SIP Trunk IVR / Auto-attendant
This guide covers SIP Trunk IVRs/Auto-attendants. If you are using CRAZYPBX, _this is not the right guide._
Overview
Auto-attendants/IVRs are interactive menus that prompt a caller for keypad input. IVR menus allow callers to navigate to specific destinations without interacting with a receptionist.
Creating an IVR / Auto-attendant for SIP Trunks
This guide assumes you have at least one destination configured on your account -- a SIP Trunk, Voicemail box, or a call forwarding destination.
- Sign in to your Crazytel Customer Portal and navigate to Features.
- Click Auto attendant, then click Add New Auto Attendant at the top-right
- Fill out the Add Auto Atendant page, using the following information as a guide:
a. Name: A human readable name that gives some understanding of what the IVR does (IE, "Sales/Accounts IVR")
b. Greeting: Select a greeting from the drop-down - if you don't have any options, don't worry. We'll come back to this step later in the article.
c. Timeout: How long the caller has to make a selection before the Timeout Route is activated
d. Timeout Route: Where the call goes if the caller doesn't choose an option in time. (Hangup, or a voicemail box is recommended)
e. Timeout Destination: If you have multiple destinations for your time out route, you'll need to select which one to use here.
- Set the Digit a customer should press (IE, 0-9, #, *)
- Set the Route the call should take when the caller presses this digit:
- Hangup: Terminate the call immediately
- Repeat Options: Repeat all the options again, or play the selected audio file again
- Device: A single SIP Trunk linked device (IE, Crazyphone application, physical phone, softphone)
- Ring Group: A Ring Group containing multiple destinations (SIP Trunks, or Call Forward destinations)
- Call Forward: (Call forwarding charges apply.) Call forward the call to a different number. Call forwarding destinations must include the country code (IE, 0411 222 333 as 61411222333).
- Voicemail: Send the call straight to voicemail.
- Auto Attendant: Send the call to another Auto Attendant. This is useful if you're building a complex menu system.
- Announcement: Send the call to an announcement to play a specific message. Announcements can send calls to other destinations in turn.
- Time Switch: Send the call through a logical route controller that routes calls based on the time of day
- CrazyPBX: _(not recommended)_ Send a call to a CrazyPBX destination. This should be done using a CrazyPBX IVR/Auto attendant.
- Enter a Description for this option. This is spoken aloud to the caller if no greeting file is set.
- *(optional)* Add another destination so multiple routes are presented to the caller
Presenting options to the caller
SIP Trunk IVRs can present menu options to callers in 1 ways:
- Based on the description field in the IVR, if no greeting audio is set
- By playing the greeting audio set in the IVR
To upload a Greeting audio, you will need a .wav audio file. If your recording is not currently a .wav audio file, you can use an online conversion tool like [www.g711.org](www.g711.org) to convert the file for free. Crazytel uses this service internally for file conversion.
With your .wav file, complete the following steps:
- Sign in to the Crazytel Customer Portal and navigate to Features > Greetings
- Click Upload Greeting
- Enter a logical nickname for the greeting (IE, "Main IVR prompt. Sales/accounts/complaints"). This will allow you to identify the correct audio file at a glance if you have multiple audio files.
- Click the Choose file button and upload the .wav file
- Click Submit to upload the audio file to Crazytel's servers
- Navigate to Features > Auto Attendant and click Edit under the Auto Attendant you want to update the audio file for
- Select the newly-uploaded audio file in the Greetings drop-down on the top-right of the page
- Save changes
Using your SIP Trunk Auto Attendant
Crazytel's call flow system is modular. Auto Attendants can be used as destinations for any of the following features/route controls:
- Direct from a DID/Number
- Other Auto Attendants
- Time Switches
- Announcements
To set the Auto Attendant as the destination for any of the last 3 options, you will need to locate the parent option and update a route to point to your new Auto Attendant.
To se the Auto Attendant as the destination for a DID/Number, complete the following.
- Ensure your Auto Attendant exists by checking Features > Auto Attendant. If nothing is present, create a new Auto Attendant
- Locate the number you wish to route to the Auto Attendant:
a. On the White Background portal, navigate to Number Management > My numbers
b. Click the red phone number you wish to update OR click the check-box next to multiple numbers you wish to edit, then click Edit Selected
- On the Edit DID page, locate the Routing Settings secton
- Set the Type of Forwarding drop-down to Auto Attendant
- Set the Forwarding Destination to your Auto Attendant's name
- Scroll to the bottom of the page, and Save
- Wait 60 seconds for your changes to update across Crazytel, and test the IVR works by calling the number
If your IVR doesn't work:
- Check the audio file has been set correctly, and was uploaded using a .wav file. Reupload a new copy of the audio file and re-set the Auto Attendant's Greeting drop-down accordingly
- Check any Call Forward destinations are entered correctly (61X for Australian destinations, or 0011countrycode for international destinations)
- Confirm any SIP Trunk destinations are online/registered. If the Auto Attendant cannot reach a SIP Trunk destination, the call will time out and end.
- Check the Auto Attendant has a valid destination for the digit, and a valid digit. Typos happen - Auto Attendants can only process 1 digit entries, not 2 digit numbers
