> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.voxworks.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Location Routing

> Send callers to the nearest location, or to the location your postcode and locality rules name — Routing settings, the Coverage column, placing locations on the map, and previewing a lookup.

## What is Location Routing?

Location routing picks the right [endpoint](/routing/endpoints) for a caller based on **where they need service**. During the call, the [Routing | Service Location](/tools/service-location-route) tool asks the caller for their state and suburb (or postcode), confirms the locality with them, and then looks up which of your endpoints covers it. A following Handoff step transfers the caller to that endpoint.

How the lookup chooses endpoints is set for the whole team in **Routing settings**, and for each endpoint in its **Coverage** cell. Both are on the **Endpoints** tab of **Numbers & Routing**.

***

## Routing Settings

Click **Routing settings** in the Endpoints toolbar. The dialog — *"How the location tool picks endpoints for a confirmed locality."* — has one main choice, **Coverage**:

| Coverage                         | What it does                                                                                                |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Nearest location by distance** | *"Callers are sent to the nearest placed location. Approved rules still override for the areas they name."* |
| **Explicit rules only**          | *"Only approved postcode and locality rules route calls. Nothing is offered for uncovered areas."*          |

A team that has never changed these settings uses **Explicit rules only**.

<Note>
  Postcode and locality rules — which suburbs or postcodes a particular endpoint serves — are configured by the Voxworks team. Speak to the Voxworks team for further custom configuration.
</Note>

### Distance settings

With **Nearest location by distance** selected, three numbers control what the caller is offered:

| Setting                | Hint in the app                                                                                               | Range  | Default |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ------- |
| **Max distance (km)**  | *"Beyond this the caller gets the fallback."*                                                                 | 1–5000 | 250     |
| **Choice radius (km)** | *"Offer every location within this distance of the caller; the nearest is always offered. 0 = nearest only."* | 0–1000 | 5       |
| **Max choices**        | *"Upper bound on locations spoken to the caller."*                                                            | 1–10   | 3       |

For example, with the defaults: a caller 3 km from one location and 4 km from another is offered both, because both are within 5 km. A caller whose nearest location is 40 km away is offered just that one — the nearest is always offered. A caller more than 250 km from every location gets the tool's fallback instead.

If a number is out of range, the dialog shows *"Check the numbers: distance 1–5000 km, radius 0–1000 km, choices 1–10."* and **Save** stays disabled. Only people who can manage routing can save; you'll see *Routing settings saved*.

### Which locations are placed

Distance routing measures from the caller to each **location's** address, so a location takes part only once its address is placed on the map. The dialog shows how many of your active locations are placed, and lists up to five that aren't: *"Not placed, so excluded from distance routing: … Add or fix their addresses on the Locations tab."*

Only Australian addresses can be placed. See [Locations → Placement](/routing/locations#placement) for how to fix an address that isn't.

***

## Coverage on Each Endpoint

The **Coverage** column on the Endpoints tab shows how far each endpoint reaches in distance routing:

| Chip                    | Meaning                                                           |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Rules mode**          | The team uses **Explicit rules only**, so distance doesn't apply. |
| **Excluded**            | This endpoint is never offered by distance.                       |
| **Within N km**         | Offered to callers up to N km from its location.                  |
| **Nearest, up to N km** | Offered to callers up to the team's **Max distance**.             |

Click the chip to change it:

* **Distance routing** — **Included** or **Excluded**. New endpoints are included.
* **Service radius (km)** — optional, shown when included. *"Callers farther than this are not offered this endpoint. Leave blank to use the team maximum."* The placeholder shows the team value, for example *Team default 250*.

*"Explicit rules and fallback chains can still reach this endpoint."* Excluding an endpoint only removes it from distance matching.

Only endpoints that are open (or closed but forwarding to an open endpoint through their [fallback](/routing/endpoints#when-closed-fallback)) are offered to the caller.

***

## Try a Lookup

The bottom of the Routing settings dialog has a **Try a lookup** box for checking your setup without placing a call. Type a place the way a caller might say it — *"Try a locality, e.g. Castle Hill NSW"* — and click **Look up** (or press Enter).

The result shows:

* the locality it matched, for example *Castle Hill, NSW* (or *No locality matched*), with how it matched;
* a numbered list of the endpoints that would be offered, each with its distance (or *rule* when a rule matched) and whether it's open right now;
* or, when nothing covers that place, *"No endpoint would be offered. The call goes to the script's fallback."*

*"Preview only: recorded as a preview decision, nothing is dialled."*

The lookup uses your **saved** settings. After changing Coverage or the distance numbers, click **Save** before trying a lookup.

***

## Setting It Up

1. On the **Locations** tab, give each location an Australian address picked from the address lookup, and check none shows **Not placed**.
2. On the **Endpoints** tab, make sure each location has an endpoint for the department callers should reach, and set each endpoint's [fallback](/routing/endpoints#when-closed-fallback).
3. Open **Routing settings**, choose **Nearest location by distance**, adjust the distance numbers, and **Save**.
4. Use **Try a lookup** with a few suburbs to confirm the right endpoints come back.
5. In your script, add the [Routing | Service Location](/tools/service-location-route) tool followed by a Handoff step. See [Transferring Calls](/routing/transferring-calls).

***

## Next Steps

* [Routing | Service Location](/tools/service-location-route) — the tool that asks the caller where they are and finds the endpoint
* [Endpoints](/routing/endpoints) — fallback and coverage for each transfer destination
* [Locations](/routing/locations) — addresses and map placement