Feature Availability
Vtiger Editions: One Pilot | One Growth | One Professional | One Enterprise | One AI
Introduction
The Phone Calls module in Vtiger lets you integrate with different service providers and lets you:
- Make and receive calls from the CRM.
- Track, manage, and log every phone call with your leads, customers, and team members—ensuring no critical conversation slips through the cracks.
- Create records for every phone call made or received.
- Integrate services such as Live Chat, email, call logging, purchase history, feedback surveying, support tickets, and more.
The Phone Calls module lets you connect to other hosted telephony services such as Twilio, ViciDial, and Knowlarity.
Vicidial Integration with Vtiger
Vicidial is an open-source contact center solution widely used for managing inbound, outbound, and blended call campaigns. It provides features such as predictive dialing, call recording, real-time reporting, and agent scripting.
Integrating Vicidial with Vtiger's Phone Calls module allows you to make and receive calls seamlessly within the CRM platform. With Vtiger's comprehensive CRM capabilities, you can streamline call management, automate follow-ups, and maintain detailed call logs. This integration:
- Supports simultaneous call routing to multiple agents.
- Lets you use Vtiger CRM’s Phone Call module features such as -
- Incoming calls
- Outgoing calls
- Call notes
- Customer sentiments
- Call recordings
Requirements
To integrate Vicidial with Vtiger you need to:
- Have an active Vicidial account. If you do not have an account, you must sign up with Vicidial and create one.
- Provide your Vicidial credentials during the configuration process in Vtiger.
- Install Vtiger’s Phone Calls module.
- Integrate your Vicidial phone number with the Phone Calls module in Vtiger.
Before configuring Vtiger you have to explain the IVR flow of your phone system to the Telephony service provider (Vicidial ) to ensure proper setup.
Other Telephony Gateways in Vtiger CRM
Vtiger’s Phone Calls module integrates with the following telephony gateways:
- 3CX
- Asterisk
- Duocom
- Exotel
- Knowlarity
- Ozonetel
- Plivo
- Telzio
- Twilio
Benefits
The benefits of integrating Vicidial with Vtiger CRM are:
- Track all customer calls within the CRM and aid your sales and support representatives in day-to-day work.
- Increase agent productivity with integrated one-click dialing out of Vtiger CRM.
- Keep a log of all calls, so you never miss out on information.
- Generate leads from inquiry calls.
- Create deals while interacting with customers.
- Records inbound and outbound calls and hence helps you to fine-tune your sales strategies.
Note: Vtiger CRM supports v2.11, v2.12, or v2.14 VICIdial versions only.
In this article, you will learn about:
- Installing Phone calls module
- Prerequisites for ViciDial Configuration
- Configuring ViciDial in Vtiger CRM
- Troubleshooting common issues in ViciDial
Key Terminology
| Field name | Description |
| Add-ons | Add-ons are optional features that extend Vtiger CRM with additional capabilities, such as telephony, SMS, or payment integrations. |
| Extensions | Extensions are applications or plugins that integrate third-party services with Vtiger CRM to enhance its functionality |
| Inbound Groups | Inbound Groups are teams that receive and manage incoming phone calls routed through the telephony system. |
| Phone Calls Gateway | A Phone Calls Gateway is a telephony service provider that connects Vtiger CRM with your phone system to make, receive, and manage calls. |
| Outbound Groups | Outbound Groups are teams that make outgoing phone calls using the telephony system configured in Vtiger CRM. |
Installing the Phone Calls Module
To use the Phone Calls module, you must first install it from the Extension Store. You can access the Extension Store if you are an Admin user.
Follow these steps to install Phone Calls:
- Log in to CRM.
- Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the screen.
- Click Settings. The Settings page opens.
- Look for the Extensions section.
- Select Extension Store.
- Search for Phone Calls using the search bar.
- Click Install.
After you install the module, you can see it under main Menu > Essentials > Conversations.
Setting up an Account in VICIdial
To use the VICIdial integration, you must first create an admin user account in VICIdial and set up VICIdial on your local servers. Click here to create an account.
Configuring VICIdial in the CRM
After creating an admin user account dedicated only to APIs in VICIdial, you can configure the details in the CRM phone configuration.
Follow these steps to configure VICIdial in Vtiger CRM:
- Log in to CRM.
- Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the screen.
- Click Settings.
- Look for the Extensions section.
- Select Phone Configuration.
- Click +Add Gateway.
- In the Gateway dropdown, select VICIdial.
- Fill in all the mandatory fields (marked by an asterisk):
- Gateway Status - Mentions whether the gateway is active or inactive.
- Default Gateway - Mentions whether the current gateway is the default gateway.
- Start Call URL - Auto-generated with VICIdial call fields that are sent to Vtiger when Agent answers an incoming call.
- Dispo Call URL - Auto-generated with VICIdial call fields that are sent to Vtiger when Agent dispositions an incoming call.
- VICIdial Server Time Zone - Configure the server timezone in which VICIdial is hosted.
- VICIdial Server IP - Public IP address where the VICIdial is installed.
- VICIdial Recording Path - Default VICIdial recording folder name is populated. Alter this config only if the default config of VICIdial is overwritten in /etc/astguiclient.conf file. (Contact your System Admin before modifying).
- API Admin User ID - Create a new user in VICIdial with Admin and API privileges, which will be used for all API requests that are initiated from Vtiger. (Make sure this user is not assigned to any agents)
- API Admin User Password - Password related to the User ID added earlier.
- Ticket/Case Title - Create merge tags or add custom strings that will be used when a case is created from the Incoming Call Popup.
- Opportunity Name - Create merge tags or add custom strings that will be used when a deal is created from the Incoming Call Popup.
- Vtiger Secret Key - Unique key auto-generated for authenticating all the requests that are received from VICIdial. This is a part of the Start Call and Dispo Call URLs that are auto-generated in the previous steps.
-
Click Save.
The VICIdial integration is now set up in Vtiger CRM.
Adding User ID
Once you configure all VICIdial details in Vtiger, you must add the User ID for all your agents from VICIdial to Vtiger.
Follow these steps to do the same:
- Log in to CRM.
- Click the User Menu in the top right corner of the screen.
- Click the My Preferences button.
- Enter the unique ID (Copy from VICIdial Admin Panel > Users) in the VICIdial extension field.
Note: In the VICIDial admin panel, they must navigate to the Users tab. Here for every user, there will be a unique ID defined during user creation. The unique ID must be added to the VICIdial Extension field in Vtiger.Modifications in VICIdial
Once the configuration in Vtiger is complete, modify a few configurations in VICIdial to start the integration.
Inbound Groups
To enable incoming call logs and incoming pop-ups in Vtiger, Vtiger URLs need to be configured in Inbound groups.
Follow these steps below to enable incoming call logs and pop-ups:
- Log in to the VICIdial Admin panel.
- Go to Inbound Groups.
- Click Modify under any one active group.
- Modify the following fields:
- Start Call URL - Copy Start Call URL generated in Vtiger from -> CRM Settings -> Phone Configuration.
- Dispo Call URL - Copy Dispo Call URL generated in Vtiger from -> CRM Settings -> Phone Configuration.
- Click the Submit button to save the changes.
Recording Filename
Vtiger CRM generates recording URLs for completed calls from Recording Filenames.
Therefore, all Recording Filenames should be in the format required by Vtiger CRM.
Follow the below steps:
- Log in to the VICIdial Admin panel.
- Go to Inbound Groups.
- Click Modify under any one active group.
- Modify the following fields:
- In-Group Recording Filename - Set the value as CALLID.
- Click the Submit button to save the changes.
- Repeat the above steps for all the active groups.
Making Calls using VICIdial in Vtiger CRM
You can place calls using VICIdial from supported records in Vtiger CRM, such as Contacts, Leads, and Organizations, by clicking the Phone Call icon.
Follow these steps to place a call using VICIdial:
- Log in to the CRM.
- Click the main Menu.
- Go to Essentials > Contacts. The Contacts List View opens.
- Hover over the Contact record for which you want to make a call.
- Click the Phone icon to place the call.
- Select Telzio from the list of available service providers.
The call will be placed to the selected Contact through VICIdial, and the call details will be recorded in the Phone Calls module.
Viewing VICIDial Phone Call Logs
The log of the calls (incoming and outgoing) is listed under the main Menu > Essentials > Phone Calls. You can view the following details on this screen:
- Call status, customer number, which agent or rep handled the call (mentioned in Handled By and Assigned To fields), call duration, etc.
- Details for each call can be seen when you open the call record, such as -
- Links to the voice recording
- Call notes
- Call transfer details
- Call directions, etc.
You can create a list of all your phone calls, including missed and completed calls, in the List View.
To learn more about creating a list, click here.
Troubleshooting Tips
The following are some common issues users encounter while using VICIdial:
Configuration Issues: Improper setup of APIs or incorrect credentials between Vicidial and Vtiger. - Verify API keys and integration settings.
- Check for typos in the API endpoint URLs or authentication credentials.
Data Synchronization Errors: Leads, contacts, or call logs are not syncing between Vicidial and Vtiger. - Ensure field mapping is correctly configured.
- Test API limits with small batches before scaling.
- Check for server connectivity or firewall restrictions.
User Permissions: Users encounter permission denied errors when accessing integrated features. - Assign appropriate roles and permissions in both Vicidial and Vtiger.
- Check API user roles to ensure proper access rights.
Call Recordings and Logs Issues: Call recordings or logs don’t appear in Vtiger after integration. - Check if Vicidial is configured to store and share call recordings.
- Ensure that the file storage paths are accessible and properly linked.
Field Mapping Issues: Fields in Vicidial don’t align with corresponding fields in Vtiger, leading to incomplete data transfer. - Review and map fields accurately during integration.
- Use custom scripts to handle mismatched data formats.
References