside each other. A virtual business landline provides companies with a local or national phone number without the requirement for a physical telephone line; instead, calls are routed to a preferred device.
With a phone answering service, businesses are assigned a telephone number to provide to customers or clients. When they call the number, they’ll be put through to a call handler who will take their details and handle basic enquiries, or take a message. Outside of business hours, callers will typically be greeted with a recorded voicemail message.
Many businesses use a virtual landline as their main phone system and pair it with an answering service to make sure all calls are picked up, even when staff are unavailable.