The call routing modules for inbound calls

How a flow works

A number's flow is a sequence of steps that the call goes through from top to bottom. Each step starts when the previous one has ended: a ring step ends when its time runs out, a message ends when the voice has read the whole text, an SMS step ends as soon as the message has been sent.

There are four rules:

1. Steps run in order, one at a time.
2. If someone answers, the flow stops: the following steps do not start.
3. If the last step is reached and nobody has answered, the call is closed.
4. A flow can contain at most 20 steps.

A number that does not have a flow yet shows the status «Calls rejected». You build the flow in the portal and can look at it in two views: «List», to add, remove and reorder steps, and «Diagram», which draws the path of the call. If you are activating your first number, start with the guide to set up an inbound number and come back here for the details.

The modules that read out a text use a synthetic voice. You can choose between alloy, ash, ballad, coral, echo, fable, nova, onyx, sage and shimmer; if you do not choose, the standard voice is nova.

Summary table of the nine modules

The modules that ring someone

Ring SIP accounts

This is the most used module: it rings from 1 to 20 SIP accounts belonging to you. The accounts can be registered on desk phones, softphones, the webphone or the Vohippo app; those with the app are woken up by a push notification, so the phone rings even when the app is closed.

The fields are:

• Accounts: which accounts to ring.
• How to ring: «All together» (simultaneous ringing, the default) or «One after the other».
• «Ring time»: from 5 to 300 seconds, default 30.

Use it as the first step almost every time. Example: in a small practice, «All together» on the three reception accounts for 25 seconds. One detail worth knowing: if an earlier step has already answered the call, for example «Play a message», callers hear hold music during the ringing instead of the ringing tone. The choice between the two modes is covered in depth in the guide on simultaneous or sequential ringing.

Forward to a number

Passes the call on to an external number, usually a mobile. You enter the number in international format, for example +39 345 218 0937; with a number block (GNR) you can instead choose the number that was dialled.

• «Show the original caller number»: on by default, so whoever receives the forwarded call sees who is really calling.
• Time: from 5 to 300 seconds.

The forwarded leg is charged as an outbound call, at the price list rate for that destination. Example: a plumber who works on site first rings the office phone, where a colleague answers, and then forwards to his own mobile for 20 seconds, so people calling while he is on a job still reach someone.

Send to a SIP address

Sends the call to a SIP address, that is a URI beginning with sip:, pointing to another PBX or another provider. The time ranges from 5 to 300 seconds.

sip:[email protected]

It is useful when the call must continue on a system that is not registered as a SIP account on Vohippo, for example the PBX of a branch office reachable at a public address. If instead your PBX is connected with a SIP trunk registered on an account, you reach it with «Ring SIP accounts».

The modules that answer for you

AI secretary

An artificial voice answers with the opening phrase you wrote, follows the instructions in the field «What it must ask or say» and collects name, contact details, reason and urgency. Meanwhile the caller waits with music, and you receive a notice (a paid SMS, or a notification in the app on Android only) with a card: summary, transcribed conversation and the «Accept» and «Refuse» buttons.

• If you accept, the flow moves on to the next step, usually another «Ring SIP accounts».
• If you refuse, or do not reply within the «Maximum caller wait» (30-600 seconds, default 120), the secretary reads out the phrase you set and ends the call.

The available voices are alloy, ash, ballad, coral, echo, sage and shimmer. It speaks the caller's language, while the summary reaches you in Italian. It is charged per minute of conversation, plus any SMS, and like any automated system it can misunderstand. All the details are in the guide on the AI phone secretary.

Voicemail

Records the caller's message and sends it to you by email. The fields:

• Email to send messages to («Send messages to»): required.
• Greeting read by a synthetic voice: up to 500 characters.
• «Attach the audio file»: the message arrives as a WAV attachment.
• Maximum length of the message: from 10 to 600 seconds, default 180. Recording also stops after 3 seconds of silence.

Voicemail is always the last step of the flow and is included in the price. You can also listen to messages on the Voicemail page of the portal. How to write a good greeting is in the guide on VoIP voicemail.

Play a message

Reads out a text of up to 1000 characters with the synthetic voice, then the flow carries on. Text-to-speech is included. Use it for a welcome, for the call recording notice or for a temporary announcement, such as a holiday closure.

Example: «Welcome to Bianchi Opticians. This call may be recorded for service purposes.» followed by the ringing. Remember that the message answers the call: from that moment on, during the following ring steps, callers hear hold music.

The modules that notify or end the call

Notify a webhook

Sends a POST request in JSON format to an https address of yours, with the event inboundCall and the call data: the dialled number (did), the caller (caller), an identifier (uniqueId) and the start time (startedAt). An example of the content:

{
  "event": "inboundCall",
  "did": "+390612345678",
  "caller": "+393452180937",
  "uniqueId": "1760611200.4821",
  "startedAt": "2026-10-16T09:41:03Z"
}

The webhook does not stop the call: it sends the request and the flow continues. The «Test» button sends a test request, useful to check that your server receives it. It is used to open the customer's record in your back-office system or log the contact in your CRM; if you work with integrations, see also the developer API page.

Send an SMS

Sends an SMS to a number you choose, with a text of at most 140 characters. You can insert two variables: {CALLER}, the caller's number, and {DID}, the number that was called. The flow then carries on. Each SMS costs €0.05.

Missed call from {CALLER} on {DID}. Please call back today.

Hang up

Ends the call. It has no fields. It is used at the end of a flow that should not go to voicemail, for example after a «Play a message» that announces an unexpected closure and says when to call back.

How steps are chained

The modules fall into two families. Those that wait for an answer («Ring SIP accounts», «Forward to a number», «Send to a SIP address») use up their time and then make way for the next step. Those that do something and move on («Notify a webhook», «Play a message», «Send an SMS») never stop the flow. Then there are the modules that end it: «Voicemail» and «Hang up».

Some proven sequences:

• Ring, mobile, voicemail: «Ring SIP accounts» → «Forward to a number» → «Voicemail».
• Missed call alert: «Ring SIP accounts» → «Send an SMS» → «Voicemail». The SMS only goes out if nobody answered, because the flow reaches that step only in that case.
• AI screening: «Ring SIP accounts» → «AI secretary» → «Ring SIP accounts» → «Voicemail».
• Holiday closure: «Play a message» → «Hang up».

Two mistakes to avoid. First, putting «Voicemail» in the middle: it is always the last step, so everything that must happen before it, such as the SMS, goes above it. Second, adding up too much time: three ring steps of 60 seconds each keep callers waiting for three minutes, and many hang up before then.

What happens if nobody answers

If the call reaches the end of the flow without anyone answering, the call is closed. If the last step is a ring step, callers hear the phone ringing out until the time is up and then the line drops: this is the worst case, because it leaves no useful trace.

That is why every flow should end with a way out: «Voicemail», which takes a message, or «Play a message» followed by «Hang up», which at least tells callers what to do.

What the modules do not do

The modules do not include a keypad menu (IVR, «press 1 for…»), call queues with callers waiting on the line, or time conditions that change the path according to the time or day. Nor is there call transfer between extensions as a platform feature.

If you need them, the solution is a PBX: your own, connected to Vohippo with a SIP trunk, or an AI virtual PBX such as the one from our partner robottino.ai, with menus, queues and opening hours. In that case Vohippo supplies the numbers and lines. To route calls without a PBX you can use different numbers for different services, each with its own flow.

Frequently asked questions