How do I setup a Callflow?

Description: The callflow module allows you to setup how a call will route through your system, from the time the telephone call hits our system to the time it is delivered to an end user will be controlled by one or more call flows. A callflow MUST be created for each user in your account in order for calls to know how to route to them.

Resolution:

Step 1: Navigate to the admin portal https://manage.voxter.com

Step 2: Hover your mouse over the "Hosted PBX" option and then select "Callflows"

Step 3: Choose the callflow you wish to edit from the menu on the left, or select the "Add Callflow" option to create a new callflow.

A: You may want to create a new callflow if you are wanting to create a new extension that when called rings one or more people, for example.

Step 4: Name the call flow by selecting the "Edit" button (1) and then click the empty area to assign a phone number or extension that can be dialed to reach this call flow (2).

Step 5: Once you have the name and extension/Phone number (can be either one, or both, or multiple of each) assigned, you are ready to build the flow the call will follow. In this example we will build a Sales Ring Group call flow that has specific business hours (9am-5pm EST Monday-Friday) and rings multiple people during those business hours before going to a voicemail, and if it is not during business hours will route the call to a voicemail account.

A: Using the Menu of Actions on the right, drag the relevant items into the callflow, it will highlight where you are able to place them as you drag it over, release it on a highlighted area to place it. 

In our test case I am going to drag the "Time of Day" option over from the "Time of Day" Action menu.

B: Since I am bringing a "Time of Day" option into my call flow, I must chose which Timezone I want it to route based on. In our test case I am going to choose "America/New York" for US EST.

C: My next step is to build out what I want the callflow to do during both business and non-business hours. I will start by building my business hours first since that has a specified time schedule. 

In our test case, I want it to ring multiple people at once, to do this I am going to drag over a "Ring Group" from the "Basic" Action menu and drop it on top of our "Time of Day" we placed earlier.

D: It then asks me during what "Time of Day" I want this to happen, I am going to choose to "Add a time of day" since my schedule doesn't yet exist.

E: Name your Time of day something that is relevant to the item you are building it for so it is easier to identify later, select if this time of day option will repeat "Weekly", "Monthly" or "Yearly" and then select the repeat specifics and time you want this active. Under "Enabled" you will choose if you want this schedule to be enabled based on the "Schedule" created above, or "Forced On" or "Forced Off". 

In our Test case I want to enable it to repeat Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm. Once completed, select "Save"

F: Since I brought over a "Ring Group" it then asks me to name the ring group and set it up with which users, devices, or groups I want to ring. 

1: Name: Optional, but makes it easier in the visual of the call flow

2: Ring Strategy: "At the same time" = Simultaneous ring, "In order" = One at a time, in the order on the screen

3: Ringback: Audio you want the caller to hear while it is ringing this group, if you choose default they will hear ringing, or you can upload a custom audio file.

In our test case I am going to bring in 3 users, by bringing in "Users" this Ring group will ring all of those users devices instead of specific phones. You can setup a delay per user and a timeout for when you want that user to stop ringing as well. The delay is only used if your ring strategy is select as "At the same time". The timeout is how long you want that user to ring for. In our test case I am going to have Adam ring immediately and time out after 30 seconds, Bishop ring after a 10 second delay and timeout after 30 seconds and Alex ring after a 20 second delay and timeout after 30 seconds. 

The above delay/timeout will cause Adam to ring first for 10 seconds, then Bishop will be added in and last Alex will be added in to ring where they will all 3 be ringing for the last 10 seconds. Once you have the users, devices or groups you want to ring entered, select "OK"

G: It is a best practice to always have an end item for calls.

In our test case I am going to have calls go to a voicemail account if nobody from the Ring Group answers the call. I am going to do this by dragging the "Voicemail" option from the "Basic" Action menu and dropping it on top of the Ring Group we just created.

H: Once you drag the voicemail over, it then asks you what mailbox you want to route the caller to and if you want to specify a maximum message length (in seconds). Once complete select "OK"

I: This completes the "Business Hours" section of our call flow, now I need to specify what happens during non-business hours. 

In our test case I am going to route callers to a voicemail box if the call comes in during non-business hours. To do this I am going to drag the "Voicemail" option from the "Basic" Action menu and drop it on top of the "Time of Day" we already had in place.

J: This then asks you during which time of day you want calls to route here.

In our test case I have already specified what I want to happen during specific business hours, so I am going to select "All other times" to route all calls outside of our business hours to this voicemail. Once complete select "OK"

You could chose to "Add a time of day" in order to route calls differently during specific days, for example you could create a holiday schedule that might overlap with the business hours. The more specific schedule will always take precedence. For example, a yearly schedule that repeats on July 4th each year will take over from a weekly schedule of Monday-Friday.

K: It then asks you what mailbox you want to route the caller to and if you want to specify a maximum message length (in seconds). Once complete select "OK"

This is the complete Sales Ring group call flow, now if anyone dials extension 5000 in this organization during business hours it will ring the 3 people specified in the Ring group and outside of those times will route to a voicemail account. Calls can also be routed to this call flow from another callflow by using the "Callflow" option under the "Advanced" Action menu.

Make sure you select the "Save Changes" option, otherwise all of your hard work was for nothing!