Setup · Phones
How to forward your practice line after hours
Every answering service and every AI receptionist starts the same way: your line has to reach it. Here is how forwarding works on the three kinds of phone a practice has, and the ten-minute test that saves a bad first night.
Three kinds of forwarding
- Unconditional: every call goes to the forwarding number at once. Used at close, cancelled at open.
- Conditional (busy or no answer): calls ring your desk first and forward after a set number of rings or when every line is busy. Used for overflow during the day.
- Scheduled: a VoIP system or a carrier feature forwards on a timetable, so nobody has to remember to dial a code at 5 p.m.
Landlines and most VoIP lines
On most North American carriers, dial *72 followed by the forwarding number to switch unconditional forwarding on, and *73 to switch it off. Conditional forwarding codes vary (*71, *90 and *92 are common), and some carriers charge for the feature or need it enabled on the account. Ask the carrier for the codes for your line, and write them on a card by the desk phone.
Hosted phone systems
RingCentral, Nextiva, Weave, 8x8, Dialpad and the like have a business-hours rule: an after-hours schedule that sends calls to a number, a queue or a voicemail box. Set the after-hours destination to the receptionist's number and the overflow rule (no answer after four rings) to the same. The advantage is that the schedule handles holidays too.
Mobile phones
On an iPhone, Settings, Phone, Call Forwarding. On Android, the Phone app's settings, then Calls or Supplementary services, then Call forwarding, with separate entries for busy, unanswered and unreachable. Carrier codes also work from a mobile keypad.
The ten-minute test
- Forward the line, then call it from a mobile. Listen for the receptionist's greeting and the practice's name.
- Ask for a person, and confirm where that goes after hours (a callback, not a ringing desk).
- Book a test visit and check it lands on the schedule; delete it.
- Say an emergency phrase and confirm the 911 instruction and the alert to the on-call.
- Cancel forwarding and call again; the desk should ring.
Callinzo keeps your number: forward it to the number you are given at onboarding, or take a number from us. Take the line back any time by cancelling the forward.