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Set up a phone system in a safe order

Follow the dependency-aware sequence for system details, audio, numbers, extensions, devices, users, routing, and the shared lists that routing depends on.

This sequence follows the dependencies the dashboard actually enforces: an emergency address has to exist before a number can use it, an extension has to exist before an Extension User invitation can be sent, and the shared lists that routing picks from — audio, tags, SMS templates — have to exist before a menu or an assistant can reference them. It starts after your account is created and you can sign in.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the intended phone system, and the header showing that system.
  • A role that can save in each area you configure. Read-only users can review most settings but cannot save; phone-system settings and user management need the highest administrator role.
  • The business details, emergency-location information, and greeting audio you want the system to use.

Setup sequence

  1. Choose the phone system. Confirm the name in the header before each section. Every record you create belongs to the system that is selected at the time.
  2. Complete System Details. Set the spoken name and time zone, add the business address and contact, set an emergency backup number and fallback message, choose hold music, and set the company voicemail greeting and PIN. The time zone here is the one every schedule follows, so set it before you build business hours.
  3. Load the media library. Upload — or generate from text — the greetings, menu prompts, and hold music the system will play. Every audio picker later in this sequence selects from this library, and each picker can also upload a file inline if you would rather add audio as you go.
  4. Review phone numbers and emergency addresses. Confirm each active number has the intended E911 address before you configure incoming routing, and check which number is the outbound caller ID.
  5. Create tags. Populate the standard tag groups or add your own, so the numbers, groups, menus, and assistants you configure next can attach tags as you build them rather than in a second pass.
  6. Create SMS templates. A call menu that texts the caller picks an existing template, so write the templates you need before you build those menu options.
  7. Create extensions. Give each extension a unique dialing number — extension numbers cannot collide with call-group numbers — then set its no-answer behavior and outbound caller ID.
  8. Assign phones. An extension can ring one or more provisioned phones, and a phone cannot be assigned to two extensions at the same time.
  9. Invite users. Choose a role, and for an Extension User select an existing extension; the invitation cannot be sent without one.
  10. Build the schedule and routing. Set business hours and date overrides, then create call groups and call menus and point each number at the destination it should reach in and out of hours.
  11. Load contacts. Add or import the shared directory that appears on the desk phones, then push it to the phones so they pick it up immediately.
  12. Review compliance. Check E911 status and configure call recording, recording announcements, and AI disclosure to match your organization’s requirements.
  13. Review device settings. Confirm device names, status, notifications, and button layouts, and push configuration to a phone when you need the change to land right away.

Expected result

The phone system has current business details and emergency fallback, numbers with emergency addresses, the audio and lists that routing references, non-conflicting extensions and device assignments, the right people invited at the right role, routing that answers in and out of hours, a directory on the desk phones, and reviewed compliance settings.

Troubleshooting

  • Save is disabled: Look for an invalid field, a form with no changes yet, a role that cannot save in that area, or a required selection such as the extension on an Extension User invitation.
  • A picker is empty: The list it draws from has nothing in it yet. Add the audio, tag, or SMS template first — or, for audio, upload from the picker.
  • A phone or extension is unavailable: It is already assigned. Open the matching list and check the current assignment before retrying.
  • An emergency address is unavailable: Have an authorized administrator register the address before assigning it to a number.
  • A change fails after someone else edited the same record: Reload the record, review the current values, and apply your change again.