Managing Call Flows · Support Portal

Instead of using a call flow builder, each element that a call will pass through needs to be individually created and managed. Auto attendants allow callers to hear a menu and route their call based on the option they select, while call groups allow for a call to route to multiple users at once or in a sequence. A typical call flow will start with an auto attendant and then route to a call group. Usually, there is a call group for each option within the auto attendant; however, you can send multiple options to the same group.

When building out a new flow, it is typically better to start at the end and work your way backwards through the flow, as you will need the extensions of the users, call groups, or auto attendants for forwarding.

User Management

To manage users, please visit Creating Users and Assigning Licenses

To create a call group

When setting up a call group, be aware that the maximum amount of time a call can ring without being answered is 120 seconds, approximately 60 rings. If the call is not answered, forwarded to a voicemail box, or forwarded to an auto attendant before this time limit, the call will be dropped.

Log in to the portal as an administrator.
Hover over Advanced Routing at the top of the page and click Call Groups.
Click Create Call Groups on the left-hand side of the page.
Enter your information in the fields on the Call group profile screen, as indicated below:
- Call group name: a descriptive name for the call group.
- Location: the location that this call group belongs to.
- Caller ID first and Caller ID last: the caller ID that will show on the users’ phones when a call comes in through the call group. This is in addition to the caller ID of the originating party. This is commonly used to let the user know what number was dialed, or what option was selected from the auto attendant. Typical examples include a Support Call or a Sales Call.
- Phone number: the phone number that rings directly to this call group. This is optional.
- Extension: the extension number of the call group. This is required.
- Call distribution policy: This is the ring pattern the call group will follow.. Options include:
  - Circular - one at a time with a looping order, when the user at the top of the list takes a call he’s moved to the bottom; A-B-C-D, then B-C-D-A, then C-D-A-B, etc.
  - Regular - most common; rings one phone at a time in a set order; A-B-C, A-B-C
  - Simultaneous - rings every phone in the call group at the same time.
  - Uniform - whoever has been idle the longest.
  - Weighted - specifies a percentage for each user; allows your strongest employees to take the most calls. The weight is configured by Nextiva Support.
Select which users will be a part of this call group by clicking the plus sign next to their name below Available users. Alternatively, the plus sign next to the All option adds all users to this call group. After doing so, the users will appear in the Selected Users box to the right.
Click the Advanced Settings link toward the bottom of the screen to show the advanced settings
Select one or more Busy options from the drop-down list
- Allow call waiting: allows the users in the call group to take more than one call at a time through the call group. This does not affect their ability to take a second call if the user’s direct number is dialed.
- Allow members to control group busy: allows the users in the call group to use feature access codes to turn call forwarding on or off for the call group using #51 to activate, and #52 to deactivate. This is typically setup in conjunction with Call forward busy to control where the call is forwarded to.
- Enable group busy: turns call forwarding on or off for the call group, rather than using #51 and #52 (discussed above).
- Apply group busy when call ends: makes the hunt group busy whenever a call ends.
Fill in the rest of the optional fields as indicated below
- Department: the department that the call group is assigned to. Departments are used to organize an account. Examples include Accounting, Sales, Support, etc.
- Skip to next agent after __ rings: controls how long a user has to pick up the phone before the call routes to another user. This setting only applies if simultaneous ring is not in use, and there is more than one user in the call group. We suggest keeping this number to 6 or fewer rings.
- Forward call after _ seconds, and forward to: controls the total time the call rings through the call group. This is typically used to send calls to voicemail after a certain number of seconds (one ring is approximately 5 seconds), but can also be used to forward calls to another extension, an auto attendant, or an external number.
- Enable call forwarding not reachable, and forward to: forwards calls to voicemail, an auto attendant, or an external number in the event that the phones in the call group are offline (not registered). This only applies if ALL phones in the call group are offline.
- Make call group busy when all available agents are not reachable: Send the call to the call group voicemail box in the event that the phones in the call group are offline (not registered). By default, this will go to the call group voicemail box, but this can be changed by using the Call forwarding busy
To prevent the caller ID from being modified when calls route through the call group, select the User’s caller ID radio button at the bottom of the screen, and uncheck the Include call group in caller ID check box
Click the green Save button at the bottom of the screen. A pop-up message will appear confirming that the new call group has been created.

To create an auto attendant

Log in to the NextOS 3.0 voice portal as an administrator.
From the Nextiva Voice Admin Dashboard, hover over Advanced Routing and select Auto Attendants. The options to create or manage an Auto Attendant will display under Auto Attendants in the left panel.
Click Create Auto Attendant and complete the Auto Attendant Profile.
- Auto Attendant Name - A name for the auto attendant
- Location - Select the location from the drop-down menu
- Regular Schedule - Schedule that defines the hours the Business Hours menu will be used.
- Holiday Schedule - Schedule that defines when the business is closed due to holidays, events in this schedule will override events in the Regular Schedule.
- Phone Number - The phone number callers outside the enterprise use to reach the auto attendant.
- Extension - Extension used to internally route calls.
Click Advanced Settings and complete the following fields:
- Caller ID First and Last Name: These values are displayed as the caller ID when a User receives an incoming call from the Auto Attendant.
- Extension Dialing Scope and Name Dialing Scope:
  - Enterprise allows extension or name dialing to the whole company.
  - Location limits the extension or name dialing to the location of the Auto Attendant.
  - Department limits the extension or name dialing to the specific department.
- Time Zone: The time zone for this Auto Attendant.
- Department: The department for this Auto Attendant.
- Name Dialing Entries: The format callers can use to search for users.
- Transfer to the operator after X seconds of inactivity: Route callers to the operator when callers do not specify a key or option after the specified length of time. The default is 10 seconds.
Click Save.
Define the Business Hours Menu and After Hours Menu.
1. Click on Business Hours Menu or After Hours Menu to expand the section.
2. Assign a greeting from the dropdown menu. Greetings can be uploaded following the instructions in the article Uploading Announcements and Greetings
  - A greeting can also be recorded from a phone.
3. Define Menu options:
  - Key - The number a caller will press to be routed.
  - Description - A description for the key. Needs to be 20 characters or less, more than 20 characters will cause an error to pop up when trying to save.
  - Connect To - Routing options for the key.
    - Number/Extension (prompt xfer) - Transfer to the phone number or extension in the connection data field with a message advising they are being transferred.
    - Number/Extension - Transfer to the phone number or extension in the connection data field, no prompt will be given.
    - Transfer to Operator - Plays prompt "Please wait while your call is transferred to the operator" and transfers the caller to the number or extension in the connection data field. Only key should use this option.
    - Name Dialing - Prompts caller to dial by name.
    - Extension Dialing - Prompts caller to dial by extension.
    - Voicemail Box - Transfer to the voicemail box of the extension listed in the connection data field.
    - Recorded Message - Play the message selected in the connection data filed.
    - Repeat Menu - Repeat the menu.
    - Disconnect Message - Hang up on the caller.
  - Connection Data - Depending on the option selected for the connect to drop-down menu this will either be a field to enter a phone number or extension, or a drop-down menu to select a greeting.
4. Click Save.
5. Repeat for the After Hours Menu.