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Code for outgoing calls

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rudym

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Hi all,

I have installed the 3CX 7 licensed for a client, up to now everything is working. Now they would like to be able to enter a calling codes before a call can be place, on a previous post I read that is was not supported but it could be done by creating multiple outgoing rules. I have tried it but the problem i am facing is that only the top rule works. Has any body done calling codes? any help is appreciated..

Thanks
RudyM
 
Hi Rudy,

Outbound rules are matched from the top down so you may need to reverse the order of your rules so that more specific rules are at the top.

So for example if your rules are.

1 provider 1
10 provider 2
11 provider 3


A call to 101234 would match the top rule even if you were expecting it to match the second, so changing the rules to be...


11 provider 3
10 provider 2
1 provider 1

would make more sense.

I hope that helps.

cheers

Neil
 
By Codes you mean Outbound rules right?

The top rule has the most priority as Zen mentioned.

Think of it like this - the first match will pass / or will be applied.
You can work with Prefixes but you can also make a combination of options like calls from a group of extensions EX 100-110 with a length of 9 forward them to this particular gateway with a backup route of X

Also you can modify specific prefixes and control the stripping of digits.
 
Hi RudyM

Are you talking about billing codes so the client can charge back to their customer?

If this is what you want you can use the "billing code" feature that is built in.
You dial the phone number then **<billing code> eg. 123456**2008

All this does is put the entry into the call logs so you can configure your call reporting to look for the code after the two **

John
 
discovery1 said:
Hi RudyM

Are you talking about billing codes so the client can charge back to their customer?

If this is what you want you can use the "billing code" feature that is built in.
You dial the phone number then **<billing code> eg. 123456**2008

All this does is put the entry into the call logs so you can configure your call reporting to look for the code after the two **

John
Hello John
is the dial plan will work without **billing code
 
Please formulate your question better because it is not very clear. But I think I understand what you mean. The Billing code is included in the dial plan. For the Phone the Billing code has no meaning at all. For the phone ** is treated just like a digit. The dial plan has to compensate for this yes. Also if the dial plan is restricted to say for example enable the user to dial 3 digits only, it has to be modified otherwise it will truncate all the remaining digits and pass only the first 3 digits to the PBX.

The dial plan is a plan instructed to the phone to enable it to dial sequences of numbers in a structured and sometimes personalized format.

The dial plan of a phone has nothing to do with the Billing code as such. But if your dial plan is for example restricted to accept only numbers then you have to modify it if you want to insert Billing codes that consist of letters.

The billing code is a code - one of the 8 dial codes we have, it is configurable just like the other dial codes and it is instructed by dialling**.

The use of this is the following:

You dial a number to make a call to extension 102 and after the number you dial the dial code used for Billing which is **. After ** you can practically insert anything - example 102**nicky, 102**accounts, 102**21122008. To understand what happens exactly look at the server activity logs and you will see that the invite of this particular call you have just made will be formulated like this 102**[email protected] for example.

Then a search/filter on nicky will give you all the calls made with that particular billing code.

Another example:
A lawyer who wants to make a call because he is working on a case for client A. So he makes a call to the police on Clients A behalf and inserts the dial code **ClientA. With this Billing code he can keep track and eventually bill all the calls he made on Client's A case.
 
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Hi all,

When I refer to a dialing access code is basically a code a user would have to dial before the call is connected. There are many reasons behind having an access code, but the must popular reason (as per what I have seen in all my year in business) for a dialing code is for employee accountability \ tracking. Some employers like to know when and employee used the phone and in particular where the employee is calling.

Thanks
RudyM
 
Hi RudyM

What i think you want is a security PIN-CODE - a per-user security code that is mandatory when making a call.
Without entering the code then the user will not be able to make an outgoing call?

If this is what you want then i don't think this is supported in 3CX.
 
There are some handy reporting software add-ons in these forums that may suit your requirements - you wouldn't even need to ask the staff to dial anything out of the ordinary to track their calls, which would be a more reliable system of tracking employee accountability anyway.

Try searching for "call reporter" in the forums and you should get some good hits.
 
When I refer to a dialing access code is basically a code a user would have to dial before the call is connected. There are many reasons behind having an access code, but the must popular reason (as per what I have seen in all my year in business) for a dialing code is for employee accountability \ tracking. Some employers like to know when and employee used the phone and in particular where the employee is calling.

What I cannot understand is how can you get the information you need (as an employer in the above quoted scenario) from entering a code before the call is connected? You will still not get the information where the user is calling and when not even with an access code.

If you want to know where the user called and when, there is the call reporter as Discovery Tech mentionned. In the call reporter you can filter based on Extension number and there you can get the amount of calls the particular user associated with the extension made in total or in a particular period, the type of calls and the origin/destination of the calls.

At the moment the callreporter requires access 2003 but we are in the final stages of developing a new callreporter which is much more flexible, does not require access and full of advanced reporting mechanisms. This will be available very soon approximately between Jan / Early Feb.
 
Hi Nicky;

Based on the systems (PBX) I have worked with (Samsung, Panasonic, among other), and also in the US AT&T provides this option. When a user dials a number based on a rule (typically a number outside your local area code or LATA) the phone system will not hand the call to the PSTN or in this case the SIP provider unless a vilid code is entered.

Codes are not tide to an particular extension they are just a series of numbers (I personally like using 5 digits code) the phone system keeps on file.

There are a number of advantages by having this option just to mention a few;

1 - You are able to control who is allow in the company to dial long distance numbers or place call other then to extensions.
2 - You are able to determine who dial what number not by extension but by a code, by extension anybody can pickup the handset and dial a number and there would be no way of tracking that call. I have come across instances where an employee makes an out of the country call for more then 3 hours at a rate of over $1 per minute.

The concept of dialing codes could get more elaborate this is just a basic scenario.

I assure you this is a feature that will be welcome by many users once they have it and start using it.

Thanks
RudyM
 
I have also had to deal with this type of setup on some NEC Xen Master systems.
The thinking is that without a PIN code you can't get an outside line - in effect they are denying any outbound external calls without a specific pin number, which is also used for billing purposes.

This supposedly means that casuals and other temps can't call their boyfriends/girlfriends/significant other but only make internal calls.
In practice everyone knew the codes so could bypass this restriction and just use a generic code.

In this scenario the PIN codes are enforced to make sure billing could be done rather than the current 3CX system where a billing code is optional

Having had to deal with legal and accounting firms where everything is billed i can see how this can become a make or break feature for some implementations.
 
Well we are up to version 7.1 any idea if this feature will ever be implemented

Thanks
RudyM
 
What you can do is implement an outbound rule that can be a pin number - example - for external calls you have to dial a specific outbound rule ex 1212
So you can create an outbound rule that allows only prefixes starting with 1212 only for you to get an outside line

So they dial 1212 before every call and that triggers an outbound call going through the gateway. .
And you can specify this rule (code) to only extensions that you select. For example rule one will have 1212 as an outbound rule for extensions 100,101 and 102 only.

Extensions 105 (the manager) etc will not need to dial this rule to go out.

then you can specify a separate outbound rule for another group of extensions. If I am understanding correctly your request is possible using a workaround.

Also if Extension 104 gets to know of the code 1212 because EXT 102 told him what he is dialling to get out, he will not be able to use it because 104 is not listed in the 1212 rule as a member of extension that the 1212 rule apples too. (You can control the users in the field "Calls from extension(s)" in the outbound rules section.

I see this as a valid workaround that will give you approx the same control.
 
And if every one had his/her own code only usable from his/her extension then they are not likely to give it out. It would not work at any other phone on the system and they wouldn't want to be accused of placing called that they didn't make.
 
That method is a viable workaround i believe - i would hate to have to enter all rules for a large company of 100+ users though!
 
The problem with this workaround is that users use the redial function to see what the other users code is. I have it happening at two locations now.

What we need is an option that you pick up the phone, dial your code and a voice prompt asks you then to dial the number you want. Not too sure if this would also show up on the redial function... :?:

What do some of the other systems do?

Best regards

Andre F Bruton
 
3CX allows to dial external number from Voicemail Box. To enter it one will need to know PIN code.
 
abruton said:
What we need is an option that you pick up the phone, dial your code and a voice prompt asks you then to dial the number you want. Not too sure if this would also show up on the redial function... :?:

I'm sure there are a few users that would make use of that, you may want to post it in the feature request forum if you haven't already.
You will always have people in the office "do" things that end up compromising any security feature. If they have an analogue set using an ATA with speed dial they will try to store frequently called numbers with the PIN, a pause, and then the number. Or, store just the PIN on a speed dial key. Just look at how many people store "911" on speed dial!

You can only do so much. If certain sets are being used by employees not assigned to that phone,to make LD calls you may want to look at some of the Linksys models (and perhaps others) that require you to enter a PIN before you can make any calls.

Or, maybe just some security cameras.
 
wow - nothing like resurrecting a 8 year old thread!
:eek:
 
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