Getting started with dialnote takes just a few minutes. You'll create an account, set up your workspace, and configure the basics so your team can start making calls right away.
Creating Your Account#
Head to the signup page to get started. You've got two options:
Sign up with email:
- Enter your email address in the Email field and click Continue with email
- Fill in your first and last name
- Create a password (8 to 49 characters, with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one number)
- Click Create my account
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Sign up with OAuth: On the first screen, above the email field, you can choose Google, Microsoft, or Apple authentication instead. This links your dialnote account to your existing login—no new password needed. If you later sign in with a different OAuth provider using the same email, dialnote will automatically link those accounts together.
Verify your email
You'll verify your email when you claim your first phone number: click Send verification code and enter the 6-digit code (it expires after 30 minutes). You need a verified email and a verified personal mobile number before you can get a number and place calls.
Once your account is created, dialnote automatically sets up your workspace behind the scenes. You'll get an organization (named after you by default) and a free trial subscription, all without any extra steps.
The Onboarding Questionnaire#
Right after signup, you'll see a short questionnaire about your business. dialnote uses your answers to customize your Quick Start experience:
- Choose your region: sets your pricing and which numbers you can get
- What should your number do?: pick Have AI answer every call, Route callers to the right place, or Share a line with my team
- Tell us about your business: your Workspace name (prefilled from your email domain) and your Website (optional, or click Skip website for now)
If you skip the website, or dialnote can't read anything from it, one more screen asks for your Industry, What does your business do?, and (optionally) your Main services or offerings.
Your answers shape which features get highlighted in your Quick Start guide. If you pick Have AI answer every call, for example, dialnote will prioritize setting up AI agents and call forwarding in your onboarding tasks.
After the questionnaire, you go straight to getting your phone number: verify your email and mobile, claim a number, then meet your AI assistant. If you'd like a demo call with the dialnote team, you can book one from the Quick Start sidebar.
Configuring Your Workspace Settings#
Once you're in, the Settings area (accessible from the sidebar) lets you configure everything. Here's what you'll find:
Workspace settings (affect everyone in your organization):
- Phone numbers and caller IDs
- CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive)
- Webhook configuration for custom integrations
- People: your team and team invites
- API keys for developer access
Compliance settings:
- Business details, A2P compliance, addresses, and regulatory bundles
AI Agents and Call Queues aren't under Settings. They're top-level items in the sidebar.
Account settings (only affect you):
- Profile info (name and timezone)
- Password management
- Notification preferences
- Audio test for checking your microphone and speakers
Timezone auto-detection
dialnote automatically detects your timezone from your browser on first login. You can change it later in Settings → Your Account → Profile Info. Business hours don't use this timezone: each number has its own business-hours timezone.
Adding Your First Phone Number#
Before you can make or receive calls, you'll need a phone number. The Quick Start guide makes this the first task for good reason—it's the foundation for everything else.
Before you claim your first number, you'll verify your email (with a 6-digit code) and your personal mobile number. You can't make or receive calls until both are verified.
Go to Settings → Phone Numbers and click Add New Number to:
- Search for available numbers by area code or location
- Pick a country and a number type (Local, Toll-free, or Mobile, depending on the country)
On a free trial, you can only claim local US or Canadian numbers. Business hours, routing, and forwarding are set on the number's own page after you claim it.
See Getting Numbers for a detailed walkthrough.
Inviting Team Members#
If you're setting up dialnote for a team, you can invite members from Settings → People (admins and owners only). Each person gets their own login and can be invited with a role (member or admin) plus specific phone numbers with different access levels.
Invited users go through a streamlined onboarding—they skip the questionnaire and organization setup since they're joining an existing workspace. Members get a focused Quick Start guide with 6 steps instead of the full 15 that owners and admins see, covering things like making a test call, importing contacts, and trying AI features.
Your Quick Start Dashboard#
Once setup is complete, you'll land on the Quick Start page. It's a guided checklist organized into five categories:
- Essentials: Get a phone number, make a test call, get the mobile app, import contacts
- AI & Automation: Set up and test an AI agent, review AI-generated summaries
- Call Routing: Configure your IVR menu, set business hours, set up call forwarding, set up voicemail
- Team: Invite team members, set up shared numbers
- Integrations: Connect your CRM, connect your calendar
Steps auto-complete as you use features throughout dialnote. Some steps have prerequisites—for example, you can't make a test call until you've got a phone number.
What's Next#
With your account ready, here's what to do next:
- Make your first call — Test the system with a quick call
- Set up an AI agent — Let AI handle calls when you can't
- Import your contacts — Bring in your existing contact list
- Connect your CRM — Sync call data with HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive
- Explore billing and plans — See what's included in your free trial and upgrade options