Phone basics
Receiving Calls
Incoming calls enter through a personal or shared inbox phone number, then Waveline applies number assignment, business hours, call flow routing, ring groups, forwarding, voicemail, and user availability.
Before you begin
- Assign the phone number to the correct personal or shared inbox.
- For shared lines, add answering teammates as inbox members.
- Configure default ring groups or publish a call flow that includes a Ring Users step.
- Make sure answering devices are signed in, available, and allowed to show notifications.
Where to find it
Incoming calls are configured from Phone -> Numbers, Phone -> Inboxes, and the inbox call-flow builder.
Step-by-step
- Assign each work number to a personal inbox or shared team inbox.
- Open the inbox and confirm owner, members, default ring groups, business hours, and recording settings.
- Build a call flow if calls should use menus, hours checks, forwarding, voicemail, or text follow-up.
- Publish the call flow so the live number uses it.
- Ask each answering team member to install the apps and keep availability enabled.
- Place a test inbound call from an outside phone.
What happens next
- Calls can ring web/mobile clients, SIP deskphones, or direct-to-cell/proxy destinations depending on inbox and user setup.
- If nobody answers, the call flow can continue to voicemail, forwarding, another branch, or an unhandled outcome.
- Missed, voicemail, abandoned, and no-answer outcomes can appear in filters and analytics.
Best practices
- Keep call flows simple enough that callers can reach the right person or team quickly.
- Use business hours before ring steps when after-hours behavior should differ.
- Keep at least one fallback route, such as voicemail, for every important inbox.
Troubleshooting
- If nobody rings, confirm the number is assigned and the call flow is published.
- If only some users ring, check inbox membership, ring group order, dial methods, and availability.
- If callers hit voicemail too soon, increase ring group timeouts or simplify the flow.