RingCentral is a business communications app for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS that brings a company phone line, team messaging, and video meetings into one workspace. It connects to the RingEX cloud service, so employees can handle business conversations from their computers or mobile devices while using a company number. The same workspace also provides access to business texts, voicemail, and fax.
RingCentral as a business phone
A computer becomes a business phone through its microphone and speakers or a connected headset. RingCentral lets staff make and receive calls through the app, and move an active call between desktop and mobile. Businesses can bring an existing phone number to the service or choose a new local, toll-free, or vanity number. A business line can remain separate from an employee’s personal mobile number even when both are used on the same device.
Handling incoming calls
Call handling starts before someone answers. Administrators can build a menu that sends callers to a department, record greetings and announcements, and change the route according to business hours or staff availability. A shared number can ring employees in sequence, in groups, or together. Call queues send waiting callers to the next available member of a team.
During a transfer, a warm hand-off lets the employee speak to the recipient before passing the caller over. RingCentral also provides controls for how long a phone rings before voicemail and what happens to missed calls. Visual voicemail turns recorded messages into readable text, giving users a way to review the content when listening is inconvenient. Calls can be recorded on demand, with automatic recording available within the service’s broader feature set.
Team chat, shared tasks and business SMS
RingCentral messaging organizes discussion into direct conversations and public or private groups. Participants can share documents, photos, audio, and video alongside their messages. External contacts can be invited into a team conversation, while access controls determine who can join.
Shared notes, tasks, and events give a discussion somewhere to lead. A team can keep its notes with the conversation, assign work, and track relevant dates rather than leaving the result scattered through chat messages.
When an exchange needs spoken discussion, users can turn the chat into a call or video meeting. Calendar connections bring Outlook or Google meetings and events into view, and directory synchronization makes Microsoft or Google contacts available in the app.
Business SMS and MMS provide a separate channel for conversations with phone contacts. Messages can continue between the desktop and mobile apps. SMS access depends on the account’s allowance and registration; the RingEX trial does not include SMS.
Video collaboration
RingCentral meetings combine a video conversation with shared material. Participants can present a screen, draw on an interactive whiteboard, or annotate content during the session. Breakout rooms divide a larger meeting into smaller discussions. Before entering, users can preview their camera, microphone, and speakers.
Guests can join from a supported browser, and participants can move a meeting between desktop and mobile. A phone conversation can also become a video session with screen sharing when the participants need to look at the same material. Meeting recordings can be shared with colleagues or external guests using permission settings that control access.
AI notes and writing assistance
The AI assistant turns calls and meetings into material that can be reviewed afterward. Transcriptions provide a written record of speech, while recaps pull out decisions, updates, and action items. Meeting captions and live transcripts also make the conversation readable while it is happening. RingCentral applies usage guidelines to AI notes, including the ability to manage usage above its stated monthly allowance.
For messaging, the assistant can draft text, check grammar, change tone, and translate messages. Chat summaries help a user catch up with a longer discussion before replying.
RingEX plans
RingCentral’s desktop and mobile apps are free to download, while business phone service uses a paid RingEX subscription. The Core plan combines calling, meetings, chat, on-demand call recording, and the AI Virtual Assistant. Advanced adds CRM integrations, management across multiple sites, and reporting. Administrators can manage users, permissions, and call flows centrally as the organization adds locations.
Customer Engagement bundles add shared business SMS and enhanced call queues, with AI Receptionist and conversation analysis included according to the selected bundle. These functions also appear as add-ons to other plans. Calling and messaging allowances vary by plan and market; the unlimited calling offer on the US plans covers the United States and Canada, with international calls charged separately.
