What are sipgate Channels and how do I set them up?
sipgate Channels provide a centralized hub for your team’s communication. They streamline and organize all conversation content and tasks, making it easier to handle calls and customer inquiries efficiently. Each Channel has a single phone number with smart routing. The user-friendly dashboard lets you monitor call volume and team workload. For the best experience, use the sipgate App CLINQ. This article will show you how to set up and make the most of Channels.
If you're unsure whether to use Channels or Groups, learn about the differences between them here.
Note: The Channels feature is currently available for the L and XL plans, but it will soon be offered for the S plan as well. For more information about the Channels feature at sipgate, click here.
How do I set up Channels at sipgate?
As an Admin, you can set up one or more channels. To access your Channels, select the Channels option. In this section, you have an overview of already created Channels. Click on +Add to set up a new call distribution. In the next step, give your Channel a name.
Next, add the phone numbers that will be used in your Channel-Routing.
You can select one or more numbers at this stage. You can modify the routing details later if needed.
Note: For Channels, Phone Numbers can only be routed after the porting process is completed.
Then, add your Users. This list can be edited at any time.After that, you can define the Call Distribution for Channels and set up any desired forwarding rules. The queue is always active and captures incoming calls for the Channels, distributing them to the logged-in Users. If no User is available or the maximum wait time is exceeded, the configured forwarding ensures that no call is lost.
The structure of your Channels routing consists of the following components: Phone Numbers, Greeting, Queue, Ringing Rule, Users, and Time-out Announcement/forwarding. If you have already selected the Phone Numbers and Users in previous steps, your routing will appear as shown in the image. If you skipped these steps, you can click on the respective components in the routing and add the relevant information.
The Channel routing works as follows: A call comes in on one of your Channels numbers, the caller hears a greeting (if set up), and then is placed in the Queue where music or any audio file is played. Depending on the ringing rule you set, the waiting callers are assigned to the available users. If the call is not answered within a certain time, a message you selected is played, or the call is forwarded to a selected number.
Note: The described routing applies during defined service hours, while outside these hours, a message can be played to the callers, or forwarding can be set up. Additionally, you can set up automatic routing for holidays or special absences such as vacations, company holidays, or training sessions. Information on setting up service hours (time filters) and holiday and absence profiles (date filters) for your channels can be found in this article.
Note: The sipgate App CLINQ makes using Channels even easier – find more details in our additional article.
How do I set up the greeting?
Click on the Add greeting in the routing.
Here you have the option to select a greeting suggested by us or upload your audio file (MP3 10 MB).
How do I set up the Callqueue?
Click on Callqueue in the routing. Here you have the option to change the hold music.
Similar to the greeting, you can choose a music file suggested by us or upload your audio file (MP3 10 MB).
Additionally, you can set the maximum waiting time by clicking on the time display before the announcement in the routing.If callers stay in the Queue longer, the time-out announcement is played, and the call is automatically ended.
How do I set up the ringing policy?
Using the ringing policy function, you can determine how calls are forwarded to your Users. Click on Longest Idle in the routing. Here you can change the ringing rule.
You have two options for the ringing order. If you select the Longest Idle option, incoming calls are forwarded to the Users who have not handled a call for the longest time.
With the Fixed Order option, you can determine the forwarding order to your Users.
In the next step, you can set the ringing duration for users by clicking on the gear icon next to it. The ringing duration refers to the time a call rings for users before being automatically forwarded. You can activate the post-processing function for your Users, allowing them to leave notes on the last call without having to take other calls during this period.
How do I edit the announcement/forwarding for maximum wait time?
Similarly, you can edit the announcement when the maximum wait time is exceeded by going to the routing and clicking on Change Announcement and Forwarding.
Here you can choose whether to play an announcement or forward the call to another number. You can select this from a dropdown menu.
Here you can choose whether to play an announcement or forward the call to another number. You can select this from a dropdown menu.
How do I set up Users as an admin?
As an Admin, you can configure devices for the respective users for the Channels function. Go to the Channels overview and click on the relevant users. By default, the VoIP device of the Users is always activated in the group routing. Additionally, you will see in this overview if one of the Channels has not been fully set up. This means no phone numbers and/or users have been assigned. If this is the case, a notification box will appear indicating the necessary actions.
Note: It is currently possible to activate one device per User. This should be a VoIP phone, which can also be connected to a softphone client. Mobile phones cannot be used at this time.
You can also track the status of your users: active (green), busy or in post-processing time (orange), and inactive (red).
How can I manage my status and devices in channels as a user?
If you want to log in or out of Channels as a User, select *2# on your Channels-configured device. You will receive an audio message confirming that your login or logout was successful. Under My Telephony, you will find an overview of your Channels status. Here you can also see an overview of your routings, including the Channels routing, and have the option to independently switch VoIP devices with a toggle.
Note: If you have set up Do Not Disturb (DND) and Busy on Busy (BOB) in the sipgate web app, these settings will be applied to the Channels status. However, please note that changes made directly on the device will not be reflected in the Channels status. For example, if you enable DND on your device, the Channels status will not change.