Phone numbers and devices in Inventory

Inventory is your list of phone numbers and phones. It’s where you decide where each phone number rings. If you get a new number, or want your main line to go to a menu instead of the front desk, this is the place.

What you’ll find in Inventory

• Phone Numbers — Every phone number on your account and where each one currently goes.
• Phone Hardware — The desk phones and other devices on your account, with their model and MAC address. This tab also has Button Builder (for setting up phone buttons), Import, Export, and Add Phone.
• Both tabs have Filters to search, and Phone Numbers has an Export button.

Choose where a phone number rings

1. Go to Inventory.

2. Open Phone Numbers.

3. Find the number. Use Filters to search if your list is long.

4. Select the number to edit it.

5. Set the Treatment, which is the kind of destination. The list shows, in this order:

   • Available Number — Parks the number unused. Callers can’t reach anyone on it.
   • User — Rings a person. Their answering rules apply.
   • Fax — Answers as a fax line. See Send and receive faxes.
   • Conference — Connects callers to a conference bridge.
   • Call Queue — Sends callers to a team queue.
   • Voicemail — Goes straight to a voicemail box without ringing anyone.
   • Auto Attendant — Plays a phone menu.

   If Dial Raven has set up a SIP trunk for you, you may also see a SIP Trunk option for sending calls to your on-site phone system. See SIP trunks explained.

6. Choose the destination in the box under Treatment. It’s named after the treatment you picked, such as User or Auto Attendant. Start typing a name or extension, then pick it from the list.

7. Add Notes if you like, for example “Main line” or “Google Ads number.”

8. Select Save.

Heads up: Changes take effect on the next call. Build and test the destination first, then point the number at it.

Heads up: A number can carry voice calls or faxes, but not both. Once a number is set to Fax, it ignores voicemail and forwarding settings, so don’t switch a fax line to anything else unless you mean to stop faxing on it.

Other settings on a phone number

The edit window has a few more options:

• Enable DID — Turns the number on or off without changing where it goes. A turned-off number stops taking calls.
• Enable Date and Disable Date — Turn the number on or off automatically on a set day. Handy for a seasonal line or a campaign number with an end date.
• Caller ID Prefix — Adds a short label in front of the caller’s name on your phones, so staff know which number the caller dialed. For example, a prefix of “ADS” shows up when someone calls your advertising number. Keep it short so the caller’s name still fits on the screen.

Send a number to different places at different times

Some accounts can route a number by time frame right from Inventory. If your edit window shows an Enable Time Frames option:

1. Turn on Enable Time Frames.
2. The Default time frame is always listed. Select the green + to add more, then choose a destination for each.
3. Put the most specific time frames, like Holidays, at the top.
4. Select Save. The number’s treatment now shows as Time of Day Routing.

Only company (shared) time frames can be used here. See Time frames: business hours, holidays and more. If you don’t see this option, you can get the same result by pointing the number at an auto attendant with after-hours and holiday versions. See After-hours and holiday greetings.

Find spare numbers

To see numbers that aren’t in use, select Filters, set Treatment to Available Number, and select Filter. Select Export to save the list as a spreadsheet.

Add or remove phone numbers

Adding new numbers, moving (porting) numbers from another carrier, and removing numbers all affect your account and bill, so Dial Raven handles them. Contact support at (434) 697-2836 or support@dialraven.com.

See your phones

1. Go to Inventory.
2. Open Phone Hardware.
3. You’ll see each phone’s model, MAC address, and the extension it’s assigned to.

To add a new desk phone, see Add and set up a desk phone.

Common questions

How do I give someone a direct number?

Set the number’s Treatment to User and choose their extension in the User box. Then set their caller ID to that number so outgoing calls show it. See Edit a user’s profile, caller ID and directory listing.

I changed a number but calls still go to the old place. Why?

Make sure you selected Save. Then check the destination’s own settings, such as the auto attendant’s time frame or the user’s answering rules.

Can I send a number to a cell phone?

Yes. There’s no treatment that sends a number straight to an outside phone, so point the number at a user, then give that user an answering rule with Call Forwarding: Always to the cell number. Many offices create a dedicated user for this, such as “After-hours cell” at extension 310, so the forwarding is easy to find and change later. See Answering rules.

Can certain callers skip the menu?

Yes. If you’d like specific callers, such as a key client calling from their cell phone, to go straight to a person or team, contact Dial Raven support. We can route calls based on the caller’s number.

Related articles

• How a call travels through your phone system
• Add and set up a desk phone
• Build your first auto attendant
• Contact Dial Raven support