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Using Inbox Rules for Phone Lines

Using Inbox Rules for Phone Lines

Automatically trigger actions based on incoming phone activity

Last updated on October 26, 2026

Use Inbox Rules to automate incoming calls and SMS for both Twilio and RingCentral phone inboxes. Combine conditions and actions to create or update cards, relate conversations, and organize incoming communication.

Start with the Inbox Rules workflow below. The earlier Twilio-only phone-line automations are collected in a separate section at the end for teams that still use them.

Accessing Inbox Rules

To create a new inbox rule:

  1. Navigate to your Inbox.
  1. Click the Inbox Rules icon at the bottom of the screen (the conversation bubble).
  1. Select Add New Rule.
  1. Enter a clear, identifiable name for your rule.
  1. Select the Phone Inbox the rule should apply to.
  1. Add your Conditions and Actions.
  1. Click Save.

Configuring Rule Conditions

Conditions determine when the rule will trigger. You can combine multiple conditions using AND or OR logic to create more advanced automations.

Condition
Description
Example Use Case
Any Message
Triggers the rule for any incoming call or SMS message.
Automatically create a card for every inbound conversation.
Call
Triggers only when the activity is a phone call.
Create a task when a call is received.
SMS
Triggers only when the activity is a text message.
Route text messages to a specific workflow.
Assignee
Triggers when a conversation is assigned to a specific user or users in the inbox.
Run automation when a message is assigned to the leasing team.
Body
Triggers when the message body contains a specific word or phrase. Supports criteria like equals, contains, starts with, ends with, and exclusion options.
Detect keywords like “maintenance” or “tour.”
Contains Certain Contact Types
Triggers when the conversation includes contacts belonging to selected contact types.
Apply rules when a resident contacts your team.
Sender in Certain Contact Types
Triggers when the sender belongs to a selected contact type.
Route messages differently if the sender is an owner or vendor.
Certain Recipients
Triggers when the message is sent to a specific recipient. Supports matching criteria such as equals, contains, starts with, ends with, and exclusions.
Apply a rule when messages are sent to a specific phone line or inbox.
Certain Senders
Triggers when a message or call comes from a specific sender. Matching rules include equals, contains, starts with, ends with, and exclusions.
Trigger an automation when a specific contact or number messages the inbox.
Date Range
Triggers the rule during a specific calendar date range.
Set up special rules for holiday weekends or promotions.
Missed Call
Triggers when an incoming call is missed.
Automatically create a follow-up task for missed calls.
Time Range
Triggers during a specific time range on selected days. Includes options for between or excluding certain hours.
Create an after-hours lead workflow.

Inbox Rule Actions

Actions determine what happens when the rule conditions are met. You can configure actions to run once per conversation or on every inbound message within the thread. Multiple actions can also be added to a single rule.

Action
Description
Configuration Options
Example Use Case
Create a Card
Automatically creates a new card in a selected board when the rule triggers.
Select Board, Stage, optional Assignee, toggle Use Conversation Assignee, Always Create New Card, Archive Conversation on Card Creation, Assign Conversation to Card Assignee, and set a Lead Source.
Create a new leasing lead card when someone texts the leasing phone number.
Relate to a Card
Links the conversation to an existing card.
Select the specific card the conversation should relate to.
Connect incoming communication to a master project or ongoing request card.
Relate to a Location
Associates the conversation with a specific location.
Select a single location. (Note: this does not auto-detect locations.)
Route communications related to a particular property or office location.
Update a Card
Updates an existing card when the rule triggers.
Select the board containing the card. The system will locate the card based on the contact associated with the conversation.
Update a resident card when they call or text about a request.

💡 Tips:

You can combine multiple actions in a single rule. For example, you could:

  • Create a card
  • Assign a lead source
  • Archive the conversation

This allows you to automatically capture leads or requests while keeping your inbox organized.

Combining Conditions and Actions

Inbox rules support multiple conditions and actions, allowing you to build more advanced automations.

You can:

  • Add AND conditions to require multiple criteria
  • Add OR conditions to allow multiple triggering scenarios
  • Add multiple actions to run several automated steps from one rule

💡 Example Use Case

An after-hours leasing rule could:

Conditions

  • SMS or Call
  • Time Range: After business hours

Actions

  • Create a card in the Leads board
  • Assign a lead source
  • Archive the conversation

This ensures every after-hours lead is automatically captured and routed into your workflow.

 

Earlier Twilio-only phone-line automations

The controls in this section are separate from Inbox Rules and apply only to individual Twilio lines. Use the Inbox Rules workflow above for Twilio or RingCentral workflows that need multiple conditions and actions. If your team already uses the earlier phone-line automations, review the settings below before changing your workflow. A card-creation automation targets one board for one Twilio line; the missed-call follow-up sends an SMS instead of creating a card.

Before enabling an Inbox Rule for the same activity, review any active phone-line automation so your intended actions are not configured in both places. The steps below describe the earlier controls; they do not establish that Inbox Rules has an equivalent action for every option.

Accessing Phone Line Automations

Still from an earlier walkthrough: phone-line automation cards and their Active and Configure controls, shown inactive and unconfigured.

  1. Open your Phone Inbox Settings (personal or shared).
  1. Scroll to the Automations section.
  1. Select the automation you want to configure.

Each automation must be configured individually and applies to only one phone line.

1. Create a Card for New Inbound Calls

This automation creates a card whenever a qualifying phone call is received.

Trigger

  • Any new inbound phone call

Conditions

You’ll choose the Contact Type associated with the board this automation creates cards on.

For example:

  • If you’re using your Rent or Leads board, you may choose Prospect.
  • For a maintenance board, you might choose Tenant.

Actions

When configuring this automation, it initially displays No Automated Actions.

Click the pencil icon to add actions.

You’ll choose between:

Option 1 – Create and update cards and contacts

or

Option 2 – Only update existing cards or contacts

If you choose to create cards, you’ll configure:

  1. Board – Where new cards should be created
  1. Stage – The initial stage for the new card
  1. Ad Source – Optional
      • Useful when calls originate from a specific marketing channel (e.g., Google Ads)
  1. Location Relation – Optional
      • Ideal for multi-family teams using a board per property
      • Leave unrelated if calls cannot be tied to a specific property

Once configured, the automation is automatically enabled—there is no save button.

Minimum Call Length Setting

This determines when a card will be created.

You can adjust this in:

Board → Advanced Settings → Card Options → Minimum Call Length

Set a duration (in seconds). Any call shorter than this will not create a card.

2. Create a Card for New Inbound SMS

This automation works exactly like the inbound call automation but triggers on SMS instead of calls.

Trigger

  • Any new inbound SMS

Conditions

Select your Contact Type, just as you would for call automations.

Actions

Choose whether to:

  • Create and update cards, or
  • Only update existing cards

Then configure:

  • Board
  • Stage
  • Ad Source (optional)
  • Location Relation (optional)

All changes save automatically.

3. Missed Calls Follow-Up SMS

This automation sends an automated SMS reply when a missed call occurs.

Unlike the other two automations, this one does not create a card.

Trigger

  • Any new inbound phone call

Conditions

You can target:

  • All missed calls
  • Missed calls on new contacts
  • Missed calls for new conversations

Next, choose when the automation should run:

  • Anytime
  • During specific hours
  • Not during business hours

Action

Select the SMS template that will be sent automatically after a missed call.

Aptly will send the SMS without requiring any manual action.

Earlier Twilio automation summary

Each Twilio phone line can use any or all of these automations:

Automation Type
Creates a Card
Sends SMS
Best Use Case
Inbound Call → Create Card
✅
❌
Lead intake, maintenance calls
Inbound SMS → Create Card
✅
❌
SMS-based inquiries
Missed Call → Follow-Up SMS
❌
✅
Quick response to missed calls

Automations save automatically and activate immediately once configured.

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