Calls and messaging
Connect a receptionist or business phone system
Keep your existing greeting and reception queue while PrimaReply handles selected unanswered and after-hours calls.
PrimaReply becomes the final destination only for the calls you choose.
Customer calls
Your existing business number
Your current setup
Greeting, menu and reception stay in place
Nobody answers
The queue reaches its timeout or closes
PrimaReply follows up
The caller can explain what they need by text
Important: the forwarded call must preserve the customer’s original caller number so PrimaReply knows whom to text.
What this setup changes
Your public business number, greeting, menu, receptionist and staff extensions stay in place. You change only the final destination for calls that nobody answers or calls received outside business hours.
PrimaReply should be the overflow destination, not the first destination, unless you deliberately want PrimaReply to control the complete call flow.
Choose when PrimaReply helps
- Unanswered-call overflow: your reception queue rings first, then forwards to PrimaReply after a timeout such as 25 seconds.
- After hours: your current closed-hours route sends calls to PrimaReply instead of ending at voicemail.
- Both: use PrimaReply as the final destination for both situations.
Before you begin
- Copy your connected PrimaReply number from Settings → PrimaReply coverage.
- Identify the phone platform or the company that manages it.
- Confirm you have administrator access, or send the provider request to your phone administrator.
- Keep a separate mobile available for testing.
- Ask whether forwarding to an external number incurs call charges.
Configure the final destination
- Open the call queue that receives new customer calls.
- Keep its greeting, menu, agents and normal call distribution unchanged.
- Set the queue timeout to an appropriate period, usually 20–30 seconds.
- Find Overflow, No answer, Queue timeout or Final destination.
- Choose an external phone number.
- Enter the complete PrimaReply number, including the Australian country code.
- Configure the closed-hours destination if you want after-hours recovery.
- Save or publish the call flow.
Original caller ID is essential
The forwarded call must show the customer's original number to PrimaReply. If the forwarded call shows the business's main number instead, PrimaReply cannot safely determine whom to text.
Ask the provider for original caller-ID presentation, CLI passthrough or external caller-ID preservation if necessary.
Verify the connection
- Open Settings → PrimaReply coverage.
- Select your phone provider and start the safe 10-minute forwarding test.
- Call the normal business number from another mobile.
- Do not answer the queue.
- Let the queue reach the overflow destination.
- Wait for PrimaReply to display Forwarding verified.
The verification call is suppressed: it does not send a recovery SMS or create a customer lead.
Test the complete behaviour
After verification, make controlled live tests:
- Answer a call normally and confirm no recovery SMS is sent.
- Leave a call unanswered and confirm one recovery SMS is sent.
- Test the after-hours route if enabled.
- Repeat a call shortly afterwards and confirm duplicate protection works.
Provider guides
If you do not know the provider
Use Identify your phone provider, or send the prepared request to whoever installed or manages the business phones.
Related guides
See this workflow in PrimaReply
Learn how the product handles customer enquiries, or create a free workspace and test it with your own business details.