Your phone system knows exactly how many calls came in, how many were missed, who made long outbound calls and which hour is busiest. Call detail records (CDR) and call accounting reports turn that data into decisions. This guide explains the reports an IP PBX should give you, using Voxdial IP PBX as the example.
What is a CDR?
A call detail record is a log entry for every call: who called whom, when, how it ended and how long it lasted. Call accounting is the practice of reporting on those records to understand costs, usage and service.
The reports that matter
Call report: every single call
The detailed call log lists every incoming, outgoing and internal call with numbers, date, time, outcome (answered, no answer, busy, failed) and duration. Filter by number, date, direction and outcome, export to a spreadsheet, or group by number and outcome. Where recording is enabled, play or download calls. See call recording.
Call statistics: the big picture
For any date range, see total, inbound and outbound calls, answer rate, answered and failed or missed calls, a daily volume chart and an outcome chart. A daily table breaks down inbound and outbound calls by answered, busy and no answer, and you can hide weekend days to compare working days.
Long outbound calls
Call statistics also lists outbound calls longer than a set number of minutes, with caller, number, count and total duration. This is the quickest way to spot phone bill surprises. Pair it with call restrictions.
Extension performance
For each extension: idle, ringing, inbound and outbound call time, number of calls, login time and utilisation, the share of logged-in time spent on calls. Utilisation is colour coded, so under- and over-loaded desks stand out. A graph shows time per state per day.
Hourly call graphs
Incoming and outgoing calls per hour across the day, for chosen numbers, with several dates side by side. Use it to staff reception and teams for the real peak hours.
Live dashboard
Today’s inbound, outbound and internal calls, an hourly chart, outcome charts and a live list of calls in progress with timers.
Questions these reports answer
| Question | Report |
|---|---|
| How many calls did we miss yesterday? | Call statistics, call report |
| Who is making long outbound calls? | Long outbound calls |
| When should reception have extra cover? | Hourly call graphs |
| Which numbers call us most? | Call report grouped by number |
| Is a desk overloaded or idle? | Extension performance |
| What happened on a particular call? | Call report with recording |
How reports classify calls
Calls are classified as inbound, outbound or internal by channel type, so internal intercom calls do not inflate customer call figures. Call statistics excludes internal calls.
Make reporting a habit
- Daily: missed calls and call backs.
- Weekly: answer rate, long outbound calls, busiest hours.
- Monthly: extension utilisation and trends; export for management.
For call centre KPIs such as service level and abandon rate, see call centre KPIs and wallboard.
Voxdial IP PBX by BitVoice includes these reports out of the box. Book a demo.
FAQs
What is a CDR in a PBX?
A call detail record is the log entry for each call: calling and called numbers, date, time, outcome and duration.
What is call accounting software?
It reports on call records to show call volumes, missed calls, call costs and usage by extension or number.
How can I find long outbound calls from my office?
Voxdial’s call statistics lists outbound calls longer than a set number of minutes, with the caller, number dialled, count and total duration.
Can I export PBX call reports to Excel?
Yes. Call reports and extension performance can be exported as spreadsheet (CSV) files.
