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Route incoming calls with business hours and time conditions

Control exactly where calls to one of your numbers go — and have that destination change automatically depending on the time of day, day of the week, or a holiday.

Who this is for: admins

Before you start

  • A phone number assigned to your account. Inbound routing works on top of a number you already have — see your Phone Numbers page if you need one assigned first.
  • The extensions, IVR menus, ring groups, or call queues you want calls to reach should already exist. See Create an extension and assign it to a user and Build a basic IVR if you haven't set those up yet.

Steps

Part 1: Create the route

  1. In the sidebar, under Communication, select Inbound Routing.
  2. Select Add Route in the top right of the page.
  3. In the Add Inbound Route dialog, choose the number from the Phone Number dropdown (numbers already assigned to your account are listed), or select Or enter number manually to type one in. Add an optional Description — for example, "Main Office Line" — then select Add Route.
  4. Your new route appears in the Phone Numbers list on the left. Select it to open the call flow builder on the right.

Part 2: Set business hours and destinations

The call flow builder opens in Simple mode by default — a straightforward setup for business-hours routing. There's also an Advanced toggle at the top for a fully custom flow builder if your routing needs branch further than open/closed hours.

  1. Under Business hours, select Edit business hours. In the dialog, use the Set time dropdown for a quick preset (Business hours (9-5) or Extended hours (8-6)), or choose Set my own and set each day individually. Select a day's pill to mark it closed, or set its open and close times. Use the ⋮ menu next to a day to Add break time (for a lunch closure) — this routes calls to your closed-hours destination just for that window. Select Save when you're done.
  2. Under During open hours, choose a Welcome greeting recording (optional) and set Route call to — pick an extension, IVR menu, ring group, call queue, or voicemail from the dropdown.
  3. Under During closed hours, set a Closed greeting and a Route call to destination the same way. This is where calls go outside business hours and during any break windows.
  4. Select Save in the top right of the builder to apply your changes.

Part 3: Handle holidays and one-off closures

  1. Still in the Simple builder, scroll to Calendar Overrides. Select Add Override to set a temporary closure that takes priority over your normal business hours — for example, a bank holiday or an office closure for annual leave.
  2. Give it a Name, choose Single Date or Date Range (Vacation) as the Type, pick the date(s), and set Route calls to (Voicemail, Extension, IVR Menu, Ring Group, or External Number) with the matching Destination. Select Save Override.
  3. Expand UK Bank Holidays to turn on any of the pre-listed public holidays with one toggle each, and choose where calls should go on each one.

Screenshot

Screenshot of the Inbound Call Routes page showing the Simple call flow builder — business hours summary, open/closed hours destinations, and the Calendar Overrides panel — with the visual flow preview on the right.

Ask Olivia

You can also ask Olivia, the in-portal assistant, to walk you through this.