What is an extension?
An extension is a 3 digit number, like 101, that points at a teammate or at one of your phone numbers. When a caller reaches a phone menu with extension dialing turned on, they can enter the extension and skip straight to that person instead of working through the options.
Extensions are useful once you have more than a handful of people on one main line. "Dial 104 for Jamie" is quicker for a regular client than listening to a menu.
How do I assign an extension?
Extensions are managed in the web app on a computer.
Step 1. Open extension settings
Go to Settings, then Extensions under the Calling section and click Assign extension.
Step 2. Choose the number
Enter three digits. Extensions can't start with 0, must be unique, and 112, 911, and 999 are reserved.
Step 3. Pick where it goes
Under Where does this extension go?, choose Inbox to point it at one of your phone numbers or Team Member to point it at a person. See below for which to use.
Step 4. Save
Click Save. You'll see "Extension assigned".
Use the All, Inboxes, and People filters and the search box to find an extension later. Each one has Edit and Delete. Extensions also show up as "ext. 101" next to the number on your Inboxes list and on each person's card in Team settings, so the whole firm can see them.
Should an extension point at a person or a number?
Team Member when the person doesn't have their own direct number. The call goes to them.
Inbox when the person already has a direct phone number, or when you want an extension for a whole team. The call goes to that number and is handled the way that number is set up, including its ring order or dial plan.
How do callers use an extension?
Callers enter extensions while a phone menu is playing. Open your dial plan, click the Phone menu step, and turn on Enable Extensions. Then tell callers about it in the greeting: "If you know your party's extension, you may dial it at any time."
When a caller dials an extension, the teammate who picks up sees a "Transferred from" banner naming the phone number the call came in on.
Extensions are for callers coming in through a menu. There's no separate extension dialing inside the CurrentClient app. To hand a call to a teammate yourself, use the transfer button on the call.
What are routing tags?
Routing tags let a dial plan send callers to their own advisor automatically, without them pressing anything. It works with the Dynamic tag ringing step.
Tag your contacts in your CRM or in CurrentClient with the advisor they belong to, for example "Team Jamie".
On Jamie's extension, click Edit, then Select tags under Routing tags (optional), and pick that same tag.
Add a Dynamic tag ringing step to your dial plan.
When a call reaches that step, the caller's contact tags are matched against the routing tags on your extensions. A match sends the call straight to that extension's owner. A number is routed directly, and if several teammates match, they ring at the same time. Callers with no matching tag continue to the next step of the plan, so put a phone menu or ring group after it as the catch all.
The step has one setting, No answer fallback. Turn it on to send unanswered calls to a step you choose. Leave it off to let them fall through to the number's voicemail.
Leave routing tags empty on any extension that shouldn't take part in automatic routing.
How do I change or remove an extension?
Open Extensions and click Edit to change the digits, the owner, or the routing tags. Click Delete and confirm to remove one. Callers who dial a removed extension no longer reach anyone, so update any greetings that mention it.
Note: This is different from the ",," option in call forwarding, which dials an extension on someone else's phone system after a forwarded call connects. CurrentClient extensions are the ones your callers dial to reach your team.