How-to guide

Set up voicemail to email in Flow

Short answer

Add a Voicemail step to a flow with your email address as a recipient, publish the flow, and make it your number's first incoming call handler. Each message arrives by email with the recording attached and the caller's number, plus a transcription if you turn it on.

Applies to
Flow, Phone Numbers
Who can do this
Whoever manages your Enfonica project
On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Choose where voicemail fits in your flow
  3. Add the Voicemail step
  4. Send a text message as well
  5. Publish the flow and connect your number
  6. What each voicemail email looks like
  7. Check that it worked
  8. Questions
  9. What to send us
  10. Related

Before you start

  • An Enfonica phone number that takes voice calls.
  • The email addresses or mobile numbers that should receive each message.
  • A computer, because the Flow editor needs a larger screen than a phone.

Choose where voicemail fits in your flow

The Voicemail step plays a greeting, records the caller's message, and sends it to everyone you list. It's a terminating step, so nothing comes after it. Put it wherever callers should be able to leave a message.

Where you put itWhat callers get
Directly under the start of the flowEvery call goes to voicemail, for example on an after-hours or callback line.
In a Call step's Incomplete exitThe call rings your team first, and goes to voicemail when nobody answers or the line is busy.
In a Time & Day step's No Match exitCalls outside business hours go to voicemail. See Route calls by business hours.
Under a key in a Menu stepCallers who choose that option leave a message. See Build a phone menu.

Add the Voicemail step

  1. In the Enfonica Console, go to Flow.
  2. Open your flow, or select Create flow.
  3. Drag the Voicemail step from the left sidebar to where it belongs in the flow tree. Then select it to open its step form.
  4. Select Add recipient, select Add email, enter the email address, and then select Confirm. Repeat this step for each person who should receive the messages.
  5. Under Voicemail prompt, check the greeting. It starts as text-to-speech saying "Please leave a message after the beep". To change it, enter your own words on the Speak tab, upload an .mp3 or .wav recording on the Upload tab, or choose a recording you've used before on the Library tab.
  6. To have each message turned into text as well, turn on Transcribe. Transcription works in English only, and it's charged at the transcription rate on Pricing.
  7. To tell your lines apart in your inbox, open Advanced controls, and set a Subject, such as Sales. You can also change the Max recording duration there. Messages can be 10 to 600 seconds long, and start at 60.

Send a text message as well

A voicemail can go to a mobile by SMS as well as, or instead of, email. Select Add recipient, select Add phone number, and then enter the mobile number in full international format, for example +61491570156.

The SMS shows the caller's number, the transcription if Transcribe is on, and a link to listen to the message. The link expires after 14 days. To keep recordings for longer, add an email recipient too.

Publish the flow and connect your number

  1. Select Publish, and give the flow a name if the editor asks for one. The editor confirms with "Flow published".
  2. Go to Phone Numbers > My numbers, and select your number.
  3. Under Incoming call handlers, select Add, select Flow, and then choose your flow.
  4. Use the arrows next to the handlers to move the flow to the top of the list, and then select Save Changes.

The flow must be first in the list. A handler above it takes every call, so callers never reach your voicemail.

What each voicemail email looks like

Each message arrives as an email from Enfonica Voicemail. To recognize it and allow it through your spam filter, look for these details:

  • From. noreply@notifications.enfonica.com
  • Subject. "New voicemail", or "New voicemail: Sales" when the step has a Subject.
  • Body. The caller's number, or "a private number" when they withheld it, and the transcription when Transcribe is on.
  • Attachment. The recording, named with the date and time of the message.

With Transcribe on, the email is sent after the transcription is ready.

Check that it worked

  1. Call your number from a mobile in a way that reaches the Voicemail step. For example, if it follows a Call step, let that call ring out.
  2. Listen for your greeting. Then leave a message of a few seconds, and hang up.
  3. Check the inbox of each recipient. The email arrives from noreply@notifications.enfonica.com with the recording attached.

If the email doesn't arrive, look in your spam or junk folder first. For other causes, including a mobile's own voicemail answering before the call reaches yours, see Voicemail emails don't arrive.

Questions

Can I play a message without taking a voicemail?

Yes. Use a Play step instead of a Voicemail step. Callers hear your recording or text-to-speech message, and no voicemail is recorded.

Can different numbers have different greetings?

Yes. A flow plays the same greeting to every number that uses it, so give each number its own flow. To save time, open your first flow, and use Duplicate in the editor's menu. Then change the greeting, and publish the copy.

Can I get voicemail when my phone system is offline?

Yes. If your phone system connects through Cloud SIP, a voicemail flow can take calls while the phone system is offline. To learn how, see Configuring voicemail failover for a SIP trunk.

What to send us

Include these so we can check your flow.

  • The phone number that calls go to.
  • The name of the flow.
  • The date and time of a call that went the wrong way, with your timezone, and what you expected to happen.
Contact support

Our support team are telco specialists, backed by the engineers who run the network.