A

Abandonment rate

The share of callers who hang up before anyone answers. A rising abandonment rate usually means queues are too long or nobody is covering the line at busy times.

See Call reporting

After-call work (ACW)

Everything an agent does once the call ends: writing notes, updating the contact and scheduling a follow-up. Automatic transcripts cut this time down a lot.

See AI transcription

Agent

The person who answers and makes calls for the business. In Tocaller, Agent is also a role: agents call and answer, while Supervisors and Admins manage the team.

See Team & roles

AI voice agent

Software that answers a phone call and talks with the caller in natural speech. It can greet callers, answer simple questions and hand the call over to a person when needed.

See AI Voice Agent

Auto attendant

An automated greeting that lets callers pick where to go, for example “press 1 for sales”. It replaces a receptionist for routing simple calls.

See Call flows & routing

Automatic call distribution (ACD)

A system that sends each incoming call to the right person or group based on rules such as availability, skills or time of day.

See Call flows & routing

Average handle time (AHT)

The average length of a call from answer to wrap-up, including hold time and after-call work. Useful to plan staffing, misleading if used as the only target.

See Call reporting

B

Business hours routing

Rules that handle calls one way while you are open and another way when you are closed, such as sending after-hours calls to voicemail or an AI agent.

See Call flows & routing

Business phone number

A phone number owned by the company rather than a person. The whole team can answer and call from it, and it stays with the business when people change.

See Business phone numbers

C

Call back

Returning a call to someone who called and was not answered. Fast call backs win back many of the customers who would otherwise go to a competitor.

See Outbound calling

Call center

A team, physical or remote, that handles a large volume of phone calls for sales or support. Modern call centers run in the cloud and need no on-site hardware.

Call flow

The path a call follows from the moment it rings: greetings, menus, business hours, who is dialed and what happens if no one answers. Tocaller builds call flows from visual blocks.

See Call flows & routing

Call history

The log of every incoming and outgoing call with its time, duration, status and the person who handled it. The starting point for follow-ups and reporting.

See Calls & contacts

Call queue

A line where callers wait until an agent is free, often with music or messages. Long queues raise the abandonment rate.

Call recording

Saving the audio of a phone call so it can be played back later for training, quality checks or settling disputes. Callers should always be told a call is recorded.

See Call recording

Call routing

Deciding where an incoming call goes: a person, a group, a menu, voicemail or an AI agent. Good routing gets callers to the right person the first time.

See Call flows & routing

Call transcription

Turning the audio of a call into written text. Transcripts let you skim a call in seconds and find what was promised without replaying the recording.

See AI transcription

Caller ID

The number (and sometimes name) shown to the person receiving a call. Calling from a business number shows your company line instead of a personal mobile.

See Outbound calling

Cloud phone system

A business phone system that runs on the internet rather than on hardware in the office. Teams call from a browser or app and manage everything online.

Contact center

A call center that also handles other channels such as chat, email or messaging. The terms are often used interchangeably.

Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

A score that measures how happy customers are with an interaction, usually from a short survey right after the call.

D

Dialer

The keypad and tools agents use to place outbound calls, usually with recent calls and contacts at hand.

See Outbound calling

DID number

Direct Inward Dialing: a phone number that rings straight through to a person, team or call flow without going through a switchboard.

See Business phone numbers

F

First call resolution (FCR)

The share of calls where the caller’s issue is solved in the first conversation, without a call back or transfer.

H

Hold time

How long a caller waits on hold during a call. Long hold times are one of the top reasons customers hang up unhappy.

I

Inbound call

A call that a customer makes to your business. Inbound calls are usually routed by a call flow.

See Call flows & routing

IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

A phone menu that lets callers choose options with their keypad or voice. A simple IVR sends each caller to the right team.

See Call flows & routing

L

Local number

A phone number with an area or city code. Customers are more likely to pick up and call back a number that looks local.

See Business phone numbers

M

Missed call

An incoming call that nobody answered. Every missed call is a potential lost customer, which is why missed calls deserve a fast call back or an automatic answer.

See AI Voice Agent

N

Number porting

Moving an existing phone number from one provider to another so customers can keep calling the number they already know.

O

Outbound call

A call your team makes to a customer, for sales, follow-ups or call backs.

See Outbound calling

P

PBX

Private Branch Exchange: the system that connects calls inside a company and to the outside world. Cloud PBX replaces the old office hardware.

R

Ring group

A set of people who are called together, or one after another, when a call comes in. The first one to pick up gets the call.

See Call flows & routing

S

Service level

The share of calls answered within a target time, for example 80% of calls within 20 seconds.

See Call reporting

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol: the standard that sets up and ends voice calls over the internet. Most VoIP systems use SIP under the hood.

Softphone

A phone that runs as software in a browser or app, so a laptop and headset replace a desk phone.

Supervisor

The person who oversees a team of agents: watching call activity, reviewing recordings and coaching. In Tocaller it is a role between Admin and Agent.

See Team & roles

T

Toll-free number

A number that is free for the caller to dial; the business pays for the call instead. Common for support and nationwide sales lines.

See Business phone numbers

U

Unified communications

Bringing calls, messaging and meetings together in one system so teams don’t switch between tools.

V

Virtual phone number

A phone number that isn’t tied to one physical line or device. Calls reach the team wherever they work.

See Business phone numbers

Voicemail

A recorded message a caller leaves when nobody answers. A good call flow makes voicemail the last option, not the first.

See Call flows & routing

VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol: making phone calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. It is cheaper, works anywhere and powers modern business phone systems.

W

Wrap-up time

The short time after a call that an agent uses to finish notes before taking the next call. Part of after-call work.