Making calls within FreeAgent CRM offers many different features, like taking notes while you are on the call, or keeping a record of every single call made in the system including their duration. That is why we want to make sure that you are taking full advantage of all of them by giving you a few tips and tricks that will help you achieve great calls within FreeAgent CRM.
First of all we should explain a little bit about the great service behind every single call placed through FreeAgent CRM: Twilio. Twilio is a cloud communications platform as a service company that allows our users to place and receive voice calls over the internet. This is known as 'Voice over Internet Protocol' (VoIP).
Internet Connection
Since the service depends on the internet to perform the calls the very first thing you will need to test is your internet connection. To do so, please click on the following link and complete the steps:
https://networktest.twilio.com/
You will need to allow access to your microphone and computer's camera to complete the test.
The most important part of this test is making sure that your connection supports at least one connection, to ensure that you can make good calls. This information is shown during the Twilio Network Test, as you can see in the image below:
Internet Speed
You can also try carrying out a speed test to check how fast your internet connection is, as a high speed and low latency network connection is needed. Here are some tools you can use for this purpose:
Computer Settings
It is important to make sure that your computer settings will allow the call to happen. There are a few things to keep an eye on:
1. Computer performance (CPU Usage)
This has to do with your computer's ability to run multiple programs at the same time. If you are using multiple programs it can reach a point where your computer's performance is going to decrease, preventing you from being able to use your apps correctly. So, make sure you close anything you are not using to reduce the amount of processing your computer has to do.
On Mac, use 'Activity Monitor', available under 'Utilities' in your applications.
On Windows, use 'Task Manager', which you can access by opening Start, search for'Task Manager' and click the result.
2. Memory
Having enough free memory space is also important, general recommendation is to leave between 15-20% of memory space free to make sure your computer runs smoothly. Some computers may need even more free memory to prevent possible errors.
To check your memory usage, you can use the same program described above for CPU usage, just check the memory section.
3. Settings
Make sure that you allow microphone use in your browser for the calls. Often times microphone access is not allowed as default, so it is important to make sure that the browser has access to it, otherwise, you will only get a white window in FreeAgent CRM, but no call.
Chrome is the recommended browser to use FreeAgent CRM at its best. To enable the microphone simply click on the padlock to the left-hand side of the URL and check that the option next to 'Microphone' is set to 'Allow', as shown in the image below.
4. Audio Settings
The recommendation when performing VoIP calls is to use a headset instead of your computer's built-in hardware. This will improve the quality of the call since the microphone on most headsets includes noise cancellation. It will also help you hear better and avoid the feedback generated when the computer's speakers are used.
Other option
If you don't think your internet connection is good enough, or if after trying everything you are still experiencing not-good-enough calls, then we recommend placing your calls using a landline or your cell phone directly. You can then log the calls manually in FreeAgent CRM to keep your records up to date. For more information on how to log calls manually, please visit the following tutorial: