Professional services VoIP migration — the typical project shape.
What a Telexico professional services VoIP migration actually involves — solicitors, accountants and consultancies moving from ISDN to hosted VoIP with compliance recording, hybrid working and CRM integration. Illustrative of the kind of project we run across the UK.
The phone problems UK professional services firms typically hit
Solicitors, accountants and consultancies share a recognisable pattern: ageing ISDN or older hosted phone setups with no mobile/desktop integration; staff increasingly hybrid working with poor or no remote phone capability; compliance recording requirements (SRA, ICAEW, regulatory clients) often handled awkwardly via standalone solutions; CRM and case management integration absent or fragile; and the PSTN 2027 deadline forcing modernisation. Typical firm size 5-50 fee-earners with intensive client phone work.
ISDN or legacy hosted VoIP nearing end-of-life
Many UK professional services firms are still on ISDN or first-generation hosted VoIP without modern features. PSTN switch-off by January 2027 forces the move regardless. Better to plan it now than panic-buy in 2026.
Hybrid working without proper phone support
Fee-earners working from home, mobile, client sites — but phone system tied to desk handsets only. Calls miss them. Clients chase. Productivity suffers.
Compliance recording requirements not met cleanly
SRA, ICAEW, financial-services regulatory clients increasingly expect proper compliance call recording. Standalone solutions are fragile; embedded recording in modern hosted VoIP is the cleaner answer.
No CRM or case management integration
Click-to-call from CRM, automatic call logging, screen-pop on inbound — features increasingly expected by fee-earners. Older phone systems don't have them; integration with Clio, Actionstep, Xero is fragmented or absent.
How Telexico designs the VoIP migration
The standard professional services VoIP migration we deploy: hosted VoIP replacing ISDN or legacy hosted with IP handsets at fee-earner desks plus mobile/desktop apps for hybrid working; compliance-grade call recording with retention policies matching regulatory requirements (SRA/ICAEW typically 6+ years); CRM integration with Clio, Actionstep, HubSpot, Salesforce, Xero or whatever the firm uses — click-to-call, automatic logging, screen-pop; hunt groups for reception and overflow routing; integration with Microsoft 365 where the firm is Microsoft-heavy (Direct Routing for Teams Phone where it fits); AI receptionist for after-hours and overflow capture. The deployment is consultative — feature mix tuned to the specific firm's compliance and workflow requirements.
How the deployment ran.
Typical project shape: 6-10 weeks elapsed from initial discovery to cutover. Slightly longer than retail or salon deployments because of CRM integration complexity and compliance scoping.
Weeks 1-2 — Discovery, compliance scoping, design
Site visit; document existing setup (ISDN lines, hunt groups, voicemail, current CRM); compliance scoping (regulatory bodies, retention requirements, consent workflows); CRM integration scoping; hosted VoIP design documented and agreed.
Weeks 3-7 — Provisioning, integration build, parallel running
Number porting initiated (2-4 weeks); hosted VoIP tenant provisioned; CRM integration built and tested; compliance recording configured; soft launch on temporary numbers; fee-earner training in hybrid working features.
Weeks 8-10 — Cutover and monitoring
Out-of-hours number port (typically weekend); old ISDN ceased; full hosted VoIP live; 2-3 weeks of close monitoring post-cutover; CRM integration tuning based on real-world usage patterns.
What changes operationally
The observable shifts across professional services migrations follow a consistent pattern — though specific compliance configurations vary by firm and regulatory body.
Hybrid working works properly
Fee-earners take and make office calls from desk, mobile, laptop, home — wherever they are. Client experience consistent regardless of fee-earner location. Hybrid working stops being a productivity drag.
Compliance recording standardised
All client calls recorded automatically with appropriate consent prompts; retention policies set to regulatory requirements; searchable archive accessible only to authorised partners. SRA/ICAEW compliance handled cleanly.
CRM integration delivers daily uplift
Click-to-call from CRM saves time per call; automatic call logging eliminates manual notes; screen-pop on inbound prepares fee-earner with client context before answering. Small per-call savings compound to meaningful fee-earner time reclaimed.
The technical configuration
Standard professional services VoIP migration stack: Openreach FTTP (typically 500Mbps-1Gbps) as primary; 4G failover via managed dual-WAN router; managed firewall with voice QoS; hosted VoIP with IP handsets at fee-earner desks (Yealink T-series typical); mobile and desktop apps for hybrid working; AI receptionist for overflow and after-hours; compliance-grade call recording with retention policies set to firm's regulatory body (SRA 6 years, ICAEW typically 6 years, FCA-related work often longer); CRM integration via SIP middleware (Clio, Actionstep, HubSpot, Salesforce); optional Microsoft Teams Direct Routing for Microsoft 365-heavy firms; hunt groups for reception and per-team routing. 24/7 monitoring and SLA-backed UK engineer support.
What you actually get from Telexico.
Honest about scope. No aggressive sales tactics, no surprise renewal jumps, no tier-1 call-centre triage. Real UK engineers, transparent pricing, one provider relationship across the stack.
UK-based provider
Wolverhampton-headquartered. Engineers cover the West Midlands daily; UK-wide install via our partner network. Real UK engineer support, UK data residency, UK contractual relationship — not US-routed SaaS.
Real engineer support
When you call Telexico, you reach someone who can actually fix things. Response SLA backed by real engineering capacity rather than call-centre headcount. Named account manager for ongoing customers.
Free infrastructure review
Every engagement starts with a no-obligation audit of your current setup. Honest recommendation — sometimes that's "stay with your current provider after negotiation." We'd rather be honest than oversell.
Transparent pricing
What you sign for is what you pay — including renewal. No teaser pricing that jumps 30-100% at year two. No mid-contract CPI shock. Predictable multi-year cost from day one.
One provider, one platform
Broadband, hosted VoIP, business WiFi, AI Receptionist, 4G/5G failover, CCTV consolidated onto one Telexico relationship. Single bill, single support number, single engineer when something needs attention.
Migration project-managed
Switching to Telexico isn't DIY. We handle contract audit, notice timing, ordering, parallel running, cutover, old-provider close-out. Customer-visible disruption typically measured in minutes.
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Frequently asked questions
How long does a professional services VoIP migration typically take?
6-10 weeks elapsed from discovery to cutover. Number porting (2-4 weeks) and CRM integration build (varies by CRM) are the main long-lead items. Active install work concentrated at start (configuration), integration build (middle weeks), and cutover (out-of-hours).
What about compliance call recording for regulated work?
Standard. SRA (solicitors), ICAEW (accountants) and FCA-related work have varying retention requirements (typically 6+ years, sometimes longer). Recording configured with appropriate consent prompts; retention policies set to regulatory requirements; searchable archive accessible only to authorised partners. Recordings sit in UK data centres.
Can it integrate with our case management system?
Standard integrations available with Clio, Actionstep, HubSpot, Salesforce, Xero and many smaller UK practice management platforms. Integration depth varies: click-to-call from records, automatic call logging, screen-pop on inbound, sometimes deeper workflow integration. Specific integration scoped during discovery.
Will hybrid working actually work properly for fee-earners?
Yes — mobile and desktop apps deliver full hosted VoIP functionality wherever fee-earners are. Office number rings on mobile when out; calls answered seamlessly across desk, laptop, mobile. Hybrid working works as well as in-office working from a phone perspective.
What's the migration cost for typical professional services firms?
Variable by size and integration scope. Indicative: project fee £500-3,000; IP handsets £80-200 each; ongoing hosted VoIP £8-15 per user per month (with compliance recording add-on); CRM integration setup £200-1,500 depending on complexity; AI receptionist £150-500/month optional. All-in monthly cost typically lower than the legacy ISDN it replaces. Real quotes against firm specifics.
Should we use Microsoft Teams Phone instead of dedicated hosted VoIP?
Depends on the firm. Microsoft 365-heavy firms where fee-earners live in Teams for chat and video benefit from Teams Phone via Direct Routing — calls inside Teams workflow. Firms with traditional phone usage patterns or specific desk-phone preferences benefit from dedicated hosted VoIP. We're honest during scoping about which fits your firm.
Can we keep all our fee-earner DDIs and the firm main number?
Yes — number porting handles all your existing UK landline numbers and DDI ranges. Existing client letterheads, business cards, website, marketing material all continue working unchanged. Porting typically 2-4 weeks lead time, coordinated cleanly with the cutover.
Want a similar review for your business?
This is the typical project shape Telexico runs. Send us your current setup and what's frustrating you — we'll review what you have today and tailor a project that fits. No hard sell, no fixed-package pressure.