Learn how to set up time route actions in our call flow designer, and how the logic works.
User Level:
Admin
Time Router in Call Flows
When you want to create an inbound call flow design that routes inbound calls differently depending on different attributes of the call, there are a few different actions you can use. There is the condition splitter action, which will route calls to different branches based on logical rules you set. However, if your use case requires routing based on the time or date of inbound calls, the Time route action is the best option.
In our call flow designer, the time router works similarly to a condition splitter action in that it affects the branches that follow it. The difference is that instead of setting logical conditions to decide what branch a call will direct to, you will set time ranges and days as the conditions to filter for.
Configure a Time Route
From the CloudTalk dashboard, navigate to the Numbers tab.
Select the edit icon for the number you want to change.
In Basic Settings, select Configure call flow.
+Add an action into the desired endpoint of your call flow and select Time route.
Name this step. Confirm.
For each branching action added after your time router step:
Set a time for Branch active from and Branch active to.
Select desired Active on… days.
The time range set for Branch active and the days selected are used in combination (AND logic) to decide when the branch should be active.
Choose one of the branches following your time router to be a failover branch by selecting the Failover for no other time condition met option in the step settings.
Save flow to save your changes.
Time Route Logic
The time router works in accordance with the default time zone set in Account > Settings > General Settings. Times set within a time router step can sometimes cross over with holidays and business hours, both those for the particular number and/or in your company settings.
The list of holidays included within a time router action will be based on the national holidays of the country where the given phone number is registered.
So how will a call route if your company has business hours that conflict with a time router step? The order of which time rules will be triggered for a particular number is as follows:
Number-specific business hours rules for the number (if set)
Global business hours rules (if global business hours are set but not number-specific ones)
The time router step
The reason business hours rules take priority is because if a caller tries to dial your business outside of your set business hours, this call will not enter the normal call flow at all. Instead, the outcome you have chosen within Business Hours settings will apply to that call.
Time Routing Example
A company’s Czech call center is only available from Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 11:00pm. The company uses a time router step in their call flow to make sure that during weekends, in the evenings past 11:00pm (23:00), and on Czech holidays, callers are routed to the company’s US call center.
A caller rings in on a Monday at 10:00am. As this call satisfies both time conditions (on a weekday, between 8:00-23:00), this caller will be directed to the IVR for the Czech Center.
Another caller rings in on Sunday at 9:30am. This call does not satisfy both time conditions set in the first branch, because it takes place on a weekend. As a result, the caller will be directed to the failover branch with the US Center Call to group step.
If you need further assistance or have any questions, you can contact our Support team. We are always here to help you!