$1.95/mo Build a call flow

For small-business phone menus

Plan the call
before it rings.

Fill in one form: your hours, what each key does, what happens after hours and on holidays. Get every greeting written and timed, the call flow drawn, the plan checked, and a setup sheet for whatever phone system you use.

Build your call flow See a finished plan

Free to plan a 4-key menu. Flow Pass $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year for 9 keys, holidays and the setup sheet. Free during preview

Quillfeather Family DentalMain menu · 0:27
1appointments 2billing and insurance 3our address and hours 4GHI 5JKL 6MNO 7PQRS 8TUV 9WXYZ *repeat 0a person #

“If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and dial 9 1 1. …”

The worked example, drawn from the same form you fill in.
5scripts written for the example, each timed
2:06of recordings in total, at 150 words a minute
11US federal holidays, with the day each is observed
0accounts, emails or phone calls needed

One form in

Everything your phone system asks for, out.

Any auto attendant, hosted or in the office, wants the same things: hours, keys, destinations and recordings. Call Flow Desk writes them down in one place.

Greetings, written and timed

Main menu, after-hours, holiday, every recorded message and every voicemail box, in a plain, warm or formal voice. Hear each one read aloud in your browser before you record.

Our office is closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM to noon, Eastern time.

0:31

The call flow, drawn

Every path a caller can take, from the first ring to a person, a mailbox or a message, including what happens when nobody presses anything.

  1. Call comes in
  2. Open right now?
  3. Main greeting
  4. 1230

A setup sheet to hand over Flow Pass

One printed page: hours, keys, closed days and scripts. Key it into your phone system’s admin page yourself or give it to whoever runs your phones.

Worked example

Quillfeather Family Dental

A made-up dental office, open weekdays 8:30 to 5 and Saturday mornings, with three menu keys, a front desk on 0 and six holidays closed. This is exactly what the builder returns for it.

Checked against good practice

  • Fine
    3 menu options

    Short enough to remember on one listen.

    Basis: good practice
  • Fine
    A person can be reached

    Key 0 rings Front desk.

    Basis: good practice
  • Fine
    Options can be heard again

    Pressing star replays the menu.

    Basis: good practice
  • Fine
    First option after about 11 s

    Callers hear a choice quickly.

    Basis: good practice; time at 150 words a minute
  • Fine
    Every recording is 45 s or less

    Short recordings are easier to follow and to re-record.

    Basis: good practice
Start from this example
Call comes into Quillfeather Family Dental’s main number
Is today a closed day?6 dates in the next 12 months
YesHoliday greeting 0:36Voicemail box “After hours”
Open right now?Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM to noon, Eastern time
NoAfter-hours greeting 0:31Voicemail box “After hours”
Main greeting and menu 0:27First option after about 11 s
  • 1AppointmentsRings Front desk team
  • 2Billing and insuranceVoicemail box “Billing”
  • 3Our address and hoursPlays a message, then back to the menu
  • 0Talk to a personRings Front desk
  • *Hear the options againReplays the menu
No key pressedThe menu plays twice, then the call rings Front desk.

How it works

Four presses, one plan.

  1. 1

    Hours

    Tick the days you are open and the times. Closed days come later.

  2. 2

    Keys

    Name each option and choose where it goes: a person or team, a voicemail box, a recorded message or a directory.

  3. 3

    After hours

    Voicemail or a message, an urgent number if you have one, and the holidays you close on.

  4. 4

    Record and set up

    Read the scripts, hear them, fix what the checks flag, then record them and key the plan into your phone system.

Pricing

Free to plan. $1.95 a month to run the whole office.

Free

$0

  • Menu keys 1 to 4, plus 0 and a repeat key
  • Every greeting written and timed, Hear it, Copy
  • The drawn call flow and every check
  • Federal holiday calendar
  • Flow Locker: 1 saved flow
Start free

Flow Pass

$1.95 a month

or $19.50 a year (12 × $1.95 = $23.40)

  • Menu keys 1 to 9
  • Holiday schedule: federal holidays + 5 of your own dates, and a holiday greeting
  • Printable setup sheet
  • All scripts as a text file
  • Flow Locker: 10 saved flows (one per location or department)

Free during preview. Nothing is charged and nothing asks for a card.

What Ninekey is not

  • Not a phone company. No phone line, no phone numbers, no calls placed or answered. It sells no phone service.
  • Not your phone system. It changes nothing in your phones. You (or whoever runs them) enter the plan.
  • Not legal advice. The checks are plain good practice; the recording note points to the law and tells you to check your state’s.