Call Transfers

A transfer puts a live caller through to you or someone on your team. Transfers are off until you turn them on. On most calls, your receptionist tells whoever answers who is calling and why before the caller is connected, so you can decide in a second whether to take it.

When it transfers#

• The caller asks for a person. Someone who asks for you, the owner or whoever is in charge is offered a transfer, if transfers are on.
• Only when you’ve said so. Choose Any time or Business hours only. Business hours only uses the hours on the same settings page, and if none are set, calls aren’t transferred. Outside those hours, the caller gets a callback instead.

When it doesn’t#

Gas, carbon monoxide, fire or a similar danger

Never transferred. The caller is told to leave and call 911, and the call ends. Nobody should wait on a ringing phone in a building that may not be safe.

Everyday requests

Your receptionist handles those itself. It only offers a transfer when the caller asks for a person.

Transfers off, or outside your transfer hours

The caller is told someone will call them back, and the callback request reaches you with their number and reason.

How to set it up#

1. 1

   Check your alert number

   Transfers ring the number under Owner alerts in Business Config, the same number we text your alerts to. It has to be a US phone number, and whoever answers it must have agreed to take these calls. If you run an on-call rota, use the on-call number rather than one person’s mobile.

2. 2

   Turn transfers on

   In Business Config, under Human handoff, switch to Transfers on and add the name your receptionist should use, for example “Mike”.

3. 3

   Choose when it applies

   Any time or Business hours only, then save. If you turned transfers on in the setup wizard, they’re already saved as Any time. Switch to Business hours only here if you’d rather.

4. 4

   Test it

   Call your line from a different phone, ask for a person, and answer the transfer. Then call again and let it ring out, so you hear what a caller hears when nobody picks up.

What you hear when it rings#

On most calls, your receptionist speaks to you first, and the caller can’t hear this part. It says it’s the AI receptionist for your business, tells you who is calling and why, then asks whether you can take it. Say yes and the caller is connected. Say no, or hang up, and the caller goes back to the receptionist.

On some phone lines, a transfer is a plain one: your phone rings and the caller is put through without that private briefing first. If you’re not sure which kind your line has, ask us.

If nobody picks up#

If you say no, don’t answer, or the call reaches your voicemail, the caller isn’t left on a ringing line. Your receptionist comes back, apologizes, and takes a message with their number and reason so you can call them back, and you get the alert.

What it costs#

The part of the call with your receptionist, including the moment it briefs you, is billed at $0.12 a minute like any call. Once you’re connected to the caller, that talk time is billed at $0.12 a minute too, the same as any call minute, and shows on your statement as its own line, Transferred to your team. A transfer nobody answers costs only the receptionist’s time.