Go-Live Checklist — Rolling Out a VoIP Phone System Office-Wide

A smooth phone system go-live is a sequencing problem: build and test everything on Signal while your old system still answers calls, then move the numbers last. Work through this checklist top to bottom; the port date is the only step with a deadline attached.

Two weeks before

• [ ] All locations created with verified E911 addresses.
• [ ] Every user has an extension; shared spaces (front desk, exam rooms) have role extensions.
• [ ] All desk phones entered by MAC, assigned, and registering (Last Seen shows recent contact for every device).
• [ ] Voicemail boxes configured; users have recorded greetings.
• [ ] Line keys / BLF layouts applied for front-desk phones.
• [ ] Port request submitted for existing numbers, port date confirmed.
• [ ] Network validated at each site: bandwidth, PoE, SIP ALG off.

One week before

• [ ] Internal test plan: every phone makes and receives an internal call.
• [ ] External test with temporary Signal numbers: inbound, outbound, caller ID correct at every site.
• [ ] After-hours behavior tested (voicemail or routing fallback).
• [ ] 911 location verification completed per site (dial your provider's E911 test procedure — never a live 911 test call without arrangement).
• [ ] Users briefed with the five-minute quickstart.

Port day

• [ ] Confirm numbers land on Signal (inbound test from a mobile).
• [ ] Watch the first hour of live traffic in the dashboard.
• [ ] Old provider's forwarding/auto-attendants disabled.
• [ ] A named person at each site collects issues for the first two days.

After go-live

• [ ] Review call logs for failed or misrouted calls in week one.
• [ ] Cancel legacy service only after a full billing cycle of clean operation.

Related articles

• Porting your numbers to Signal: timeline and process
• Network readiness for VoIP