Documentation
Learn DialCloud
Everything you need to set up and run your AI phone receptionist. Setup takes under 10 minutes.
Getting Started
1. Create your account
Sign up at DialCloud.ai with Google or email. No credit card required. You get 60 free minutes (or 30 days, whichever comes first) of real call handling to test everything.
2. Set up your business profile
Enter your business name, address, hours, and trade (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, landscaping, etc.). If your business is on Google, we can auto-fill most of this from Google Places. The trade you pick determines which scheduling, dispatch, and emergency-triage tools your AI agent uses.
3. Configure your AI agent
Pick a voice (29 human-grade presets: male, female, and neutral options across American, British, and Australian accents), set the agent's name and personality, and customize the greeting. The agent adapts its conversation style to your trade automatically. A plumber's emergency triage and an electrician's safety questions are handled differently.
4. Get a phone number
Choose a local or toll-free number from our inventory. It's active instantly. You can also port your existing number or forward calls from your current provider (Vonage, Twilio, etc.).
5. Test and go live
Call your new number from your phone. Test a booking, ask a question, try a transfer. When you're satisfied, you're live. No deployment step needed.
AI Agent Setup
Voice & personality
Choose from 29 preset voices: ranging from calm and professional to energetic and warm, with American, British, and Australian accents. Male, female, and gender-neutral options available. Set the agent's name, personality tone, and speaking style from your dashboard under Agent Settings.
Greeting & FAQs
Customize what your agent says when it picks up the phone. Add FAQs so the agent can answer common questions about your business (hours, pricing, services, location). FAQs update instantly on the next call. No re-deployment needed.
Business hours
Set your operating hours per day of the week. The agent knows when you're open or closed and adjusts its behavior: during hours it books appointments into your schedule; after hours it can take messages, book for the next available day, or offer emergency options.
Call transfers
Set up transfer targets: real phone numbers the agent can forward calls to mid-conversation. Add names and departments (e.g. "Sarah - Billing", "Front Desk"). The agent will transfer when the caller asks or when it detects the conversation needs a human.
Language support
The agent answers in English and Spanish with automatic detection. When a caller speaks Spanish, the agent switches seamlessly. No configuration needed.
Phone Numbers
Getting a new number
During onboarding or from Settings, search by area code and pick a local number. Toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833) are also available. The number is active within seconds.
Porting your existing number
Keep your current business number by porting it to DialCloud. Submit a Letter of Authorization (LOA) with your carrier account info and billing address. Track the port status from your dashboard. Porting typically takes 1-3 weeks depending on your carrier.
Swapping numbers
You can release your current number and get a new one at any time from Settings. Released numbers are returned to the pool and cannot be recovered.
Call Forwarding
How it works
If you already have a business phone number on Vonage, Twilio, or another provider, you can forward calls from that number to your DialCloud number. You keep your existing number (callers dial the same number they always have) and DialCloud's AI agent answers.
Vonage setup
Log in to Vonage Business Communications > Admin > Phone System > Phone Numbers. Select your number, enable Call Forwarding, and enter your DialCloud number as the destination. Set to "Always" for all calls or "When Busy/No Answer" for backup mode.
Twilio setup
Log in to console.twilio.com > Phone Numbers > Active Numbers. Click your number. Under Voice Configuration, create a TwiML Bin with: <Response><Dial>YOUR_DIALCLOUD_NUMBER</Dial></Response>. Save. Calls forward immediately.
Other providers
Most phone providers support call forwarding. Find the forwarding settings in your provider's dashboard, set the destination to your DialCloud number, and save. Contact us if you need help with a specific provider.
Managing forwarding
Track your forwarded numbers from Dashboard > Call Forwarding. Add your source number and provider, then mark it as verified once you've confirmed calls are coming through.
Appointment Booking
How the agent books appointments
When a caller wants to book, the agent checks your real-time availability, offers open slots, and collects the caller's name, phone number, email, and service address. It confirms everything back verbally (spelling the last name, reading the email character by character), then books the appointment and sends an SMS confirmation.
Availability & scheduling
Availability is calculated from your appointment database in real time. The agent only offers slots that are actually open. Slot length and buffer time between appointments are configurable in Scheduling Settings. Google Calendar, Outlook, and other calendars sync automatically. Appointments appear on your calendar within seconds.
Rescheduling & cancellation
Callers can reschedule or cancel by phone. The agent identifies their appointment (by caller ID or by asking), checks availability for the new time, and handles the change. SMS confirmations are sent for both reschedules and cancellations.
Waitlist
When a caller's preferred time isn't available, the agent offers to add them to the waitlist. If a slot opens up (someone cancels or reschedules), the next person on the waitlist gets an automatic SMS with the offer. Available on Professional and Business plans.
Recurring appointments
Set up daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly recurring appointments for maintenance schedules and regular clients. Appointments are auto-generated by a background job. Available on Business plan.
SMS & Notifications
Automatic messages
DialCloud sends SMS automatically for appointment confirmations, reminders (configurable timing), cancellations, estimate approvals, and review requests. All messages come from your DialCloud phone number.
Two-way SMS
Customers can reply to SMS messages. Supported replies: C or CANCEL to cancel an appointment, Y or YES to confirm, 1-5 to rate their experience, APPROVE to approve an estimate, BOOK to schedule maintenance. Other text is saved as a note on their call log.
Email notifications
You and your team receive email notifications for new bookings, cancellations, and callback requests. Confirmation emails CC your business email address so you always have a record.
Integrations
Calendar
Connect Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, or Appointlet. Appointments booked by the AI agent sync automatically. The database is always the source of truth for availability. Calendars are a sync target, not queried for scheduling.
Webhooks
Send real-time notifications to Zapier, Slack, or any custom URL when events happen (new booking, cancellation, call completed). Webhooks are signed with HMAC for security. Available on Business plan.
Billing & Plans
Plans
Essentials ($39/mo, normally $49; 200 min), Professional ($99/mo, normally $129; 500 min), Business ($149/mo, normally $199; 800 min). All plans include 1 phone number, appointment booking, and SMS confirmations. Extra minutes are $0.20/min with no throttling.
Free trial
Every account starts with 60 free minutes or 30 days, whichever comes first. No credit card required. These are real call-handling minutes, not a sandbox.
Payment methods
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover. Payment is collected via Stripe using the PaymentElement for maximum compatibility. Annual billing saves 20%.
Upgrading & downgrading
Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated credits. Downgrades apply at the next billing cycle. Cancel anytime. Service runs through the end of your paid period.
Dashboard & Analytics
Call logs
Every call is logged with duration, caller number, transcript, status (completed, missed, transferred), and cost. View individual call transcripts to see exactly what the agent said and did.
Analytics
Track call volume, average duration, booking conversion rate, and busiest hours. The Professional and Business plans include advanced analytics with trends and insights.
Contacts & caller profiles
DialCloud automatically creates a contact record for every caller. View call history, appointment history, tags (VIP, returning, new), and notes. Tag and manage contacts from the Caller Profiles page.
Settings
Manage your business profile, agent configuration, phone numbers, business hours, transfer targets, blocked callers, and integrations all from the dashboard sidebar.
Security & Privacy
Data encryption
All data is encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS 1.2+). Database access is isolated per organization. Your data is never mixed with other businesses.
Access control
Role-based permissions (Owner, Admin, Member) control who can view and modify your account. Only people you invite can access your dashboard.
Call transcripts
Transcripts are stored securely and accessible only to your organization. Healthcare organizations can enable recording disclosure and consent mode from Settings.
Payment security
Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. DialCloud never sees or stores your credit card numbers.