Auto attendant (IVR) – “press 1 for sales”

An auto attendant answers calls with a recorded menu and routes callers to the right person or team – “press 1 for sales, 2 for support”. It works on any ASH NET number or extension.

Set it up

1. Log in to the VoIP portal, open the Voice tab and click the number.
2. From the Incoming Calls menu choose Automated Attendant and tick Enable auto attendant feature on this line.
3. Choose the time schedule when the menu plays – for example business hours only, with calls going to voicemail or a mobile after hours.
4. For each digit 0–9 enter the forwarding number (a number or extension) and a call identifier – a label for the option, such as “Sales”.
5. Timeouts – how many seconds to wait for a key press, how many times to repeat the menu, and what to do on a timeout or invalid digit.
6. Extension dialling – optionally let callers dial an extension directly, and set the maximum number of digits.
7. Record the greeting – dial *22 from your handset and record it, upload an MP3, or use the link to record it from another phone.
8. Click Save.

Keep the menu short

A good greeting names the business, offers no more than four or five options, and says how to repeat the menu: “Thanks for calling [Business]. Press 1 for sales, 2 for support, 3 for accounts, or hold to speak to reception.” Route each option to a number, an extension, a hunt group or a call queue.

Still need help? Email [email protected] or log a ticket in the customer portal.