Create a ring group and choose how it rings

A ring group puts several users behind one number. Send your sales line or a menu key to the group, and one call reaches the whole team. You choose who's in it, the order they ring, and what happens to calls no one picks up.

Some labels in your portal or apps may look slightly different from this guide.

Create the group

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open the ring groups page

   In the admin portal, open the ring groups list from the main menu. Your portal may use a different name for this page.

2. 2
   Step 2:

   Add a group

   Start a new group and give it a name, such as Sales, and a number. Dialing that number from inside rings the group.

3. 3
   Step 3:

   Add the members

   List the extensions to ring, separated by commas, for example 1021,1022,1024.

4. 4
   Step 4:

   Choose the last destination

   Pick the place calls end up when no one picks up. A shared voicemail box is a common choice. What happens when nobody answers covers the options.

5. 5
   Step 5:

   Set how it rings

   Open the advanced options and choose a Ring Strategy, a ring time and how many passes to make. The next section explains each one.

6. 6
   Step 6:

   Save and test

   Save the group, then call its number and make sure every member's phone rings.

Then send calls to it from a key in your phone menu, or ask CallSprout support to point a phone number at it.

Choose a ring strategy

With All, the number of members who ring is capped at a set number. You'll see a warning if you add more. The group still saves, but anyone past the cap never rings.

Set the ring time and passes

• Timeout is how many seconds each pass rings.
• Loops is how many extra passes the group makes before giving up.
• Looping Mode decides the order of those passes. Per extension rings one member through all their passes before moving on. Circular rings each member once per pass, then starts the list again.
• A separate force timeout setting makes the group's ring time win over each member's own ring time.

Other useful settings

• Greeting. Play a short message before the group starts ringing.
• Caller labels. Show members which group a call came through. See show which number or menu a call came from.
• Hold music instead of ringing. Callers can hear hold music while they wait. You set this on the group. It needs a specific setting format, so if the hold music option for groups isn't obvious, support can help.
• Recording. Groups can record their calls. Recording and monitoring laws vary by state, and your company is responsible for any notice and consent they require.

Enhanced ring groups

Enhanced ring groups add member login and logout, wait announcements, wrap up time and overflow controls for teams that take a lot of calls. They come with every plan, and you set them up yourself in the admin portal. See set up an enhanced ring group for your team. Contact Center Lite builds on them with live wallboards, a member performance dashboard, scheduled reports and Smart Callback.