Create a routing rule

What you'll build

In this guide, you'll create a rule that sends an SMS follow-up when someone calls after hours. This is one of the most common rules and a great way to learn how the rules engine works.

Step 1: Open routing rules

Go to Routing Rules in your dashboard. You'll see any rules that came with your industry preset. Click Add Rule to create a new one.

Step 2: Name your rule

Give the rule a clear name: "After-Hours Missed Call Follow-Up"

Good rule names describe what triggers them and what they do. You'll thank yourself when you have 10+ rules and need to find one quickly.

Step 3: Add conditions

Conditions determine when this rule fires. All conditions must match (AND logic).

Add your first condition:

• Field: _is_after_hours
• Operator: =
• Value: true

Add a second condition:

• Field: source
• Operator: =
• Value: missed_call

This rule now fires only when a missed call arrives outside your business hours. Both conditions must be true.

Step 4: Add actions

Actions are what happens when the rule fires. Click Add Action.

Action 1: Send a template

• Type: Send Template
• Template: select your after-hours follow-up template (or create one first on the Templates page)

Action 2: Create a task

• Type: Create Task
• Reason: "Missed call after hours, callback needed"
• Priority: High

Your team sees the task when they open up in the morning.

Step 5: Set the priority

Priority determines the order rules are evaluated. Higher numbers are evaluated first.

• Set priority to 10 for a standard rule
• Industry presets use 0–10 for general rules and 100 for Signal Guard escalation rules

Remember: all matching rules fire, not just the first one. A signal can trigger multiple rules. Priority controls the evaluation order, not exclusivity.

Step 6: Test it

1. Go to the Test Runner
2. Enter a message like: "Hi, I missed your call. Can you call me back?"
3. Set the channel to SMS and source to missed_call
4. Run the test outside your configured business hours (or temporarily adjust your hours for testing)
5. Verify your new rule appears in the "Matched Rules" section
6. Confirm the SMS template and task action show in "Actions Triggered"

Step 7: Enable and save

Toggle the rule to Enabled and click Save. Your rule is now live.

Tips for building rules

• Start simple. One or two conditions and one or two actions. Add complexity later.
• Use the test runner after every change. It's free and catches mistakes before they affect real leads.
• No conditions = matches everything. A rule with zero conditions fires on every signal. Use this for universal logging or default templates.
• Layer rules intentionally. Since all matching rules fire, you can have a general acknowledgment rule (priority 5) and a specific hot-lead rule (priority 10), and both fire when a hot lead messages.
• Check the conditions reference. The Routing Rules page lists every available field, operator, and action type.