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Vonage Business Communications forwards to external numbers through Call Forwarding on an extension, set in the admin portal.
Read How call forwarding works first — it covers choosing a mode and the caller-ID check that matters on every provider.

Before you start

  • Your Recepta.ai number, from Phone numbers in the dashboard
  • Admin access, and knowledge of which extension your main number rings

Set up forwarding

1

Open the admin portal

Sign in at admin.vonage.com.
2

Go to Phone System → Extensions

Hover over the extension that receives your main business calls and click the pencil icon to edit it.
3

Open Call Forwarding

Click Call Forwarding and toggle Forward Calls on.
4

Send to your Recepta.ai number

Choose Send To Ext. or Number and enter your Recepta.ai number — a 10-digit US number, without the country code.
5

Pick the forwarding behaviour

See the table below. Follow Me is the right choice for no-answer forwarding.
6

Set Caller ID to the original caller

Under Caller ID, select Use Caller ID so the agent receives the customer’s number rather than your company line. This is the setting that makes CRM recognition work.
7

Save and test from a mobile

Verify the caller ID that lands in Call logs.

Which option to choose

Don’t use Simultaneous Ring with Recepta.ai in the group. The AI answers within a ring or two, so it wins essentially every call and your team never gets one. Use Follow Me so it rings in sequence instead.
If anyone on your team uses the Vonage mobile app, don’t forward to that same mobile number. The phone receives two calls at once and Vonage sends the call straight to the mobile’s voicemail.

Call Continuity

If your account uses Call Continuity — which reroutes calls when your internet or phones go down — check where it points. If its failover destination leads back into your phone system, a real outage can create a loop. Point it directly at your Recepta.ai number instead. An outage is exactly when you most want calls still being answered.

Virtual receptionist

If callers currently hear a menu, your number goes through a virtual receptionist:

Replace the menu

Route the receptionist to an extension forwarding to Recepta.ai. The AI does what the menu was approximating, and callers get a conversation instead of a list of options.

Keep the menu

Point one option at the forwarding extension — useful if particular options must reach specific departments directly.

Costs

Forwarding to numbers outside your plan’s included geography — international, or areas your plan doesn’t cover — incurs additional charges. Worth checking before you route high volume.

Troubleshooting

Voicemail is intercepting first. Reduce the ring time before forwarding, or place the forwarding rule ahead of voicemail.
You’ve forwarded to a number that’s also running the Vonage mobile app. Forward somewhere else.
The rule is on the wrong extension. Trace where your main number actually terminates — often a virtual receptionist rather than a user.
Use Caller ID isn’t selected under Caller ID on the forwarding settings.
Texts to your Vonage number are not forwarded. See How call forwarding works.