Use a shared or group mailbox

Some messages belong to a team, not one person. You have two ways to handle that. A shared mailbox is one mailbox that more than one person can open. A voicemail group is one number that puts a copy of each message into several people's own mailboxes.

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

Choose a shared mailbox or a group

• Shared mailbox. It isn't tied to a phone or a person. Your admin gives it its own number and PIN, then picks which coworkers can see it in their user portal. Good for a front desk line or a department inbox.
• Voicemail group. Callers leave one message, and a copy goes to each member's mailbox. Good when everyone should hear every message in their own mailbox.

Create a shared mailbox (admins)

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open the mailbox list

   In the admin portal, go to Voicemail, then Mailboxes.
2. 2
   Step 2:

   Add a mailbox

   Select Add Voicemail.
3. 3
   Step 3:

   Fill in the basics

   Give it a unique Mailbox number, a Name and a PIN. The PIN needs the number of digits your account requires. If it's rejected, ask CallSprout support how many digits your account needs. Add an address in Email if you want new message notices sent to someone.
4. 4
   Step 4:

   Choose who can see it

   Further down the form, look for the setting that lists extensions allowed to see this mailbox in their user portal. Pick the people who should have access.
5. 5
   Step 5:

   Save

   Save the mailbox, then tell the team its number and PIN.

Coworkers can dial the mailbox number from any extension to reach it. A mailbox that belongs to a person's extension can't be edited from this list. Change those from the user's own settings.

Create a voicemail group (admins)

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open the group list

   Go to Voicemail, then Groups, and add a group.
2. 2
   Step 2:

   Name it and give it a number

   Fill in Voicemail Group Name and Voicemail Group Number. Callers dial this number to leave a message for the whole group.
3. 3
   Step 3:

   Add the members

   Enter each member's mailbox number in Mailboxes, separated by commas.
4. 4
   Step 4:

   Set a greeting and a limit (optional)

   Choose a Greeting for callers. Incoming Limit (per call) sets how often a single call may pass through the group, a guard against call routing loops.
5. 5
   Step 5:

   Save

   Save the group.

Don't see this option? Contact support and we'll set it up for you.

Check a shared mailbox

You have three ways in.

• From a phone. Dial *124, enter the shared mailbox number, then its PIN. The menu is the same as for your own mailbox. See Check voicemail from your desk phone.
• In your user portal. If your admin gave your extension access, the mailbox shows in your voicemail section. See Listen to, move, forward and delete voicemail online.
• In your own mailbox. For a voicemail group, check your own mailbox as usual.

What to expect

Anyone with the PIN can open a shared mailbox, so share it only with people who should hear every message. Your admin can also listen to any mailbox from the admin portal.

If the mailbox locks after wrong PIN entries, see My voicemail is locked. Ask your admin if the shared mailbox doesn't show in your user portal.