How to Configure Inbound Voice and Text Settings

Every agency phone number in eCourtDate carries its own inbound settings, so you control what a caller hears and how an inbound text is answered on that number.

### Overview

Inbound settings live on a single agency phone number, not on your agency as a whole. On the edit page for a number you write the auto responses that answer inbound calls, texts, enrollments, and opt-outs, choose the voice that reads the call response aloud, and decide where inbound calls and texts are forwarded. You can translate the call and text responses into another language, hand inbound texts to a chatbot, and define a separate set of responses and forwarding rules that apply outside of business hours.

### Prerequisites

Before you configure inbound settings, make sure you have:

- A role with permission to manage agency phones (sample roles such as **Editor** are created without agency phone permissions)
- At least one agency phone number listed under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Phones**
- Business hours set in the **Business Hours** section of **Admin** > **Settings** if you plan to use outside of business hours rules
- **Enroll Keywords** set on the **Admin** > **Settings** page if you plan to use the enrollment auto response
- Roles, client groups, or a chatbot already created if you plan to forward inbound texts to them

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the phone number

1. Click **Admin** > **Settings** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Agency Phones** tab.
3. Click the edit icon on the row for the phone number you want to configure.

![Admin settings](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/admin-settings.png)

#### Step 2: Choose the call voice

1. Select a voice under **Call Voice**, which is used for inbound and outbound calls.
2. Drag **Voice Speed** to set the reading speed (1.0 is normal, 0.5 is half speed, and 2.0 is double speed).
3. Check **Record Calls** in the left card if you want calls on this number recorded.
4. Click **Save**.

#### Step 3: Write the inbound auto responses

The **Inbound Settings** card shows an **Inside Business Now** or **Outside Business Now** badge so you can see which set of rules is active right now.

1. Click **Set Default** to load a starter English script that uses the merge tags [AgencyName] and [BusinessHours].
2. Edit the greeting under **Inbound Calls Auto Response**, which eCourtDate synthesizes into speech for inbound calls.
3. Click **Refresh Preview** to see the greeting with its merge tags filled in.
4. Click **Play Audio** to hear the greeting in the voice and speed you selected.
5. Enter a reply under **Inbound Texts Auto Response**, which answers any inbound text except opt-in and opt-out replies.
6. Enter a reply under **Enrollment Auto Response**, which answers a phone number that enrolls by texting an enroll keyword.
7. Enter a reply under **Opt-Out Auto Response**.
8. Click **Save**.

#### Step 4: Translate the responses (optional)

1. Select a language from the language dropdown at the top of the **Inbound Settings** card.
2. Click **Auto Translate** to translate your English text into that language.
3. Click **Save**.

**Auto Translate** stays disabled while English is selected, and it covers **Inbound Calls Auto Response**, **Inbound Texts Auto Response**, and the outside of business hours **Inbound Calls Response**.

#### Step 5: Forward inbound calls and texts

1. Enter a forwarding phone number under **Auto Forward Inbound Calls**.
2. Enter comma-separated phones and emails under **Auto Forward Inbound Texts**.
3. Click a role under **Auto Forward Inbound Texts to Users by Role** to turn forwarding on for that role.
4. Click a group under **Auto Forward Inbound Texts to Clients by Group** to turn forwarding on for that group.
5. Check **Forward to Assigned Users** to forward inbound texts from clients to each client's assigned users.
6. Click **Save**.

Use **Clear Groups** to remove every selected group, then click **Save**. Use **Manage Groups** to open your group settings in a new tab.

#### Step 6: Send inbound texts to a chatbot (optional)

1. Select a chatbot under **Forward Inbound Texts to Chatbot**.
2. Click **Save**.
3. Click **Edit Chatbot** to open that chatbot in a new tab.

#### Step 7: Configure outside of business hours (optional)

1. Check **Outside of Business Hours** in the left card.
2. Enter a **From Time** and a **To Time**, which default to the business hours set for your agency.
3. Select your **Business Days**.
4. Click **Save**.
5. Enter your after hours greeting under **Inbound Calls Response** in the **Outside of Business Hours** card.
6. Enter your after hours reply under **Inbound Texts Auto Response** in the same card.
7. Enter destinations under **Auto-Forward Inbound Calls** and **Auto-Forward Inbound Texts**.
8. Click a role under **Auto-Forward Inbound Texts by User Role** to forward after hours texts to that role.
9. Check **Forward to Assigned Users** to include each client's assigned users after hours.
10. Click **Save**.

### What to Expect

Saving shows an "Agency Phone updated" alert, and your responses and forwarding rules apply to that phone number only. Role and group buttons save as soon as you click them, so a selected role or group is highlighted without a second click. The **Inbound Settings** card handles inbound traffic while the badge reads **Inside Business Now**, and the **Outside of Business Hours** card takes over while it reads **Outside Business Now**. Recent inbound and outbound messages for the number appear in the right column of the edit page.

### Best Practices

- Click **Refresh Preview** and **Play Audio** before you save so you hear the greeting exactly as a caller will.
- Use merge tags such as [AgencyName] in your call and text responses so the same script reads correctly for every agency.
- Fill in the outside of business hours fields as soon as you check **Outside of Business Hours**, since those fields replace your standard responses after hours.
- Configure each phone number separately, because inbound settings are stored per number rather than per agency.
- List several destinations under **Auto Forward Inbound Texts** so an inbound reply is not missed when one person is out.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Do these settings apply to all of my agency phone numbers?**

A: No. Inbound settings are saved on the phone number you are editing, so open each number under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Phones** and configure it.

**Q: Can I forward inbound texts to an email address?**

A: Yes. **Auto Forward Inbound Texts** accepts comma-separated phone numbers and email addresses in the same field.

**Q: Do I need to click Save after selecting a role or a group?**

A: No. Clicking a role or group button saves the change immediately and highlights the button, so you do not need to click **Save** again. **Clear Groups** is the exception, so click **Save** after you use it.

**Q: Which fields does Auto Translate cover?**

A: It translates **Inbound Calls Auto Response**, **Inbound Texts Auto Response**, and the outside of business hours **Inbound Calls Response** from your English text into the language you selected.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The outside of business hours fields are missing.

**Symptoms:** The card reads "Outside of Business Hours Disabled" instead of showing response and forwarding fields.

**Solution:**

1. Check **Outside of Business Hours** in the left card of the phone number edit page.
2. Click **Save**.
3. Enter your after hours responses in the **Outside of Business Hours** card that now appears.

**Issue:** No roles are listed for text forwarding.

**Symptoms:** A warning reads "No user roles found." under **Auto Forward Inbound Texts to Users by Role**.

**Solution:**

1. Click **Create roles here** in the warning, or go to **Admin** > **Users** > **Roles**.
2. Create the role that should receive forwarded texts.
3. Return to the phone number and click that role to turn forwarding on.

**Issue:** The call response preview stays empty.

**Symptoms:** Clicking **Refresh Preview** produces no preview text and **Play Audio** has nothing to read.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm that **Inbound Calls Auto Response** contains text for the language currently selected in the language dropdown.
2. Switch the dropdown back to the language you wrote the response in.
3. Click **Refresh Preview** again.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers)
- [How to Configure Opt-in and Opt-out Compliance](/how-to-configure-opt-in-and-opt-out-compliance)
- [How to Manage Client Groups](/how-to-manage-client-groups)
- [How to Create a Chatbot](/how-to-create-a-chatbot)
- [Roles and Permissions](/roles-and-permissions)