Questions
Frequently asked questions about call centre software in Kenya
What a cloud call centre system costs in Kenya — call center, if that is how you spell it — whether you can keep your number, how IVR menus and call recording work under the Data Protection Act, and what the software does not do. Answered the way we would answer on the phone, prices included.
20 questionsNo sales scriptPrices left in
Getting started
Starting out
01 What is a cloud call centre system?
It is call centre software that runs on the internet rather than on a box in your office. Your Kenyan number points at it, callers hear your menu, and your agents answer from a browser wherever they are. There is no PBX to buy, no cabling, and nothing to fail in a power cut at your premises.
02 Do we need to buy phones or a PBX?
No. Agents answer on a computer with a headset. If you would rather they use their ordinary mobile phones, the system can ring those instead — many teams start that way and move to headsets later.
03 How many agents do we need to start?
One. Most teams start with two or three on a single number and add people once they trust it. Adding a seat takes a minute and is charged monthly. The arithmetic for working out how many you need is here.
04 Can I sign up without talking to anybody?
Yes. Create your organisation online, choose a plan, pay by card or M-Pesa, and start setting up your menu straight away. A walkthrough is still there if you would rather be shown around first, but nobody has to sit through one.
05 How long does setup take?
A simple setup — one number, one menu, one team — can be working the same week. Complicated routing, several departments and integrations take longer, and we will tell you honestly which one you are before you commit.
Numbers
Numbers and networks
06 Can we keep our current phone number?
Usually yes. Numbers can often be moved across, and where that is not possible we can forward your existing line into the system so callers keep dialling what they already know. How porting works in Kenya is covered here.
07 Does it work with Safaricom and Airtel?
Yes. Callers dial an ordinary Kenyan number from any network, mobile or landline, and are charged their normal rate for calling it.
08 Can callers hear a menu in Kiswahili?
Yes. Menus can be spoken in English or Kiswahili, in a male or female voice, and you can upload your own recordings instead if you would rather have a person your customers recognise.
Agents
Agents, hours and what callers hear
09 Can agents work from home?
Yes. All they need is a laptop, a headset and a reasonable internet connection. Supervisors see who is available and what everyone is doing from the same screen, wherever people are sitting.
10 What internet speed do agents need?
A voice call uses very little bandwidth — the problem is usually stability rather than speed. A steady home fibre line is comfortable. We check this with you during setup rather than guessing, and the numbers are here.
11 What happens when nobody is free to answer?
You decide: hold the caller with music and a position announcement, offer a callback instead of a wait, take a voicemail, forward to another number, or play a message in your own words and end the call politely. It is set per team, and callers never just get a dead line.
12 Can we stop calls outside working hours?
Yes. Set your opening times per weekday and a list of public holidays, and calls arriving outside them get a different greeting, a voicemail or another team — whatever you choose.
Recording
Recording, the law and your data
13 Are calls recorded, and who can hear them?
Recording is optional and set per team. Recordings are kept for a period you choose and then deleted automatically. Only people whose role allows it can listen, and the system records who listened to what.
14 Is call recording legal in Kenya?
Recording is common practice, and the Data Protection Act treats a recording as personal data. In practice that means telling callers they are being recorded, having a reason for keeping it, and not keeping it longer than you need. The system supports all three. We are not lawyers and you should take your own advice on your obligations — there is a longer article on this.
15 What happens to our data if we leave?
It is yours. Contacts, call history and recordings can be exported before the account closes. Ask and we will do it for you.
Messaging
SMS and your other systems
16 Can we send SMS from the same system?
Yes. You can send and receive texts, and a customer's messages appear in the same history as their calls. Bulk sends to a contact list are included, with delivery reports.
17 Does it connect to our existing systems?
There is a REST API and webhooks, so your CRM or billing system can be told about every call as it happens. There is a ready-made connector for WHMCS. For anything else, your developer has what they need.
Cost
What it costs
18 What does it cost?
Plans start at KSh 1,780 a month for three people answering calls, and a Kenyan phone number is included in every plan. Incoming calls are free, outgoing calls are KSh 3 a minute billed by the second, and you only pay for extra numbers if you ask for more than the one you get. The full rate card is on the pricing page, with no figures held back for a sales call — and here is how to compare it against other Kenyan quotes.
19 How do I pay for calls?
You top up calling credit inside the app, by card or M-Pesa. Calls and messages come out of that balance and the statement shows every charge with its date and number. You get a warning well before it runs low, not after your lines have stopped.
The spelling
Call centre or call center?
20 Is it spelled call centre or call center?
Both, and they mean the same thing. Call centre is the British spelling used in Kenya and on our paperwork; call center is the American one, and plenty of people search for it that way. Whichever you type, this is the same Kenyan call center software, the same numbers and the same price. There is a page in the American spelling and a note on which to use in your own material.
Still unsure
Ask us the awkward one
If there is something that would stop you buying, we would rather hear it now than three weeks after you have paid.