Getting an office telephone service up and running is straightforward. Getting it set up well — so calls route correctly, nothing gets missed, your team can work from anywhere, and it all connects with the tools you already use — takes a bit more thought.
This guide covers the decisions that matter when configuring an office telephone service for an Irish SMB, and what good looks like at each stage.
Start With How Your Business Actually Receives Calls
Before configuring anything, it’s worth mapping out how calls currently flow through your business — and where they break down.
Common patterns for Irish SMBs:
- One main number, one person answering — works until that person is unavailable, then calls are missed
- Multiple mobile numbers given out by different staff — inconsistent, unprofessional, and impossible to manage centrally
- A landline that rings a desk — fine for an office-bound team, breaks immediately if anyone works remotely or on site
- An existing VoIP setup that was never properly configured — calls route somewhere, but routing logic hasn’t been reviewed since setup
Understanding the gaps in your current setup tells you what to prioritise when configuring the new one.
The Core Configuration Decisions
Your Number or Numbers
Start with the number your customers will dial. If you have an existing Irish number, port it — Dromlik handles this free of charge, typically in 5–10 business days with no gap in service.
If you’re starting fresh, choose a local Irish number that matches where your customers are. Dromlik provides numbers across 15 Irish area codes — 01 for Dublin, 021 for Cork, 091 for Galway, and 12 more — from €5/month per number. If you operate in multiple regions, hold a number for each; calls to each route into the same system.
Business Hours
Define exactly when your business is open and when it isn’t. This sounds obvious, but most businesses don’t configure this explicitly — they rely on staff being available, and when they’re not, calls ring out.
Once your hours are set in the system, it applies different routing rules automatically: one set of rules during business hours, another outside them, and specific rules for Irish public holidays if needed. You set it once; it runs without anyone needing to switch anything on or off.
Call Routing Logic
How calls flow through your business once they arrive. The main options:
- Ring all — calls ring every available team member simultaneously; whoever picks up first takes it. Best for small teams where anyone can handle any call.
- Sequential — calls ring one person, then move to the next if unanswered. Best when there’s a clear primary contact with defined backup.
- Department routing — an IVR menu lets callers select the team they need before being connected. Best for businesses with distinct functions (sales, support, accounts).
- Skills-based routing — calls are directed to the team member best matched to the caller’s need. Best for larger teams with specialist roles.
Most Irish SMBs use a combination: department routing to get callers to the right team, then ring-all within that team so whoever’s free picks up.
Fallback Handling
What happens when nobody answers? This is the most overlooked part of telephone service configuration, and the most consequential.
Options, in order of quality:
- AI receptionist — answers live, handles the request or takes a detailed message, sends the caller a WhatsApp or SMS follow-up
- Voicemail to email — message delivered to a specific inbox with an audio file and optional transcription
- Call forward to mobile — routes to a specific mobile number as a last resort
- Ring out — the worst outcome; the caller gets nothing and leaves
Dromlik’s AI receptionist — Niamh — handles fallback calls live rather than sending callers to voicemail. For most Irish SMBs, this is the most impactful single configuration decision.
Greetings and Recorded Messages
Every touchpoint a caller hears should sound intentional, not improvised. The messages worth recording and reviewing:
Main greeting (IVR welcome) What callers hear before they’re connected to anyone. Should include your business name, and if you have an IVR menu, clear options with plain language.
On-hold message What callers hear while waiting. Keep it short, professional, and avoid music that sounds like it came from a 2003 Nokia ringtone.
After-hours message Confirms you’re closed, states your hours, and tells the caller what to do next — leave a message, visit the website, or expect a callback the next morning.
Voicemail greeting (per user or team) If voicemail is part of your fallback, make sure each user has a recorded greeting — not the default system voice. Include their name, the business name, and a callback timeframe.
Review all of these at least twice a year, and whenever hours or team structure changes.
Integrating With the Rest of Your Business
A well-configured office telephone service doesn’t operate in isolation. The integrations worth setting up:
CRM integration When a call comes in, the caller’s record surfaces automatically. After the call, it logs automatically — call duration, outcome, and notes. No manual data entry. Dromlik integrates natively with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Zendesk.
Microsoft Teams If your team uses Teams for internal communication, add business calling directly through it via Dromlik’s Teams integration. One fewer app for your team to manage.
Helpdesk Calls automatically create support tickets in Zendesk or Zoho Desk. Voicemails arrive as tickets rather than audio files that someone might miss.
Omnichannel inbox On Dromlik’s Orbit plan, calls, SMS, WhatsApp, and web chat all land in the same inbox. Your team handles everything from one place rather than checking multiple platforms.
Mobile and Remote Working
An office telephone service that only works in the office is no longer fit for purpose. With Dromlik, your team takes calls on a mobile or desktop app from anywhere — customers always see and dial the same business number, regardless of where the call is answered.
For trades and construction businesses where staff are frequently on site, this is essential. For professional services firms with hybrid working, it means no one needs to forward calls to their personal mobile or give out a personal number.
Staff access is managed centrally — when someone joins, they’re added to the system in minutes. When someone leaves, access is revoked immediately. Your business number stays with the business.
Monitoring and Reviewing Performance
Once the system is live, a few metrics are worth checking regularly:
- Missed call rate — what percentage of inbound calls go unanswered? If this is above 5–10%, routing or fallback needs reviewing
- Peak call times — when does call volume spike? Use this to inform staffing decisions
- Average call duration — significant variation between team members can signal training needs or routing inefficiency
- Voicemail-to-callback rate — how often do voicemails actually get returned? If low, AI handling may be a better fallback
Dromlik’s dashboard provides call logs and basic analytics as standard. Orbit plan customers get more detailed reporting including queue analytics and supervisor tools.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| Nucleus | €12/user/month | Calling, IVR, routing, voicemail to email, call recording, mobile and desktop apps |
| Orbit | €22/user/month | Everything in Nucleus plus omnichannel messaging, CRM integrations, call centre queues, AI transcription |
| AI Receptionist | +€100/month | 24/7 AI call answering, 200 minutes included |
Local Irish numbers from €5/month. Free number porting. Annual billing saves around 20%. See the full pricing breakdown.
Getting Started
A 7-day free trial is available with no setup fees. Dromlik’s team handles the configuration with you — routing rules, greetings, integrations, and number porting — rather than leaving you to do it from scratch.
Book a demo or call us on 01 686 6414 to talk through your current setup and what needs to change.
