How to integrate Ringcentral with Slack for unified team communications

If you’re juggling messages in Slack and calls in Ringcentral, things get messy—fast. This guide is for anyone who wants team communication in one place, without a bunch of duct-taped workarounds or yet another “collaboration hub” you’ll forget in a week. I’ll show you the real way to integrate Ringcentral with Slack, what’s worth setting up, and where to skip the fluff.

Why bother integrating Ringcentral and Slack?

Let’s be real: most teams live in Slack. But business calls, voicemails, and SMS? That’s all Ringcentral. By connecting the two, you can:

  • Get Ringcentral call, voicemail, and SMS alerts in Slack channels.
  • Make calls or send texts from Slack (sort of—more on that in a bit).
  • Keep your team from missing customer calls because they didn’t check their inbox.
  • Cut down on app-switching and “wait, where did that message go?” moments.

But don’t expect miracles—this integration is good, not magical. It won’t turn Slack into a full-featured phone system, and it won’t replace Ringcentral’s own app for heavy use. Still, it’s worth setting up if you want less chaos.

Step 1: Decide What You Actually Need

Before you install anything, figure out what you want out of this integration. There are three main routes:

  • Just notifications: Get alerts in Slack when you miss a call, get a voicemail, or receive a new text.
  • Light actions: Make quick calls or reply to texts straight from Slack (within limits).
  • Full workflow: Use bots and workflows to route calls, assign tickets, or automate stuff.

Most teams only need the first or second. There’s no point wiring up an elaborate bot if all you need is a nudge when someone leaves a voicemail.

Pro tip: Write down the top 1–2 pain points you want to solve. Use that to stay focused and avoid shiny-object syndrome.

Step 2: Check Your Slack and Ringcentral Plan (and Permissions)

Here’s the boring (but necessary) part. Not every plan or user can add integrations.

  • Slack: You need permission to add apps. If you’re not a workspace admin, ask one for help.
  • Ringcentral: You’ll need admin access for your company account, or at least permission to use the Ringcentral App Gallery.
  • Compliance: If your team deals with sensitive info (finance, healthcare, etc.), double-check whether piping call info into Slack is allowed.

If you hit a wall here, talk to whoever manages your tools. Otherwise, on to the good stuff.

Step 3: Install the Official Ringcentral for Slack App

This is the simplest route. Skip the third-party “productivity suite” bots—they mostly add clutter or try to upsell you.

How to install:

  1. Go to the Slack App Directory:
    https://slack.com/apps, then search “Ringcentral.”

  2. Find “RingCentral for Slack” (not “Ringcentral Glip,” which is a separate thing).

  3. Click “Add to Slack”.
    You’ll be redirected to Slack; grant the requested permissions.

  4. Connect Your Ringcentral Account:
    The app will prompt you to log in. Grant access so it can push notifications and (optionally) let you make calls.

  5. Pick Channels for Notifications:
    You can route call, voicemail, or SMS alerts into specific channels, or keep them private via DM.

  6. Set Notification Preferences:
    Choose which types of alerts you want—missed calls, voicemails, texts, etc.

Heads up: If you’re an admin, you can set defaults for the whole workspace. If not, you’ll only be able to set up notifications for yourself or channels you control.

Step 4: Test the Basics

Don’t trust that everything’s working just because it says “connected.”

  • Call your Ringcentral number from another phone.
    Did a missed call or voicemail notification pop up in Slack?
  • Send a text to your Ringcentral number.
    Did you get an alert in Slack?
  • Try the /ringcentral call command in Slack.
    This should prompt you to start a call via Ringcentral.

If something’s missing, check notification settings in both Slack and Ringcentral. Sometimes you’ll need to adjust permissions on both sides.

What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)

Here’s the honest breakdown:

What works well

  • Notifications: Fast, reliable alerts for calls, voicemails, and SMS. These show up in the channels you choose, and you can click through to call back or listen to a voicemail in Ringcentral.
  • Quick actions: You can start a call or text from Slack, but it’ll kick you over to the Ringcentral app or browser window.
  • Direct messages: You can get your own call/text alerts as DMs, which is handy for sales or support folks.

What’s overrated

  • Full texting and calling inside Slack:
    You can start these from Slack, but you can’t have a whole SMS conversation or phone call directly in a channel. The app just opens Ringcentral for the actual call or text.
  • Workflow automation:
    There are some basic options (like auto-routing call alerts), but don’t expect to build a full call center workflow in Slack. For heavy automation, you’ll need to use Ringcentral’s APIs or a third-party platform like Zapier—fine for advanced folks, but overkill for most teams.

What to ignore

  • Old or unofficial Ringcentral bots:
    Some are still floating around but aren’t maintained. Stick to the official app.
  • Glip integrations:
    Glip is Ringcentral’s old team chat. If you’re using Slack, you don’t need this.

Step 5: Make It Useful for Your Team

Don’t just set it and forget it. Make sure your team actually knows how to use what you set up.

  • Pick the right channels:
    For sales teams, route missed call alerts to a #sales-support or #lead-notifications channel. For general teams, maybe just send voicemails as DMs.
  • Keep alerts relevant:
    Too many notifications = everyone tunes out. Only turn on what you need.
  • Train your team:
    Show them how to use /ringcentral slash commands. Make sure they know that calls/texts start in Slack, but finish in Ringcentral.

Pro tip: After a week, ask your team what’s working and what isn’t. Tweak channels and alerts so people don’t get notification fatigue.

Step 6: (Optional) Advanced Automations

If the basics aren’t enough, you can get fancy—but only if you really need to.

Using Zapier, Make, or Workato

These tools can do things like:

  • Send custom Slack messages when a specific caller leaves a voicemail.
  • Create a ticket in Jira or Zendesk from a missed call.
  • Log call details in a Google Sheet.

Caveats:

  • You’ll need to connect Ringcentral’s APIs, which require admin access.
  • These tools usually cost extra.
  • They can break when APIs change—so keep it simple unless you have someone to maintain it.

Building your own bot

If you have a developer, you can use Ringcentral’s APIs and Slack’s APIs to build a custom bot. But for 99% of teams, this is more work than it’s worth. Stick with the official app unless you have a really clear reason.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • Notifications not showing up:
    Double-check app permissions in both Slack and Ringcentral. Sometimes a workspace admin has to approve things.
  • Duplicate alerts:
    If you connect both personal and team accounts, you might get double notifications. Streamline to one source.
  • Can’t start calls in Slack:
    You probably need to re-authenticate with Ringcentral, or your account doesn’t have calling permissions.
  • Compliance worries:
    If you’re in a regulated industry, talk to IT or legal before routing call data into Slack.

Keep It Simple: Less Is More

Don’t overcomplicate this. Set up just what your team needs—a couple of alerts, maybe a quick way to kick off calls—and call it good. The point is to reduce chaos, not add more dashboards and bots.

If you need more later, you can always layer on extra automations. But most teams do just fine with the basics. Set it up, test it, and move on to something more important.

If you run into trouble or want to get clever, check the Ringcentral and Slack help docs—or just ask your team what’s actually working. If you keep things simple, you’ll spend more time communicating and less time fiddling with integrations.