Your employees need a phone to call tenants, photograph a damaged cabinet and upload paperwork between property visits. That can make buying everyone a company phone feel like an obvious business expense.
But those tasks may be possible on the phone they already carry. A business calling app gives employees a separate work number that your company controls, while compatible property management software handles photos and uploads. For the right roles, you could stop paying for a second handset and cellular plan and keep tenant calls with the business when an employee leaves.
Key Takeaways (TLDR)
- Taking property photos does not automatically require a company-owned phone.
- Business calling apps on personal phones are an established, supported option.
- Company-managed numbers let the business reassign calls and remove calling access when staff leave.
- Suitable roles may no longer need a separate handset and carrier plan; reimbursement and other operating costs still belong in the comparison.
- Start with a small field test using the actual calling and property management apps.
One Phone, With a Separate Business Number
A softphone is an app that makes and receives calls. With a suitable unified communications as a service plan, or UCaaS, an employee uses a business number through that app on a personal smartphone. Calls typically use Wi-Fi or mobile data; some providers also offer carrier-based calling options.
Zoom Phone, Nextiva and Dialpad all offer mobile apps for business calls. Using a personal phone this way is an established, supported option. Compare the calling, messaging and admin features included in the plans you are considering.
For a property management company, the benefits are easy to picture:
- An employee carries one phone between the office and properties.
- Tenants reach a company number, and the employee returns calls using that business identity.
- Calls can go to another employee or an approved team when the usual contact is unavailable.
- An administrator can remove calling access and reassign the number when an employee leaves, without first retrieving the handset.
The company needs to control the service account, billing, administrator access and recovery information. Employees keep their personal numbers. Tenants and vendors use the business numbers listed in the company’s notices, signatures and property records.
What the Savings Could Look Like
The savings come from the costs you can stop paying: a second phone, its replacement cycle and its carrier plan. The business still pays for its calling service and any other tools or employee reimbursement it provides.
Here is a hypothetical monthly budget for ten employees. These are invented planning figures, not VIcom pricing, vendor quotes or a forecast. Both options include the same assumed UCaaS license and security-management allowance so the example isolates the device and connectivity decision.
| Monthly Cost Per Employee | Company Phone | Personal Phone With Business App |
|---|---|---|
| Company handset replacement allowance | $20 | $0 |
| Separate company cellular plan | $55 | $0 |
| Business calling license | $25 | $25 |
| Employee connectivity reimbursement | $0 | $20 |
| Security/app-management allowance | $5 | $5 |
| Total per employee | $105 | $50 |
| Total for ten employees | $1,050 | $500 |
Under those assumptions, the difference is $550 per month, or $6,600 per year, before taxes, fees and one-time transition costs. The $20 handset allowance represents a $720 replacement spread over 36 months for planning purposes. Avoiding a future replacement is different from recovering money already spent on a phone.
Replace every figure with your own bills and proposals. Include any carrier commitments, setup charges, required messaging features, support and phones you plan to retain. If the company already pays for a business calling platform, check whether the required mobile capability is included before adding another license cost. Have HR and payroll establish reimbursement requirements for the places employees work.
The comparison may still favor personal phones after those costs are included. It gives the owner a specific amount to weigh against the operational changes, rather than a general promise to save money.
Property Photos and IDs Have Their Own App Workflow
An employee might call a tenant through the business calling app, then open the approved property management app to photograph a damaged cabinet and attach it to the right work order. Both tasks happen on the same phone. Before making the switch, check how your property software captures, uploads and stores those images.
ID images need particular care. Confirm that collecting the image is necessary and use the company’s approved document process. Check where copies remain, who can access them and how long they are retained. Business texting should not become the default route for sensitive documents because a calling app accepts attachments.
Ask the software provider or your IT team to demonstrate the workflow using a harmless test image and a fictional record. If it meets your requirements on personal devices, taking photographs is no longer a reason, on its own, to issue everyone a second phone. If a particular role needs controls the app cannot provide, retain a managed company device for that role.
Keep Tenant Calls With the Business
The business number should stay under the company’s administration when an employee changes roles or leaves. Zoom, for example, documents unbinding numbers from users or services so they can be reassigned. Confirm the equivalent process with your provider, along with voicemail handling and number-porting terms.
Think about the tenant experience. Someone calling a maintenance number after an employee’s departure should reach the assigned replacement or team. The business should not have to persuade a former employee to forward calls from a personal number.
When someone leaves, your administrator can remove their calling access and assign their business number to a replacement. That does not automatically remove photos or attachments already saved on the phone. Some managed apps can remove company data separately from personal data; Microsoft’s Intune documentation describes that capability and its conditions. It does not apply automatically to every calling or property management app, and removal can depend on the app checking in.
Include both calling access and stored company files in your departure checklist. Before employees start using their phones for work, explain what the company can manage and remove, and what stays private.
Set It Up Once, Then Test a Working Day
Try the setup with a few employees during their normal property visits. Check it on the connections they actually use, including places where reception is poor. Have your IT contact or provider help fix any problems before more employees switch.
| Check | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Business calling | Calls arrive when the phone is locked, callbacks show the intended business number, and voicemail and transfers work. |
| Photos and documents | Take a test photo and upload it through the approved app. Check what stays on the phone or in a personal backup, how long it is kept and what happens to uploads when the phone is offline. Use fictional data. |
| Field conditions | Employees can complete their tasks at typical properties and know the fallback for weak coverage, an unavailable phone or a failed upload. |
| Working hours | Staff know when the business app should ring, who is on call and how after-hours calls are handled. |
| Employee departure | Remove a test user’s access and check whether their signed-in apps can still reach company data. Reassign the number and confirm the replacement employee can access the business records they need. |
Train employees to return tenant calls through the business app. A callback from the ordinary phone dialer may use their personal line. Include any approved business messaging, and confirm emergency-calling behavior and instructions with the provider.
Use the pilot results to choose which roles can move to personal phones and which still need company equipment. You can keep company phones for employees who need them and still save on phones for the roles that passed the test.
Related Reading
- After-hours call routing: five tests for public service phone lines
- VIcom unified communication services
Sources
- NIST: Mobile Device Security—Bring Your Own Device
- Zoom: Making and receiving calls and assigning phone numbers
- Nextiva: Business Voice & Text
- Dialpad: Small business phone numbers
- Microsoft: Wipe only corporate data from managed apps
Product documentation reviewed September 21, 2026. Confirm the selected plan and app capabilities during evaluation.
Where VIcom Fits
Bring VIcom your phone bill, employee count and the name of your property management software. A communications consultation can help compare your current costs with a business-app arrangement and identify which roles are a good fit. Include someone who handles property visits so the discussion covers the calls, photos and uploads employees need to complete.
Connect with VIcom by filling out the form below.