Telephony: calls, blocklist, calling from the client card

At half past nine the salon's phone rings. The administrator picks up and hears "it's me, I want the same as last time" - and who "me" is, and what "last time" was, has to be figured out out loud while the client waits. Telephony removes that conversation: the number is identified before the call is answered, and the card is already on screen.

Where it is in the CRM

• Call log: the "Calls" item in the sidebar, next to "Clients". The item only appears once the company has connected a telephony provider - without an integration it's an empty list.
• Connecting a provider: Settings → Integrations.
• Blocklist: Settings → Integrations → Telephony blocklist; the page's own header carries the same name. This item is also hidden until there's an integration, and requires permission to view integrations.

Which providers are supported

The integration catalog has five telephony providers: Zadarma, Binotel, UniTalk, Ringostat, and Twilio. Only one can be active at a time - the CRM takes the first active integration whose provider is a telephony one.

The browser softphone (talking right in the tab, no handset) is implemented only for Zadarma: it loads the provider's widget, which draws its own panel in the corner of the screen. For the other providers, a request for a browser call returns "not supported" - that's an honest answer, not a configuration error.

The incoming call card

When the provider reports an incoming call, the CRM looks for the number among this company's clients and immediately shows a card in the top-right corner of the screen - for everyone currently in the system.

The card shows: the client's name, how many days have passed since their last visit, the number of visits, and a status. The status isn't set manually - it's calculated from paid visits: no visits - "New client", more than 180 days without a visit - "Inactive", more than 90 - "Needs attention", three or more visits - "Returning client". A short hint on what to do is attached to the status.

There are two buttons: "Profile" opens the client, "Book" creates an appointment right away. If the number isn't found, the card says so and offers "Create client" with the number already filled in. The system links the newly created client to the already-saved call itself - otherwise it would be left orphaned and wouldn't show up in the history of the card just created.

The card doesn't disappear on its own once the call ends: a short call finishes faster than a person manages to click "Book". It closes with the close button or with the next call.

The call log

The "Calls" page shows every call the company has had: time, direction, number, client or lead, employee, duration, call recording. A missed call is flagged separately - it's determined by the call's status, not its duration: short answered calls can also have zero duration.

Filters: direction (all, incoming, outgoing), a date range, and a search by number. The search checks both numbers - the one calling from and the one called.

The call recording isn't stored in the CRM as a link. The provider hands it over as a temporary signed link, so the "Listen" button requests the address again on every click and opens the recording in a new tab. If a call has no recording ID, there's no button.

The same history, minus the filters and limited to the last dozen calls, is visible on the client card and in the lead's dialog - for context on a conversation with that specific person.

Calling from the card

Next to the phone number on the client card and in the lead list, there's a round button with a handset icon. It only appears when there's an active telephony integration, so a salon without telephony won't see an extra button in the interface.

Clicking it starts a call on the provider's side. For Zadarma this is a callback: the PBX first calls the number set in the integration's settings, and only once someone picks up there does it dial the client. That's why the callback number must be filled in the settings - otherwise the button will honestly return an error. The button changes color while the call is in progress and resets on its own afterward.

Blocklist

A list of numbers whose calls aren't handled. A number is added with a reason (spam, harassment, fraud, competitor, other) and a note; the table shows the number, the reason, the note, and the block date. Removing it from the list doesn't delete the row, it just turns off the block - the history stays.

Three things worth knowing before relying on this list.

First, it only works if incoming-number blocklist checking is turned on in the integration's settings. A filled-in list by itself does nothing.

Second, not every provider can actually drop a call. Forced rejection in response to a webhook is currently implemented for Zadarma only. For the rest, blocking means the call is marked as blocked and doesn't bother anyone - the incoming call card won't appear - but the phone may still ring.

Third, a number in the list is stored in the same normalized form as a phone on a client card: 0671112201 becomes +380671112201. That's deliberate - the same number written differently would otherwise slip past the list.

A temporary block (until a date) exists in the model, but the add form has no date field - through the interface, a block ends up open-ended. Besides the salon's own list, there's a platform-wide one shared by everyone, which the salon neither edits nor sees.

What else telephony handles on its own

The integration settings have three more switches that work on top of any provider:

• missed call - notifies employees, creates a "call back" task, and a lead for a callback (on by default);
• lead from an unknown number - a lead is created right on the incoming call, not after it's missed; repeat calls from the same number within a day don't create more leads;
• after-hours flag - the call isn't blocked, just flagged; hours and working days are set in the same place.

What to do

Fill in the callback number right away - without it, the call button on the client card doesn't work, and that shows up at the worst possible moment. Turn on missed-call handling and leave it on: a "call back" task costs less than a client who couldn't get through. And only set up the blocklist for real spam: a salon with two calls a day doesn't need one.