IVR menus — "For service press 1, for sales press 2"

An IVR menu plays a message to the caller and transfers them according to the key they pressed. On this screen you create a menu, upload the message, and decide where each key leads — a queue, an extension, voicemail, another menu and more.

What is an IVR menu

The caller hears a message — for example "For service press 1, for sales press 2, to leave a message press 3" — and presses a key. The PBX transfers them to the key's destination. The menu doesn't hold the caller waiting; it only directs. The waiting happens in the queue or the hunt group that the key leads to.

The screen is in the side menu, in the Extensions and routing group, named IVR Menus. When choosing a destination on other screens, a menu is sometimes called a router — it's the same thing.

A general explanation of voice menus, and how to plan one, is in the Knowledge Center.

What you see on the screen

Each menu has a card with its name, description, ID (a number the PBX assigns), wait time for a key press in seconds, and whether direct dialing to an extension is allowed. The card has three buttons:

Keys and routing — the message and the keypad (someone without edit permission sees Show menu here).
Settings — name, description and advanced settings.
Call route — a diagram of everything the menu leads to.

The last card is New IVR menu, with the Create a new menu button.

Creating a menu

Click Create a new menu. The "Create a new IVR menu" window opens.
Fill in the menu name (required, for example "Main menu") and a description for internal use.
If needed, open Advanced settings (see below).
Click Create menu. The screen shows the new menu's ID and asks whether to open it to edit the destinations.

You can also create a menu while choosing a destination on another screen: in the "IVR menu" destination type choose "Create a new router", give it a name — and the menu is created. Afterwards it's best to open its settings and complete the message and the keys.

The message the caller hears

In the Keys and routing window, in the The message the caller hears section:

When there is no message it says "No audio file", with Upload audio file next to it. Choose an audio file from your computer.
When there is a message it says "Audio file exists", with Play, Download, Replace and Delete next to it.

Deleting the message leaves the menu without a message — the caller will hear silence until a new file is uploaded. To change the message without a moment of silence, use Replace.

Wording tip: a short message, options in key order, and the most important option first. It's good to end with "To repeat the menu..." or "For a representative press 0".

The keypad: a destination for each key

The Key presses section is shown as a phone keypad: 1 to 9, star, 0 and hash — plus two special cases:

Timeout — where the call continues when the caller presses nothing before the wait time runs out.
Invalid key — what happens when someone presses a key that isn't defined.

A defined key shows its destination. A dashed key isn't defined yet. At the top of the window it says how many keys are defined out of 13.

Click a key. A small window opens with Destination type and Destination.
Choose a type — for example a queue — and then the queue itself. For a destination like "External number", type the number.
Click Set key (or Save change for a key that was already defined).

Clear key removes the destination: whoever presses it will hear the menu again.

Where a key can lead

Destination type	When to use it
Queue	A department answered by a team, where callers wait in a queue.
Hunt group	Several phones that ring together or in stages.
Extension	A specific person.
Voicemail	Leaving a message.
IVR menu	A submenu — for example "For an invoice question press 1" inside the billing department.
Replay menu	Plays the menu again.
External Number	Transfer to a number outside the PBX, for example a mobile.
Conference call	Entering a conference room.
Hang up	Ends the call.

The list of destination types has more options (for example service code, URL and remote access). Next to the destination choice there is Edit Destination, which opens the settings of the chosen queue, group or menu in a window on top — without leaving the menu.

Menu settings

The Settings button on the card (or Menu management and settings in the keys window) opens the "Edit IVR menu" window. There you change the name and description, and in the Advanced settings section:

Wait time (seconds) — how long the PBX waits for a key press after the message, 1 to 30. The default is 5. After that time the call continues to the Timeout destination.
Allow direct dialing — "Yes" lets a caller who knows the extension number dial it directly, without choosing an option from the menu.
PIN — an access code for the menu. The field shows "empty = no change": leaving it empty doesn't delete an existing PIN. To remove a PIN, contact us.

Click Save Changes.

How a call reaches the menu

A menu starts working only when something points to it:

A number — on the System Numbers screen, choose the "IVR menu" destination type and the menu.
A key in another menu — a submenu.
A routing code — a code that leads to the menu.

A menu has no hours of its own. A day menu and a night menu are built as two menus, and on the number you set routing by time: during business hours to the day menu, and the rest of the time to the night menu. The hours are defined on the Times and Dates screen.

Call route and testing

Call route draws everything the menu leads to: each key, and what happens next — a queue, a group, a submenu. This way you immediately see a key that leads to the wrong place, or a submenu with no destinations.

After every change — call the number yourself, press each option, and also try pressing nothing and pressing a key that doesn't exist. That way you also test the timeout and the invalid key.

Deleting a menu

In the keys window click Delete menu, type the menu ID to confirm, and click Delete permanently.

Deletion cannot be undone. Any number or menu that routes to this menu will be left without a destination. Before deleting, check the Call route of the numbers and move them to another destination.

Permissions

Viewing, creating, editing and deleting menus — each is a separate permission. Someone with view only sees the menu and the keys, without being able to change them. To get a permission, contact us.

Stuck? Does something on the screen not behave like in the guide? Write to us through the Contact Us page. We'll be glad to help, and also to hear what's missing from the guide.