What this integration does #
Connect your company's RingCentral account once, and every recorded call is transcribed and filed against the right person — the candidate you rang, or the client contact who rang you. Nobody has to remember to write it up.
One admin connects it for the whole company; every recruiter's calls flow in from then on. Individual users do not connect their own accounts.
You do not need RingCentral's AI add-on. If your account has it, RingCentral writes the transcript. If not, Shortlists transcribes the recording itself. The call lands in the same place either way — there is nothing to choose, we detect which applies when you connect.
1. Before you start #
One thing has to be true in RingCentral, and one person has to be able to approve it. A third is optional and only changes how much detail each transcript carries.
1.1 Call recording — on, with users added #
This is the only hard requirement. Both transcription routes start from a recording, so a call that was not recorded produces nothing at all. In the RingCentral admin portal it is a two-part setting:
- Turn Automatic Call Recording on.
- Open the users and groups list attached to it and add each extension whose calls should be recorded, inbound and outbound.
The main toggle can read on while nobody is enrolled, and in that state nothing is recorded at all. If calls are not coming through, look here first.
On-demand recording works too, but then coverage depends on someone remembering to press record.
1.2 Someone who can authorise it #
Whoever clicks Connect is sent to RingCentral to approve access, so they need a RingCentral account that can grant an application access to company data — normally a Super Admin — and they need to be an owner or admin in Shortlists, because the connection covers the whole workspace.
1.3 The AI add-on — optional #
RingCentral sells an AI product called AI Conversation Expert, also known as ACE or RingSense. It is a paid add-on, licensed per user, and the integration works with or without it:
| With the add-on | Without it | |
|---|---|---|
| Transcript, filed automatically | Yes | Yes |
| Shortlists AI summary on the note | Yes | Yes |
| Who said what | Speakers named | Not identified |
| RingCentral's own summary, next steps and sentiment | Yes | No |
RingCentral sends one mixed audio channel with both halves of the conversation in it. Nothing in that signal says who is talking, so no transcription service can separate the voices — we tested several. Transcripts we write ourselves read as continuous text, and the note says so rather than guessing at names and getting them wrong.
The add-on has to be assigned to each extension, not merely bought. If your account holds licences nobody is assigned, Shortlists transcribes those calls itself and the integration keeps working.
2. Connect in Shortlists #
- Sign in as a workspace owner or admin.
- Open Meetings, and scroll to the RingCentral panel.
- Click Connect RingCentral, then approve access on RingCentral's screen.
That approval page is RingCentral's own, not ours — we never see your RingCentral password. You are returned to Shortlists and the panel reads Connected.
Complete the approval in the browser you started in, still signed in to Shortlists. Starting in one place and finishing in another is refused on purpose — it is how we make sure only your own admin can attach your phone system to your workspace.
3. What happens after a call #
- A recruiter makes or takes a call, and RingCentral records it.
- It is transcribed — by RingCentral if you have the add-on, by Shortlists if not. Usually a few minutes.
- We match the other party's number to a candidate or client contact.
- The transcript is filed against that person as a note.
Nothing needs clicking at any point. If a transcript has not appeared after about fifteen minutes, section 5 covers the usual causes.
4. Where calls appear #
| Situation | Where the call ends up |
|---|---|
| The number matches a candidate | A note on their profile, under the Meetings tab, with transcript and summary. |
| The number matches a client contact | A note on that contact, in the same way. |
| The number matches nobody | The Meetings page, so the call is still there to read and link by hand. |
A call we cannot match is never discarded — an unrecognised number means a call you file yourself, not a call you lose.
How matching works #
Matching is on the phone number, because that is the only identifying detail a call carries. Format does not matter: a candidate saved as 07700 900123 still matches a call to +447700900123.
So the most useful thing you can do for coverage is keep numbers on candidate records up to date. If you add a number after a call has already come in, open that person's Meetings tab and use Scan for matches.
5. Troubleshooting #
Connecting was refused because call recording is off
This means the account has no AI add-on and no call recording, so there is no route to a transcript at all. Turn on automatic call recording (1.1) and connect again.
Connected, but no transcripts are arriving
- Open the call in the RingCentral app. Is there a recording? If not, check 1.1 — particularly whether that user is enrolled.
- Give it fifteen minutes; transcription is not instant.
- Still nothing? Send us the date and time of the call and we will trace it.
Transcripts arrive, but nobody is named
Expected when the account has no AI add-on, and not something we can fix from our side — see 1.3. Notes transcribed this way are marked, so it is clear at a glance.
I cannot see the Connect button
It is only shown to workspace owners and admins, because one connection covers everyone. Ask an owner or admin to set it up.
Only some recruiters' calls come through
Recording is enabled per user, so check the recruiters whose calls are missing are enrolled in automatic call recording — a few extensions are often missed when it is first set up. If you use the add-on, check their licence is assigned too.
6. Disconnecting #
An owner or admin can disconnect from the same RingCentral panel. New calls stop arriving; transcripts already filed stay exactly where they are. Reconnecting is the same as connecting the first time, and it is also the correct fix after changing licences or recording settings in RingCentral.