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Phone integration

  • March 27, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 13 views
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My firm is exploring options for a phone integration. We are a two-attorney firm with limited staff. Our goal with a phone integration service is to reduce the amount of time our staff spends answering calls from both current and prospective clients.  In reviewing the current phone integration options, we have narrowed it down to Clerx AI, RingCentral, and Smith.ai.  We appreciate any insight community members can provide as to what works best.  

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    • JKibler
    • Smokeball Genius
    • March 31, 2026

    ​@ElishaSanders welcome.

    Our firm has found that ClearlyIP cost-effective because it avoids “hidden" per-seat fees common with larger providers. You mention Smith.ai, Clerx AI and Ringcentral. I don’t think Smith.ai and Clerx AI are phone service providers—they are strictly receptionist and intake services that sit on top of your existing lines. So if you are wanting phone service and ai reception, RingCentral would be it from the options you mention. I am also not aware of the RingCentral AI Reception specifically integrating with SB. the RingCentral integration works by posting calls to/from your phone system to SB as completed tasks with the duration of the call.
     

    Based on our most recent billing, and my memory of RingCentral billing ~ 1 year ago, here is a direct comparison for a 5-user firm using the RingCentral Advanced plan (required for Smokeball/CRM integration?):

    Monthly Direct Comparison (5-User Firm)

    Feature RingCentral (Advanced Monthly) ClearlyIP (Actual Invoice)
    Phone Service / User Fees ~$175.00 ($35/user) $124.95 ($24.99/user)
    Mobile App (Clearly Anywhere) Included $8.33 ($1.67/user via $20/yr license)
    AI Receptionist Add-on $39.00 (For first 100 minutes per month?) $24.95 (Flat Base Charge)
    E911 & Recovery Fees ~$20.00 ($4/user average) $10.72 (Flat Recovery Fee)
    Taxes & Surcharges (USF/Local) ~$57.78 (Est. 27% of bill) $28.69 (Taxes + DIDs)
    Total Monthly ~$311.78 $197.64


    I found RingCentral’s taxes, fees, and surcharges to be excessive and unclear.

    Our ClearlyIP system is hosted in the cloud like RingCentrals and allows calls on desk phones and cell phones. Voicemails can be transcribed, attached, and emailed to each user where they can be easily linked to smokeball matters. The AI receptionist is programmable and we currently run it when staff are out of office (due to other partner preference). If you want to check out our system let me know. With either ClearlyIP or RingCentral you will need a IT person or super user to set up your phone system and any desk phones.

    ClearlyIP does connect to Zapier as does Smokeball. I do have a beta zap which posts calls with 1-1 matching to matters/contacts into SB. However, call volume made Zapier pricing problematic.

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