When nobody can answer, voicemail is the safety net. Voicemail to email makes it far more useful: each message lands in the inbox as an audio file, so staff hear it on their phone or laptop within minutes, without dialling into a mailbox. This guide covers how to set up business voicemail on an IP PBX, using Voxdial IP PBX.
How voicemail to email works
- A call to an extension, ring group or IVR option is not answered.
- The call falls through to the extension’s voicemail box.
- The caller leaves a message.
- The PBX emails the message to the mailbox owner, with the audio attached and details such as the caller’s number, date and duration.
Set up a voicemail box
In Voxdial, each extension has its own mailbox. For each one you set:
- Enabled: turns the mailbox on.
- Voicemail PIN: the code used to listen to messages from a phone.
- Email address: where new message notifications go.
- Email attachment: attach the audio file to the email.
- Delete after emailing: keep the box empty and deliver messages by email only.
- Caller ID and date announcements: read out the caller’s number and the time before each message.
Turning on both the attachment and delete-after-emailing gives you email-only voicemail, which suits most offices.
System-wide settings
An administrator sets defaults that apply to every mailbox, and individual mailboxes can override them:
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Maximum message length | The longest message a caller can leave |
| Minimum message length | Very short messages, such as hang-ups, are discarded |
| Maximum greeting length | The longest greeting a user can record |
| Silence detection | How much silence ends a recording |
| Failed PIN attempts | How many wrong PINs before the caller is disconnected |
| Minimum PIN length | Stronger mailbox PINs |
| Operator option | Let callers press 0 to reach an operator instead |
| Email subject and body | Templates filled with the caller’s number, mailbox, duration and date |
Good voicemail practice
- Record a real greeting with your name, team and when you will call back.
- Offer an operator option so urgent callers can press 0 for a person.
- Send team mailboxes to a shared address such as support@, so anyone can call back.
- Discard very short messages so hang-ups do not fill the inbox.
- Require longer PINs to keep mailboxes private.
- Call back the same day. A voicemail is a customer waiting.
Voicemail is the last resort, not the first
Voicemail catches calls nobody could answer, but customers prefer a person. Before voicemail, use ring groups and follow me, queues and automatic callbacks. After office hours, an AI voice agent can answer common questions and take details instead.
BitVoice configures voicemail to email with every Voxdial installation. Talk to us.
FAQs
What is voicemail to email?
It is a phone system feature that emails each new voicemail message to the mailbox owner, usually with the audio file attached and the caller’s number, date and duration.
Can voicemail be delivered only by email?
Yes. In Voxdial, turn on email attachment and delete after emailing, and messages arrive by email while the mailbox stays empty.
Can callers reach a person instead of leaving voicemail?
Yes. With the operator option on, callers can press 0 to go to an operator.
Can I change the voicemail email subject and text?
Yes. Administrators edit the email subject and body templates, which fill in details such as caller ID, mailbox and duration automatically.
