Set up what a call to each number does

Each Twilio number you send to ContactRoll can have its own hours, greeting, menu and closed message. This article covers sending a number's calls to ContactRoll and setting up what callers hear.

You need the permission the Roles page calls "Make and change call groups, say which numbers ring here, and set up what a call to each one does: its hours, its greeting, its menu and the group it rings". Sending a number's calls to ContactRoll also needs "Connect Twilio, check or disconnect it, send a number's calls here, and set the month's calling minutes". Owners and Administrators hold both.

Send a number's calls to ContactRoll

Open Settings, then Calling and find Calls that come in. It appears once Twilio is connected, the TwiML App is made and the account has a number that takes voice calls. Each number shows where Twilio sends its calls now.

• Press Send its calls to ContactRoll. This changes the number in your Twilio account.
• If Twilio already sends the number's calls somewhere else, the page says where and asks first: Move its calls to this ContactRoll, or Leave it where it is.
• A number sent here reads "rings in ContactRoll". Switch off turns its calls away while Twilio keeps sending them here, and Switch on rings here again.
• Choose the call group it Rings. It rings Everyone until you choose another.

Today's behavior

A number with no setup of its own gets Today’s behavior. During business hours it rings the number's call group, and outside them the caller can leave a message. Check your hours at Settings, then Business hours. Until somebody sets them, ContactRoll counts Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.

Start from a template

Under the number, open What a call to this number does and press Start from a template. Each template shows what it does and which call groups it uses. Press Use this template to save it as a new version. It makes any call group it names that you do not have yet, with nobody in it, so add people to those groups before you switch it on.

• Just me: rings the group Me. Out of hours, callers leave a message.
• Small team, everyone rings: rings everyone in Team at once.
• Support line with a queue: rings Support one person at a time, and callers wait in line for up to 5 minutes.
• Front desk menu: 1 for Sales, 2 for Support, 3 for Billing.
• Sales line: rings Sales at once, and callers wait for up to 2 minutes.
• After hours, urgent only: in hours rings Front desk; out of hours, 1 leaves a message and 2 rings On call.

Write your own setup

Press Set it up and fill in:

• Hours: "Open all the time" or "The organization’s business hours".
• In hours (called Every call when the number is open all the time): an optional greeting, said first. Then either tick Offer a menu, or use Then to choose a call group or "Take a message".
• A menu: give each key its words, such as "For Sales", and where it goes: a call group or "Take a message". Add a choice adds the next key, up to four.
• Out of hours: the closed message, said first, then a menu, a call group (an on-call group, for example) or a message.
• A note on this version, if you like.

Press Save as a new version. A greeting or closed message holds up to 300 characters, and a menu choice up to 100.

What callers hear

• Each sentence is said on its own, with a short pause between sentences.
• A menu is said one choice at a time, such as "For Sales, press 1." After five seconds with no key, the menu is said again. If the caller presses no key twice, the call goes to the first choice.
• When recording is on, the caller hears "This call is being recorded." before anybody is rung.
• A message after the tone can be up to two minutes long.

Ring the caller's owner first

In the editor, tick Ring the caller’s owner first and choose For how long: 5 to 30 seconds (15 to start). When a number belongs to exactly one contact, and that contact's owner is taking calls and free, the owner is rung alone first. If the owner does not answer, the call goes on as the number is set up, from its first words. Give your important contacts an owner on their pages so they reach the right person.

Preview, switch on, and undo

A setup is kept as versions. Saving makes a new version that is switched off, so nothing changes for callers until you are ready.

• Press Preview under Versions to see each step, what the caller hears sentence by sentence, and what happens next. Call it yourself from any phone to hear what the number does now.
• Press Switch this on. The page says "Version [n] is switched on: calls to [number] get it from now on."
• Put back the one before switches back to whatever was on before your last switch.
• Switch off — today’s behavior goes back to Today’s behavior.

The voice callers hear

Under Voice callers hear, pick a voice and press Use this voice. It is used for every word ContactRoll has Twilio say on a call, for every number. The basic voice is free, and each other voice shows Twilio's published price beside it.

What every member sees

Members without the setup permission can open the Calling page by its address and read What a call to each number does: whether a version is on, its hours, and each menu key with where it goes. On a missed call or voicemail that went through a menu, the case says which key the caller pressed.