Phone tree template & IVR script generator
A fill-in phone tree template: the greeting, the press-1 menu, who each option goes to, and the after-hours message. Switch to the tree view to see the routing, then print it or save a PDF for whoever sets up your phone system. Or start from one of the 10 phone tree examples below.
Tone
Menu options and who answers
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thanks for calling [Business name]! We're glad you reached us. To book or change an appointment, press 1. For questions about an existing order, press 2. For everything else, press 3. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling [Business name]. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. For anything urgent, stay on the line to reach our on-call team. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
Read it for your recording, hand it to your phone-system provider, or use it as the menu your RingOwl AI receptionist follows. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Want callers to actually be routed? RingOwl's AI answers with this menu and transfers calls to the right cell phone, by keypad or by name, with business-hours rules.
A phone menu that doesn't annoy callers
The first few seconds of a business call set the tone. A clear greeting, a short menu, and an obvious path for urgent calls make a small business sound established and make callers feel handled. A rambling greeting or an eight-option menu does the opposite — and it's the number-one complaint people have about business phone systems.
This template keeps you on the right side of that line: a short opening, a tight set of press-1 / press-2 options with the department said before the digit, a way to reach a person, and an after-hours version that gives your hours and tells callers what happens next. Edit any field and the script and tree update live.
The script is the easy part — the hard part is what happens when the menu ends. If calls still ring out to voicemail, you're losing the booking. RingOwl is the AI receptionist that follows your menu and actually answers — booking appointments live, 24/7.
10 phone tree examples (IVR and auto-attendant scripts)
Example phone trees for fictional businesses in ten industries. Each follows the same rules: the most common reason for calling goes first, four options at most, a way to reach a person or an emergency path, and an after-hours version that tells the caller what happens next. Load any of them into the template above and swap in your own names and hours.
Dental office
Harbor View Dental
New patients, existing patients, billing, and emergencies
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Harbor View Dental. For new patients, press 1. To schedule or move an existing appointment, press 2. For billing and insurance questions, press 3. For a dental emergency, press 4. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Harbor View Dental. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. For a dental emergency, press 4 to reach the on-call dentist. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Front desk
- 2→ Front desk
- 3→ Billing coordinator
- 4→ On-call dentist (after hours too)
- 0→ Front desk
Med spa
Willow & Pine Med Spa
Front desk, a nurse line for treatment questions, and pricing
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Willow & Pine Med Spa. To book, change, or cancel an appointment, press 1. For questions about a recent treatment, press 2. For pricing and packages, press 3. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Willow & Pine Med Spa. We're closed right now. Our hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm. If you're having a reaction to a recent treatment, press 2 to reach our after-hours nurse line. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Front desk
- 2→ Nurse line
- 3→ Front desk
- 0→ Front desk
Plumbing & HVAC
Summit Plumbing & Heating
Urgent jobs first, then service visits, scheduled jobs, and billing
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Summit Plumbing & Heating. For a burst pipe, no heat, or another urgent problem, press 1. To book a service visit or a free estimate, press 2. To check on a job that's already scheduled, press 3. For billing, press 4. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Summit Plumbing & Heating. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm. For urgent repairs, press 1 and we'll get you to the on-call technician. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ On-call technician
- 2→ Dispatcher
- 3→ Dispatcher
- 4→ Office manager
Hair salon
Juniper Hair Studio
Small salon where most calls are bookings
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Juniper Hair Studio. To book an appointment, press 1. To change or cancel an appointment, press 2. For pricing, products, and gift cards, press 3. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Juniper Hair Studio. We're closed right now. Our hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm. You can book any time at our website. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Front desk
- 2→ Front desk
- 3→ Front desk
Real estate brokerage
Cornerstone Realty
Buyers, sellers, showings, and named agents
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Cornerstone Realty. For buying a home or scheduling a showing, press 1. For selling your home or a free home valuation, press 2. To reach a specific agent, press 3. For rentals and property management, press 4. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Cornerstone Realty. We're closed right now. Our hours are seven days a week, 9am to 6pm. To book a showing, press 1 and leave the address of the home you'd like to see. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Buyer's agent on duty
- 2→ Listing agent
- 3→ Agent directory
- 4→ Leasing office
- 0→ Office manager
Law firm
Reyes & Cole Law
New-client intake kept separate from existing clients
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Reyes & Cole Law. For new clients and free consultations, press 1. For existing clients, press 2. For billing, press 3. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Reyes & Cole Law. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm. If you've been arrested or have a court date tomorrow, press 1 to reach our after-hours line. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Intake coordinator
- 2→ Paralegal
- 3→ Accounts
- 0→ Receptionist
Veterinary clinic
Maple Grove Animal Hospital
Appointments, refills, and emergencies routed out after hours
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Maple Grove Animal Hospital. To book or change an appointment, press 1. For prescription refills, press 2. For test results or questions for a vet, press 3. For an emergency, press 4. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Maple Grove Animal Hospital. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm. If your pet needs emergency care, call the 24-hour emergency hospital at [number]. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Front desk
- 2→ Pharmacy line
- 3→ Vet tech
- 4→ Triage nurse
- 0→ Front desk
Property management
Lakeside Property Management
Maintenance first, with a separate emergency branch
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Lakeside Property Management. To report a maintenance issue, press 1. For rent, payments, and your lease, press 2. For available rentals and showings, press 3. For an emergency such as flooding, no heat, or a lockout, press 4. To speak with someone, press 0, or stay on the line. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Lakeside Property Management. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. For a maintenance emergency, press 4 to reach on-call maintenance. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Maintenance coordinator
- 2→ Accounts
- 3→ Leasing agent
- 4→ On-call maintenance
- 0→ Office
Auto repair shop
Ridgeline Auto Care
Service bookings, status checks, and parts
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Ridgeline Auto Care. To schedule service or an inspection, press 1. To check on a vehicle we're working on, press 2. For parts, press 3. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Ridgeline Auto Care. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 6pm, and Saturday 8am to 2pm. For towing, call our 24-hour tow partner at [number]. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Service advisor
- 2→ Service advisor
- 3→ Parts counter
Medical practice
Riverside Family Medicine
Appointments, refills, nurse line, and records
DURING BUSINESS HOURS Thank you for calling Riverside Family Medicine. To schedule or change an appointment, press 1. For prescription refills, press 2. To speak to a nurse, press 3. For billing and medical records, press 4. AFTER HOURS Thank you for calling Riverside Family Medicine. We're closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. If this is a medical emergency, hang up and call 911. To reach the on-call provider, press 3. Leave your name, number, and a short message after the tone and we'll call you back when we open.
- 1→ Front desk
- 2→ Refill line
- 3→ Nurse line
- 4→ Billing office
Want more on structure? See what a phone tree is and how to set one up and what an auto attendant is.
Calling tree template
“Phone tree” also means something else: a calling tree (or call tree), where one person calls three, and each of them calls three more, so a whole team hears about a snow closure or an emergency within minutes. Schools, churches, clubs, and small offices still use them, usually on paper. Copy this one, fill in the names, and print it.
CALLING TREE — [Organisation] — updated [date]
Use for: closures, emergencies, urgent schedule changes.
Rule: call your list within 15 minutes. No answer → leave a message, text, and move on.
When your list is done, text the person who called you: "Done, all reached" or who you missed.
[Coordinator name] — [phone]
│
├── [Caller A] — [phone]
│ ├── [Name] — [phone]
│ ├── [Name] — [phone]
│ └── [Name] — [phone]
│
├── [Caller B] — [phone]
│ ├── [Name] — [phone]
│ ├── [Name] — [phone]
│ └── [Name] — [phone]
│
└── [Caller C] — [phone]
├── [Name] — [phone]
├── [Name] — [phone]
└── [Name] — [phone]
If a caller can't be reached, their list moves to: [backup name] — [phone]Two rules keep a calling tree working: everyone reports back up the chain when their list is done, and every caller has a named backup. Test it twice a year. A tree nobody has run tends to have three changed numbers in it.
Phone tree & IVR script FAQ
What is an IVR script?+
An IVR script is the recorded wording an interactive voice response system plays to callers: the greeting, the menu options, and the prompts for what to press or say. For most small businesses, an IVR script and an auto-attendant script are the same thing, the press-1 menu that answers the phone. Use the generator above to write one, or copy one of the examples on this page.
Is there a phone tree template I can copy?+
Yes. The generator is a fill-in phone tree template: enter your business name, hours, three or four options, and who each one goes to. It writes the business-hours and after-hours scripts and draws the routing tree, which you can print or save as a PDF. The ten examples on this page (dental, med spa, plumbing, salon, real estate, law, veterinary, property management, auto repair, and a medical practice) each load into the template with one click.
What is an example of a phone tree?+
A dental office: "Thank you for calling Harbor View Dental. For new patients, press 1. To schedule or move an existing appointment, press 2. For billing and insurance questions, press 3. For a dental emergency, press 4. To speak with someone, press 0." After hours, the same line says the office is closed, gives the hours, and points emergencies to the on-call dentist. There are nine more by industry on this page.
What is a calling tree?+
A calling tree (or call tree) is a different thing that shares the name: a chain where one person calls a few people, and each of them calls a few more, so a whole team or group hears about a closure or emergency quickly. The template on this page is a business phone menu; the calling tree template further down is the staff-chain kind, ready to print and fill in.
What is an auto-attendant script?+
An auto-attendant script is the wording a caller hears when they reach your business phone system — the greeting, the menu of options ("press 1 for…"), and what happens after hours or when no one answers. A good script greets the caller, routes them quickly, and never leaves them stuck. This generator assembles all of that from a few inputs.
What's the difference between a phone tree and an auto-attendant?+
They're closely related. A phone tree (or phone menu) is the branching set of options a caller moves through — press 1, then press 2, and so on. The auto-attendant is the automated voice that plays the greeting and runs that tree. This tool generates the spoken script for both: the greeting plus the menu options you define.
How long should a phone menu be?+
Keep the top menu to three or four options where you can — callers struggle to hold more than that in memory, and long menus are the top complaint about phone systems. Lead with your most common reason for calling (usually booking or an existing appointment), and put "everything else" last. You can add up to six options here, but shorter almost always performs better.
Can I use this script for my voicemail?+
Yes. If you don't have a full phone system, the generated script doubles as a professional voicemail greeting — just drop the "press 1" menu lines, or keep a single instruction to leave a message. For a dedicated voicemail script, see our voicemail greeting generator.
Can a phone menu send calls to a cell phone?+
Yes. Most business phone systems can point a menu option at an outside number. With RingOwl, the AI answers your RingOwl number, plays your menu or simply asks what the caller needs, and transfers the call live to the right person's cell phone, by keypress or when the caller asks for them by name. Each person can be limited to business hours, after hours, or custom times, and if they don't answer the AI takes a message and sends it to you. Live transfers work on any paid plan.
What happens to calls after the menu?+
That's the real question. A script routes the call, but someone still has to pick up — and most missed bookings happen exactly here, when the menu ends and the call rings out to voicemail. RingOwl answers at that point with an AI receptionist that books the appointment live instead of taking a message.
A script routes the call — who answers it?
Let an AI run your phone menu.
RingOwl is the AI answering service for appointment-heavy small businesses. It greets every caller, follows your menu, books appointments live, and texts you a summary — 24/7.
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