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What is a Batch?

A batch is a group of outbound calls to a set of contacts, dialled automatically by the batch scheduler within calling limits you control. Instead of scheduling calls one at a time, you point a batch at one or more contact lists, choose the Call Script (or per-list scripts), set the calling window and pacing, and launch. The scheduler then calls contacts whenever a line is free inside your business hours, retries the ones that don’t connect, and marks the batch complete when nothing is left to dial. Batches live under: Outbound Calls → Batch Scheduler The page itself is titled Batches. Every batch you create — whether it’s a rough draft or a finished campaign wave — appears here.

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The Batch list

The Batches page opens with a header — All outbound calling batches. N active · M other. — a New batch button, and four stat blocks:
  • Active batches — batches currently dialling, with the number of contacts in flight
  • Completed — batches finished
  • Scheduled — batches queued to start
  • Drafts — batches not yet scheduled
Below the stats sits a filter bar with a Search batches… box, an All statuses dropdown, a result count, and a view switcher:
  • Rows — the default. Batches grouped by status, each row showing the batch name and script, a status pill, its source lists, a progress bar (completed / total and percentage), and a timing column (“Starts Jul 21, 9:00 AM”, “Started Jul 14”, “Not scheduled”, and so on)
  • Table — a compact table: Batch, Status, Lists, Total, Completed
  • Cards — cards grouped by status with a progress bar and Total / Done / Remaining counts
Status chips under the filter bar (All, plus one chip per status with a count) give one-click filtering. When nothing matches you’ll see No batches match the current filters.

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Batch statuses in the list

Click any batch to open its edit page.

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Creating a batch

Every new batch starts life as a draft — it exists immediately, nothing dials, and you can leave and come back to it at any time. There are three entry points:
  • Batches page → New batch — creates a draft named with the current date and time (for example New Batch 16 July, 2:30 pm) and opens it on the Settings tab
  • Dashboard → Actions → New Batch — the same, from the Dashboard’s Actions dropdown
  • Lists → (a list) → Create Batch — creates a draft named after the list (for example Spring Leads Batch) so you can batch-call that list straight away
A batch runs any Call Script, including the compiled script of a published survey if your account has access to Surveys. You can rename the batch at any point while it’s editable — click its title on the edit page and type.

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Free trial gating

Creating a batch requires either an active subscription or remaining trial minutes. On the free trial (100 free minutes), once your minutes are used up the New batch button opens a “You’ve reached your free trial limit” dialog prompting you to upgrade. See Free trial and Plans.

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The batch edit page

Opening a batch shows a full-page editor with a sticky header: a Back button, the batch title (click to rename while the batch is editable), a status badge, and the action buttons described below. If you have unedited work, an Unsaved Changes badge appears beside the buttons. Four tabs run across the centre of the header (on mobile they collapse into a dropdown): A batch is editable while it is a Draft or Scheduled. Once it’s in progress, completed, or cancelled, the Settings tab becomes read-only.

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Unsaved changes protection

Navigating away with unsaved edits triggers an Unsaved Changes dialog — “You have unsaved changes. Are you sure you want to leave? Your changes will be lost.” — with Stay and Leave options. Closing the browser tab prompts a standard browser warning too.

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Header actions

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Launching a batch

Clicking Launch Batch runs three checks before anything dials:
  1. At least one queued contact. An empty batch can’t launch — you’ll see “Please add at least one source list before launching.” Add contacts first: see Adding Contacts to a Batch.
  2. Every contact has a script. If the batch has no default Call Script, each queued contact must get one from its source list. Otherwise launch stops with: “Every queued contact needs a script before launching. Assign a script to each source list or select a batch default script.”
  3. Resource check. Voxworks estimates 2 minutes and $2.00 per queued call, then checks that you have either enough plan/trial minutes or enough wallet balance to cover the whole batch. Only one needs to pass. If neither does, launch stops with “Your account balance is too low to launch this batch. Top up your wallet or increase your plan, then try again” — along with the exact minutes and dollars needed. See Wallet.
This is a pre-launch estimate only — you’re billed for actual call minutes, not the estimate. Once the checks pass, the batch becomes Scheduled and its scheduler starts. Contacts are screened (some can be blocked by screening gates) and called as lines free up inside your calling window. If the batch’s start date is already in the past, it starts from now rather than failing.

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Lifecycle

  • Draft — build the batch: add contacts, pick scripts, tune the schedule. Nothing dials.
  • Scheduled — launched. Settings can still be edited, and apply straight away. Contacts are called whenever a line is free inside your business-hours windows and daily limits — see Batch Scheduling & Pacing.
  • Active / In Progress — calls are dialling. Progress, remaining calls, and average call time update on the batch as each call finishes.
  • Paused — you’ve paused the scheduler. Nothing new dials until you press Resume.
  • Completed — set automatically, and only when the queue has genuinely settled: no call is in progress, the source lists have no new members waiting to be taken in, and no contact left in the queue could still be called. A retry created by the call that just finished keeps the batch open; contacts blocked by screening don’t. A batch with an end date also completes once that date has passed — any contacts still waiting are cancelled. A batch with No end date never completes on its own. On completion the remaining-calls figure drops to zero and progress reads 100%. You don’t close a batch manually.
  • Cancelled — you cancelled it; remaining calls were withdrawn. Cancelled batches are read-only.
Two useful wrinkles:
  • Completed isn’t the end. Adding more calls to a completed batch reactivates it back to Scheduled — handy for follow-up waves. See Adding Contacts to a Batch.
  • Retries extend the run. Calls that hit voicemail, ring out, or reach a busy line are retried on a per-outcome policy, so a batch stays in progress until retries are exhausted or connect — a retry booked days out keeps the batch open until it runs. See Calling Rules & Retries.
  • Calls the contact pre-empted still count. If a contact rings you before their queued call goes out, that call is not dialled but it is still counted in the batch’s figures, so your reporting shows the contact was reached.

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Next Steps