Business Rules for Phone Calls

Manage your call routing with ease using Business Rules. 

When you integrate a number with Acquire, a Business Rule is created. All newly created rules are assigned a default routing action that routes calls to all agents. You may edit this functionality from the Settings > Workflows > Business Rules page by clicking on the number. 

In this article:

• Setting Up a Business Rule for Calls 
• Editing or Deleting Business Rules

What you’ll need:

• A non-trial Acquire-integrated number

Setting Up a Business Rule for Calls 

After purchasing a number, navigate to Settings > Workflows > Business Rules and locate the newly created Business Rule. You may also create a new rule by clicking on 'New Rule'. Please note you will only be able to link one Business Rule to one number at a time. 

Name and describe the rule, select the ‘Call’ channel, and select the phone number from the drop-down menu. Then press ‘Create’.

To build the rule, click on the plus sign (‘+’) beneath the Incoming Call branch. 

Incoming calls may be assigned the following actions: 

• Action Groups 
• Add a Condition 
• Assign a Department
• Assign an Agent
• Assign Tags 
• Operating Hours
• Send Email to Visitor 

Learn more about these actions in Business Rule Basics→

In addition, incoming calls may also be assigned the following actions that are unique to calls: 

Announcement 

Choose between a text-to-speech announcement or upload an audio file. Announcements may be used during a sequence or at the end of a sequence. Play a welcome message or play hold music while your agents are engaged with other calls or conversations. 

Default Route

Routes to all agents. 

Forward Call 

Choose a number to forward a call to. Please keep in mind that any data captured in the forwarded call will not be captured in Acquire if the number is not integrated into Acquire. 

IVR Menu 

Configure an IVR (interactive voice recording) message to let visitors know how to get into contact with the right department or service. Choose between a text-to-speech announcement or upload an audio file. 

IVR Menu 

No Action Taken By User (Caller)

After the loop, if the caller does not take an action, such as pressing a number, you may forward the call to a different number. Please keep in mind that any data captured in the forwarded call will not be captured in Acquire if the number is not integrated into Acquire. 

Enable the Required IVR Options 

Set the keypad numbers for your IVR menu. Once enabled, you’ll be able to link additional actions to your Business Rule. 

In this example, 1 and 2 are enabled.

Now, additional actions may be assigned when the caller presses 1 or 2. 

Send SMS to Visitor 

If your directions work better as a text, you may send an SMS message to visitors instead. Please note that Send SMS is a terminating action, meaning that no subsequent actions may be taken after the SMS is sent. Use an Action Group to assign follow-up actions. 

Voicemail 

Create a voicemail message. Choose between a text-to-speech announcement or upload an audio file. Please note that Voicemail action is a terminating action, meaning that no subsequent actions may be taken after the Voicemail is played. Use an Action Group to assign follow-up actions. 

Use Business Rules for Calls to manage your phone calls. 

Fallback Options 

You may also set fallback actions if agents are too busy to pick up a call. To set a fallback option, first assign a call to a department or an agent. A new node will be created, and you may add a fallback option to that branch. 

You may set the fallback option to play a voicemail or route to a forwarding number. 

Fallback options allow you to choose one of two options:

• Select ‘play no agent available music and send to voicemail’ to play a short audio file. You may upload the audio file by dragging and dropping the file or clicking on the upload icon. After upload, use the play button (to the left) to listen to the message and the slider (to the right) to adjust the volume of the message. The volume slider does not affect the volume the caller will hear. If no message is uploaded, the caller will go to voicemail. 
• Select ‘Fallback routing to default number’ to route the caller to a forwarding number. 

Editing or Deleting Flows and Rules

If you need to change the flow, click on the rule’s name, or click on the three dots (‘...’) next to the status toggle and select ‘Edit Flow’. You’ll return to the flow page where you’ll be able to edit (pencil icon), copy (pages icon), or delete (trash icon) the rule.

To edit a rule’s name or description, click on the three dots (‘...’) next to the rule’s status toggle, and select ‘Edit Rule’.

To delete a rule, click on the three dots (‘...’) next to the rule’s status toggle, and select ‘Delete’.

Have a great Business Rule idea but don’t know how to achieve it? Reach out to support@acquire.io.