Your Receptionist can automatically transfer calls to the right person based on scenarios you define. When the Receptionist recognizes that a caller needs to speak with someone specific, it connects them seamlessly, creating a warm handoff without you lifting a finger.

📌 Now part of Scenarios: Call transfers are now set up as a Transfer Call action inside Scenarios, the single place to configure your Receptionist's call playbook. The standalone Transfer Calls screen still works and is described below, but we recommend setting up transfers in Scenarios going forward. 📖 Set up Scenarios

What is Call Transfer?

Call Transfer lets your Receptionist redirect an incoming call to a specific person while the call is still in progress. This could be the business owner, an invited member of the line, or a department representative reachable at an external number.

You define transfer rules that tell the Receptionist when a transfer should happen and who should receive the call. For example:

Transfer to the owner when a caller asks to speak with someone in charge
Transfer to billing when a caller has a payment question
Transfer immediately for urgent or emergency calls

You can create as many rules as you need, each with a different recipient.

📌 Transfer to a teammate or an external number: In Scenarios' Transfer Call action, you can transfer to an invited member of the line or to an external phone number - on iPhone, Android, and 📖 Beside on the web alike. On the legacy standalone Transfer Calls screen described below, Android only supports transferring to an external phone number.

Before you start

Make sure the following are in place before setting up Call Transfer:

Your Receptionist is enabled for phone calls (📖 Set up your Receptionist to answer calls)
For external transfers, you have the recipient's phone number ready. For teammate transfers, the teammate is already invited to the line.

Set up a Call Transfer rule

From Beside on the web

Go to app.beside.com and click Receptionist in the left sidebar
If you have multiple lines, select the line you want to configure from the dropdown at the top of the page
Under Actions, click Transfer Calls
Click + Add (top right)
In the Add Call Transfer Rule dialog, fill in:
- Rule Name - a short label (e.g. Transfer to Sales)
- Description - describe when the Receptionist should transfer this call (e.g. The caller mentions a billing issue or wants to discuss an invoice)
- Callee Name (optional) - the name of the person or department being called
- Phone Number - the external number to transfer to
Click Add Rule to save

📌 External numbers only on this legacy screen: This standalone Transfer Calls screen on Beside on the web only supports transfers to an external phone number. To transfer to an invited member of the line from the web, use the Transfer Call action in Scenarios instead. 📖 Set up Scenarios

From the mobile app

Open the Beside mobile app → go to the Receptionist. If you have multiple lines, select the line you want to configure from the dropdown at the top left. In the 📞 Phone section, under Actions, tap Call Transfer rules (iPhone) or Transfer Calls (Android).

On iPhone

Tap + Call Transfer on the Call Transfer screen
Under Define scenario, describe in what situation your Receptionist should transfer the call (e.g. "Caller asks to speak with the owner" or "Billing or payment question")
Under Transfer calls to, tap the dropdown and choose:
- A phone number - enter the recipient's Full Name and Phone Number
- A team member - pick an invited member of the line. The transfer will ring their Beside number.
Tap Save

On Android

Tap Add Scenario
Enter a description of when the Receptionist should transfer the call (e.g. "Caller asks to speak with the owner" or "Billing or payment question")
Enter the recipient's name and phone number
Save your scenario

📌 Note: This is the legacy standalone Transfer Calls screen, which only supports external phone numbers on Android. To transfer directly to an invited member of the line on Android, use the Transfer Call action in Scenarios instead. 📖 Set up Scenarios

💡 Tip: Use clear, descriptive scenarios so the Receptionist can easily match caller intent. For example, "The caller mentions a billing issue or wants to discuss an invoice" is more effective than just "billing."

Manage your transfer rules

You can add, edit, or remove transfer rules at any time. Changes apply to new calls immediately. Any call already in progress won't be affected.

If you have multiple lines, each line has its own independent set of transfer rules. This means you can route calls differently depending on which line receives the call.

How Call Transfer works

Here's what happens during a transferred call:

A caller is speaking with your Receptionist
The Receptionist recognizes that the caller's request matches one of your transfer rules
The Receptionist acknowledges the request to the caller (e.g., "Let me connect you with John right now.") - you can guide what it says here with an optional Transfer message (see below)
The recipient's phone rings
If the recipient answers, a three-way call is established and the Receptionist steps back
If the recipient doesn't answer, the caller is sent to the recipient's voicemail

📌 Note: The Receptionist remains a silent participant during the transfer but stops speaking. This enables a smooth warm handoff.

💡 The recipient sees caller context before they answer:

When a call transfers to a Beside team member - or to a phone number that resolves to a single-user Beside line - the recipient sees an in-call banner as soon as they answer, showing who's calling, why they're calling, and what they need. This comes from what the caller told your Receptionist.
The banner appears inside the call itself, not as a separate notification.
Available to all Android users. Rolling out gradually on iPhone - not everyone has it yet.

💡 Customize what your Receptionist says:

When you set up a Transfer Call action in Scenarios, you can add an optional Transfer message - a short line like Connecting you to our billing team. Your Receptionist paraphrases it to the caller just before the recipient's line rings. 📖 Set up Scenarios
You can add or edit the transfer message from the Transfer Call action in Scenarios on iPhone, Android, or 📖 Beside on the web. Leave it blank and your Receptionist introduces the transfer in its own words.

💡 The call summary keeps a record of the transfer:

On the Receptionist's own call thread, the call summary card shows Transferred to {name}: the invited member's name, or a formatted phone number for a transfer to an external number.
When the call transfers to an invited member of a Beside line, their own call thread also shows who the call was transferred from, along with the caller's reason for calling - the same details shown on the in-call banner above, kept for later reference.
This appears only for calls the Receptionist actually transferred and connected - normal calls and canceled or failed transfers don't show it.

Transfer outcomes

If your recipient is unavailable, the outcome depends on the situation:

Busy - The recipient's line is occupied. The caller is sent to the recipient's voicemail.
No answer - The recipient didn't pick up. The caller is sent to the recipient's voicemail.
Canceled - The transfer was canceled before connecting. The Receptionist continues the conversation with the caller.
Failed - A technical issue prevented the transfer. The Receptionist apologizes and offers alternatives. If transfers consistently fail to connect, see Troubleshoot a transfer that won't connect below.

Test your Call Transfer setup

Before going live, test that your transfer rules work correctly:

Open the Beside mobile app and go to the Receptionist
Tap Try Receptionist at the bottom, then Call Receptionist
During the test call, describe a situation that matches one of your transfer rules
Confirm that the Receptionist acknowledges the transfer and attempts to connect you

⚠️ Important: If you're forwarding your personal number to Beside, calling your Beside number from that same phone may not work. Beside detects this as a self-call and may end it automatically. Use a different phone to test.

📖 Test your Receptionist

Common use cases

Call Transfer works best when you want to handle specific types of calls differently based on what the caller needs. Here are the most common setups.

Route urgent or emergency calls directly to you

For service businesses (plumbing, HVAC, medical, locksmith, real estate) where missing a true emergency is costly, set up a rule that recognizes urgency and transfers the call to you immediately - even outside Business Hours.

Example rule:

Trigger: when caller mentions "emergency", "urgent", or describes a time-sensitive situation
Transfer to: your personal number

Route specific topics to the right team member

Useful if different people handle different areas of your business. Via the Transfer Call action in Scenarios, you can transfer directly to an invited member of the line on any platform; otherwise, transfer to their external number.

Examples:

- Billing questions → accountant

- Scheduling → office manager

- Technical issues → owner

Troubleshoot a transfer that won't connect

If your Receptionist announces the transfer ("Let me connect you...") but the call never reaches the recipient - the Receptionist comes back saying the transfer didn't go through and offers a callback - the most common cause is the recipient's phone declining the incoming call, not a problem with your transfer rule.

When Beside transfers a call, it dials the recipient from a dedicated Beside outbound number - not from the original caller's number or your own Beside line. If the recipient's phone is set to filter calls from numbers it doesn't recognize, that transfer can be rejected before it rings.

💡 Fix it on the recipient's phone:

Add the number Beside transfers from to the recipient's contacts. After a failed transfer attempt, that number appears in their recent or missed calls - save it as a contact so future transfers ring through.
Turn off settings that block unknown numbers: Silence Unknown Callers (iPhone), Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode, and any call-screening or spam-blocking app.
Some carriers apply their own spam filtering. If the steps above don't help, ask the recipient to check with their carrier.

📌 Good to know: This resolves most "transfer didn't connect" cases, but a transfer can also fail to connect if the recipient is genuinely busy or doesn't answer - in those cases the caller is sent to the recipient's voicemail (see Transfer outcomes above).

FAQ

My Receptionist says the transfer didn't go through - what should I check?

The most common reason is that the recipient's phone declined the call. Beside dials transfers from a dedicated outbound number, so if the recipient has Silence Unknown Callers, Do Not Disturb, a Focus mode, or a call-screening or spam-blocking app active, the transfer can be rejected before it rings. Ask the recipient to add the number Beside transfers from to their contacts (it shows up in their recent or missed calls after a failed attempt) and to turn off unknown-caller blocking for it.

Can I transfer calls to an international number?

Yes, as long as the phone number is in a valid format and your account supports international calling.

Can the Receptionist transfer to multiple people at the same time?

No. Only one transfer can happen at a time per call. However, you can create multiple rules with different recipients. The AI will pick the right one based on the caller's request.

Is the transferred portion of the call recorded?

Yes. If call recording is enabled, the entire call, including the transferred portion, is recorded.

Can the Receptionist transfer to an invited member of my line?

Yes. In the Transfer Call action inside Scenarios, choose A team member in the Transfer calls to dropdown and pick an invited member of the line - the transfer will ring their Beside number. This works on iPhone, Android, and 📖 Beside on the web alike. On the legacy standalone Transfer Calls screen, only iPhone offers a teammate picker - on Android and web you'd enter their phone number directly.

What does the person receiving a transferred call see?

If the call transfers to a Beside team member, or to a phone number tied to a single-user Beside line, they'll see an in-call banner when they answer showing the caller's name, why they're calling, and what they need - based on what the caller told your Receptionist. This is available to all Android users, and is rolling out gradually on iPhone.

Can the Receptionist transfer to a department or call queue?

Each rule transfers to a single destination - either an invited member of the line or one phone number. Queue-based or department-wide routing is not yet supported.

What if I don't have any transfer rules configured?

If no rules are set up, your Receptionist will handle the call normally without attempting any transfers. It will take a message and you'll receive a summary as usual.

Does the caller know they're being transferred?

Yes. The Receptionist always informs the caller before initiating the transfer, ensuring a smooth and transparent experience.

Can I change what my Receptionist says when it transfers a call?

Yes. When you set up a Transfer Call action in Scenarios, add an optional Transfer message - a short line like Connecting you to our billing team. Your Receptionist paraphrases it to the caller just before the recipient's line rings, so it won't read it word for word. Leave it blank and your Receptionist introduces the transfer in its own words. You can edit the transfer message in Scenarios on iPhone, Android, or Beside on the web. 📖 Set up Scenarios

Does the call summary show that a call was transferred?

Yes. The Receptionist's own call thread shows a "Transferred to {name}" line on the call summary card. If the call transferred to an invited member of the line, their own call thread keeps a record of who the call was transferred from along with the caller's reason for calling - the same information shown on the in-call banner while the call was live.

Set up Call Transfer for your Receptionist