Inboxes
Shared vs Personal Inboxes
An inbox is the workspace where Waveline organizes the phone numbers, calls, messages, people, and routing for a work line. A personal inbox is one teammate's work line, while a shared inbox represents a business purpose—such as your main line, a department, or a location—and can be worked by multiple teammates.
The simplest way to choose
If customers are trying to reach a specific person, use that person's personal inbox. If they are trying to reach your business, a department, a location, or whoever is available, use a shared inbox.
Personal and shared inboxes at a glance
| Personal inbox | Shared inbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Represents | One teammate | A business, department, team, or location |
| Created when | The organization Owner signs up or a teammate accepts an invitation | An Owner or Admin creates it |
| Who can access it | The assigned teammate and organization roles permitted to access that personal line; see the access details below | People with Viewer, Member, or Manager access, plus organization Owners and Admins |
| Who normally rings | The assigned teammate's enabled calling methods | Members and Managers included in the Default Ring Order; Viewers do not ring |
| Best for | Direct work lines and one-to-one relationships | Main lines, Sales, Support, Front Desk, Dispatch, and locations |
| When staffing changes | The work line remains associated with the assigned teammate | Members can change without changing the customer-facing number |
Organization and inbox roles are different. Owners can manage every inbox. Admins can manage shared inboxes and the personal inboxes of organization Members; being an Admin does not grant access to an Owner's or another Admin's personal inbox.
A personal inbox's assigned teammate can be a Member or Manager. Shared inboxes can also have Viewers, who can read calls, messages, and recordings without ringing or calling and texting from the inbox. For role details, see Inbox Participants. To follow an eligible inbox and choose its notifications, see Inbox Overview.
Use a personal inbox for one person's work line
A personal inbox gives one teammate their own Waveline workspace for calls, messages, and voicemail. When it has an assigned number, it can provide that teammate with a separate business number without exposing their personal mobile number. It is useful when teammates or customers expect to reach that person directly.
Waveline creates a personal inbox automatically when:
- The organization Owner completes signup.
- An invited teammate accepts their invitation.
Common examples include:
- A salesperson or account manager's direct number.
- A practitioner's direct client line.
- A manager's number for vendors and business partners.
- Any work relationship that primarily belongs to one teammate.
Adding a new teammate?
Do not manually create a shared inbox for their individual work line. Invite the teammate, and Waveline will create their personal inbox when they join.
Use a shared inbox for a business purpose the team handles together
A shared inbox connects a business purpose with the teammates responsible for it. When a number is assigned, calls and messages to that number enter the shared inbox. Its activity stays connected to the business purpose rather than depending on one teammate.
Shared inboxes are useful because:
- Multiple teammates can access the same calls and conversations.
- The Default Ring Order determines who rings first and who provides backup.
- Coverage can change without changing the number customers use.
- Another teammate can respond when someone is unavailable or leaves the team.
- The number continues serving the same purpose when staffing changes.
- Business hours, voicemail, recording, and call routing can be configured for the entire line.
Common examples include:
- Main business line
- Sales
- Customer Support
- Front Desk
- Dispatch
- A specific office or store location
A shared inbox is also the natural home for a ported number that customers already know.
Either inbox type can be numberless
A personal or shared inbox can exist without a directly assigned phone number. A numberless inbox has no direct external dial-in or text address and cannot originate external calls or texts, but it can still support internal calls, transfers, messages, and forwards from other inboxes.
You do not have to choose only one type
Most organizations use personal and shared inboxes together.
For example:
- John Doe's direct number → John Doe's personal inbox
- Main business number → Main Line shared inbox → Jane Doe and John Smith
- Support number → Support shared inbox → John Doe and Jane Doe
John can use his personal inbox and also participate in the Main Line and Support shared inboxes. His personal inbox handles calls meant specifically for him, while the shared inboxes let him help with team calls.
Which type should you use?
Ask these questions about the phone number:
- Is the number associated with one specific teammate? Use a personal inbox.
- Should multiple teammates be able to answer or follow up? Use a shared inbox.
- Is the number advertised as the company, a department, or a location? Use a shared inbox.
- Should the number continue working the same way when one teammate is unavailable or leaves? Use a shared inbox.
- Is this a new teammate's individual work line? Invite the teammate, and Waveline will create their personal inbox.
Move a business number to a shared inbox
If several teammates need to answer a number currently assigned to one person's personal inbox, move the number to a shared inbox. An organization Owner or Admin with access to manage the relevant inboxes must make the number change.
- Create a shared inbox if the destination does not exist yet.
- Follow Move a number between inboxes. Decide whether the personal inbox needs a replacement direct number before moving its current one.
- Add the answering teammates as Members or Managers under People.
- Configure the Default Ring Order. If an existing deskphone should continue ringing, include its teammate and enable that calling method.
- Review the shared inbox's call flow, then test incoming calls, outgoing caller ID, messages, and unanswered calls.
The number moves, but previous activity does not
Future calls and messages to the moved number enter the shared inbox. Existing calls and conversation history remain with the inbox where they originally occurred.
Create or manage an inbox
- Personal inboxes are created through Sign Up and Invite Your Team.
- Shared inboxes are created through Create an Inbox.
- Open Inboxes to view the personal and shared inboxes available to you.
- Use Inbox Overview to understand their settings.
- Use Inbox Participants and Default Ring Order to configure shared access and ringing.
Common questions
I selected Create Inbox for a new teammate
Create Inbox creates a shared inbox. Invite the teammate instead to create their personal work line.
Can one teammate use both inbox types?
Yes. A teammate can use their personal inbox for direct work and participate in one or more shared inboxes for team lines.