How to Create Your Own After Hours Phone Service

Already have a phone system for regular business hours, but don’t have one in place for people who call you after hours? Though Talkroute is a fully-functional business phone system that can handle your daily call volume, you can also use it solely for managing your after-hours calls. This will ensure that you never miss a business call, even when you’re closed.

So, to utilize Talkroute as your after-hours phone system, there are a few different configurations; the configuration you use will depend on your current system. Below you will see how to set this up in 3 different ways:

• For a business already using Talkroute as its primary phone system, with only (1) account.

• For a business already using Talkroute as its primary phone system, adding a 2nd account for an after-hours system.

• For a business using Talkroute solely for an after-hours system.

Use (1) account for both the primary, and after-hours phone system.

In this case, all the features of your account are being utilized during regular business hours, with limited function for your after-hours program. Each Talkroute account already comes with some after-hours functions.

So, for customers calling while you are closed, you can play a custom message for them and connect them to your voicemail. If you prefer, you can disable the greeting and just send callers straight to voicemail.

Set up a primary phone system and an after-hours system, using (2) accounts.

When you have one account to manage calls during normal business hours, and another account for after-hours calls, that means that all features can be used while you’re open, and while you’re closed. This is the preferred method for after-hours call routing.

As there isn’t currently an automation for this setup, what follows is a hack you can use to transition seamlessly from primary call-routing, to after-hours call routing. Before you start, make sure that you have (2) active Talkroute accounts that are up and running.

Normal hours account: “account 1”

After-hours account: “account 2”

1. Set Hours of Operation to “24/7” on both accounts (Delete all time slots).

2. Add virtual phone number from account 2 as a forwarding number on Account 1.

3. Set account 1 virtual number to forward to account 2 virtual number.

4. Create a custom forwarding schedule so that account 1 functions normally during business hours, automatically switches over when you close, and begins to forward calls to account 2.

See how the Scheduled Forwarding feature works, in this helpful tutorial:

How to Add a Custom Schedule to Call Forwarding

Use Talkroute as an after-hours phone system only.

If you already have a phone system that manages your calls during regular hours, then you can add a system for the sole purpose of taking good care of those who call while you’re closed. Utilize all the features of a Talkroute account to provide stellar service for after-hours callers.

The people who call you after you are closed constitute an opportunity to make additional sales that you will miss, without an adequate after-hours program. This is why the provisions described above can be a great asset. If you have any trouble with setup, you can always contact our support team: Submit New Ticket