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Phone Routing Stepping Through the Basics

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Contents

What is Phone Routing? ..........................................................................3Logging in to your Ifbyphone Account ................................................................. 3

Configuring Different Phone Routing Functions.............................4How do I purchase additional Toll Free or local numbers?.......................4How can I add existing Toll Free or local numbers to my account? .....4How do I route a Toll Free or local number to another telephone number?............................................................................................................................6How do I route a Toll Free or local number to an Ifbyphone building block? ................................................................................................................................. 8How do I route an inbound call based on day or time of day? ..............10How do I route an inbound call based on Area Code or Caller ID? ....11

Ifbyphone Glossary ..................................................................................16

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What is Phone Routing? Phone Routing is an Ifbyphone Building Block that allows you to easily route a toll free or local number to other Ifbyphone tools, such as a Virtual Receptionist, Find Me, or Voicemail, and also to any local number. You can route calls based on day or time of day, as well as by the Caller ID number of an inbound call.

This guide will serve as a tool to help you understand how to configure the Phone Routing actions that you need to put in place. In the Table of Contents on page 2 you can find a list of all questions that explain each individual use of the Phone Routing feature.

Logging in to your Ifbyphone Account To set up and use Phone Routing you must have an Ifbyphone account. To open an Ifbyphone account, please go to our Web site at www.ifbyphone.com or call (877) 295-5100 and say Business Accounts. Once your account has been activated, follow the instructions below to login:

1. Navigate to the Ifbyphone Web site at www.ifbyphone.com. 2. Login to your account by clicking User Login at the top of the home page. 3. On the Login to My Account page (Figure 1), enter your User ID (your primary 10-digit

phone number—numbers only—with no leading 1) and PIN code (password); then click SIGN IN.

Figure 1: Ifbyphone Account Login Screen

Configuring Different Phone Routing Functions In this section you will find all the topics necessary to setting up Phone Routing, including routing based on day, time of day, and Caller ID.

Topics are displayed in an FAQ format.

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How do I purchase additional phone numbers? If you signed up for an Ifbyphone Platinum account, you were allowed to choose one toll free number at signup; if you signed up for a Silver or Gold account, you were allowed to choose one local number. (Bronze plans do not offer toll free or local number capabilities). Additional toll free and local numbers can be purchased on the Additional Options page (Figure 2), found under the My Account tab in the main toolbar. Enter in the number of local or toll free numbers you would like to purchase and click Save Options. (If you have already purchased additional phone numbers, just raise the quantity to the amount you want).

Figure 2: Additional Options

How do I add existing Toll Free or local numbers to my account? During the sign-up process, you may not have selected all the numbers that came with your account. If you purchased additional toll free numbers, you have a pool of numbers in your account that you can choose from and begin using. For information on purchasing additional toll free numbers, see the above question how do I purchase additional toll free or local numbers. To add existing toll free or local numbers to your account:

1. Enter the Phone Routing feature by clicking Phone Routing from either the Main Menu or on the top navigation bar under Tools.

2. If you have existing toll free or local numbers, they will appear on the Phone Number Routing screen along with their routing details. Click on Select additional phone number(s) (Figure 3).

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Figure 3: Selecting Additional phone numbers

3. The system will tell you how many toll free and local numbers you still have available for

selection (Figure 4). Select whether you want to choose more toll free or local numbers.

Figure 4: Adding additional toll free numbers

• If you select to add Toll-Free numbers, check the box next to the number(s) you want (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Adding additional toll free numbers

• If you select to add Local numbers, select a state and an area code for the local number you want. Then check the box next to the number(s) (Figure 6).

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Figure 6: Adding additional local numbers

How do I route a Toll Free or local number to another telephone number? If you would like to route a toll free or local number directly into another phone number, it is simple to do so. Once you have selected your existing toll free or local numbers (see the above question, how can I add existing toll free or local numbers to my account?) they will be listed on the Phone Number Routing page:

1. Select the Configure button (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Configuring Phone Number Routing

2. On the Phone Routing page, you have the option to route a number based on a schedule (see the question on page 9 for information on routing based on day and time of day). Below that, you are given the option to Select where the phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx should route.

3. In the drop-down box, select Transfer call (Figure 8).

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Figure 8: Phone Routing Options

Note: Using a Whisper Message If you want a message to be “whispered” to the person who answers a transferred call, select Transfer Call w/Whisper Message. When the input box appears, type in the text you want whispered to whoever picks up the transferred call. Only the business will hear this message.

4. Decide if you want anything to be read to the caller before being transferred. If so, enter

text into the First Read This Text (optional).

5. Enter the phone number you want the call to be transferred to (Figure 9). This is required.

Figure 9: Phone Routing – Transfer Call

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6. Click Save Routing. Your toll free or local number is now configured to route directly to the specified phone number.

How do I route a Toll Free or local number to an Ifbyphone building block? If you would like to route a toll free or local number directly into an Ifbyphone building block, it is simple to do so. Once you have selected your existing toll free or local numbers (see the above question on page 4, how do I add existing toll free or local numbers?) they will be listed on the Phone Number Routing page:

1. Select the Configure button (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Configuring Phone Number Routing

2. On the Phone Routing page, you have the option to route a number based on a

schedule (see page 9 for information on routing based on day and time of day). Below that, you are given the option to Select where the phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx should route.

3. Select which Ifbyphone feature you want to route directly to (Figure 11):

- Find Me: route to a designated Find Me list. - Phone Directory: route to a directory of phone numbers assigned to people

connected to this toll free number. - Play Audio: play an audio file that you have uploaded or recorded on the

Ifbyphone system. The system will play it when someone calls the toll free number.

- Read Text: enter in text that the system will read when someone calls the toll free or local number.

- SurVo: route a caller directly to a SurVo form, such as an employee screening.

- Virtual Receptionist: to route a second toll free or local number to a Virtual Receptionist that is not your default menu, use this feature.

- Voice Mail Greeting: have a caller be sent directly to your Ifbyphone Voice Mailbox.

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Figure 11: Phone Routing Options

Note: Using “First Read This Text” You have the option of entering in text that will be read to a caller who dials the toll free or local number, before that person is routed to the specific Ifbyphone feature you have selected. If you want something read, enter the text in. If you do not, just leave the form blank (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Phone Routing: Read Text

4. Finish configuring this specific Phone Routing based on the feature you selected, and

your toll free or local number will now be routed to that feature.

How do I route an inbound call based on day or time of day? It is possible to create a schedule with Ifbyphone that allows you to route your toll free or local number to different Ifbyphone tools or a separate phone number based on a specific day of the week and the time of day.

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Selecting A Schedule In order to route a toll free or local number based on day or time of day, you must have already created a schedule on the Ifbyphone system. For a full tutorial on how to create a schedule, see the Schedules Advanced User’s Guide on the Tutorials and User Guides page. Once you have selected your existing toll free or local numbers (see the above question on page 4, how do I add existing toll free numbers?) they will be listed on the Phone Number Routing page:

1. Select the Configure button (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Configuring Phone Number Routing

2. On the Phone Routing page, you have the option to route a number based on a

schedule. From the drop-down box, select a schedule you have already created. The screen will reload to show the different modes of your schedule (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Schedule Based Phone Routing

3. Choose what you want each mode to do based on the time of day. For help on routing

to an Ifbyphone tool or another telephone number, see pages 5 through 9. Once you’ve selected where to route your toll free or local number during each mode, you are set up to route calls based on day and/or time of day.

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How do I route an inbound call based on Area Code or Caller ID? It is possible to route a number based on any combination of digits in an inbound caller’s number. You can route based on area code, any number of digits, or a full number. For example, if everyone in your office has a phone number beginning with 847-676, you could route all calls that come in with those six numbers to a specific destination, such as an internal employee menu or local phone number accessible only to employees. This section will show you how to route all calls that come in to a toll free or local number to an internal employee Virtual Receptionist menu.

A Virtual Receptionist Menu Must Already Be Created In order to route to an internal employee menu, a Virtual Receptionist menu must already have been created. For information on creating a Virtual Receptionist, see the Virtual Receptionist Stepping Through the Basics User’s Guide.

Before you begin, it will be useful to understand these definitions:

• Caller ID Matching Set: the different patterns of numbers that you want routed to a specific phone number or Ifbyphone building block.

• Pattern: the specific numbers you want routed, such as an area code. Each Caller ID Matching Set can contain one or more patterns.

• Set: a set is an abbreviation for a Caller ID Matching Set. Once you have selected your existing toll free or local numbers (see the above question on page 4, how do I add existing toll free or local numbers?) they will be listed on the Phone Number Routing page:

1. Click on Switch to Advanced Routing Mode (Figure 15).

Figure 15: Switch to Advanced Routing Mode

2. The Phone Number Routing page will reload in a different screen that now displays

Caller ID Matching. Click on Create a new Caller ID Matching Set (Figure 16).

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Figure 16: Create a new Caller ID Matching Set

3. A grey box will appear prompting for a name. Give a name to the new Caller ID Matching Set (Figure 17).

Figure 17: Naming the Caller ID Matching Set

4. On the Pattern List Edit page (Figure 18):

- Add/Edit Patterns for: Select from the drop-down box which pattern you wish to edit. Choose Office Number Routing.

- Number Pattern (e.g. 212): Enter in the pattern, such as an area code, full telephone number, or combination of numbers, and then click Add to Pattern List. For this demo, enter in 847676.

- Patterns: You can add as many patterns as you’d like to a routing list for a specific toll free or local number. Those patterns will be listed here. You can delete a pattern by selecting it and clicking Delete Highlighted Pattern.

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Figure 18: Pattern List Edit

5. Click Go to Phone Routing.

6. You are now back on the Phone Number Routing page. Under the column Caller ID Matching that is associated with the toll free or local number you are currently configuring, click on Add Matching (Figure 19).

Figure 19: Add Matching to Phone Number Routing

7. A drop-down box will appear that prompts you to “Choose a Set.” (Figure 20) Select the pattern 847676 that you just created. A Configure button will appear on the right under Configure. Click Configure to route this specific Set to an internal employee Virtual Receptionist.

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Figure 20: Choosing a Caller ID Matching Set

8. On the Phone Routing page (Figure 21), you can associate a schedule with your routing choices, and below that, you can route the call to any Ifbyphone building block or any telephone number. To route to an internal employee menu, you need to have already created a Virtual Receptionist with these options and choose the menu on this page (For information on creating Virtual Receptionist menus, see the Virtual Receptionist Advanced User’s Guide).

Figure 21: Phone Routing Options

9. Once you’ve selected the Virtual Receptionist menu, click Save. It will take you back to

the Phone Number Routing page.

10. You can edit a Pattern by clicking on the pen and paper icon directly next to it, and you can delete a Matching Pattern from a current configuration by clicking the Delete button all the way to the right (Figure 22).

Figure 22: Phone Number Routing

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Using More Than One Caller ID Matching Pattern It is possible to use numerous Matching Patterns with a single toll free or local number. After configuring the patterns by following the steps above, continue to select Add Matching and route the Matching Pattern in the way you desire, until you have finished setting up a routing pattern that works for your business. This could be useful if you want all people calling your toll free or local number from one area code region to be directly connected to a live agent, but all those who call your toll free or local number from outside a specific area code region to be directed to a voicemail message.

11. Your toll free or local number is now scheduled to route based on Caller ID to an

internal employee Virtual Receptionist menu.

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Ifbyphone Glossary The purpose of the glossary is to assist you by defining commonly-used ifbyphone terms.

Auto attendant Another term for Interactive Voice Response (IVR). Essentially refers to an automated telephone answering system that routes calls. Building Block Ifbyphone proprietary code that allows you to build a complex voice application that is accessible via the Web, Email or telephone. Smart Click-to-Call and all destinations are building blocks. Click-to-Call (CTC) Immediately connect a user to a registered business telephone number. Click-to-Call can be easily set up by registering phone numbers—in addition to the toll free number given to you at sign up—within the Registered Numbers utility. Click-to-Call can then be configured as a destination for Smart Click-to-Call, enabling Web site visitors to click a button and immediately speak with a customer service representative or other call recipient. Destinations Destinations are Ifbyphone services/building blocks that can be configured for Smart Click-to-Call access. Through Smart Click-to-Call, customers can click a link, type in their phone number, and connect immediately to a destination. Destination Configurations Destination Configurations allow you to setup a destination for use with a specific Smart Click-to-Call. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) A computerized system that allows a telephone caller to select options from a voice menu and interact with the computer phone system. IVR systems use Dual Tone, Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals (entered from the telephone keypad) and natural language speech recognition to interpret the caller's response to IVR prompts.

Find Me An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Find Me can be configured to maintain a prioritized list of phone numbers where a call recipient may be reached (e.g. desk or cell phone, pager, etc.). If a call recipient cannot be located at any of the phone numbers listed, the call can be redirected to their voice mailbox.

Modes Blocks of time established within a specific day when configuring a schedule. Modes are fully customizable, but are commonly used to represent a workplace’s open, closed, lunch, and after

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hours. Once modes have been set within a schedule, Smart Click-to-Call and Virtual Receptionist can be configured to exhibit different IVR behavior for a specific mode.

Net Integration Communication between a SurVo and Web-based server. Net integration may be carried out to retrieve or post information and to perform a function like user account validation. Typically net integration is performed when a company is utilizing Ifbyphone business services to add voice to an existing system. Schedule An Ifbyphone tool that allows a user to specify the day-to-day operation of a workplace with start and finish times. Schedules are configured for Ifbyphone building blocks, including Smart Click-to-Call and Virtual Receptionist. Within a schedule, it is possible to specify a desired time zone, as well as modes. Smart Click-to-Call An Ifbyphone building block that is highly flexible in customization and scalability, Smart Click-to-Call enables routed communication between customers, business services and contacts via the Web or Email. Through Smart Click-to-Call, customers can click a link, type in their phone number, and connect immediately to a company’s configured services (commonly referred to as “destinations” in this documentation). Ifbyphone offers the following services and building blocks as Smart Click-to-Call destinations: a custom Virtual Receptionist, voice survey, voice mailbox, a Find Me auto-dial telephone list to locate an individual, and Click-to-Call for immediate telephony connection. Smart Click-to-Call can be configured based on the day and/or time of day. Software as a Service (SaaS) A software model employed by vendors who both develop and operate network-based applications for use by customers over the internet. SaaS is typically a low-cost way for businesses to obtain the same benefits of commercially licensed, internally-operated software, without the associated complexity and high initial cost. SurVo See Voice Survey Form (SurVo) Virtual Receptionist An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Virtual Receptionist can be configured to provide menus for callers to route incoming calls. An automated phone environment, the virtual receptionist can transfer callers to other numbers/extensions, forward callers to voicemail boxes, initiate a Find Me list or surveys, play pre-recorded messages, etc. Voice Form Similar to a Web form—with voice recognition capabilities, a voice form is a dialog between a user and the system configured to provide or collect information. At the completion of a voice form, the information collected can be emailed, saved to a web site or transmitted for further processing. Voice Survey Form (SurVo) An Ifbyphone building block and destination, Voice Survey Forms (SurVo) are used to create dialogs over the telephone between callers and the system, much like a Web form with voice

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recognition capabilities (see Voice Form). A SurVo can be used to conduct employment screens, provide a customer satisfaction survey, route a call based on a user's answers to a series of questions, etc. SurVos have the potential to be invoked in response to a Smart Click-to-Call, an inbound call, an outbound call, a scheduled call, or an API request from a Web site. VoiceXML W3C's standard XML format for specifying interactive voice dialogues between a human and a computer. VoiceXML allows voice applications to be developed and deployed for visual applications. Analogous to HTML interpretation by a visual Web browser, VoiceXML documents are interpreted by a voice browser. VoiceXML has tags that instruct the voice browser to provide speech synthesis, automatic speech recognition, dialog management and soundfile playback. VUI (Voice User Integration) Describes the interaction with computers though a voice and/or speech platform to initiate an automated service or process. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) An international consortium, hosted by MIT, which develops interoperable technologies (standards, protocols, software and tools) for the Web. W3C’s mission is to promote the evolution of the Web in a single direction, rather than into splintered factions.