Call Answering Services for UK Businesses
When you cannot answer the phone, our receptionists can answer it for you — using your business name, following your instructions and dealing with the caller in the way you have agreed with us.
That might mean taking a straightforward message, transferring an important call, identifying a new enquiry, accessing an online diary or following a more detailed call-handling process.
You decide when you need the service and what our receptionists should do. We provide the people, systems and call-handling experience behind it.
A call answering service should fit around the way your business already works
Some businesses want every call answered for them. Others only need help when nobody in the office picks up, when staff are in meetings, when a sole trader is driving or working on-site, or when an unexpected rush of calls would otherwise go unanswered.
The service does not require you to hand control of your telephone line to somebody else permanently. Your existing business number can normally be forwarded to the answering service when you want cover, with the exact arrangement depending on your telephone provider and setup.
Once a call reaches us, our system identifies which business it belongs to and presents the receptionist with the instructions agreed with you. The receptionist can then greet the caller in your company name and follow the appropriate process.
How our call answering service works
The setup is straightforward from the caller’s point of view. They continue ringing your normal business number; the work happens behind the scenes.
You tell us how calls should be handled
We agree your greeting, the information to collect, who calls are for, when transfers should be attempted and anything else our receptionists need to know.
Your calls are forwarded to us
You can arrange for calls to reach us according to the telephone setup that suits your business — for example when you are unavailable or whenever you want us providing cover.
We answer in your business name
The receptionist sees the correct company profile and greets the caller using the wording you have chosen, rather than answering with a generic call-centre greeting.
We follow your instructions
We can take and send a message, transfer the caller, collect specific information, deal with an appointment or follow another agreed inbound call process.
What can our receptionists do with your calls?
Not every business needs the same level of call handling. A simple service may only need a caller’s name, telephone number and message. Other businesses need several questions answered before the call can be dealt with properly.
Take accurate messages
We can collect the contact details and message information you actually need, rather than simply recording that somebody called.
Transfer calls to you or your team
Where appropriate, the receptionist can attempt to connect the caller to a mobile, landline, individual member of staff or department according to your instructions.
Identify useful enquiries
We can ask agreed questions so that you know whether the caller is a new prospect, existing customer, supplier or another type of enquiry before you respond.
Manage appointments
If your business works from an online diary, we can book, amend or cancel appointments according to the availability and rules you provide.
Provide more detailed receptionist support
For businesses that need more than basic message taking, receptionists can follow additional instructions, capture extra information and use agreed FAQs or resources.
Provide overflow reception cover
Your own team can continue answering normally while calls you cannot reach are passed to us, giving you extra capacity without permanently outsourcing your reception.
Act as an outsourced switchboard
Calls can be identified, screened and routed to different people or departments, helping larger or distributed teams manage an inbound business number.
Handle calls outside live hours
Outside our weekday live-answering hours, an interactive out-of-hours service can continue collecting structured messages and providing agreed information.
Follow business-specific processes
Where the requirement is suitable for an inbound answering service, we can agree additional questions, routing instructions and data capture rather than forcing every client into the same script.
A call does not always fit neatly into “take a message”
Imagine a customer calls a trades business asking whether someone can attend a leaking pipe today.
“John called about a leak” is technically a message, but it may not be a particularly useful one.
If agreed in advance, a receptionist could instead establish the caller’s name, number, address or postcode, the type of problem, whether water is still flowing and whether the call should be transferred immediately or sent as an urgent message.
A legal firm, clinic, property business or engineering company would need a completely different set of questions.
That is why the quality of the setup matters as much as the person answering the call.
What do we need to know about your business?
Receptionists can only represent a business properly if they know what you want them to do. During setup, the useful information is usually very practical.
- How you want the telephone answered
- Which people, teams or departments callers may ask for
- Which caller details must be collected
- What makes a call urgent or particularly important
- Which calls should be transferred
- Where transfers should be attempted
- What to tell the caller if somebody is unavailable
- Which common questions we may answer
- How different types of messages should be delivered
- Any diary or appointment rules that need followed
- Anything our receptionists should specifically avoid saying or doing
- Temporary changes such as holidays or staff absence
Live UK call answering during the working day
Our live receptionists answer calls from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
You do not have to send every call to us for the whole ten-hour period. How you use the service can depend on your own telephone setup and the type of cover you need.
Some clients use an answering service as their main reception. Others use it when staff cannot pick up, during lunch, for busy periods, while travelling or whenever they simply need uninterrupted time to work.
Not every call answering service needs to do the same job
One of the easiest ways to overpay for telephone answering is to buy functionality you do not use. One of the easiest ways to be disappointed is to buy a very basic service and then expect it to handle complicated calls.
Straightforward message taking
Suitable where the main requirement is simply to have the telephone answered professionally and receive accurate details of who called and why.
Message taking plus call transfers
Useful where some callers need to speak to you or another member of staff immediately, while other calls can be handled as messages.
More detailed receptionist support
Appropriate where callers need additional questions answered, specific information collected, appointments managed or a more detailed process followed.
Our tariffs and service levels reflect those differences rather than assuming every business needs the same type of receptionist support. See our call answering pricing and tariffs.
What our call answering service is — and what it isn’t
A service is easier to trust when you know its limits as well as its features.
It is an inbound telephone answering service
We answer calls made to your business and carry out the agreed inbound process. We are not an outbound telemarketing company or cold-calling service.
It is live during clearly defined hours
Our human receptionists answer Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. Outside those hours, the service is interactive rather than a 24/7 team of live human receptionists.
Receptionists follow agreed information and instructions
We can answer suitable common questions and collect detailed information where this has been agreed, but we do not invent answers when something falls outside the information available to us.
You remain in control of the customer relationship
The purpose is to make it easier for callers to reach your business and for you to receive the information you need — not to take over decisions that belong with you or your team.
Useful when answering the telephone competes with doing the work
Telephone answering is not restricted to businesses of a particular size. The common factor is usually that the phone rings at times when the person best placed to deal with the work is not necessarily best placed to stop and answer it.
Small businesses and sole traders
Useful when the same person is expected to do the work, deal with customers, travel, quote for new business and answer every telephone call.
Busy teams and offices
An answering service can provide additional reception capacity when internal staff are on calls, away from their desks, in meetings or dealing with customers.
Trades and mobile businesses
It is difficult to answer professionally when you are driving, on a ladder, working with tools or standing in front of another customer.
Appointment-led businesses
Clinics and other appointment-based organisations may need more than a message if the caller wants to book, move or cancel an appointment.
Professional services
Legal, property, consultancy and other professional businesses can use call handling to distinguish new enquiries, existing clients and calls that require prompt attention.
Larger and distributed teams
Calls can be routed according to department, role or availability without requiring every person to work from the same physical reception desk.
Start with the calls you actually receive
Our call answering tariffs start from £14.99 per month, with the appropriate package depending mainly on your level of usage and how involved each call needs to be.
A business receiving a handful of straightforward messages each month should not need the same package as an organisation receiving hundreds of calls that require detailed questions or diary work.
On our standard message-based service, genuine messages count towards your tariff. Unwanted sales calls and wrong numbers are not treated in the same way as useful customer messages.
The full pricing page explains the available tariffs, inclusive usage and additional charges.
Try our call answering service free for up to 30 days
The easiest way to decide whether an answering service works for your business is to let it answer genuine callers.
Our trial lasts for up to 30 days or 100 messages, whichever comes first. During that time you can see how the service sounds, whether the instructions work in practice and roughly how much call handling you are likely to use in a normal month.
There is no obligation to continue when the trial ends.
Call answering service FAQs
Will callers know that I use a call answering service?
Calls are answered using the greeting agreed with you, normally including your business name. The receptionist follows your company profile rather than answering with a generic answering-service greeting. You should, however, never rely on a receptionist pretending to have knowledge that has not been provided to them.
Can I keep my existing business telephone number?
Yes. In most cases you continue advertising and using your existing number and arrange for calls to be forwarded to the answering service when required. The exact divert options depend on your telephone provider and system.
Do I need to divert every call to you?
Not necessarily. Many businesses use answering cover only when they cannot pick up themselves. Depending on your telephone setup, that may include unanswered calls, busy periods or times when you deliberately switch cover on.
Can your receptionists transfer calls to me?
Yes. Calls can be transferred where that forms part of your service. Your profile can specify which types of call should be transferred and the numbers or people the receptionist should try.
How will I receive my messages?
Messages can be sent using email, WhatsApp or SMS, including different delivery arrangements for different types of call where appropriate.
What hours do your live receptionists answer?
Our live answering hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Outside those hours, an interactive out-of-hours service is available. We do not claim to provide live human receptionists 24 hours a day.
Can you book appointments for callers?
Yes, where diary management forms part of your setup. Receptionists can access an agreed online diary to book, amend or cancel appointments according to the rules you provide. Read more about diary management.
How much does a call answering service cost?
Our tariffs start from £14.99 per month. The right package depends on your call volume and the amount of work required on each call. See our current call answering prices.
Can I try the service before paying for a monthly tariff?
Yes. Our free trial runs for up to 30 days or 100 messages, whichever happens first. It allows you to test the service with genuine calls before deciding whether to continue. See the free trial details.
Who provides the call answering service described on this page?
CallAnsweringService.org.uk is published by Connect Communications Services Limited, a UK telephone answering and virtual receptionist provider.
The commercial call answering service described on this page is provided by Connect. This site is also being developed as a practical resource about telephone answering, call handling, pricing, technology and choosing the right type of service.
Where we publish broader guides or comparisons, we will make the relationship with Connect clear rather than presenting ourselves as an anonymous independent comparison site.
For more information about the company behind the service, visit Connect Communications.