How calls are answered
Call Routing: decide where every incoming call goes
Create rules that send each number's calls to a mobile, a hunt group, a greeting menu, voicemail, the Smart Receptionist or any other number, with optional opening-hours timing.
Which plans include it
Included on Plus and above. On Free Trial, Entry you can add it on its own at £2.00 a month from Features & add-ons.
What it means
The rule book for incoming calls. For each phone number you choose a destination, and optionally make the rule depend on your opening hours and bank holidays.
What it does
- Sends a number's calls to one of six destinations: Forward to Mobile, Hunt Group, Smart Answering, Voicemail, Greeting Menu, or Direct Number / External Line.
- Orders rules by priority when more than one could apply.
- Switches rules on and off by your business hours and UK bank holidays (Time-Based Routing).
Every part of the page
- Destination cards
- Forward (to a mobile), Hunt Group (ring several people), Smart Answer (the Smart Receptionist), Voicemail (leave a message), Greeting Menu (press 1 for…), Direct Number (any number or external line).
- Rules list
- Each rule shows From (the number called), Route to (destination type), Destination and whether it is Time-Based. Edit or delete with the icons.
- Phone Number
- Which of your numbers this rule is for.
- Routing Type / Destination
- What happens to the call, and the specific mobile, group, menu or mailbox.
- Priority
- Lower numbers win. Use 1 for your main rule and higher numbers for fallbacks.
- Enable Time-Based Routing
- Applies the rule only in line with your Business Hours & Holidays settings.
How to use it
Ring your mobile when someone calls your business number
- Press "Add Rule".
- Pick your number.
- Routing Type: Forward to Mobile.
- Enter your mobile number.
- Priority 1. Save.
Play a menu in hours and voicemail after hours
- Set your hours on Business Hours & Holidays.
- Add a rule: your number → Greeting Menu, Priority 1, Time-Based on.
- Add a second rule: your number → Voicemail, Priority 2.
- Out of hours the first rule does not apply, so the second takes the call.
Send calls to a team
- Create the team on Hunt Groups first.
- Add a rule: your number → Hunt Group → choose the group. Save.
Examples
Ring my mobile
Rule: number 01234 567890 → Forward to mobile 07700 900123. Every call to your business number rings your mobile, and the caller still sees that they called your business number.
Menu in the day, voicemail at night
Rule 1 with opening-hours timing: during open hours → Greeting Menu "Main". Rule 2: outside hours → Voicemail. Callers at 8pm hear your voicemail greeting rather than a menu nobody is there to answer.
Different numbers for different jobs
Your London 020 number → Sales hunt group. Your Manchester 0161 number → Support queue. One account, each number routed to the team that should answer it.
Recommended settings
- ★Always have a fallback: a final rule (highest priority number) that sends to Voicemail, so no call ever rings out unanswered.
- ★Use a Greeting Menu as the front door once you have more than one department.
- ★Keep rules simple — one main rule per number plus a fallback covers most businesses.
Abbreviations on this page
- DID — Direct Inward Dialling
- A phone number that rings straight through to a person, team or menu on your system. Each number on your Phone Numbers page is a DID.
- Example: Your 0161 number is a DID; it can ring Jane directly without going through reception.
- IVR — Interactive Voice Response
- The recorded menu that answers a call and asks the caller to press a key — "press 1 for sales, press 2 for accounts". Each key sends the call somewhere: a person, a team, voicemail or another menu. It lets a small business sound like a large one and gets callers to the right person first time. In your dashboard it is called a Greeting Menu.
- Example: "Thank you for calling Smile Dental. Press 1 to book, press 2 if you are in pain today, press 3 for billing." Press 2 and the call rings the emergency nurse, not reception.
- Hunt group — Hunt group / ring group
- Several phones that ring for one call — all at once, one after another, or taking turns — so someone always answers.
- Example: A "Sales" hunt group rings Jane, Tom and Priya until one of them answers.
- Dialplan
- The phone system's instructions for what happens to each call. Your dashboard writes it for you — you never edit it by hand.
- Example: The dialplan decides that a call to your number plays the greeting menu first.
Questions
What is the difference between Forward to Mobile and Direct Number?+
Forward to Mobile is for a UK mobile. Direct Number / External Line sends the call to any number or an external phone line — a landline, another office, or a call centre.
Do forwarded calls cost extra?+
Forwarding a call to an outside number uses an outbound call from your allowance, the same as dialling it yourself.
What happens if no rule matches?+
Calls ring your extensions and then go to voicemail. Add a Voicemail fallback rule so the behaviour is always explicit.
Which plans include Call Routing?+
Rule-based routing with opening hours is included from Plus. On Entry, basic forwarding works and Business-hours routing can be added on its own.
Related help
Already a customer? Open this page in your dashboard: Call Routing. New to Silux Call? See the plans or start a free trial.