Introduction

The Top Calls report is useful for discovering unusual calling patterns and identifying potential abuse, by highlighting the longest and most costly calls made by people in your organisation.  

Running the report

On the Reports screen, select the Top calls report from the left-hand pane and click the Select this report button.

A new window will appear, where you can set the parameters of your report.

Selecting the reporting period

For each report, you must specify a time span that covers the calls you want the report to include. This is known as the "reporting period".

There are several preset reporting periods available for selection, based on the standard Gregorian calendar. The following table describes how the start and end times are defined for each preset period:

In addition to the presets described above, it is possible to specify a custom reporting period by choosing Custom period from the Period drop-down list and specifying your own  Start date, Start time, End date and End time of the period you want to report on.

Once you have set the reporting period, click on the Next button to set additional report parameters and options, or select the Finish button to run the report immediately.

Selecting the reporting entity

The Reporting entity parameter allows you to select the part of your organisation whose calls the report should include, e.g. a site, a group or an individual user.

Site

To report on a particular site, select it from the drop-down list or select All sites .

Group

If a site has been selected, you are able to further limit the report's results by selecting a group from the drop-down list.

User

If both a site and group have been selected, you can further limit the report's results to include only calls involving a particular user, by selecting that user from the drop-down list.

Once you have selected the scope of your report, click on the Next button to set additional report parameters and options, or to run the report immediately, click the Finish button.

Selecting the report filters

You can limit the results of your report by choosing one or more of the following filters:

Account code

If you want to produce a bill consisting of only chargeable calls that were made using a particular account code, enter the account code in the field provided. 

To report on more than one account code, separate each code using a comma.

Call type

This filter allows you to define the type of call you want to report on, in terms of where the call originated and where it was delivered, e.g. incoming, outgoing, internal etc.  To report on all types of call, set this to All calls.

Carrier

If you use more than one carrier, you can limit the results to include only calls that were made using a specific carrier.

CLI

Calling Line Identification (CLI) is the telephone number of the remote caller in an incoming call scenario.

You can report on calls that originate from a specific CLI or those whose CLI matches a particular pattern of digits. For example, to report on all incoming calls from Tri-Line, you could enter 02072652600.

You can use the ! symbol to explicitly exclude a CLI from the report's results, and/or the * symbol as a wildcard in digit pattern matching.  For example, to exclude calls from Tri-Line, but include all others, you could use !020726526*. To report on more than one CLI, use a comma to separate each entry.

 

Dialled number

To filter calls to a specific dialled number, type it in the text box provided. The dialled number is defined as the number that is dialled (in the case of an outbound call), or the DDI number that the remote party dialled to reach a particular extension or group (in the case of an inbound call).

To filter calls to a specific area, a partial number can be entered (e.g. 0033 for calls to France).

You can use the ! symbol to explicitly exclude a dialled number from the report's results, and/or the * symbol as a wildcard in digit pattern matching.  For example, to exclude calls to Tri-Line, but include all others, you could use !020726526*). To report on more than one dialled number, use a comma to separate each entry.

Duration

To filter calls above or below a particular duration, enter the desired duration in seconds.

You can specify a duration range by using the - symbol; to specify limits, use the comparison operators, >, <, and ! .

In the above example, the report will return only calls longer than 1800 seconds (30 minutes).

LCR code

To filter your results to include only calls that used a Least Cost Routing (LCR) code, enter it in the text box provided.

You can use the ! symbol to explicitly exclude a LCR code from the report's results, and/or the * symbol as a wildcard in digit pattern matching.  For example, to exclude calls made using all LCR codes beginning 162, you could enter !162*. To report on more than one LCR code, use a comma to separate each entry.

Response

This option allows you to filter calls based on their response time, measured in seconds. Specify the desired response time threshold in the text box provided.

In the above example, the search results will display calls that have a response time greater than 10 seconds. 

You can specify a response time range by using the - symbol and; to specify limits, use the comparison operators, >, <, and ! .

Start time

This option allows you to filter calls based on the time the call started. Specify the start time in the text box provided using the hh:mm:ss format.

For example, to include only calls that began after 10 am, you could enter 10:00:00 in the Start time field, as shown below:

Trunk access code

If your telephone system uses trunk access codes to connect calls using specific channels, you can limit your report's results to include only calls made using those codes. Specify the trunk access code in the text box provided.

You can use the ! symbol to explicitly exclude a trunk access code from the report's results, and/or the * symbol as a wildcard in digit pattern matching. For example, to exclude calls made using the 9 trunk access code, you could enter !9. To report on more than one trunk access code, use a comma to separate each entry.

Selecting the report options

This section enables you to further narrow down your report results, by excluding certain types of calls. It also allows you to sort the report's results in a particular manner.

Exclude weekends

To exclude weekend calls from your report's results, select the Exclude weekends option.

Exclude transfers

To exclude transferred calls from your report's results, select the Exclude transfers option.

Don't replace numbers with contact names

Tick this option if you do not want to replace dialled numbers, CLIs and account codes with their associated names, as defined in your web user's contacts list.

Show account codes

Select this option to display any associated account codes as an additional column in this report.

Notes only

Tick this option if you want your search results to include only calls that have notes associated with them.

Audio only

Tick this option if you want your search results to include only calls that have an associated voice recording.

Scored only

Tick this option to include only calls that have a score associated with them, e.g. calls that have already been listened to and scored

Maximum results

To limit the report's results, enter the maximum number of results you want the report to display in the Maximum results option, e.g. if you enter 50 in the text box provided, only 50 results will be displayed.

Sort data by

To choose the criteria that is used in determining the top calls, select a field from the Sort data by drop-down list.

Sort order

Choose from the Sort order drop-down list whether you want the results of your report to appear in ascending or descending order.

Sort results by

To sort your report's results by a particular column, select it from the Sort results by drop-down list.

Ignore short missed calls 

Missed calls below a certain duration can sometimes pollute the meaning of a report's results. To exclude such short calls from your report, enter a duration threshold in the text box provided, e.g. to ignore calls below 3 seconds, enter 3 .

Selecting the report format

 This section allows you to choose the media format of your completed report. The formats available are Web, PDF, Excel, CSV and XML.

More details about each report format are available in the Setting the report format section above.

Creating the report

When you have chosen a reporting period, and are happy with your selections, you have two options:

• run the report now
• schedule the report for future delivery

If you click on the Run now button, the report will run instantly in your chosen format.

If you want to schedule the report to run at a later time, follow the instruction given in the Schedule a report section.

The report's results

When selecting WEB as the output format, this report will appear as below. To view details of any filters or selection parameters used in creating this report, simply click on About this report on the top-right corner of the page.

As with all reports, the header of the report includes:

• the report title
• the date and time of the report
• the name of the report, if applicable

The WEB format allows for complete flexibility when viewing any report. All headers are clickable, allowing you to re-arrange the report layout in seconds, to sort the calls in ascending or decending order based on the header clicked.

The body of the report is a table showing the top calls, arranged as columns, with the following headers:

If you would like to go back and view this report for a larger section of the organisation, click on the appropriate link in the breadcrumb, as shown below:-

Introduction

Quickly identify the top calls in terms of cost or duration, for your whole organisation, or a specific group of extensions. This is useful for uncovering abuse or for identifying who is making expensive types of calls, for example calls to Directory Enquiries.

Running the report

On the Reports screen, click on Top calls in the reports list and then press the Select this report button.

The following report selection criteria window appears:

Reporting period

Every report requires a period to run over. This is generally defined as the "Reporting period".

There are several pre-defined periods that can be selected from a simple drop-down list as shown above.

The built-in periods are based on a standard Gregorian calendar and are defined as follows:

Period	Description
Today	The start date and end date is set to the current date. The default start time is set to 00:00:00 and the end time to the current time.
Yesterday	The start date and end date is set to the current date minus one day. The start time is set to 00:00:00 and the end time to 23:59:59.
This week	The start date is set to the Monday of the current week, whilst the end date is set to the current day. The default start time is set to 00:00:00 and the end time to the current time.
Last week	The start date is set to the last Monday, whilst the end date is set to the start date plus seven days. The start time is set to 00:00:00 and the end time to 23:59:59.
This month	The start date is set to the 1st day of the current month and the end date to today. The default start time is set to 00:00:00 and the end time to the current time.
Last month	The start date for this period is set in three stages. The day is set to 01, the month is set to the current month minus one, or in the case of January, it is set to 12. The year is set to the current year, unless it is a new year, in which case the year is reduced by one. The start and end times are set to 00:00:00 and 23:59:59 respectively.
This year	The start date is set to the first day of the first month of the current year. The end date is set to today's date. The start and end times are set to 00:00:00 and 23:59:59 respectively.
All calls	The start date is set to the date of the first call in the database, whilst the end date is set to the date of the most recent call in the database. Times are also set to the times of the first and last calls in the database.
Custom period	Enter the start and end dates and times into the boxes below. The start and end times are linked to their respective dates.

If you want to be more specific, you can choose the Custom period from the bottom of the drop-down list. This option will allow you to define the start date and end date yourself, as shown below. When you need to be even more specific, you can also choose a start time and end time.

When the report is executed, if the user has selected an in-built period, the reporting engine simply substitutes the start and end dates based on the current date and the period the user selected.

Once you have set the report's period, click on the Next button to set more of the report's features or select the Finish button to run the report.

What do you want to report on?

In addition to the reporting period, each report offers you the opportunity to define exactly what you want to report on. This is generally a site, group or user.

Site

TIM Plus will allow you to log information from up to five sites. If you want to report on a specific site, select that site from the drop-down list or to select all sites' data, leave it at the default All sites as shown above.

Group

There is no limit to the number of groups available on each site. Groups, like sites are available as a drop-down list. You can choose to select a specific group or leave at the default All groups. Please note that the drop-down list for each group can only appear if a site has already been selected.

User

Once a site and group has been selected, you can decide whether you would like to report on all users or select a particular user from the drop-down list as shown above.

Once you have set the report's entities, click on the Next button to set more of the report's features or select the Finish button to run the report.

Filter call information

You have the option of filtering the information, based on a number of call filters. These filters allow you to be very specific, when deciding the call information you would like in the final report.

If you do not want to select any filters, simply press the Next button to skip.

Please find a brief description of all filters below:

Account code

If you want to produce a bill consisting of all chargeable calls made using a particular account code, enter the account code in this filed. To report on more than one account code, simply comma separate.

Call type

This filter allows you to define the type of call you would like to report on. If you would like to report on all calls, leave at the default All calls.

Carrier

If you use more than one carrier, you can choose which carriers calls you would like to report on.

To report on all calls from all carriers, leave at default.

If you only use one carrier, there will be no drop-down list available and no option to choose a different carrier.

CLI

The Caller Line Identification (CLI) is the number associated with the incoming call. This is sometimes withheld by the person making the call.

You may choose to report on calls from a particular CLI or from numbers beginning with a particular CLI by entering the number in here. For example, for calls from Tri-Line you would enter in "02072652600". This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude calls from Tri-Line use "!020726526*".

To report on more than one CLI, simply comma separate.

Cost

If you want to add a filter for call costs, simply type in the cost you wish to define as shown nearby and add the appropriate above, below and between symbol . This filter accepts range (-) and comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

Destination

If you want to filter calls to a specific destination and that destination has been added to your locations field, simply type the destination in here. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude all calls to France use "!France*".

Dialled number

To filter calls to a specific number, type the number in the dialled number field. To filter calls to a specific area, a partial number may be entered here e.g. "0033" for calls to France. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude calls to 0207 265, enter "!0207265*".

Duration

To filter call above or below a particular duration, simply enter the number of seconds and the relevant symbol. This filter accepts range (-) and comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

In the example nearby, the filter will look for calls above 1800 seconds (30 minutes). Alternatively you may want to exclude calls below a certain threshold e.g. below 3 seconds.

LCR code

If you are using Least Cost Routing (LCR), you may want to filter by LCR code in order to check a bill from your LCR provider. To do this simply enter the LCR code in the LCR field. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude a specific LCR code, simply add as follows "!162*".

Response

This filter allows you to filter based on the response times to calls. You have the option of filtering for calls above or below a threshold. You can define this threshold in the box alongside.

The figure relates to seconds. e.g. the example nearby shows 10 seconds. By selecting from the drop-down list, you will be able to filter calls that took more than 10 seconds to answer or see calls answered in less than 3 seconds.

Start time

This filter allows you to filter calls based on the start time. This is the time of day when the call started in the format hh:mm:ss, e.g. if you want calls after 8 a.m. only, then enter the start time in as "08:00:00" as shown nearby.

Trunk access code

If you want to filter by Trunk access code, simply enter the Trunk access code in this field. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *. The * is not needed if it's an exact match, so the 9 for TAC should just be "!9", e.g. to exclude all calls with access code 9, add "!9" to the TAC field.

Specific Options

This section allows you to add more specific filters to your report. The filters are fairly self-explanatory. If you would like to exclude weekend calls from the report, simply tick the option to exclude weekend calls. If you would like to ignore missed calls shorter than a specific duration, simply enter the duration in the box. In the example above, a filter has been added to exclude weekends and any calls shorter than 3 seconds.

Exclude weekends

This option gives you the option of excluding weekend calls from any results shown. If you would like to exclude weekend calls, simply select the tickbox to exclude weekend calls.

Exclude transfers

Select this option if you would like to exclude transfers when running a report. For example if you were running an incoming call analysis report and wanted to see only how well calls were answered when first presented, you would choose the option on excluding transfers.

Don't replace numbers with contact names

Tick this option if you do not want dialled numbers, CLIs and account codes replaces with their named equivalents, as they are defined in your web user's contacts list(s).

Show account codes

Select this option if you would like to display any associated account codes as an additional column in this report.

Notes only

This option allows you to display only calls that have notes stored against them in the results.

Audio only

This option allows you to display only calls that have an associated voice recording in the results.

Scored only

This option allows you to display only calls that have an associated score in the results. i.e. the calls has already been listensed to and scored.

Maximum results

If you want to limit the results shown, decide on the maximum number and enter in this box. If you enter "50", then only 50 results will be displayed.

Sort data by

You may choose to sort the data in a specific order. To do so, simply choose the criteria to order by from the list as shown below:

Sort order

Choose whether you would like the results of the report to appear in ascending or descending order, by selecting from the drop-down box.

Sort results by

You may choose the order in which results are sorted by selecting the appropriate option from the list shown below:

Ignore missed calls shorter than

If you would like to exclude short calls from your report, enter the duration below which you'd like to ignore calls. If you would like to exclude very short calls, e.g. calls below 3 seconds, simply enter the number "3" in the box, as shown here.

Creating the report

When you have chosen a reporting period, and are happy with your selections, you have two options:

• Run the report now
• Schedule for future delivery

To choose your preferred option, select the appropriate button.

If you choose to run the report now, click the Run now button. The results will appear immediately in your chosen format.

To schedule the report for delivery at a later date, follow the instruction given on the Schedule a report section.

Top calls - The results

When selecting Web as the output format, this report will appear as below.

The Web format allows for complete flexibility when viewing any report. To view details of any filters or selection parameters used in creating this report, simply click on About this report at the top right of the page.

As with all reports, the header of the report includes the report title, any name you may have given to it, and the date and time it was run.

All headers are clickable allowing you re-arrange the report layout in seconds, to sort the calls in ascending or decending order based on the header clicked.

The report includes the usual headings, including the report's title, any Friendly Name you assigned to it, the period of the report, and any options you selected in the report's selection criteria window.

The body of the report is a table showing the top calls, arranged as columns, with the following headers:

Header	Description
Date & Time	Shows the date and time the calls was started.
Source	Details of where the call originated.
CLI	Shows the caller line identity of the incoming call.
Route	Shows the number that was dialled, in the case of an outgoing or internal call.
Destination	For outgoing calls, shows the destination of the call; for other calls, shows the type of call, e.g. unanswered, abandoned, internal, feature call.
Response	The response field shows the length of time it took before the call was answered i.e. the response time.
Duration	Shows the duration of the call in hours, minutes and seconds.
Cost	Shows the cost of the call.
	Shows only if there is a recording associated with the call. To play, simply click on this icon.

If you would like to go back and view any report for a larger section of the organisation, simply click on the appropriate link in the breadcrumb as shown below: