Require entry of account code on incoming, outgoing calls

General Help
1

Is there a way to REQUIRE that an employee enters an account code before placing an outgoing phone call and before completing an incoming phone call?

The idea is to have a set of codes that could be used to categorize the nature of the call (i.e. new customer, customer appointment, collections, etc.) for analysis and KPIs.

2

I can’t think of an easy way.

There are certainly ways, I just can’t think of an easy one.

First hurdle: incoming calls and outgoing calls are completely different. They are handled and processed in two distinct and separate ways. If it weren’t for the fact that they are coming into and out of your PBX, I’d even suggest that they are completely unrelated.

Having said that, then, we need to look at them as separate beasts requiring different handling.

Outgoing calls can use something like PIN codes, but you’d have to tweak and torture PINs to do what you want.

Incoming calls are something else altogether. Adding a PIN to an incoming call isn’t handled at all right now (AFAIK) so you’d have to come up with some other solution (it would be like PIN, but not).

If you are OK with using a CRM system, you could add the CRM Commercial Module and track the incoming and outgoing calls that way and have the CRM system enforce your rule. Once again, I don’t think that will be as easy as it sounds, but it is another approach.

Using the Account Code to track this is a good idea, I just can’t think of any easy way to make that happen.

3

Having the users enter an accountcode to answer a call would require that all calls hitting extensions (phones/devices) would need to be dialed via a Local channel so that when they answer the call the system will prompted them and accept the DTMF digits of the accountcode and then bridge calls together if the code is correct (or not and just bridge regardless of the code entered). That basically is going to mean you have to rewrite the very methods in which FreePBX calls endpoints/devices.

Can this be done? Yes, but you’re going to basically break the default call flow/method logic FreePBX has in place.

1 Like
4

Thanks, Dave. We are working with the PIN codes for the outgoing calls. We ran into one hurdle… the # key is not recognized when the PIN code is put in causing a 10 second delay before the call is made. Other than that, we feel that this will handle our initial requirements.

We are shelving the codes for incoming calls based on your feedback and that of Tom, below.

Thanks again guys.

5

An interesting concept, If I were to try that I would probably use an admixture of some Asterisk “Elementals”

“dynamic features” which would intercept a DTMF string while in-call ( either in or out by your preference)

https://wiki.asterisk.org/wiki/display/AST/Custom+Dynamic+Features

which would need " Application Mapping" to be called that could reset the current channel cdr “userfield” using

To a resolve to your mapping (code to whatever, kind-of freeform here), the application might well use

to use ‘get’ from something you have previously defined with ‘put’.

After that works, you can manipulate any cdr reports on “userfield”

I would agree that that’s all little obtuse, but it should be possible :wink:

And actually “forcing” would not be easy (but possible) make it an incentive and the plebs will do it :wink:

6

Thanks, dicko! BTW, dicko has been my nickname since high school.

Is there a market here for gig work? I’m not an Asterisk guy. I might be able to convince my bosses of the value of a consulting gig to accomplish their objective.

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