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Inexpensive VoIP Phone Service

Affordable Auto Attendant For Businesses

Starting at $27.99/month per user. No contract needed.

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Table of Contents

Auto Attendant Explained

An auto attendant is a virtual receptionist that answers every incoming call and routes it to the right department or person through a menu, such as press 1 for sales or press 2 for support. With Phone Service Now, you build the menu around how your business actually works, add a Dial-by-Name Directory for callers who know who they want, and keep calls moving even when nobody is free to pick up the phone. Auto attendant is included with the Business Platinum plan at $27.99 per user per month.

What's Included

Phone Service Now’s auto attendant answers your calls on the first ring, every time, and hands each caller a clear set of choices. Instead of a human relay asking who a caller needs and transferring them by hand, the system routes the call to the right destination automatically.

The alternative is a person interrupting their own work to answer, ask, and transfer, or a caller waiting on a ringing line while someone tries to find the right colleague. Neither scales, and both cost you calls.

How the Call Menu Works

You define the menu and the destinations behind it. A caller hears your greeting, chooses an option, and lands where they need to be, whether that is a department, an individual extension, a call queue, or a voicemail box. Each option can point anywhere in your system, and you can change the structure as your team and your call patterns change.

Dial-by-Name Directory and Custom Greetings

Callers who already know who they want can reach that person directly through the Dial-by-Name Directory instead of working through menu options. You can record greetings that reflect your business rather than a generic prompt, and custom hold music keeps callers engaged while they wait rather than sitting in silence.

Integration with Your Phone System

The auto attendant is not a standalone tool. It works alongside the rest of your Phone Service Now phone system features. Time-based schedules let you run a different menu after hours than during the business day. Unlimited rollover lines find an available person inside the department a caller selected, and call queues hold callers in order during a rush. Menu-routed calls are captured by call recording, and each department receives its own voicemail transcripts through visual voicemail.

Security and Compliance

Phone Service Now is fully HIPAA-compliant. Calls routed through the auto attendant are handled with the same encryption and privacy standards that apply to the rest of the platform, which makes menu routing workable for medical offices that need to separate scheduling, billing, and clinical calls without compromising patient privacy.

What You Get vs. What You No Longer Need

What You Get with Auto Attendant What You No Longer Need
Every call answered on the first ring, day or night Calls ringing out because everyone was already busy
Menu routing straight to the right department or person Manually asking and transferring every incoming call
A Dial-by-Name Directory for callers who know who they want Callers guessing at extension numbers
A separate after-hours menu on an automatic schedule One generic message for every caller at every hour
Custom greetings and hold music in your own voice Sounding smaller and less established than you are
Plan availability: Auto attendant is included in the Business Platinum plan at $27.99 per user per month, alongside call queues, directory listing, enhanced caller ID, unlimited call recording, and voicemail to email as text. Auto attendant is not available on the Business Basics or Business Plus plans.

How It Works

Getting started with auto attendant on Phone Service Now takes minutes, not days. Here is how the process works from signup to your first routed call.

01

Book a Free Call

Talk to our team about your business size and how calls should be divided across your team. We will confirm the Business Platinum plan is the right fit and walk you through what is included.

02

Complete Onboarding

After a one-time $25 setup and training fee, our team handles your full onboarding. Most businesses are live and taking calls within 1 business day.

03

Build Your Call Menu

Map out your departments and options, record your greetings, enable the Dial-by-Name Directory, and set a separate menu for after hours.

04

Let It Answer for You

Every incoming call is answered immediately and routed to the destination the caller selects, with anything unanswered landing in the right voicemail box.

What You Need to Get Started:

  • A Phone Service Now Business Platinum plan ($27.99/user/month)
  • A stable internet connection for VoIP service
  • Your menu structure: the departments, options, and destination for each choice
  • Optional: Cisco or Poly desk phone, or use the Phone Service Now web/mobile app on any device
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Who It's For

An auto attendant is built for any business that wants every call answered professionally without staffing a front desk. Here are the teams that benefit most:

Solo Operators and Home-Based Businesses

A professional menu makes a one-person operation sound like an established company, and it buys you the space to finish what you are doing before you call back.

Small Teams (1 to 25 Users)

Nobody has to play switchboard. Calls reach the right person directly, which means fewer interruptions for everyone who was not the intended recipient.

Healthcare Practices

Separate scheduling, billing, and clinical calls so patients reach the right desk the first time, with HIPAA-compliant handling throughout the routing process.

Legal Offices

Route new client inquiries away from existing case calls, and let callers who know their attorney reach them directly through the Dial-by-Name Directory.

Real Estate Agencies

Send listing inquiries, property management questions, and agent calls down separate paths so high-intent leads are not stuck behind routine requests.

Service Businesses with High Call Volumes

Split dispatch, scheduling, and billing into distinct options so a customer with an urgent job is not waiting behind an invoice question.

Multi-Department and Multi-Location Teams

One published number can front several departments or offices, each with its own menu option, destination, and voicemail box.

Why Choose Phone Service Now

Phone Service Now is an all-in-one cloud business phone system. Whether you run a front desk with a small team or manage phone operations across multiple locations, the platform gives you the tools to handle every call professionally, without a dedicated IT department or complex hardware installation.

If you are evaluating VoIP options and trying to understand what is a VoIP number and how it works for your team, Phone Service Now keeps it simple: your business gets local or toll-free numbers, a full-featured cloud platform, and support that answers when you call.

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FAQs and Resources

What is an auto attendant?

An auto attendant is a virtual receptionist that answers incoming calls and routes them to the right department or person using a menu, for example press 1 for sales or press 2 for support. It answers every call immediately, even when your team is unavailable.
Auto attendant is included in the Business Platinum plan at $27.99 per user per month, along with call queues, directory listing, enhanced caller ID, unlimited call recording, and voicemail to email as text. It is not available on Business Basics or Business Plus.
It lets a caller reach a specific person by entering their name rather than navigating menu options or knowing an extension number. It is useful for callers who already know exactly who they need to speak with.
Yes. Time-based schedules let you run separate menus for different periods, so callers hear your standard options during the business day and an after-hours greeting with different routing in the evening and on weekends.
Not for routing calls. The auto attendant answers and directs every caller automatically, which frees your team from acting as a switchboard. Many businesses use it specifically so nobody has to interrupt their work to transfer calls.
Yes. You can record greetings in your own voice so the menu reflects your business rather than a generic prompt, and custom hold music keeps callers engaged while they wait instead of sitting in silence.
Yes. Phone Service Now is compatible with Cisco and Poly desk phones, and menu destinations can point to desk extensions, the web app, mobile devices, call queues, or voicemail boxes in any combination.
Book a free call at phoneservicenow.com/book-a-call. Our team will confirm the right plan for your business, handle your onboarding, and have you live within 1 business day.

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Get Started Today

Getting started requires one conversation and one business day. Reach out to the Phone Service Now team to find out which plan fits your business.
  • Phone Service Now
  • 100 W Lucerne Cir, Suite 100A Orlando, FL 32801
  • (833) 339-8818
  • info@phoneservicenow.com
  • @phoneservicenow
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