2 min readUpdated September 2, 2026
Making and taking calls from your browser, plus SMS. There's no separate handset needed — the softphone lives in the navigation bar.
Everyday work
- How to Place a Call with the Softphone
- How to Answer or Decline an Incoming Call
- How to Use the In-Call Controls — mute, hold, transfer, hang up
- How to Look Up a Caller During a Call — pulling up who's on the line without leaving the call
- How to View Your Call History — and calling somebody back from it
- How to Manage Your Voicemail
- How to Send and Receive Text Messages
- How to Dial a Department with Speed Dial
- How to Set Call Forwarding and Do Not Disturb
Understanding the setup
- How Calling and Texting Work — the overall picture, worth reading once
- Phone Provider Instances Explained — why your organization might have more than one phone system connected
- Why Your Phone May Not Be Connected — start here if the dialer is greyed out
Administrator work
- How to Add a Phone or Text Provider — connecting the service that carries the calls
- How to Manage Phone Extensions — giving people numbers
- How to Review Phone Users, Devices and Voicemail — the health of the whole system
One thing that confuses everybody
In your call history, the number shown is the other person — who you called, or who called you. On outbound calls to an external number, some reports show your outbound caller ID rather than your extension. If a colleague's calls all look like they came from the same number, that's why.
In this section
How Calling and Texting WorkWhat's actually there The top navigation bar's phone icon (tooltip: "Call or Text") opens two separate tools: Call — opens the softphone, a full in-browser phone: dial pad, live calls, call history, voicemail,…Why Your Phone May Not Be ConnectedThere are two separate gates, at two different levels. The phone icon is missing from your nav entirely It only appears if both are true: your organization has phone turned on, and you hold the Access VOIP right. If…Phone Provider Instances ExplainedYour organization can connect more than one phone-related provider instance — separately, one or more Phone Servers (VOIP) and one or more Bulk Text (SMS) providers. Because there can be several of each, the Extensions,…How to Add a Phone or Text ProviderConnect a phone system (VOIP) or bulk text (SMS) provider instance. Before you start The Manage VOIP Settings right, and your organization must have Phone Systems enabled. Steps 1. Go to Settings → Phone System(s) →…How to Answer or Decline an Incoming CallRespond to a call ringing in to your extension. Before you start Your phone system is connected and your account is registered (this happens automatically once you're set up — see Why Your Phone May Not Be Connected if…How to Dial a Department with Speed DialQuickly dial another department's extension without knowing or typing its number. Before you start At least one department in your organization needs an extension configured (in Settings) for anything to appear here.…How to Look Up a Caller During a CallWhile on a call (or before dialing), pull up the matching Lead record, log a note straight to it, or schedule a callback — without leaving the softphone. Before you start The CRM tab in the softphone is real and wired…How to Manage Phone ExtensionsView every extension across all connected phone providers, and unassign one from a member. Before you start The Manage VOIP Settings right. Steps 1. Go to Settings → Phone System(s) → Extensions. 2. Search by extension…How to Manage Your VoicemailListen to, organize, or remove your voicemail messages. Steps 1. Open the softphone (top nav phone icon → Call) and click the VM tab. The tab title shows how many are new. 2. Filter with the chips: All, Unread, Has…How to Place a Call with the SoftphoneDial a number using KamoCRM's built-in softphone. Before you start Your organization has a phone system connected (RingCentral, a SIP/PBX system, or Microsoft Teams) and you hold the Access VOIP right. Your own member…How to Review Phone Users, Devices and VoicemailReview your phone system's users, provisioned devices (desk phones and mobile), voicemail boxes, and overall sync health — all aggregated across every connected provider instance. Before you start The Manage VOIP…How to Send and Receive Text MessagesSend a text message and keep up a text conversation from KamoCRM. Before you start Your organization has a bulk-text/SMS provider connected (Settings → Phone System(s)) and you hold the Access VOIP right. Steps Start a…How to Set Call Forwarding and Do Not DisturbControl how incoming calls reach you: block them, forward them elsewhere, or auto-answer them. Steps 1. Open the softphone (top nav phone icon → Call) and click the Settings tab. 2. Under Call Features: - Do Not Disturb…How to Use the In-Call ControlsControl an active call: mute yourself, put the call on hold, jot a quick note, or hang up. Before you start You're on an active call (see How to Place a Call with the Softphone). Steps 1. While connected, the softphone…How to View Your Call HistoryReview your recent calls and quickly call one of them back. Steps 1. Open the softphone (top nav phone icon → Call) and click the History tab. A red badge on the tab shows your missed-call count. 2. Filter the list with…
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