Calls

1Overview #

The call log is the honest record of who actually spoke to whom. The times, the durations and whether a call was answered come from the telephone provider, not from anybody's memory or typing - which is what makes it worth reading.

Two jobs live here. The first is writing what came of a call, which turns a duration into knowledge: a note on the record, and, if you like, the next action planned while it is fresh. The second is dealing with calls the CRM could not match - a number belonging to no lead or contact - by putting them on a record, or making a lead of the caller.

You can also dial a number that is on no record at all: the provider rings your phone first, then them, and the call is logged like any other.

2Who it is for #

Work through the calls that have no note yet.
Clear the calls that sit on no record - link them, or make leads of them.
Play a recording, where your provider made one and you may hear it.
See a colleague's calls, if you lead a team or manage the CRM.
Dial a number that is on no record.

3What it is not for #

Setting telephony up. That is CRM > Telephony.
The whole story of one customer. Open their lead, contact or deal - the Calls panel there shows only their calls.
Counting and comparing. The four call reports do that properly, with charts, totals and export.

4Step by step #

Open CRM > Calls. It starts with your own calls of the last thirty days.
Set How it ended to *Unanswered*, or switch On no record on, to see what needs doing. - Those two filters are the work list.
Double-click a call to write what came of it. - Add the kind of call, and a next action if one was agreed - it becomes the record's next action.
For a call on no record: switch Make a lead of the caller on, or open the record and link it. - A new lead gets its owner from the assignment rules where lead intake is licensed.
Press Play to hear a recording, where there is one and you may. - Every play is logged with your name.
Press Call a number (F3) to dial something that is on no record. - Your phone rings first; answer it and it rings them.

5The fields #

Filters - They narrow what you may already see - your own calls, your team's if you lead one, everybody's for a sales manager.
Show - My calls or Everyone's I may see. Two choices
Executive - One person's calls. Anyone within your reach
Way - Calls made, calls taken, or both. Three choices
How it ended - Any, Unanswered (missed, no answer, busy, failed, cancelled), or one status. Seven choices
From / To - The period, by the time the call started. Dates
Find - Part of a number, a name or a note; Enter searches, Esc clears. Free text
On no record ? - Only calls the CRM could not match to anybody. The list worth clearing. Switch
Recorded only ? - Only calls with a recording. Switch
What a row shows - One row is one call.
When / Way - The moment it started, and whether it was made or taken.
Who / Number - The person as matched at the time, and the number.
On record - The lead, contact or deal it sits on - empty when nobody matched. The ⧉ button opens it.
Executive - Whose telephone it was.
How it ended / Talk - The provider's own words and figure. Unanswered rows are tinted red; rows on no record are tinted orange.
What came of it - The note somebody wrote afterwards. Blank is what this page is for.
Play - Opens the recording, where there is one and you may hear it. "kept" means a recording exists but setting 268 does not let you play it.
What came of the call - The box that opens on a double-click.
What was said - What you agreed and what happens next. Goes on the record's follow-ups, where the next person reads it. Up to 255 characters
Kind of call - From the Activity Types master. The activity reports count the follow-up under this. From CRM > Masters
Make a lead of the caller - Only for a call on no record: makes a lead from the number and puts the call on it. With lead intake licensed, the assignment rules choose the owner; otherwise it is yours. Switch
Lead name - Who they said they were. Blank = the number itself. Up to 128 characters
Next action on - Plan the next call or visit while it is fresh. It becomes the record's next action. Not in the past

6Rules and integrity #

The facts are the provider's - When a call started, whether it was answered and how long it talked come from the telephone system. Only the note is yours.
A note becomes a follow-up - Where setting 266 says so, a finished call writes a follow-up on its record with the outcome - so the call appears in the work lists and the activity reports.
Very short calls write no follow-up - Below setting 267's seconds they stay in this list but leave the record alone - mis-dials should not fill a customer's history.
Unmatched calls wait here - A number belonging to nobody is logged with no record. When the same number later belongs to a lead, new calls match by themselves - the old one you link by hand.
Every play of a recording is logged - Who and when. Nobody can listen to a customer call quietly.
You see your own, your team's, or everybody's - The usual three tiers, cut further by your report option - and a call nobody owns is visible to all, because a missed call nobody owns must not hide.

7Shortcut keys #

F3 - Call a number that is on no record.
F5 - Refresh - or, in a box, its own save.
Esc - Close the box; otherwise close the tab.
Enter - In the Find box, search.

8If something does not work #

"That record is not yours to see."

Why: The record belongs to somebody else's circle - its owner, their team lead, a sales manager, or somebody it is shared with. Reading it, its calls, its score or its telephone numbers is refused to anybody else, whichever screen asks.
What to do: Ask its owner to share it with you, or ask a sales manager to hand it over.

"The call log is part of the CRM Telephony add-on, which is not licensed for this company. Contact your software vendor."

Why: The add-on is missing from the licence.
What to do: Ask your vendor to add CRMTEL, then sign out and in.

The Call button is greyed, with "You have no telephone set up - ask an administrator"

Why: Dialling needs an agent row of your own - which phone the provider should ring first.
What to do: An administrator adds you on CRM > Telephony.

"Your telephony set-up does not allow dialling."

Why: Your agent row is there but its dialling is switched off.
What to do: An administrator turns it on.

"Give the number to call." / "That is not a telephone number."

Why: The number is missing or has fewer than seven digits.
What to do: Type the full number; a country code is fine.

"This record has no telephone number."

Why: The Call button was pressed on a record with nothing to dial.
What to do: Add the number to the lead or the contact first.

"That telephony account is not there, or is switched off."

Why: The account behind your agent row has been removed or switched off.
What to do: An administrator checks CRM > Telephony.

"The call could not be placed: ..."

Why: The provider refused the dial - its own words follow the colon.
What to do: Check the account's keys and caller id; the account's last error says more.

"Pick the call." / "That call is no longer there."

Why: No row was selected, or it has since been removed.
What to do: Press F5 and pick the call again.

"The provider has not sent the recording yet." / "This call has no recording - the provider either did not record it, or has not sent it yet."

Why: Recordings stay with the provider and arrive after the call, sometimes minutes later.
What to do: Wait and press F5. If recording is off at the provider, there will never be one.

"Only team leads and sales managers may play a recording here."

Why: The company has set recordings to managers only.
What to do: Ask a team lead; an administrator can change it in CRM > Telephony settings.

"You may play a recording only of a call you made, or of a record that is yours."

Why: Recordings are a customer's voice, so only the people concerned may hear them.
What to do: Ask the person who made the call, or their team lead.

"The recording opened in a new tab. Every play is logged with your name."

Why: Not an error - a notice that playing a recording is recorded.
What to do: Nothing to do.

A call I made is not in the list

Why: The list shows calls within the period, the filters, and your reach; a call shorter than the minimum is not logged at all.
What to do: Widen the period; an administrator can lower the shortest call worth logging.

A call shows no customer name

Why: The number matched no lead, contact or deal you may see.
What to do: Use the row to make a lead of the number - the call then hangs on it.

The call pop never appears

Why: The pop is pushed live from the server: it needs the page open, the connection alive, and the pop switched on for you.
What to do: Check your own row on CRM > Telephony, and that the browser tab stayed open.

A call sits at Ringing and never moves

Why: The provider stopped sending events - the webhook may be refused, or the events are failing.
What to do: An administrator checks the account's event list on CRM > Telephony.

"An incoming call from a number nobody matches."

Why: A call arrived from a number on no record; it waits in the account's tray.
What to do: Make a lead of it from the calls page.

9Settings it uses #

266 log a follow-up for every call, 267 the shortest call worth logging, 268 who may play a recording.

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