Call Analytics API: Build Reports and Dashboards with CDR Data
Turn Call Data into Actionable Insights with the Simple Telecom CDR API
Key Call Analytics Features
- Access detailed call records with duration, cost, and source data
- Filter and paginate results for custom analysis periods
- Calculate cost-per-lead, call volumes, and peak hours
- Integrate CDR data with analytics and BI platforms
- Build automated dashboards and scheduled reports
What Is Call Analytics?
Call analytics is the practice of measuring and analysing phone call data to understand performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. For businesses that rely on phone calls for sales and support, call analytics provides critical insights: Which marketing channels generate the most calls? What time of day are customers most likely to call? How long do calls typically last? What’s the cost per lead from phone calls?
The Simple Telecom CDR API is the foundation for building a call analytics system. Every call to your 1300, 1800, or CTN number generates a detailed record with start and end time, duration, caller number, destination, and cost. By retrieving this data programmatically and feeding it into your analytics tools, you can build dashboards, generate reports, and uncover insights that drive business decisions.
For Australian businesses, call analytics is particularly valuable because phone calls remain a primary conversion channel. Yet many businesses track digital metrics meticulously while having little visibility into their phone call performance. The CDR API bridges this gap, giving you the same data richness for phone interactions that you have for website visits and form submissions.
Key Metrics You Can Track with the CDR API
The CDR API provides the raw data for several key call analytics metrics. Call Volume is the most basic metric — simply count the number of CDR records in a given period. Track daily, weekly, and monthly call volumes to identify trends, seasonality, and the impact of marketing campaigns on call generation.
Average Call Duration is calculated from the duration_sec field. This metric helps you understand caller engagement — longer calls often indicate higher interest or more complex enquiries. Track average duration by service number, by time of day, or by marketing channel to identify patterns.
Cost Per Call uses the cost field in each CDR record. Sum the costs for a period and divide by the number of calls to get your average cost per call. This is essential for understanding the profitability of call-driven campaigns and for budgeting purposes.
Peak Calling Times can be identified by analysing the start_time field across your CDR records. Group calls by hour of day to see when your busiest periods are, and use this data to optimise staffing levels and business hours.
Building Call Analytics Dashboards
With the CDR API, you can build custom dashboards that visualise your call data in real-time or near-real-time. Using any programming language or analytics tool, you can pull CDR data on a schedule and display it in charts, graphs, and tables. Popular approaches include:
Web Dashboard: Build a custom web dashboard using JavaScript. The fetch API example in the CDR documentation shows how to retrieve CDR data from the browser. Use a charting library like Chart.js or D3.js to visualise call volumes, durations, and trends over time.
BI Tool Integration: Connect the CDR API to business intelligence tools like Power BI, Tableau, or Google Data Studio. You’ll typically need a middleware script that calls the API, transforms the data, and feeds it into the BI tool. The result is a professional analytics dashboard that updates automatically.
Scheduled Reports: For teams that prefer email reports, build a scheduled script that queries the CDR API, calculates key metrics, and emails a summary — daily, weekly, or monthly. Include call volume, average duration, total cost, and cost per call, with comparisons to the previous period.
Marketing Attribution Analytics
One of the most powerful applications of call analytics is marketing attribution. By assigning unique 1300 or 1800 numbers to different marketing channels, you can use the CDR API to determine exactly which channels drive phone calls. Query the API for each channel’s number and compare call volumes, durations, and costs.
For true multi-channel attribution, combine CDR data with your marketing spend data. Calculate cost-per-lead per channel: divide channel spend by the number of calls generated. Identify which channels deliver the lowest cost per call and the highest quality calls (longest duration). This data enables data-driven budget allocation — shift spend toward channels that generate the most valuable phone leads.
For Google Ads, you can feed CDR data back into Google Ads as conversion events. This enables smart bidding strategies that optimise for phone calls, just as they optimise for web form submissions. The result is more efficient ad spend that accounts for the full range of conversion actions.
Automated Reporting with the CDR API
Automated reporting eliminates the manual work of collecting and analysing call data. Set up a scheduled script that runs on a cron job or cloud function, queries the CDR API for the relevant period, and generates a report. Here’s a simple reporting schedule:
Daily Report: Query the CDR API for the previous day’s calls. Report: total calls, average duration, total cost, calls by service number. Send as a morning email digest to your team.
Weekly Report: Query the past 7 days. Include week-over-week comparisons, top-performing service numbers (by call volume), and cost analysis. Share with management and marketing teams.
Monthly Report: Query the full month. Include comprehensive analysis: daily average call volume, peak hours, cost trends, channel comparison, and recommendations. This is your executive summary of call performance.
Analytics Best Practices
When building call analytics with the CDR API, follow these best practices. First, establish a baseline before making changes. Collect at least 30 days of call data to understand your normal patterns — average daily volume, typical call duration, peak hours. You need this baseline to measure the impact of any changes.
Second, track metrics consistently. Use the same date ranges, time zones, and calculation methods every time you generate reports. The CDR API returns timestamps in UTC — convert to Australian time zones consistently in your analytics.
Third, combine call data with other data sources for richer insights. Match CDR data with CRM records to see which calls convert to sales. Compare call volume with marketing spend to calculate ROI. Cross-reference call duration with customer satisfaction scores to identify training opportunities. The CDR API provides the raw call data — how you combine it with other data sources is where the real value lies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Call Analytics with the CDR API
Can I get real-time call analytics?
CDR records are available within 1–2 minutes of a call completing, providing near-real-time data. For truly immediate analytics, query the API frequently (every 5–15 minutes) and process new records as they appear.
How far back does historical CDR data go?
The API returns data for the current and previous months. For long-term trend analysis, we recommend storing CDR data in your own database and building historical reports from your stored data.
Can I track calls from multiple numbers in one dashboard?
Yes. Query the CDR API for each of your service numbers and aggregate the results in your dashboard or analytics platform. The Services API helps you discover all your numbers automatically.
What’s the best way to visualise CDR data?
The best approach depends on your team. Web dashboards are great for real-time monitoring, BI tools for deep analysis, and scheduled email reports for regular updates. Choose the format that your team will actually use.
Can I export CDR data for offline analysis?
Yes. Write a script that queries the API and exports the data to CSV, Excel, or your preferred format. The API returns JSON, which can be easily transformed into any format you need.
With our Call Analytics API, you can unlock powerful insights from your call data and create custom reports that drive business decisions. Whether you’re managing a 1800 number with flexible pricing plans or tracking calls across multiple locations, detailed CDR analytics help you understand customer behaviour and optimise your team’s performance. Our API integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, giving you real-time visibility into call patterns—especially useful if you’re handling international inquiries like calls to your 1300 number from overseas or 1800 numbers dialled from the US. See how businesses are already using these insights to improve their operations by checking our customer testimonials.
