Calls
UltraCart Calls is a cloud-based phone system built directly into the UltraCart platform. It gives your team a full-featured business phone system -- softphone, call queues, IVR menus, voicemail, call recording, and more -- without requiring separate telephony hardware or a third-party phone service. Because Calls is part of UltraCart, every phone interaction is automatically connected to your customer profiles, order history, and conversation data.
Why UltraCart Calls
Most e-commerce businesses run their phone system as a completely separate product, disconnected from their order and customer data. Agents switch between tabs, copy-paste order numbers, and lose context between channels. UltraCart Calls eliminates that gap.
When a customer calls, UltraCart automatically matches their phone number to their customer profile. Your agent sees the caller's name, recent orders, account balance, and open support tickets before they even answer. When the call ends, a complete call record is created and linked to that customer's history alongside their webchat, SMS, and email conversations.
This unified approach means:
No context switching. Customer data, order entry, and the phone are in the same interface.
Automatic customer matching. Inbound callers are identified by phone number and matched to their profile in real time.
Cross-channel history. Call records sit alongside chat transcripts, SMS threads, and email in a single conversation timeline.
Secure payments on the phone. Agents can collect credit card payments during a call using PCI-compliant keypad capture -- the agent never sees or hears the card number.
AI-powered call handling. AI voice agents can answer calls, route callers, look up orders, and coach human agents in real time.
Key capabilities
Call handling
Browser-based softphone -- make and receive calls from any modern browser with a headset. No desk phone required (though SIP desk phones are also supported).
Inbound and outbound calling -- receive calls on your business phone numbers and dial out with your business caller ID.
Multi-line support -- two simultaneous call lines per agent, enabling transfers and conferencing without dropping the caller.
Call routing
Queues -- route inbound calls to groups of agents with automatic distribution. Callers hear hold music and position announcements while waiting.
IVR menus -- build auto-attendant phone trees with keypress and speech recognition input. Route callers to the right team, extension, or voicemail.
Time-based routing -- define business hours, after-hours, and holiday schedules. Calls route differently depending on when they arrive.
Phone number routing -- each phone number can route to a queue, menu, agent, voicemail, or time-based rule independently.
During the call
Call recording -- record calls manually or automatically. Pause and resume recording for compliance during payment capture.
Transcription -- recordings are automatically transcribed with speaker identification, so you can search and review calls without listening to the full audio.
Warm and cold transfers -- transfer calls to another agent, queue, or external number. Warm transfers let you introduce the caller first; cold transfers send them directly.
Conferencing -- add multiple participants to an active call. Manage each participant independently with hold, mute, and remove controls.
Agent-assisted payments -- securely collect credit card information during a live call. The customer enters their card, expiration, and CVV via their phone's keypad. A secure payment token is generated for use in order entry.
AI coaching -- AI voice agents can listen to a call and provide real-time suggestions to the agent, visible only to the agent.
Supervision and management
Agent status management -- agents set their availability (Available, Unavailable). Status changes automatically to On Call during active calls and Wrap-Up after calls end.
Queue monitoring -- real-time dashboard showing callers waiting, agent availability, wait times, and performance statistics.
Supervisor barge and coach -- supervisors can silently listen to calls, join as an active participant, or whisper privately to the agent.
Class of Service -- restrict outbound dialing by agent. Block international calls, premium-rate numbers, or all outbound calls. Agents can request supervisor overrides in real time.
Call history -- searchable log of every call with full detail: recordings, transcripts, participants, timeline, transfers, holds, and cost breakdown.
Voicemail
Personal and shared mailboxes -- agents have personal voicemail; queues have shared mailboxes for team coverage.
Custom greetings -- upload audio files or use text-to-speech for voicemail prompts.
Voicemail transcription -- messages are automatically transcribed for quick review.
How calls flow through the system
Understanding the basic call flow helps you design your routing. Here's what happens when a customer calls one of your phone numbers:
The call arrives on your phone number. Each phone number has a routing rule that determines what happens next.
Routing takes over. Depending on your configuration, the call may go directly to a queue, play an IVR menu, check time-based rules, or ring a specific agent.
If routed to a queue, the caller hears a greeting and hold music while waiting. The system automatically finds an available agent and connects them.
The agent's softphone rings. The agent sees the caller's phone number (and matched customer profile, if found) and accepts or declines the call.
During the call, the agent can transfer, conference in other parties, start recording, or initiate a payment capture.
When the call ends, a complete call record is assembled with the full timeline, participants, recording, transcript, and cost data. If the caller was matched to a customer, the record is linked to their profile.
This flow can be as simple as "phone number -> queue -> agent" or as complex as "phone number -> time-based rule -> IVR menu -> queue -> agent with AI coaching and payment capture." You build the routing that fits your business.
Key terminology
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Agent | A person who makes and receives calls through UltraCart Calls. Each agent has an extension and belongs to one or more queues. |
Queue | A call routing group. Inbound calls enter a queue and wait until an available agent is assigned. |
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | An automated phone menu that plays prompts and routes callers based on keypress or speech input. Also called an auto-attendant. |
Phone number (DID) | A Direct Inward Dial number assigned to your account that callers dial to reach your business. |
Softphone | The browser-based phone interface built into UltraCart. Uses your computer's microphone and speakers -- no hardware phone needed. |
Warm transfer | A transfer where the agent speaks with the transfer target before connecting the caller. |
Cold transfer | A transfer where the caller is sent directly to the target without introduction. |
Barge | A supervisor action to join an active call, either in listen-only mode or as an active participant. |
Coach | A supervisor action to speak privately to the agent during a call. The caller cannot hear the supervisor. |
Wrap-up | A post-call period where the agent can complete notes before receiving the next call. Duration is configured per queue. |
Disposition | The outcome of a call: answered, no-answer, voicemail, abandoned, busy, or failed. |
Class of Service (CoS) | A restriction template that controls which outbound calls an agent is allowed to make. |
Call record | The complete data record created when a call ends, containing participants, timeline, recordings, transcripts, and costs. |
In this section
This guide walks you through the initial setup of UltraCart Calls. By the end, you'll have a phone number, an agent, a queue, and working inbound and outbound calling through your browser. | |
Phone numbers are the entry point for every inbound call to your UltraCart Calls system. Each phone number -- also called a Direct Inward Dial (DID) number -- has its own routing rule that determines what happens when a customer calls it. You can route calls to a queue, an IVR menu, a specific agent, voicemail, or a time-based rule. | |
Agents are the people who make and receive calls through UltraCart Calls. Each agent has a work extension, belongs to one or more queues, and can be configured with personal voicemail, recording preferences, and call forwarding. This page covers creating agents, configuring their profiles, and managing agent settings. | |
UltraCart Calls uses a four-tier permission model to control what each person can see and do within the phone system. Permissions determine navigation visibility, configuration access, data visibility, and supervisor capabilities like barge, coach, and override approvals. | |
Queues are the core call routing mechanism in UltraCart Calls. When a call arrives, it enters a queue where it waits until an available agent is assigned. Queues support custom greetings, hold music, configurable wrap-up periods, voicemail fallback, and AI coaching. | |
The queue monitoring dashboard provides real-time visibility into call queue performance. You can see how many callers are waiting, current wait times, which agents are available, and key statistics like calls taken and missed. Supervisors can answer specific waiting callers, manage agent status, and use barge and coach features directly from the dashboard. | |
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus -- also called auto-attendants -- let you build automated phone trees that greet callers and route them based on their input. A caller might hear "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support" and be directed to the right queue, agent, voicemail, or sub-menu. | |
Time-based routing lets you control how calls are handled based on the time of day, day of week, and holidays. Define your business hours so calls during open hours route to a queue or menu, while after-hours calls go to voicemail or a different greeting. This ensures callers always get an appropriate experience regardless of when they call. | |
The UltraCart softphone is a browser-based phone built directly into the CRM interface. It lets you make and receive calls from any modern browser with a headset -- no desk phone required. The softphone supports two simultaneous call lines, a full dial pad, call controls, audio device selection, and an active call banner that follows you as you navigate the application. | |
UltraCart Calls supports warm transfers, cold transfers, multi-party conferencing, and supervisor barge and coach capabilities. These features let you connect callers to the right person, bring in additional help, and enable real-time supervision -- all from the softphone interface. | |
UltraCart Calls provides flexible call recording with both automatic and manual controls. You can record calls for quality assurance, training, compliance, or dispute resolution. Recordings are dual-channel (agent and caller on separate audio tracks), stored securely, and automatically linked to call history records. | |
Call recordings are automatically transcribed, producing a full-text transcript with speaker identification and timestamps. Transcripts make it easy to search, review, and reference calls without listening to the full audio. Voicemail messages are also transcribed automatically. | |
UltraCart Calls includes a complete voicemail system with personal agent mailboxes and shared queue mailboxes. Callers can leave voicemail when an agent is unavailable, when no agents are online for a queue, or when they opt out of waiting in a queue. Each message includes audio playback, automatic transcription, and caller information. | |
Agent-assisted payments let you securely collect credit card information from callers during a live call. The customer enters their card number, expiration date, and CVV using their phone's keypad -- you never see or hear the card details. A secure payment token is generated and can be used with UltraCart Order Entry to process the charge. | |
AI voice agents are automated agents that can handle inbound calls autonomously, assist human agents during live calls with real-time coaching, and perform actions like looking up orders or checking account status. They integrate directly into the UltraCart Calls system alongside human agents. | |
Class of Service (CoS) lets administrators control which outbound calls agents are allowed to make. Restriction templates define rules that can block international calls, premium-rate numbers, calls outside business hours, or all outbound calling entirely. When an agent attempts a restricted call, a real-time supervisor override workflow lets them request permission to proceed. | |
Call History provides a searchable, filterable log of every call handled by your UltraCart Calls system. Each call record contains comprehensive data: caller information, participating agents, routing path, full timeline, recordings with transcripts, hold and transfer events, AI agent engagements, and cost breakdowns. | |
UltraCart Calls isn't a standalone phone system -- it's deeply integrated with the UltraCart e-commerce platform. During an active call, the Customer Snapshot panel automatically matches the caller to their customer profile, showing recent orders, account details, and subscription information. Call records link to customer profiles for historical context. Payment tokens flow directly into Order Entry. And call records sit alongside webchat, SMS, and email in a unified conversation history. | |
While UltraCart Calls is primarily a browser-based softphone system, it also supports SIP desk phones for agents who prefer physical hardware. Desk phones are provisioned by MAC address, configured with auto-provisioning for supported manufacturers, and can be used alongside or instead of the browser softphone. | |
The Audio Library is a centralized repository for all audio files used in your UltraCart Calls system. Upload custom audio for IVR menu greetings, queue hold music, voicemail prompts, and other voice prompts. Audio files uploaded here can be referenced from menus, queues, and voicemail mailboxes throughout your configuration. | |
This page covers common issues you may encounter with UltraCart Calls and how to resolve them. Start with the issue that matches your symptoms, and follow the resolution steps. | |
The AI supervisor view is the operational surface for monitoring autonomous AI voice agents while they are on live calls. It fans every active AI engagement out into a single grid, surfaces health signals so problems are visible at a glance, and lets a human supervisor read transcripts in real time, send private guidance to the AI, or take over the call entirely. |