Call Forwarding Answering Service

Call forwarding by itself just moves a call from one number to another. An answering service is what handles the call once it arrives. Combining the two means a caller dials the same business number they always have, but instead of ringing your phone or hitting voicemail, the call is answered by a receptionist service.

With AllDayDesk, setup starts by choosing your business or entering its website so we can pull in your details. You check that the information is right, hear a personalized sample of how your calls would be answered, and then choose your phone setup. The sample is a demo only and does not create a real booking. After that, you turn on forwarding with your phone provider, and calls to your regular number are answered using your saved business information.

Every call, transcript, summary, and booking shows up in your dashboard, so you can see what happened while you were busy or closed. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default, once you have configured your services and availability. If you prefer, you can optionally connect Google Calendar in Settings after connecting and authorizing your Google account.

• You keep your public business number; callers see no change.
• Forwarding is done through your phone provider, not through AllDayDesk.
• The receptionist answers using the business details you saved.
• When an answer, price, or appointment slot is unknown, the caller is asked to leave a message for you.
• Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings are visible in your dashboard.

Forwarding instructions depend on your phone service, so the first step is identifying exactly which product you have. The same carrier often uses different codes for wireless lines, business landlines, and hosted voice systems.

For Verizon mobile, dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, *71 plus the destination for unanswered calls, and *73 to turn forwarding off. Setup must be done from the phone while in Verizon coverage, and charges depend on your plan. For Verizon business landline, dial *72 and follow the activation instructions, and *73 to deactivate from the same line. For T-Mobile, dial **21*1 followed by the 10-digit destination and # to forward all calls, and ##21# to disable. Other codes cover no reply (**61), unreachable (**62), and busy (**67), each disabled with ## plus the same number and #. Dialing ##004# resets forwarding to defaults. Check that your service and device support these codes.

For AT&T Phone for Business, dial *72, the destination, then # for all calls, *92 for no-answer, and *90 for busy, with *73#, *93#, and *91# to turn each off. These codes differ from AT&T wireless and from AT&T Collaborate, which uses *72/*73 for always, *62/*63 for busy, and *92/*93 for no-answer, with administrator approval required. For Spectrum Business Voice, sign in to SpectrumBusiness.net with a role that can manage voice, open Voice, choose your phone number, then Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager, enable forwarding, and pick all calls or busy/no-answer with a destination.

For Comcast Business, first identify whether you have Voice Mobility, Business Voice, or Managed Voice, since steps differ; Managed Voice Panasonic TPA65 users lift the handset, dial *72 and the destination, and replace the handset. For Vonage Business Communications, select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number, then verify with an outside call. For Frontier, check your bill to identify the service; Unlimited Digital Voice users lift the handset, dial *72, wait for a second dial tone, and enter the destination. For Optimum Business Phone, dial *72, wait for dial tone, then dial the destination; *73 turns it off. If your provider is not listed here, look up the forwarding instructions for your exact product or contact their support, and do not borrow another carrier's codes since they may not work on your line.

• Identify your exact product first; codes differ between wireless, landline, and hosted services.
• All-call forwarding sends every call; conditional forwarding sends only missed, busy, or unreachable calls.
• Test forwarding by placing a call from another phone after activating.
• Keep the disable code handy so you can turn forwarding off when you want to answer yourself.

Before you activate anything, decide which calls should reach the answering service. All-call forwarding sends every incoming call straight to the service, which suits owners who rarely answer their own phone or who want consistent coverage at all hours. Conditional forwarding sends calls only in specific situations, such as when you do not answer, your line is busy, or your phone is unreachable.

Conditional forwarding is a good fit if you usually answer yourself but want backup during jobs, meetings, or after hours. All-call forwarding is simpler and more consistent, but it means you will not hear the phone ring at all. Some owners start with conditional forwarding, see how the service handles their calls in the dashboard, and switch to all-call later.

Also check whether your provider supports the conditional option you want. Not every plan or device supports busy or no-answer forwarding, and some carriers treat it as an add-on feature. If conditional forwarding is not available on your line, all-call forwarding is the alternative.

• All-call: every call goes to the service, no ringing at your phone.
• No-answer: calls reach you first, the service only when you miss them.
• Busy: callers reach the service while you are already on a call.
• Unreachable: covers phones that are off or out of service.

Once a call reaches AllDayDesk, the receptionist greets the caller using your business information and handles the call based on what the caller needs. It can answer questions using the details you saved, take a message, or book a new appointment on your dashboard calendar once your services and availability are configured.

Some situations have specific rules worth knowing. Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests rather than confirmed changes, so you stay in control of your schedule. If a caller asks something the service does not know, such as a price you have not saved or an appointment question it cannot resolve, it takes a message instead of guessing. If you configure call transfers, the service can transfer calls to a destination you set with rules you define; pickup is not guaranteed, so configure destinations and rules carefully.

You can review everything in the dashboard: each call, its transcript, a summary, and any bookings. This makes it easy to follow up on messages and confirm that the information callers received was accurate.

• New bookings go on the built-in dashboard calendar by default.
• Google Calendar can be connected optionally in Settings after authorization.
• Existing appointment changes are requests for you, not confirmed edits.
• Unknown answers, prices, or slots become messages, not guesses.
• Transfers require you to configure a destination and rules first.

A little planning makes forwarded calls far more useful. Work through these choices before turning forwarding on.

First, decide which calls to forward: all of them, or only missed and busy ones. Second, make sure your saved business information is complete and current, including services, pricing you want shared, and hours, since the receptionist answers from what you provide. Third, set up your services and availability so new appointments can be booked onto your dashboard calendar. Fourth, decide whether you want transfers and, if so, configure the destination and rules. Finally, plan how you will review messages and booking requests, since follow-up is still yours.

• Choose all-call or conditional forwarding based on how often you answer yourself.
• Review your saved business details before going live.
• Configure services and availability so bookings land correctly.
• Set transfer destinations and rules if you want calls passed to you.
• Check the dashboard regularly for messages and appointment requests.

A forwarding-based answering service has boundaries you should understand upfront. Around-the-clock availability describes when the service can answer, but it is not a promise that every single call connects; phone networks can fail on any service. Transfers depend on your configured destination and rules, and neither pickup nor an immediate response is guaranteed.

Google Voice users should note that Google explicitly says forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system is unsupported, so a Google Voice number is not a suitable forwarding source. Carrier forwarding charges also depend on your plan, so check with your provider about any costs for forwarded minutes.

Finally, the service answers from the information you save. It does not connect to dispatch software, CRMs, health records, or industry scheduling tools, and it does not handle emergency dispatch, medical or legal advice, or payment collection. When it cannot answer something, it takes a message.

• Availability is around the clock, but no service can guarantee every call connects.
• Forwarding to an automated system is unsupported from Google Voice numbers.
• Your carrier may charge for forwarded calls depending on your plan.
• No dispatch, CRM, health record, or industry software connections.