--- title: "How to set up your receptionist" description: "Go through the setup screens, from your business details to a test call, and put your receptionist live." url: https://geiavwiyz.gleap.help/en/articles/164-how-to-set-up-your-receptionist collection: "Receptionist" updated: 2026-11-02 language: en --- # How to set up your receptionist Go through the setup screens, from your business details to a test call, and put your receptionist live. Setting up the receptionist is a few short screens, one decision on each. Everything saves as you go, so you can leave and pick it up later, and nothing answers your callers until you say so. You need to be an admin of your team to set it up. ## Start setting up 1. Click **Receptionist** in the sidebar. 2. Click **Get started**. Each screen has **Back** and **Continue**, and the ones you can come back to later have **Skip for now**. The bar at the top shows where you are, like "Step 3 of 7". On a wide screen, click a step's name to go back to it. If you leave part-way, the **Overview** shows **Finish setting up your receptionist**. Click **Continue setting up** to carry on where you were. ## Your business This is what the receptionist tells callers: what you do, where and when. It's your Business Profile, the same one your Portfolio uses. 1. Under **Fill from your website**, type your website's address and click **Fill in my details**. It takes up to a minute. 2. Check each section. The tinted fields came from your website. Fill in anything it missed. 3. Switch on the days you're open under **Opening hours**. Setup won't go on without them. Out of these hours, the receptionist handles a call the same way as in them, unless you change your call flow to do something else, like only taking messages. See _How to change your call flow_. 4. Click **Continue**. It saves your details. No website? Fill the sections in by hand. See _How to fill in your business profile_ for what each one is for. ## What should a call end with? Pick one. The call flow is written around it, and you can change it any time. - **Book a quote visit**: it finds out about the job and books a visit in your calendar, when you're free and close enough. - **Arrange a callback**: it puts a time to ring them back in your calendar, when you're free. - **Take their details**: it finds out about the job and where it is, and passes it all on for you to get back to them. Whichever you pick, it also answers questions about your business, takes messages, and puts callers through to you when they ask. ## What should it ask about the job? Once it knows what the job is, it asks these one at a time. Untick any you don't want, and add up to six of your own under **Your own questions**. See _How to choose what your receptionist asks callers_. ## How calls reach you 1. Type **Your mobile**. The receptionist texts you about calls on it, can put callers through to you, and rings it when it can't answer. 2. Choose when it answers: **The receptionist answers every call**, **Ring me first in working hours**, **Ring me first, always** or **Choose the hours**. 3. Click **Continue**. It starts on **Ring me first in working hours**: you take the calls you can, and it answers the rest and everything out of hours. See _How to choose when your receptionist answers_. When you click Continue, it starts writing your call flow from your business details. You'll see **Writing your call flow from your business details** while it does. It usually takes under a minute. ## Connect your calendar This step only shows if you picked **Book a quote visit** or **Arrange a callback**. Connect your own calendar so it only books when you're free and puts visits straight in it. Under **Bookable people**, click **Ask to connect** next to anyone else it books visits with. See _How to choose who your receptionist books visits with_. Without a calendar, it books by your working hours alone and can double-book you. The button reads **Skip for now** until your own calendar is connected, then **Continue**. ## Choose its phone number Pick the kind of number, search by area code or town, pick one and click **Use this number**. It's yours straight away. See _How to get your receptionist's phone number_. ## Try it, then go live 1. Under **Give it a ring**, click **Call**, allow your microphone and talk to it like a customer would. Or click **Type** and type instead. Test calls book nothing and text nobody. See _How to make a test call_. 2. Under **If it can't answer**, check the **Fallback number**: where calls go when it's paused, past its minutes or can't answer. It's your mobile unless you change it. Click **Save fallback number** if you change it. 3. Look down **Before it goes live**. Anything marked as needed has a **Fix** link. 4. Click **Publish and go live**. If everything it needs is there, you'll see **Your receptionist is live** and the number it's answering. Click **Finish**. ## Why does it say Published, not live yet? It's published, but something it needs to answer calls is missing, usually its phone number. The screen lists what's left. Sort it, then put it live from the **Overview** or **Settings**. See _How to put your receptionist live, pause it and publish changes_. ## Why is Publish and go live greyed out? Either your call flow is still being written, or it has a problem that would make calls go wrong. The page says **Your call flow's problems need sorting before it can be published.** Click **Fix** next to it to go to the first one. ## Why is there no Calendar step? You picked **Take their details**, which doesn't book anything. Pick another answer on **What should a call end with?** and the Calendar step comes back. ## Why can't I get started? On a free trial the receptionist page says **The receptionist starts with your plan** instead. See _Why the receptionist isn't on the free trial_.