In-browser softphone, inbound calls, IVR and queues

Talk in the BROWSER (no call to your cell phone), receive calls with an IVR menu, queues/ring-groups and agent presence. Uses your Twilio account (BYO).

Beyond click-to-call (which rings your cell phone), Sellio has a SOFTPHONE that runs in the BROWSER: you talk right from the computer, with a headset and microphone, without the CRM calling your phone. And it lets you RECEIVE calls: whoever dials your Twilio number lands in an answering menu (IVR), is routed to a QUEUE, and the CRM rings the softphone of the AVAILABLE agents.

It stays fully BYO ("bring your own account"): calls are placed and billed on your Twilio account. The feature is inert: without voice credentials the dialer shows DISABLED with a notice and nothing breaks.

Prerequisites

• The Twilio integration already configured and enabled (Account SID + Auth Token + voice number), the same one used for Messages.
• A Twilio Voice API Key: SID + Secret (created in the Twilio Console under Account → API keys & tokens).
• A TwiML App (SID): in the Twilio Console under Voice → TwiML → TwiML Apps, with the Voice Request URL pointing to the "outgoing URL" that Sellio shows on the Telephony screen.
• A headset with microphone and a modern browser (the browser will ask for microphone permission).

How to set it up

1. Open Settings → Telephony.
2. Under "Softphone credentials", fill in the API Key SID, the API Key Secret and the TwiML App SID, tick "Enable softphone" and save. The Secret is encrypted and never shown back.
3. Copy the "Outgoing URL (TwiML App)" shown on screen and paste it into the Voice Request URL of your TwiML App in the Twilio Console.
4. Copy the "Incoming URL (number)" and paste it into the Voice URL of your Twilio number in the Twilio Console (this is what turns on inbound calling).
5. Create at least one QUEUE and add agents; if you want a menu, configure the IVR (digit → queue).

Presence and answering

1. A Dialer button (📞) appears at the bottom-right of any screen. Open it.
2. Set your presence: Available to receive calls, Busy or Offline to not ring.
3. To call out: type the number and click Call; you talk in the browser. The call is recorded and logged in the history.
4. To receive: when a call arrives for the queue, the dialer rings and shows Answer/Decline. Routing only rings agents who are Available.

IVR (digit menu) and queues

• IVR: a spoken greeting and a menu (e.g. "For sales press 1; for support press 2"). Each digit sends the call to a queue. Without a menu, the call goes straight to the default queue.
• Queue / ring-group: a group of agents. Strategy "Ring all" rings every available one at once; "Round robin" rotates among them. "Ring (s)" is how long the softphone rings before giving up.
• Presence: routing only rings Available agents. If nobody is available, the caller hears the queue fallback message.

How to test

1. With the softphone enabled and presence set to Available, open the dialer and call one of your own numbers: confirm you talk in the browser.
2. From another phone, call your Twilio number: confirm you hear the greeting (if there is an IVR) and that the dialer rings to answer.
3. When it ends, check the call in the contact history (inbound/outbound, duration and, if any, the recording).

Troubleshooting

• The dialer shows disabled: the voice credentials (API Key + TwiML App) are missing or the Twilio integration is not enabled. Complete them in Settings → Telephony.
• I call but there is no audio: the browser needs microphone permission and the TwiML App Voice Request URL must point to the "outgoing URL" shown on screen.
• I do not receive calls: check that the NUMBER Voice URL in the Twilio Console is the "incoming URL"; that there is a queue with agents; and that someone has presence set to Available.
• The call lands on the "nobody available" message: no agent in the queue is Available right now (all Busy/Offline or with the dialer closed).

Open this article inside the system →