What is a Softphone?

If you’ve landed on this page, chances are you Googled something like:

“What is a softphone?” or maybe “How does a softphone work?”

If, however, you searched for something like “When should I use the word ‘soft,’ and is it still cool?” — you might want to click here instead.

But assuming you actually want to learn more about softphones, you’re in the right place.

Here, you’ll discover what a softphone is, its benefits, and how it can help you work more efficiently.

You’ll also get to enjoy a rather emotional story — one involving desk phones, phone systems, small animals, and a bit of tragedy.

First things first — what is a softphone?

In short, a softphone is software that runs on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, allowing you to make calls over the internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

It eliminates the need for a physical phone and lets you handle calls, manage contacts, search for colleagues, check line status, make calls, chat, and see who’s available — all from your computer or mobile device.

So yes, a softphone is like a regular phone — only much smarter.

Let’s illustrate that with a story that perfectly captures the benefits of switching to a modern, software-based phone solution.

Meet Lisa (who works at a company without softphones)

Lisa works in customer service at Fasta-telefoner-are-us. One day, her phone rings. She freezes, her heart races, and she briefly considers quitting on the spot.

(Stay with me — there’s a point to all this.)

Since Lisa has no idea how the call reached her desk or who’s calling, she answers:

“Welkåm to Fasta-telefoner-are-us, what can I do for you?”

It turns out to be Jonas, from one of the company’s biggest clients. Lisa panics slightly — she’s unsure about their contract details and doesn’t have any info about previous support cases.

While politely humming along to Jonas’s voice, she fumbles with the phone, remote desktop, CRM, and passwords — all at once.

Jonas, slightly taken aback when Lisa chuckles just after he mentions that the family cat was run over, presses on with his question.

Lisa now needs to call Gustav in accounting to check on an invoice.

“Hold ånn,” she says in her best English.

“I’ll wait,” Jonas replies.

A few seconds later, the line goes dead. Silence. Jonas waits, sighs, and finally hangs up.

Fasta-telefoner-are-us really needs to get it together, he thinks, slamming the phone into his drawer.

Now meet

new

Lisa.

After one too many stressful days (and a few too many angry callers), Lisa decides she’s had enough. She quits and starts a nonprofit: Softphones Without Borders. Never again shall staff or customers suffer from poor phone systems!

Now, when her softphone rings, she’s calm. Confident.

Lisa, sitting at Geneva Airport, sees that the call came in via their sales queue. Her CRM pops up automatically — it’s Jonas again.

“Hi Jonas!” she says cheerfully.

Jonas is instantly impressed. Lisa’s tone, her knowledge, her warmth — she’s clearly changed. She even remembers to ask how the new cat is doing.

When Jonas mentions that his question is about an invoice, Lisa quickly searches “Tom eko” and finds Tobias in accounting. She can see that he’s unavailable.

“Would you like to leave a message instead?” she asks.

Jonas agrees. Lisa transfers the call to Tobias’s voicemail and sends him a chat note to follow up.

“If only every company had customer service like Softphones Without Borders,” Jonas begins his voicemail.

A happy ending.

So, what are the benefits of a softphone for businesses?

As our little story shows, a softphone helps your team deliver faster, more relevant service.

In short, it offers:

• Seamless internal and external communication
• No costly hardware investments
• Easy administration
• Instant visibility of colleague availability
• Drag-and-drop call transfers
• Calls, chat, and CRM — all in one interface

5 tips for working smarter with your softphone

1. Integrate your softphone with your CRM

When you connect your softphone to your CRM, customer data appears automatically during calls. No more manual lookups — just instant context and efficiency.

2. Add a number lookup service

Link external caller ID services so you instantly know who’s calling — whether it’s a customer, partner, or yet another salesperson.

3. Schedule your presence

Don’t want work calls after hours? Set your working hours once, and your softphone will automatically route calls to voicemail when you’re off.

4. Search for colleagues easily

With a powerful directory search, you can type “Sales Stockholm” or “Accounting” and instantly find the right person — even across locations.

5. Choose which number to display

Pick which number to show when calling — direct, mobile, or main company number — and change it on the fly with a single click.

Work without limits — wherever you are

With VoIP, you can answer calls from anywhere — your desk, the car, or a café in Lisbon. All you need is an internet connection.

Keep your team connected

Presence indicators, line status, and shared notes make it easy to see who’s busy, in a meeting, or available to chat.

You’ll never again wonder, “Who was supposed to handle that?”

Always know where calls come from

Your softphone shows whether a call comes directly to you, through a queue, or from a colleague. You’ll always be prepared when you pick up.

Smart call transfers

You can transfer calls to a colleague’s direct number, mobile, or voicemail — quickly and seamlessly.

Manage queues like a pro

With real-time queue overviews, supervisors can easily see workloads, move agents between groups, and monitor performance.

Click to call

See a phone number online? Just click it to call directly from your softphone — from your browser, email signature, or CRM.

Want to know more?

Get in touch and we’ll show you how lynes can help your organization work smarter with modern, cloud-based telephony.

Setup is quick, flexible, and scalable — so you can start improving communication right away.

Welcome to lynes!

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