Set up telephony (SIP line, extensions, call flow)

The-Y ships a built-in phone system (no 3CX/third-party system needed). You connect a SIP line from your provider, call right in the browser (softphone), and build the call routing — menus, queues, voicemail — as a visual flow. All from inside the CRM.

⏱ line approx. 10 min · Permission: settings.manage (admin) · Free: 200 outgoing call minutes/month, 2 simultaneous calls · Cloud Pro: 10 simultaneous calls · Paid: no plan limit · As of version 1.1.53

How telephony is organised (since 1.1.53)

Telephony is split into two parts. The tabs at the top: My phone · Setup (Overview, Lines, Numbers, Extensions, Announcements & menus, Phone hours, Queues, Group calls, Music, Call flow, Phone templates, Brands) · Operation (Calls).

• My phone — for everyone who may see conversations: “My status” (available, do not disturb, away) with “My groups” and “My mobile rings too”, “My recent calls”, the browser phone and the device/headset test. Admins also see how far the phone system is set up (“3 of 6 steps done · next: …”).
• Setup — for admins (permission “manage settings”). The “Set up telephony” page starts with the phone assistant, then the “Set up phone system” checklist (counts from 1 and only ticks “Test call” after a real call), the “Your account's recordings” card, “How a call flows” and the phone templates. On mobile, the less common settings (simultaneous calls, notice before recordings, fixed announcements) sit under “More phone system settings”.

Your account's recordings: each account records its own phone announcements — in the browser or as a file. The card shows “x of y recorded” per area and what plays without a recording: callers then hear the standard English announcement, or none where there isn't one.

Quick start: the phone assistant (since 1.1.53)

At the top of Telephony → Setup the assistant asks: “What should happen when someone calls?” New accounts see it open right away, otherwise click “Start assistant”. In five steps it sets up the matching phone template — you see exactly how a call runs beforehand, and nothing existing is changed.

1. Answer: “Someone in the office answers” (phone template “Reception”: everyone's phone rings at once, otherwise voicemail) · “I'm often on the road” (“Trades”: everyone's phone rings — your mobile too if you let it ring —, otherwise a WhatsApp callback by key or voicemail) · “Callers should wait until someone is free” (“Waiting line”: hold music with position, after 5 minutes and outside opening hours voicemail). For anything else: “All phone templates” or build the call route yourself.
2. Line: if your SIP line is registered, it says calls arrive. Otherwise you connect a phone provider first or prepare the call route already.
3. Number: a free number is preselected. A number that is already connected is only switched with a tick — the previous destination is kept. “None yet (connect later)” works too.
4. Settings: opening hours (suggested from your opening hours, otherwise 09:00–17:00), voicemail and the greeting — record it right here.
5. Check: “How a call runs” shows the route step by step. The check before saving blocks what can't work (e.g. no destination, no extension) and warns about gaps: no line or a line that isn't registered, keys without a greeting, an announcement without a recording, “hang up” as the fallback. Each finding has a “Fix →” link.

Afterwards the assistant tells you which number to dial from your mobile for a test call — with “Restore previous target” and a link to the call flow. Forms, phone templates and the call flow stay available for anyone who wants more detail.

Before you start — what you need

• An account with a SIP/telephony provider with a phone number and SIP credentials (server, user, password). We don't buy the number for you — it runs through your provider account (BYO), but we guide you step by step to the finished entry.
• For purely internal tests (browser↔browser) you don't need a line — just extensions.

Still deciding whether a browser-based phone system suits your team and what it costs per month? Virtual phone system for small business – with worked examples and limits.

Part A · Connect a SIP line (trunk)

1. Open Lines. Telephony → Lines. If you have no line yet, the guided provider recommendation appears.
2. Get a number + SIP details from the provider. Register a phone number there and note the SIP credentials (often "SIP settings" / "VoIP"): server/host, user/login, password.
3. Enter the line. "＋ Add line" and fill in:
   • Provider/Server (e.g. sip.provider.tld) & Port (usually 5060)
   • User & password (stored encrypted, write-only)
   • Register (on/off) & country code (e.g. 43 for Austria)
4. Activate. Set the line to active. Outgoing calls (and incoming, once the number points to this SIP line at the provider) now run through your system.
5. Check the status. The list shows whether the line is connected at the provider. If it doesn't say “Connected”, click “Check now” (see below).

Line status & “Check now”

Under Telephony → Lines every line shows whether it is registered at the provider and when the CRM last checked (“Checked: …”). The CRM checks this on its own every minute.

• Connected — all good, calls come in.
• Not connected — the provider rejects the line or doesn't answer. Check server, username and password. The CRM can't tell whether the password is wrong or the provider just isn't answering.
• Connecting … — registration is in progress. Not in the phone system yet — the line is still being applied. No registration — “Register” is off for this line. Not checked yet — there is no result yet.

“Check now” registers the line at the provider again and checks right away. If there's no result yet, look again in a minute.

Several lines

• Incoming: all active lines take calls.
• Outgoing: you call out through your main line. It carries the badge “Outgoing”. “Use for outgoing calls” makes another line your main line. If you haven't chosen one, the oldest line is used.

Part B · Extensions & browser softphone

1. Create extensions. Telephony → Extensions: one extension per employee, or "Create for all team members" (auto-numbered from 100). Optionally assign to a person.
2. Connect the softphone. The softphone at the bottom right automatically registers your own extension. With it you call right in the browser: answer, dial, hold, transfer (blind/attended), park (700, pick up with 701–720 — you only pick up parked calls of your own company). Without your own extension there is no softphone; the telephony page then shows how to get one.
3. Click-to-call & screen-pop. A click on a phone number in the CRM starts the call. For incoming calls the contact card pops up (screen-pop) with the 360° history — plus a ringtone + system notification, even when the tab is in the background.

A second call during a call

One person, one call. If you are already on the phone — in the browser or on the desk phone — no further call rings for you:

• The second caller goes to your fallback destination, otherwise they hear “busy”. You set the fallback on the extension under “Ringing & voicemail” → “On no answer, busy or ‘do not disturb’”, e.g. voicemail. In a ring group, the free colleagues ring instead.
• The softphone doesn't take over the second call. You only briefly see “Second call from …: reported busy, you are on a call.” Your call carries on undisturbed.
• You can't dial during a call. Hang up first.

Mobile rings too (since 1.1.52)

If you like, every call to an extension also rings the person's mobile — for direct calls, in group calls and in queues. So that the mobile's own voicemail can't take the call, the mobile first plays “Call from your phone system. Press 1 to accept.” Only after pressing 1 is the caller connected.

Since 1.1.53 everyone adds their private mobile number themselves — voluntary and removable at any time. Admins can't add or change it.

1. Open My phone. Telephony → My phone → “My status” card → button “📱 Let my mobile ring too”. You need an extension of your own for this.
2. Enter the mobile number — international, with + (e.g. +43664… instead of 0664…) —, tick “Mobile rings at the same time” and save. The button then shows “📱 My mobile rings too”.
3. Remove: “Remove number” deletes the number right away; the mobile then no longer rings.

What admins see: under Telephony → Extensions → “📱 Mobile” they only see whether a number is on file (shortened, e.g. “+43 … 67”) and whether the mobile rings too. With “Remove number” admins delete it, for example when someone leaves the company — only the person can add it again. When an extension is assigned to a different person, the previous person's number is removed (you are asked first). Numbers entered before 1.1.53 stay and keep ringing.

Announcement on the mobile (recommended, recorded by an admin): under Telephony → Extensions → “📱 Mobile” → “Announcement on the mobile” you record the sentence yourself or upload a file. Without your own recording the mobile plays the English standard prompt (“You have an incoming call. Press 1 to accept this call …”).

• The mobile is called over your own line and counts as another simultaneous call. If the limit is reached, only the browser and desk phone ring. Without a line of your own no mobile rings.
• The mobile usually shows your company number, not the caller's (a rule of the phone providers).
• WhatsApp calls never ring the mobile — a WhatsApp call may not go into the phone network.
• With “do not disturb” the mobile doesn't ring either. In queues the mobile rings again with every new attempt.
• Emergency, premium-rate and special numbers and your own phone number can't be entered. The number is also part of the account's backups; the audit log only shows it shortened.

Part C · Phone numbers: where does each call go?

Under Telephony → Numbers you find your public phone numbers. For each number you decide where a call goes first — for example to a menu, a ring group, an extension or the opening hours.

• Several numbers: if the line tells us which number the caller dialled, every call reaches the destination of exactly that number. With Zadarma the phone system recognises the dialled number automatically — even with several numbers on one Zadarma account.
• Without number detection the destination of the topmost active number always applies. The order is the date you added the number; that number is marked on the page with ⭐ “Default without number detection”.
• Short redirect: for the WhatsApp verification call you can route a number straight to your extension for 10 minutes (see Meta hub). Running redirects show here as “until … straight to extension …” — with “End redirect”.

Part D · Call flow (IVR, queues, voicemail)

Under Telephony → Call flow you build the routing as a visual flow — connect nodes, no technical knowledge required.

• Announcements & menus (IVR): greeting + keys → destinations (extension, queue, forward to mobile, voicemail, another menu). You record announcements in the browser or upload a file; the announcement generator writes the text. Since 1.1.51 there is no computer voice any more; without your own recording callers hear, depending on the announcement, a standard English prompt, a tone or a moment of silence. The “Your account's recordings” card under Telephony → Setup shows what is still missing.
• Queues & group calls (ring groups): ring several extensions (simultaneously/sequentially), with an “If nobody is free” destination and hold music. Queues can announce the position and waiting time and offer a callback (more).
• Phone hours: route differently inside/outside business hours. Since 1.1.53 Telephony → Phone hours shows at the top whether they match your opening hours; “Take over opening hours” replaces them with one click (you are asked first; destinations and holidays stay).
• Phone templates: Reception, Trades, Travel agency, Medical practice, Small office and Waiting line create a whole call route at once (Part E).
• Voicemail: enable per extension; messages land as audio in the inbox. More on voicemail
• WhatsApp callback: behind a menu key (“Press 1 …”) the caller instantly gets a WhatsApp message, and the conversation lands in the inbox. How to set up “Press 1 for WhatsApp”
• Menu keys as triggers: every key you have set up with a destination in a menu can also start your own flow — trigger “Key pressed in the phone menu” under Settings → Flows (any or one specific key, in any or one specific menu). When the key is pressed the call is still running, so only contact actions work there, e.g. a task or a notification. After hanging up, the trigger “Call ended” starts, optionally only for one result (e.g. missed). Phone triggers in the flow builder

Greeting while it rings (group call)

The caller hears a greeting right away — for example “Thanks for calling, we'll be with you in a moment” — while your team's phones are already ringing. Whoever picks up is connected immediately, even in the middle of the greeting. If nobody picks up, the call moves on after the time you set, for example to your mobile.

1. Create a greeting. Under Telephony → Announcements & menus create a greeting of your own: record it in the browser or upload a file.
2. Open the group call. Telephony → Group calls (formerly “Ring groups”) → choose the group → section “🔊 Greeting while it rings” → tick “Play a greeting while the team's phones are already ringing” → under “Which greeting?” pick your greeting.
3. After that the caller hears a ringing tone (ring … ring) or hold music — your choice.
4. How long does it ring? Either a fixed time in seconds or “As long as the greeting” — the CRM measures the length when you save.
5. Where next? Under “If nobody is free”, e.g. “external number (mobile)” or voicemail.

The timeline “What the caller experiences” shows you what happens before you save. An example with a 12-second greeting, ringing tone and 25 seconds of ring time:

• 0 s – greeting starts, the team's phones ring
• 12 s – greeting ends, then ringing tone
• 25 s – nobody picked up → forwarded to your mobile

Greeting on entry (queue)

A queue can greet the caller right away too: Telephony → Queues → open the queue → “Greeting on entry” → pick a greeting of your own. It plays while the team's phones are already ringing. After that the caller hears the hold music; the waiting announcement repeats as set.

Ringing during the greeting — with keys (since 1.1.51)

A group call can offer keys while the greeting plays, for example “1 for WhatsApp” or “9 for the queue”. Everyone's phone already rings while the greeting plays. If someone picks up, the greeting stops. If the caller presses a key, ringing stops for everyone and the call goes to that key's destination.

1. Record a greeting that names the keys (e.g. “… press 1 for WhatsApp”) and pick it in the group call under “Greeting while it rings” (see above). Without a greeting the caller doesn't know which key to press — the app warns you.
2. Add keys: Telephony → Group calls → edit the group → “Keys while ringing” → “+ Key”, choose the digit and destination (e.g. WhatsApp callback or a queue).
3. Optionally: “Record calls” (the notice then plays before ringing) and “Members may log in and out themselves” (see below).

With keys or recording the priority per member applies too (0 = rings first): higher levels only ring when nobody in the lower level is free.

Log in and out per group: “My groups” and *45 (since 1.1.51)

If you're not available for a group right now, log out of it. That group then doesn't ring you; direct calls and other groups stay. This works in group calls and queues where an admin has switched on “Members may log in and out themselves”.

• In the app: Telephony → My phone → “My status” → button “👥 My groups”: per group “Log in” or “Log out”, or “Log out everywhere”. It takes effect within a few seconds.
• On the phone: *45 logs you out of (or back into) all groups, *45 plus the group's short code only that group. The short code is shown on the group, e.g. *455201. You then hear a short confirmation (your own recording or the English standard prompt “Agent logged in” or “Agent logged off”).
• Per extension you see under “In these groups” where it is a member.

Queue: position, waiting time and callback (since 1.1.52)

Callers waiting in a queue hear, between the music, their place in line and roughly how long it takes — and can ask for a callback with a key press. Everything is off until you switch it on per queue: Telephony → Queues → edit the queue → “Announcements while waiting”.

• Announce position: e.g. “You are number 3 in the queue.” You choose the limit (up to position 3, 5 or 10) and how often (every 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds). Above the limit callers hear “There are more than … callers ahead of you.”; whoever is next hears “You are next in line.”
• Announce waiting time: a whole sentence like “The waiting time is about five minutes.” (levels 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes and “more than thirty minutes”). The phone system estimates from answered calls and only says something once at least 3 calls were answered in the last hour and the waiting time is over 1 minute. The estimate is the same for everyone waiting.
• Offer a callback instead of waiting: the caller presses a key (default: 2), hears a confirmation and the call ends. A conversation “Callback requested” appears in the inbox with number, waiting time and queue, plus a notification. The place in the queue is given up. With a withheld number the caller hears a notice and keeps waiting in their place. For WhatsApp calls the request lands in the WhatsApp conversation — then call back or write via WhatsApp.

The announcements are your own recordings. Under “Recordings for these announcements” you record the sentences in the browser or upload files — once per account, they apply to all queues. Where a matching sentence exists, the phone system uses the English standard voice until then:

Hold music per account and brand (since 1.1.51)

Under Telephony → Music you choose the music callers hear while waiting or on hold. Each account has its own music — other accounts never hear it. With several brands you pick a default music per brand.

1. “Add music” and give it a name.
2. Confirm the rights (“I have the rights to this music (collecting-society licence or similar)”) and add a file (MP3, WAV, M4A or OGG). Without confirming, no file can be uploaded.
3. Default: since 1.1.52 new music only becomes the default with its first file — for the whole account or the brand, if there is no default with a file there yet. With “Use as default” you decide yourself where it applies (whole account or one brand).
4. Per element (optional): your own music per queue, group call, menu (waiting for the key press), phone number or quietly under an announcement.

Without music of your own, callers hear the server's standard music. Hold during a call plays the account's default music.

Voicemail: messages in the inbox, space on the phone

You switch voicemail on per extension (Telephony → Extensions, column “Mailbox (voicemail)”). When a caller leaves a message, it arrives as audio in the inbox — in the conversation of that call.

• Space on the phone: once a message has arrived in the CRM, it moves to “Old messages” on the phone. On the desk phone you can still listen to it with *98. So the mailbox no longer fills up.
• Clean-up after 30 days: the phone system deletes old messages after 30 days — but only if they are stored in the CRM. In the CRM they stay.
• Warning from 80 %: the extensions page shows “Mailbox almost full: N of M messages”, and for a full mailbox “Mailbox full … New messages get lost.” Then moving messages to the CRM isn't working right now — see troubleshooting.

Part E · Phone templates: ready-made call routes (since 1.1.52)

Under Telephony → Phone templates you pick a ready-made call route and then only adjust it. You see right away how a call will run and what changes. There are six phone templates: Reception, Trades, Travel agency, Medical practice, Small office and — since 1.1.53 — Waiting line. Prefer to be guided? The phone assistant picks the right one with you.

1. Pick a template and the phone number it should apply to.
2. Fill it in: opening hours (pre-filled from your opening hours, otherwise suggested 09:00–17:00), voicemail, WhatsApp callback, queue, mobile. You record greetings right in the form or pick an existing recording; the script is shown next to it.
3. Check: “How a call runs” shows the route step by step, “Before / after” shows what changes for the number, and notes show what is still missing.
4. “Apply template …” and confirm. Only new items are created; existing ones stay unchanged. A number that is already connected is only switched after you confirm — or you choose “create only”.
5. Going back: right afterwards, “Restore previous target” switches the number back. Later you do this under Telephony → Numbers or in the call flow; the previous target is kept.

Template “Reception”: it rings while the greeting plays

The recommended template for most businesses: during opening hours everyone's phone rings for 20 seconds while the greeting plays. The caller can press 1 (WhatsApp callback) or 9 (queue). If nobody picks up, a mobile rings (press 1 to accept), then voicemail. Outside opening hours the call goes straight to voicemail.

• The mobile step needs an extension with “Mobile rings too” (see above). The template doesn't change any extension; without such an extension the step is left out.
• You choose the WhatsApp callback and the queue in the form: create new, use an existing one or none.
• Recording is off. When applying the template you can switch on “Record calls” – callers then hear the notice before ringing (record your own notice before recordings). Templates you already applied stay as they are.
• Members log in and out with *45 or “My groups” (see above).

Base settings per brand (since 1.1.52)

If you have several brands, under Telephony → Brands you set once per brand what should apply in all its flows: hold music, opening hours (phone hours), language of the fixed announcements, WhatsApp account for “1 for WhatsApp”, voicemail and a short logo announcement (e.g. the brand name before every greeting).

• The brand's flows take over these values automatically as long as nothing of their own is set there. If you change the base settings, the change applies everywhere within a few seconds. A brand default under hold music takes priority over the music in the base settings.
• Under Telephony → Phone hours you switch on “Time windows and holidays as brand …”; the list then shows “as brand”.
• The voicemail is a suggestion for new flows from templates. Greetings and groups belong to the individual flow.
• The brand's language and pronunciation come from the brand kit (Settings → Brands). The phone system knows German and English as standard; for other languages use your own recordings.
• Without base settings nothing changes in your phone system.

Changes take effect right away

Whatever you save in telephony — announcements, menus, extensions, ring groups, queues and the destinations of your numbers — the phone system picks up on its own within a few seconds. You don't need to restart anything.

Deleting items: you're asked first if they are still in use

If you want to delete an extension, menu, ring group, queue, announcement or opening hours that is still entered as a destination somewhere, the CRM asks first: “Still in use” — with a list of where, e.g. “Menu “Main menu”, key 1” or “Phone number +43 …”.

• Choose a different destination there first. Then you can delete the item safely.
• “Delete anyway” is still possible — then calls drop at that point. The CRM doesn't move references automatically.
• The overview and the call flow show broken destinations in red, e.g. “Extension 101 no longer exists or is switched off. Calls drop here.”

Simultaneous calls

Since version 1.1.46 each account has a limit on how many calls can run at the same time:

• What counts: all calls over your lines and over WhatsApp, incoming and outgoing, already while they are ringing. Internal calls from extension to extension don't count.
• What callers above the limit hear: under Telephony → Setup, in the “Simultaneous calls” card, at “When all lines are busy”, you choose: announcement “All lines are busy”, then hang up · announcement, then voicemail · busy tone. Without your own recording callers hear the English standard prompt “All circuits are busy now”.
• Outgoing: if you dial out while all lines are busy, you hear the same announcement.
• In the call list these calls show as “rejected – limit”, in the conversation as “rejected – all lines busy”. So you see whether you are missing calls.

WhatsApp calls

Since version 1.1.45, WhatsApp calls also arrive in your phone system, with their own start destination per WhatsApp number under Telephony → Numbers → “WhatsApp numbers”. Meta does not allow forwarding them into the phone network – the phone system then uses the fallback. WhatsApp calls count towards the limit for simultaneous calls. Setup, conditions and costs: Set up WhatsApp calls.

Call list, recording & wallboard

Under Telephony → Calls there is one row per call — even if several phones rang in a group. If a colleague picks up, nobody else gets a false “missed”. Each row shows direction, duration, contact and “Open” (to the conversation) and has a “Call back” button.

Since 1.1.53 the call list stays complete even if the phone system restarts, the connection drops briefly or a call lasts longer than two hours. Recordings are only deleted once they are safely stored. You also see your own calls under “My recent calls” on Telephony → My phone.

Desk phones and apps without a browser are matched by phone number as before.

• Recording: can be switched on per menu key or per group call; the recording is attached to the call. Beforehand the caller automatically hears a notice (Notice before recordings).
• Live wallboard: "🔴 Live" at the top of the calls page shows ongoing calls in real time.
• Call consent: if a contact is unsubscribed from "call", click-to-call warns first.

Notice before recordings

Since version 1.1.46 the caller hears a notice before every recording. It is switched on from the start, also for WhatsApp calls. Since 1.1.51 you record the notice “This call is being recorded” yourself; without your own recording the caller only hears a tone.

• Your own notice: under Telephony → Setup → “Notice before a recording” (on mobile under “More phone system settings”) you record the notice in the browser or upload your own audio file (MP3, WAV or M4A, up to 5 MB), ideally in your callers' language. Without your own recording the app shows a clear warning: a tone alone is not sufficient notice. Check it with “Listen”.
• As long as your own notice is missing: the recording still starts, callers only hear a beep beforehand. That is usually not sufficient notice, so the app shows a clear warning until you have recorded it.
• Notice off: recordings then start without a notice. In that case say it yourself in the menu announcement.

Troubleshooting

docker compose up -d --force-recreate worker

What's next