Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Who qualifies for a BellesLink account?

Businesses who meet our account requirements and have a permissible use qualify for a BellesLink account. Review the Account Requirements page for details.

What are permissible uses for BellesLink data?

Are any businesses prohibited from having a BellesLink account?

Yes. See the list of prohibited businesses on the Account Qualifications page.

Does signing up with BellesLink tie me to a long term agreement?

No. BellesLink is a month-by-month agreement. You can cancel at any time.

What's included in a monthly plan?

Plans vary, but every BellesLink plan includes our premium people searches, batch search, and free customer support. Take a look at our pricing page for a complete listing of features in each plan.

Once I sign-up how long does it take to get a login?

Your login will be generated once your account is verified. Usually, no more than 24 hours later.

Do I need to install anything to use BellesLink?

No. All that’s needed to use BellesLink is Google Chrome and a microphone/headset or earbuds with a microphone. BellesLink is the same simple design on a mobile device, tablet, or desktop. No special instructions or mobile app required.

Batch Search

How accurate is your batch search?

As long as your list is good, you should see a 80%+ return rate. Meaning, more than 8 out of 10 records will come back with accurate data appended. Typically each returned search includes 3 good phone numbers and 3 email addresses. So a search of 100 records will return 80+ results with a total of 240+ good phone numbers.

What information is returned with batch?

A batch search result includes up to 5 good phone numbers with caller ID and phone type, a current street address, and up to 5 email addresses.

What format is required for batch search?

For batch search you need a first name, last name, address, city, state, and zip code. If your spreadsheet contains full names in one column our batch uploader can separate those for you. It can also separate full addresses which are in one column.

Can I batch search businesses, such as LLCs, or family trusts?

No. Businesses and family trusts cannot be searched by batch. You must have a person’s first name, last name, address, city, state, and zip code. Businesses and trusts can be searched using our individual premium business search or premium people search.

Do I have to format my spreadsheet to match your template?

You can upload your own spreadsheet, with any number of columns, and tell us which columns to use. You don’t have to delete extra columns and risk loosing your list data. When you upload your spreadsheet we save a copy of your original file. When you download your results you can choose to have the results automatically merged into your original spreadsheet, with all your original columns and data.

Once I upload a batch, how long before I get the results back?

Most batches come back within an hour or two. Large batches can take up to 24 hours.

Is there a minimum size batch?

No. Upload as many, or as few, as you like.

What if I need help or have problems with my batch?

Call or email customer service anytime and someone will be available to help you.

Is the cost of batch search included in my monthly fee?

No. Batch search is charged on a per search basis. Click here for pricing.

Am I billed per search or per result?

You are billed per search, at the time the batch is submitted. To get the highest hit rate submit a clean spreadsheet of good names and addresses.

Premium Searches

How good is your database information?

Our premium people search data is comprised of thousands of sources and billions of records.

What happens when I run out of searches in my monthly plan?

Additional searches can be purchased at any time. Additional searches you purchase rollover month to month and never expire. Click here for pricing.

What if I don't use all my searches included in my plan? Do the searches roll-over?

No. The amount of monthly searches included in your plan expire each month, on your billing date.

I bought additional searches. Do the searches I bought roll-over?

Yes. All additional searches you buy roll-over each month and are there to use for as long as you have an active account.

I bought some additional searches, then I decided to cancel. Will you refund the searches I paid for?

No. If you close your account or your account is suspended, any searches you paid for are not refunded.

Am I charged if the search doesn't return a result?

No. Individual premium searches are no-hit, no-fee.

Contact Dialer

What do I need to use the Contact Dialer?

All you need is Google Chrome and a microphone/headset to plug into your computer.

Do I need a phone to use the dialer?

No. You don’t need a separate phone. Our dialer places all calls through the Google Chrome browser.

What if I don't have a microphone/headset? Can I use the mic/speaker that's built into my computer?

A microphone/headset is best and what we recommend. But if you don’t have one, and your computer has a built-in microphone/speaker that will work too.

Is the Contact Dialer an extra cost?

No. The Contact Dialer is included in each BellesLink account, there’s no extra cost.

How many dialer calls can I make?

The Contact Dialer uses the minutes included in either the Pro or Business Plan. So if you’ve not made any other calls, you have 100 minutes to use with the Pro Plan and 2000 minutes to use with the Business Plan.

What if I run out of call minutes? Can I buy more?

If you’re on the Business Plan you can purchase as many call minutes as you need to. Call minutes are $0.025 per minute. For example, 1,000 additional minutes costs $25.00. If you’re on the Pro Plan you cannot purchase additional call minutes. To get more call minutes upgrade to a Business Plan.

The Contact Dialer looks great. Can I try it on the Pro Plan, then upgrade?

Yes. Upgrading is easy, just one click.

Virtual Phone & Text

How do call minutes work?

The Pro Plan comes with 500 call minutes. The Business Plan comes with 2,000 call minutes. Both plans come with unlimited browser calls and free voicemails.

When are call minutes used?

Anytime you get an inbound call to any of your BellesLink numbers, or make a call to a number, your call minutes are used in one minute increments.

So if someone calls one of your BellesLink numbers and the call is 40 seconds, we’d deduct one minute. If the call was 61 seconds, we’d deduct 2 minutes.

Same thing when making calls. If you make a call and the call was 35 seconds, we’d deduct 1 minute. If the call you made was 71 seconds, we’d deduct 2 minutes.

Are voicemails free?

Yes. But only if the call doesn’t transfer to you first.

If the call transfers to you, then goes to voicemail (because you didn’t answer or weren’t available) the voicemail isn’t free. The call is deducted from your call minutes.

But if the call goes directly to voicemail without transferring to you first, you’re not deducted any call minutes.

So what you do, is setup a Transfer Schedule in the BellesLink app. In the Transfer Schedule you choose which times calls transfer to you. All other times, calls go directly to voicemail.

Does my voicemail ever fill up?

No! Your voicemail box is unlimited.

Have you ever called someone and got “Sorry, the mailbox is full”? It happens to us, when we follow up on BellesLink inquiries. A lot.

If we’re getting “Sorry, the mailbox is full” so are their customers or leads. This could mean an important lead lost, or a blown opportunity.

Sorry, the mailbox is full” never happens using BellesLink.

What if I run out of my call minutes? Can I buy more?

Yes. Pro and Business plan customers who have access to phone features can buy more call minutes at any time.

I signed up for the Pro Plan. I keep running out of call minutes. Can I change plans?

Yes. If you’re running out of call minutes, the best thing to do is upgrade to the Business Plan.

How many text messages come with my account?

The Pro plan comes with 500 text messages and the Business plan comes with 2,000. If you send a text, that counts as 1.

Inbound texts you receive are free.

How do I receive a text message?

Every local BellesLink number can receive and receive text messages. So when you activate a BellesLink local number, it’s ready for texting.

You receive texts when logged into the BellesLink website or in our mobile app.

How do I send a text message?

You send texts from the BellesLink website, on your desktop or mobile device. BellesLink is the same simple design from desktop or mobile. No mobile app needed!

When I send a text, what phone number does the text coming from?

When you send a text, you choose which BellesLink number of yours to send the text from. When the person gets your text, the text comes from your BellesLink number.

So let’s say you have 2 BellesLink numbers; 415.123.4567 and 303.123.4567. When you send a text you choose which BellesLink number to use. If you chose your 415 number, the person you sent the text to sees your 415 number and your message.

Can the person reply to the text I sent them from my BellesLink number?

Yes. When they reply to the text they are replying via your BellesLink number. It’s no different than if they got a text from a cell number.

What if I run out of texts? Can I buy more?

Yes. You can purchase more texts at any time.

How do I know I've got a new text?

In user settings you can turn on notifications for new messages. Notifications can be sent to you by email or text.

Accounts & Billing

How do I cancel my account?

Just send us an email or submit your request on our Contact page. Your account will be closed as soon as we get it.

How does your billing work?

The date you sign-up becomes your bill date. Each month on your bill date you’re charged the forthcoming monthly fee for the plan you’re on.

What if I cancel after I've been charged the monthly fee? Is any portion of the monthly fee I paid refundable?

No. We don’t offer refunds. The easy way to avoid this is to cancel before your bill date.

Do I pay the monthly fee even when I'm not using the account?

Yes. You pay a monthly fee whether you use the account or not.

Can I change plans?

Yes. You can change plans anytime. If you’re changing from the Pro Plan to the Business Plan, you’ll be charged the pro-rated monthly fee immediately. If you’re changing from the Business Plan to the Pro Plan, the change will take affect on your next bill date.

Plan Upgrades & Downgrades

Can I upgrade or downgrade anytime?

Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade your subscription at any time.

If I upgrade, does the change take place immediately?

Yes. Once you’ve received confirmation that your upgrade was successful, logout and then login. When you login you’ll be on whatever plan you upgraded to.

I just downgraded, but everything looks the same.

If you downgrade, the change won’t take place until your next bill date.

If I downgrade, do I get a pro-rated refund of my monthly fee?

No. But after you downgrade you can continue on whatever plan you’re on until your next bill date. Then on your next bill date, your plan will change.

I was on either the Pro or Business plan. I've downgraded to the Basic Plan. How come I can't see any of my calls, messages, or texts?

The Basic plan doesn’t include calls, messages, or texts, so that’s why you can’t see anything. But if you upgrade from the Basic Plan to either the Pro or Business plan, all of your calls, messages, and texts will be there, just like before.

I'm trying to upgrade, but I got a message saying the charge didn't go through.

Make sure in “Account” that the billing address for the card you’re using is where your statement is mailed to. Everything has to match exactly, including the zip code. If not, the charge won’t go through.

I upgraded to a different plan. Where can I learn about the features available?

When logged in click on Tutorials We have a library of videos you can watch. If you still need help, or don’t want to watch the videos, give us a call or drop a message in the chat window.

I'm wanting to change plans. Is the data the same?

Yes. The data is exactly same for all plans.

So if I downgrade to the Basic plan from either the Pro or Business plan, I won't lose my data?

Yes and no. We save your data (calls, messages, texts) for as long as you’re a customer. So if you downgrade then upgrade later, your data will be there just like before. But you can’t access it again unless you upgrade.

Customer Support

How do I get a hold of you for help?

Call customer at 970.328.0400 or email us at customerservice@belleslink.com. We’re available to help most hours of the day, night, and weekends.

So if I call you, you're going to answer the phone?

Yep. Try calling now. If we don’t pickup we’ll get back to you ASAP.

How do I get the most out of BellesLink?

If all you’re looking for is a database, you’re selling yourself short. Use everything we offer.

Do batches and searches.

Use BellesLink for your calls, texts, notes and reminders.

Keep track of your work using our CRM.

We post really great tutorials and videos.

And we’re always here to help!

Is technical support free and included in my account?

Yes. Technical support by phone, at 970.328.0400, and by email, at customerservice@belleslink.com, is included with every BellesLink account.

What else should I know about BellesLink?

The roots of BellesLink began in 1989. We were a small business then, we’re a small business now—same as our customers. So we know what it’s like.

We’re a small crew. We all work remotely, from home. So when you call you might hear our dogs barking. Scratch that, you probably will hear our dogs barking.

We have a trusted network of people we’ve worked with for years. We’re all friends and family.

All our systems are housed in a secure data facility, one of the best in the country. Because of who we are, our experience, knowledge, and design, BellesLink and its network is extremely reliable.

We’re small in numbers, but mighty and nimble. Our technology and code base is rock-solid. Our design and development process is fast and flexible so we’re quickly able to make the changes our customers need.