Call forwarding

Call forwarding is a phone setting that passes calls dialled to one number on to a different number, such as a mobile, a second office or an answering service. People use it to stay reachable when they are away from the desk or out of hours.

Forwarding can be unconditional, where every call moves straight on, or conditional, where it only applies when the line is busy, unanswered or switched off. Call overflow only covers the calls a busy desk can't take, and call routing uses rules such as time of day to pick a destination for each call. Forwarding is the simpler tool: one number in, one number out.

It is common wherever appointments and enquiries arrive by phone and nobody can stay at the desk all day, such as health practices, salons and trades. It is usually switched on in the phone system or with the carrier, often through a short code.

Set up well, forwarding means a call reaches a person or a service instead of ringing out. Whoever picks up still needs the same care as the front desk: a phone number alone doesn't prove who is speaking, and a booking only counts once the booking system has saved it.

In the context of business phone handling, call forwarding connects to call routing, call overflow and warm transfer because each one decides where a call ends up when the first line can't answer.