How to forward calls to a voice agent and keep your number

Forwarding means asking your carrier to send the calls that reach your number somewhere else. With Lera, that somewhere is your inbound line, a line the panel assigns you on the spot and where your voice agent answers.

Your customers keep dialling the number they already know. You do not switch carriers, there is no porting and no paperwork, and the number on your website, your van and your invoices keeps working.

The inbound line is not your new number. Only your carrier uses it when forwarding and callers never see it, so do not publish it or hand it out.

You can forward every call, in which case your phone does not ring and the agent always answers. Or you can forward only when you don’t answer, when you are already on a call or, on a mobile, when it is switched off or out of coverage.

The second option is the one the panel recommends. Your phone rings first and, if you cannot get to it, your agent takes the call. For a field service team out on jobs, or a front desk swamped first thing in the morning, it is usually the better fit.

Some carriers let you choose how many seconds your phone rings before the call is forwarded. If yours does, the panel lets you pick the time and builds it into the code.

First, publish your agent. It is the one who will answer, and the panel will not give you a line until you have a published agent.

In Phone numbers, click “Connect my phone” and choose the first option, forwarding your number to a Lera line. Pick the agent that answers and click Continue. The panel assigns your inbound line right away.

Then tell it whether your number is a landline or a mobile, choose your carrier and select when you want the agent to answer. The panel shows you the exact code to turn forwarding on, with your line already in it, and the one that turns it off whenever you want.

Dial that code from your business phone and press call. If your carrier explains forwarding in its app or customer area, the panel tells you where to find it as well.

Once forwarding is on, click “I’ve turned it on, check” and call your usual number from another phone, your mobile for example. Calling from the same phone that forwards does not count.

When the call comes in, the panel tells you. If the call carries the forwarding mark, it also confirms that it arrived forwarded, and if you called the inbound line by mistake instead of your number, it warns you that the call skipped the forwarding.

If nothing has arrived after a minute and a half, it lists the usual causes. With forwarding set for when you don’t answer, let your phone ring for about twenty seconds without picking up.

The test call is billed like any other, and it only lasts a few seconds.

Voicemail catches the calls you don’t answer. To forward only those, you have to switch it off first, and the panel tells you how to do it with your carrier. Removing the forwarding does not bring voicemail back on its own, and the panel tells you how to restore it too.

Your carrier may charge for forwarding. Each forwarded call is a call from your phone to your inbound line, and some carriers also charge a monthly fee per forwarding type. The panel shows what yours publishes, with a link to its website, and if it publishes nothing it suggests you ask them.

On some landlines, such as Movistar’s, each forwarding type has to be ordered from the carrier first, and without that the codes do nothing. The panel warns you when that applies to you.

If your agent hands calls to a person, the destination must not be the number you are forwarding, because the call would be forwarded straight back to your agent. Send it to a different number, like a mobile, an extension or your PBX’s hunt group.

Your account’s first inbound line is included. If it goes 30 days without a single call, the panel warns you, and if it stays unused for another 30, the line is released.

It works with a PBX too. You can set the forwarding on your PBX’s main number, or connect the PBX to Lera over SIP from the third option in “Connect my phone” so calls come in directly.

If your number is with a VoIP carrier, choose the second option and point your number to the address the panel gives you. The call comes in without forwarding, so there is no second call and no forwarding cost.

If your PBX’s main number rings a group of people, put the forwarding on that number and have the agent pass calls to the group’s own number or to each extension’s. That way the call never loops back to the agent.

Does it work with any carrier? The panel has the codes for the main carriers in Spain, for landlines and mobiles. If you are not sure which one you have, choose “I don’t know” and it shows the standard codes, which work with almost all of them.

What if a code gives me an error? On a mobile, turn off 4G or VoLTE for a moment and dial it again, or do it from your carrier’s app. If it still does not work, write to us from the same screen and we will set it up with you.

Do callers see a different number? No. They dial your usual number and your carrier forwards the call. They never see the inbound line.

How do I turn it off? With the code the panel gives you for that, dialled from the same phone. It is always under Phone numbers, in “Turn forwarding on or off”, and your phone goes back to working as before.

What if I would rather stop forwarding altogether? You can port your number to a VoIP carrier and connect it directly. In Spain porting is free by law and takes a day or two, but if your number comes bundled with your fibre, porting it can break the bundle. For most businesses forwarding is the better deal.

How much does it cost to try? €20 free credit, no card needed. Your first inbound line is included, so you can forward your number and hear your agent on real calls before you decide anything.