First-day checklist for admins

You’re the person setting up Dial Raven for your company. Work through this list in order and your phones will be answering the right way before your team’s first call.

Before you start

• Your Manager Portal sign-in. Go to portal.dialraven.com.
• A list of employees with their names, email addresses, and the extension each should get.
• Your business hours, including holidays you close for.
• What you want callers to hear when they call your main number (for example, “Press 1 for sales, 2 for billing”).

Tip: Dial Raven can do much of this setup with you. If you’d rather not do it alone, contact support and ask for an onboarding session.

1. Check your users and extensions

Why: every person who makes or takes calls needs their own user and extension.

1. Sign in to the Manager Portal.
2. Go to Users and review the list. Make sure every employee is there with the right name and email.
3. Select Add User for anyone who is missing. See Add a new user or extension.
4. Hide extensions people shouldn’t see in the company directory, such as test users. Clear List in Directory on their Profile tab.

See the Manager Portal tour to find your way around.

2. Set up voicemail for each user

Why: a missed call with no greeting looks unprofessional.

1. Make sure voicemail is turned on for each user who needs it.
2. Ask each user to record a greeting, or set one for them.
3. Decide whether voicemail should also go to email and turn that on if so.

Details are in Voicemail setup.

3. Set your business hours

Why: your phone system needs to know when you’re open so after-hours callers go to the right place.

1. Create a time frame for your regular business hours.
2. Create a time frame for holidays you’re closed.

See Time frames.

4. Build your auto attendant

Why: the auto attendant greets callers on your main number and sends them to the right person or team.

1. Record or upload your main greeting.
2. Set what each key press does.
3. Set up a closed or holiday menu for after hours. See After-hours and holiday greetings.
4. Call your main number from a cell phone and test every option.

See Auto attendants.

5. Review answering rules

Why: answering rules decide where a user’s calls ring and what happens if nobody answers.

1. Check how long calls ring before going to voicemail.
2. Set up forwarding for anyone who should also ring on another number.

See Answering rules.

6. Connect desk phones

Why: desk phones need to be linked to the right user before they’ll ring.

1. Plug each phone into your network and power.
2. Assign each phone to its user.
3. Confirm each phone shows its extension and can call out.

See Set up a desk phone.

7. Get everyone on ConnectUC

Why: the app gives your team calls, voicemail, texting, and chat on their computer and phone.

1. Send each user their username and the link uc.dialraven.com.
2. Share the New user quick start with your team.
3. Ask everyone to install the mobile app if they take calls away from their desk.

8. Confirm your 911 address

Why: emergency services use the address on file to find you.

1. Check that the emergency address for each office location is correct.
2. Contact Dial Raven support if anything is wrong or if you open a new location.

See Emergency calling (E911).

9. Run a network check

Why: call quality depends on your internet connection.

1. From a computer at your office, run the Network Health Check.
2. Share the results with support if anything looks poor.

Common questions

Do I have to do all of this on day one?

No, but steps 1, 3, 4, and 8 matter most. Without them, calls may not reach anyone, or may reach the wrong place after hours.

Can I turn on business texting right away?

Texting from a business number needs registration first. Contact support to start that process.

Who can make changes in the Manager Portal?

Users with admin or office manager access. Regular users can only change their own settings.

Related articles

• Manager Portal tour
• Auto attendants
• Time frames
• Set up a desk phone
• New user quick start