Who answers your phone when you're up a ladder?
Plumbers, electricians, builders and roofers lose work to voicemail every day, because the customer rings the next name on the list. Here are the five ways to cover the phone, what each actually does with a job enquiry, and the published prices.
From free to a few hundred a month.
Voicemail
Free. The customer hears a beep and decides whether to leave a message or ring someone else. You ring back when you can, if they left a number.
A partner or the office
Free or a wage. Works until that person is also busy, on holiday or asleep. Evening and weekend calls still go to voicemail.
Human answering service
From about £45 to £75 a month for a small bundle of calls. A receptionist takes a message and texts or emails it to you. Most cover daytime hours as standard.
AI receptionist
From £49 a month. Software answers in your business's name, asks about the job and takes the details. Answers at any hour and never puts a caller in a queue.
A mix
Answer what you can on site, divert the rest. Any of the paid options above will take calls only when you don't pick up, so you keep the ones you want.
The message is the product.
A missed call costs you nothing if the message that comes back lets you quote. Judge any service on what it captures from a job enquiry, not on how friendly the greeting is.
Whatever they say
Often a name and "ring me back". No postcode, no description of the job.
Name, number, message
A trained receptionist will ask what the call is about. The detail depends on the script you agree and the plan you pay for.
The caller's details and what they need
Cora takes the caller's details and what they need, asking the questions you agree at set-up. A summary reaches you in 60 seconds. On Growth and Pro, the call-back is booked into your diary.
Published plans, checked 4 Nov 2026.
| Provider | Who answers | Monthly fee | Included | Over the allowance | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Receptionist | Person | £75 / £145 / £230 | 30 / 60 / 100 calls | £2.99 a call | 08:00 to 20:00 |
| Face for Business | Person | From £49 / £99 / £115 | By the second on two plans | Per plan; 90-day minimum | Core hours; evenings on the top plan |
| AnswerConnect | Person | £45/month to get started | Behind a form | Not published | 24/7 |
| Goodcall (US, dollars) | AI | $79 / $129 / $299 | 100 / 500 / 2,000 customers | 79¢ / 26¢ / 15¢ a customer | 24/7 |
| Rosie (US, dollars) | AI | $49 / $149 / $299 | 250 / 1,000 / 2,000 minutes | Not published | 24/7 |
| Klyp Starter | £49 | 100 minutes (about 40 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 | |
| Klyp Growth | £99 | 500 minutes (about 200 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 | |
| Klyp Pro | £149 | 1,000 minutes (about 400 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 |
Klyp: No VAT added. Other UK providers may add VAT; check their page. Dollar prices are shown as published, not converted. Prices change; use the links.
Price it against one job.
Don't compare £49 with £0. Compare it with the value of the first job you win because someone answered. A boiler swap, a rewire, a new bathroom, a roof repair: you know what those are worth to you. If a month of answering costs less than one of them, the sum is done. The only way to find out how many you are missing is to look at your phone's missed-call list for a normal week, including evenings.
Klyp: Starter £49, Growth £99, Pro £149 a month. First month free. No contract. No VAT added.
Common questions.
What does an answering service cost for a tradesman?
On published UK prices checked 4 Nov 2026, a human message-taking plan starts at about £45 to £75 a month (AnswerConnect, Face for Business, Pocket Receptionist), with extra calls at around £3 each. An AI receptionist starts at £49 a month: Klyp's Starter plan includes 100 minutes (about 40 calls), with no VAT added and the first month free.
Can it book the job in?
Cora takes the caller's details and what they need, using the questions you agree at set-up, and sends you a summary in 60 seconds. On Klyp's Growth and Pro plans, Cora books the call-back into your diary and texts the caller a confirmation.
What if a customer rings at 9pm with a burst pipe?
Cora answers, takes the details and sends you a summary in 60 seconds. On Growth and Pro, urgent calls are put through to you live. Routine calls wait for the morning.
Does the customer know it's an AI?
If they ask, yes. Cora answers in your business's name and says she is an AI when asked. She does not pretend to be your office.