Voice Trigger: Launching an IVR Flow Upon Receiving a Call

If your workspace has Voice (IVR) enabled, you can create an incoming call trigger to start a flow whenever RapidPro.app receives a phone call from a contact, either answering the call to launch an IVR/Phone Call flow or hanging up and starting a messaging flow, with optional restrictions by voice number/channel and by contact groups.
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6–7 min read
Category
Triggers
Updated on
Updated on: 23/12/2025

Create an incoming call trigger in a few steps

If you just need the essentials, follow this:

  1. Confirm a voice-enabled channel/number is connected and enabled
  2. Go to Triggers, click + New Trigger, and select Start a flow after receiving a call
  3. Choose the call behavior: answer & start voice flow or hang up & start messaging flow
  4. Select the flow and optionally restrict by voice channel/number and groups
  5. Save, then test by placing a real call and checking logs

You’re done. Calls to your voice number can now launch the correct flow automatically.

Step-by-Step Process

1
Understand what the incoming call trigger does

When Voice (IVR) is set up, this trigger starts a flow when RapidPro.app receives an incoming phone call from a contact. You can route callers into an IVR experience,
or hang up and start a messaging flow as a follow-up.

💡
Tip: Use this for inbound IVR menus such as “Press 1 for info, press 2 to leave a message”.

2
Create a new incoming call trigger
  1. Go to the Triggers tab.
  2. Click + New Trigger.
  3. Scroll to Start a flow after receiving a call and select it.

3
Choose how to handle the call

Select one of the following behaviors:

  • Answer the call and start a voice flow (IVR / Phone Call flow)
  • Hang up and start a messaging flow

⚠️
Warning: “Hang up” may surprise callers. If you choose hang up + messaging flow, make sure the follow-up message clearly explains what happened and what to do next.

4
Select the flow and optional restrictions
  1. Choose the IVR/phone call flow you want to start.
  2. Optional: Select the voice channel or phone number this trigger should apply to. If you leave this blank, the trigger will apply to any eligible voice channel.
  3. Optional: Add include/exclude group rules to control who can trigger the flow.

⚙️
Note: Restricting by channel/number is useful if you have multiple departments and want different call routing based on which phone number was dialed.
⚠️
Warning: Group filters can block calls from triggering. If a caller isn’t in an included group (or is in an excluded group), the flow won’t start.

5
Save and test with a real call
  1. Click Create to save.
  2. Confirm it appears in your Active Triggers list.
  3. Place a real call to the number and confirm the flow starts.
  4. If it doesn’t start, review logs to identify what prevented the trigger from firing.

💡
Tip: Test immediately after setup by placing a real inbound call and reviewing logs if it doesn’t start.

Common Issues & Quick Fixes

Problem: Calls don’t start the flow.

Fix: Confirm the channel/number is voice-enabled and enabled, check the trigger is active, verify you called the selected number if the trigger is channel-restricted, and review include/exclude group filters.

Problem: The caller hears nothing or the call drops.

Fix: Ensure you selected Answer the call and start a voice flow, and verify the chosen flow is a Phone Call / IVR flow (not a messaging flow).

Problem: The wrong flow starts for calls.

Fix: Check for multiple incoming call triggers on the same channel, and restrict triggers by channel/number to avoid conflicts.

Related Resources
Creating an IVR Flow: Advantages and Structure of an Interactive Voice Response
Understanding Triggers: Roles and Types of Flow Initiation
Scheduling: Launching a Flow on a Specific Date or Recurring Basis