What Is Call Forwarding? 5 Best Services and How to Set it Up

Connecting with your community is the best way to stay ahead of the competition as a local business owner. Now, imagine a seamless flow where every call reaches its intended recipient, no matter the time of day or night.

That’s where call forwarding comes into play and can help you better serve your customers. Here’s more on how it works, top platforms, and how to get the most out of your call-forwarding software.

What is call forwarding?

Call forwarding is a telecommunications feature that intercepts an incoming call at the network level and routes it to a different destination number. It can be set up and managed in many ways, such as through phone settings, carrier services, or third-party applications.

There are two main types of call forwarding: unconditional and conditional.

Unconditional call forwarding redirects all incoming calls automatically without any conditions or restrictions. Conditional call forwarding involves redirecting calls based on specific conditions or criteria, such as:

Busy

Calls forward when the user’s phone line is busy, automatically redirecting the call to a predetermined number.

No Answer

Forwarding activates when the user does not answer an incoming call within a specified number of rings or within a defined time period.

Unavailable

Some systems offer call forwarding when a user’s phone is unreachable or turned off, redirecting calls to an alternative number or voicemail.

4 Key Benefits of Call Forwarding

Call forwarding helps your business in several ways. These four key benefits show you exactly why choosing call forwarding software is the right choice for you:

Ensures No Missed Important Calls

Missing calls can lead to missed opportunities, lost revenue, and decreased customer satisfaction. That’s why you need to use call forwarding to ensure all calls are either redirected or answered as soon as possible after they come in.

Maintains Privacy and Anonymity

Call forwarding software masks your true numbers, which can be excellent for someone trying for a better work-life balance. Use a centralized or virtual number that forwards to your internal or external lines, and you won’t have to worry about exposing personal phone numbers.

Blocks Phone Numbers

Block unwanted or nuisance phone numbers by using call screening or call blocking features. If you get too many calls you don’t want, you can filter them and avoid getting interrupted by telemarketers, spam callers, or other unwanted parties.

Improves Accessibility and Responsiveness

Call forwarding software makes it easier to reach who you want when you want. Whether your employees are in the office, on the road, or working remotely, calls are forwarded to their preferred devices or numbers.

5 Best Call Forwarding Services for Businesses in 2024

Ready to search for a call-forwarding service? Here are five of the best call-forwarding services for local businesses in 2024:

Podium

Podium ensures you only pay for what you’ll use with its Signature plan, a custom plan that meets your operation’s needs. Podium’s call routing is unparalleled in terms of convenience and quality, capitalizing on the power of text.

The platform automatically texts missed callers to keep connections intact. And, even better, when a customer calls, you immediately see their history with you and any previous conversations you’ve had. Those extra details are key to providing you with critical context that can help you close any sale.

Zendesk

Zendesk starts at $55 per month. It offers services such as monitoring and recording, in-depth reporting, and unified conversations. It’s known for high-quality forwarding, but its technical support reviews are lacking.

RingCentral

RingCentral’s call forwarding service for small businesses costs $19.99 per month with a 14-day free trial. Its software is comparable to Zendesk and has a highly customizable dashboard. The main downside is that RingCentral often requires software updates.

GoTo Connect

Starting at $24 per month, you can try GoTo Connect’s phone forwarding service. This service includes unified conversations. With a simple interface, intuitive design, and clean mobile app, this is a good option for those with little time to train.

Dialpad

Dialpad starts at only $15 per month and is the cheapest option on this list. It runs an AI-powered cloud communication platform, offering users modern and intuitive cloud telephony technology. For 27/4 support or access to the integration library, you have to upgrade to a paid plan.

Is there a free call forwarding service?

For many phone plans, you won’t have monthly fees for call forwarding. However, it just depends on the service. For example, if you want a plan with high-quality call routing, reporting, monitoring, recording, and unified conversations, it may be better to go with a paid option.

How to Set Up Call Forwarding for Your Business

Setting up call forwarding for your business is simple with the right platform. Here are a few instructions for setting it up on various devices.

Smartphones (Android/iOS)

Set up unconditional call forwarding by opening your Phone app. Then, tap the menu icon and select “Call Settings.” From there, you can select call forwarding and “Always Forward.” Just add the number you want to forward calls to, and you’re good to go.

For conditional forwarding, you can simply select the kind of forwarding you want during setup. You can opt for “Forward When Busy” or “Forward When Unanswered.”

Landlines

For landlines, you can set up call forwarding by dialing *72 for unconditional forwarding. Push *90 for busy or *92 for no-answer forwarding. Dial in the number you want to forward calls to, then hang up to confirm.

Business Phone Systems (PBX/VoIP)

For your business phone system, either your PBX or VoIP, you will need to log into the administrative interface to set up call forwarding. Once you’re in the call forwarding section, indicate the conditions and the forwarding number you want to use for each different situation (busy, no-answer, or unconditional). Apply or save your settings, and you’re all set.

Configuration Settings for Different Scenarios

These are a few different settings you may use to handle an influx of calls when you’re not available at your main number.

• Forward all incoming calls to another number regardless of the situation with unconditional call forwarding. This is useful for ensuring calls are always answered, such as during off-hours or when the primary line is unavailable.
• Set conditions with conditional call forwarding. Forward on busy to redirect calls to another number when the line is busy with another call. You can forward on no answer to redirect calls to another number when they’re not answered within an allotted time.
• Customize forwarding based on schedule or specific preferences. Set up forwarding schedules for specific times or days, such as after business hours or during holidays. You can also configure call routing based on the caller’s location, language preference, and other criteria, helping you assist your customers quickly and efficiently.

Best Practices for Business Call Forwarding

Call forwarding is a helpful way to prevent missed calls from important clients, customers, vendors, and others. Here are a few best practices for call forwarding that can help you make the most of the service.

Ring All of Your Phones Simultaneously

Ring every phone at once to avoid missed calls. With simultaneous ringing, any employee can grab the call as soon as they’re available.

Ring Each Phone in a Specific Order

Send calls to the next available employee strategically by ringing phones in a specific order. For example, calls can start at the main office before sequencing to a mobile phone or other extension.

Set Forwarding Schedules for Each Phone

Automatically redirect calls to alternative numbers and answering services when you’re not available. With this approach, callers reach the right people while still helping maintain a work-life balance for your employees when they’re not in the office.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding for Businesses

Sometimes you need to stop forwarding calls. In that case, you can turn off call forwarding by going into your call settings menu and finding the forwarding or call forwarding section. Then, disable the forwarding option. You may have to click “save” or “OK” to make the change stick.

How to Cancel *72 Call Forwarding

After activating call forwarding with *72, cancel it by dialing *73 on your phone. Then, press the call button. Listen for the confirmation tone to let you know call forwarding has ended.

Answer Calls With a Phone Service That Supports Your Team

Whether you’re in the office or on the go, having a forwarding service in place helps keep you connected to customers whenever you’re needed.

Ready to get started? For the best of modern phone forwarding services, try Podium Phones today.