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A ring group rings several phones at the same time. The first person to pick up gets the call. If no one answers before the timeout, the call moves on to wherever you choose, such as voicemail.
In a dental office, ring groups keep calls with the right people. A Front Desk group rings only your front desk team, so hygienists and doctors chairside aren't interrupted. You can also use ring groups in a dial plan, for example to ring the front desk during office hours.
Viewing ring groups
Click Ring Groups in the sidebar under Telephony in the Voice portal. Your ring groups appear in a table with each group's name, extension, timeout, and number of members. Click a row to open that ring group.
Creating a ring group
On the Ring Groups page, click Add Ring Group in the top-right corner
Enter a Name that says who answers, such as "Front Desk" or "Billing"
Optionally, change the Extension. The portal suggests the next available number An extension lets staff dial the group directly
Click Add Ring Group
The ring group's page opens, with Settings on the left and Members on the right. A new group has no members yet, so add them next.
Adding members
Members are the people or numbers that ring when the group gets a call. A member can be a user in your account or an outside phone number, such as a cell phone.
On the ring group's page, click Add Member
Choose User or Phone Number
For User, search for and select each person. You can pick as many users as you like at once. For Phone Number, enter one outside number. Add more numbers one at a time
Click Add
New members appear in the Members list right away. To remove a member, hover over their row and click the trash can icon.
Choosing settings
Settings save automatically as you change them. A "Ring group updated successfully" message confirms each change.
Setting | What it does | When to use it |
Extension | The number staff dial to reach the group directly | Keep the suggested number unless your office has a numbering plan |
Ignore Call Forwarding | Rings members' phones directly, skipping any call forwarding they've set up | Turn on so a forwarded phone doesn't pull calls away from the group |
Confirm Pick-Up (External) | Outside numbers must press 1 before they're connected. Other members keep ringing while they decide. | Turn on whenever the group includes a cell phone, so a personal voicemail can't answer your patients' calls |
Timeout (seconds) | How long all members ring before the call moves on, from 5 to 300 seconds. New groups start at 20. | 20 to 30 seconds works for most front desks |
Timeout Behavior | What happens when no one answers: None (hang up), Ring user, Voicemail, or Overflow to queue | Choose Voicemail so callers can always leave a message |
Timeout Target | The user, shared voicemail box, or queue that gets the call when no one answers. Appears after you choose a Timeout Behavior other than None. | Pick your Front Desk shared voicemail |
Avoid None (hang up) for patient-facing groups. Callers who reach it after the timeout are disconnected with no way to leave a message.
Example: Setting up a Front Desk group
This setup rings everyone at the front desk at once and sends unanswered calls to the front desk voicemail.
Click Add Ring Group, name it "Front Desk," and click Add Ring Group
Click Add Member, choose User, and select each front desk team member. Click Add
Turn on Ignore Call Forwarding so every front desk phone rings, even if someone has forwarding set
Set Timeout (seconds) to about 20
Set Timeout Behavior to Voicemail, then choose your Front Desk shared voicemail as the Timeout Target
To use the group, add it to your main line dial plan with an Internal Extension node. See the Creating Dial Plans in DI Voice article for steps.
Adding the office manager's cell phone: Click Add Member, choose Phone Number, and enter the number. Then turn on Confirm Pick-Up (External) so the cell phone's voicemail can't answer a patient's call.
Renaming and deleting a ring group
To rename a ring group, open it and click the pencil icon next to its name. Type the new name, then click the checkmark to save or the X to cancel.
To delete a ring group, go to the account detail page and find it under the Ring Groups section. Hover over it and click the trash can icon to delete it. Before deleting, check that no dial plan still sends calls to the group.
Tips
Group by role, not by person. Create groups like Front Desk, Billing, and Treatment Coordinators, then add or remove staff as your team changes.
Keep clinical staff out of front desk groups. Phones ringing in the operatory interrupt patient care.
Always set a Timeout Behavior. Voicemail or Overflow to queue keeps callers from being disconnected.
Use Confirm Pick-Up for cell phones. It stops a personal voicemail from answering a patient's call.
Test it. Call the group's extension and let it ring past the timeout to confirm unanswered calls land where you expect.