Overflow Call Answering Service for UK Businesses
Keep answering your own telephone calls as normal, with our UK receptionists ready to pick up the calls your team cannot get to.
Overflow call answering is designed for businesses that already have people answering the phone but occasionally run out of capacity. Calls can be diverted to us when your lines are busy, when nobody answers or according to the way your telephone system is configured.
We answer in your business name, follow your agreed instructions and take care of the caller rather than simply sending them to voicemail.
What is overflow call answering?
Overflow answering means your own staff continue answering calls first, but another reception team is available when they cannot respond.
It is different from fully outsourcing your telephone answering. Your business remains the primary destination for incoming calls and only the calls that meet your chosen overflow conditions are diverted to us.
For example, your phones might ring internally first. If nobody answers within the period configured on your telephone system, the call can then be diverted to our receptionists instead of continuing to ring or reaching voicemail.
The important distinction: overflow call answering is a back-up to your existing reception or office team. If you want us to answer your main number routinely rather than only catching unanswered calls, our main call answering service may be the better fit.
Your team gets the first opportunity to answer
Overflow answering sits behind your normal telephone setup rather than replacing it.
A customer calls you
The caller uses your existing business telephone number in exactly the same way as they do now.
Your own phones ring first
Your reception, office or other internal team has the opportunity to answer the call normally.
The call overflows to us
If the agreed forwarding condition is met, your telephone system or provider diverts the call to Connect.
We answer as your business
Our receptionist follows your instructions, takes the appropriate action and sends you the details where required.
When should a call overflow?
That depends on your telephone system and the way you want your own team to work.
When the line is busy
If your available lines or team members are already handling calls, additional callers can be diverted rather than receiving an engaged tone or waiting unnecessarily.
When nobody answers
You can allow your own phones to ring first and divert unanswered calls after the period supported by your telephone system or provider.
When you choose to divert
Some businesses prefer to control the diversion themselves, switching overflow support on when they know the office is particularly busy.
One setup detail that matters: your voicemail timer
If your current voicemail answers before the overflow diversion takes effect, the call may never reach us. During setup, check how long your phones ring before voicemail or another fallback service answers.
The exact forwarding options available depend on your telephone provider and phone system, so we can provide the number to divert to but your provider may control which overflow conditions are available.
The caller should still receive a proper reception service
Overflow does not have to mean taking the caller’s name and number and doing nothing else.
We agree what our receptionists should do when an overflow call reaches us. For many businesses this is straightforward message taking, but the call handling can be more detailed where required.
- Answer using your agreed business greeting
- Identify who is calling and why
- Take a detailed message
- Transfer agreed types of call where appropriate
- Screen sales and nuisance calls
- Collect specific information from callers
- Use agreed FAQs or business information
- Send messages by email, SMS or WhatsApp
If an overflow call needs appointment booking rather than a message, we can also assess whether our online diary management service would be suitable.
Common reasons businesses use overflow call answering
Several calls arrive at once
One person can only answer one caller at a time. Overflow gives additional callers somewhere useful to go when your team is already occupied.
Your receptionist is temporarily unavailable
Meetings, lunch breaks and other day-to-day interruptions can leave the phone ringing even though somebody is normally responsible for answering it.
Your call volume changes throughout the day
Rather than staffing for your busiest possible period all day, overflow support provides an additional answering layer when demand exceeds your normal capacity.
Your team is already helping somebody
Staff serving customers, patients or visitors cannot always stop what they are doing simply because another telephone call arrives.
Nobody is permanently sitting at reception
A distributed or hybrid team can still answer many calls itself while using overflow support for the calls that slip through.
You would rather take a message than rely on voicemail
An overflow receptionist can establish what a caller needs and collect useful information while they are still prepared to speak to somebody.
What happens when three people call at once?
Imagine a small professional practice where the receptionist normally answers incoming calls.
She is already speaking to one client when two more callers ring.
Without overflow, those callers may keep ringing, reach voicemail or hang up. With overflow configured, the additional calls can reach us instead.
Your own receptionist is already dealing with this call as normal.
The call meets your overflow condition and reaches a Connect receptionist.
Another available receptionist can answer the additional overflow call rather than leaving the caller waiting for your first line to become free.
Any messages are sent to the appropriate person using the delivery method agreed for your account.
What do we need to set up overflow answering?
The call handling itself can be simple. The important part is making sure the diversion and answering instructions agree with the way your own team works.
From you
We need your preferred greeting, the information to collect, any transfer or screening rules and details of where messages should be sent.
From your telephone setup
Your phone provider or telephone system needs to support a suitable way of forwarding the calls you want us to receive.
You do not normally need to replace your existing business number. The number your customers already know can continue to be the number they call.
Overflow answering, full call answering or an outsourced switchboard?
All three use receptionists to answer calls, but they solve different problems.
| Service | Best suited to | Typical call flow |
|---|---|---|
| Overflow call answering | You normally answer your own calls but occasionally cannot keep up. | Your team answers first; selected unanswered or busy calls reach us. |
| Call answering service | You want an external receptionist to answer some or all incoming calls routinely. | Calls are diverted to us according to the coverage you choose. |
| Outsourced switchboard | You have several people, departments or locations and callers need routing between them. | We identify what the caller needs and transfer or route the call according to detailed instructions. |
What overflow call answering doesn’t cover
Knowing the limits is just as important as understanding the benefits.
Live answering is 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday
We do not currently provide live receptionist answering during evenings or weekends.
We cannot control every telephone system
Your provider determines which busy, no-answer or conditional forwarding options are available. We can provide the answering number, but the divert itself is controlled by your telephone service.
It isn’t outbound calling
Our receptionists handle incoming calls. We do not provide general outbound calling, follow-up campaigns or telesales.
Detailed instructions still need to be workable
We can follow additional call-handling rules, but overly complicated or constantly changing processes may need simplifying before we agree to them.
Packages start from £14.99 + VAT per month
Overflow answering uses the same message-based tariff structure as our standard telephone answering service.
Pay for an appropriate level of coverage
If your own team answers most calls successfully, your overflow usage may be relatively low. We can recommend a package based on the number of calls you expect to reach us.
Sales calls, wrong numbers and misdials are not charged as genuine messages.
If your usage changes, a different tariff may become more appropriate.
Try overflow call answering free for 30 days
The easiest way to see whether overflow answering helps is to let your normal telephone setup continue working and see which calls actually reach us.
Our free trial runs for up to 30 days or 100 genuine messages, whichever comes first.
Before the trial starts, our customer service team will confirm your answering instructions and give you the number required to divert calls to us.
The trial is intended for businesses considering an ongoing service rather than temporary holiday cover or short-term campaign traffic. Call transfers, diary management and more specialised requirements may need separate agreement.
Overflow call answering FAQs
Will my own staff still get the chance to answer first?
Yes, if your telephone setup is configured that way. Overflow answering is specifically intended to sit behind your own team, with calls reaching us only after the agreed forwarding condition is met.
Do I need a new telephone number?
Usually not. Customers can continue calling your existing number. Your telephone system or provider diverts the appropriate calls to the answering number we provide.
Can calls overflow only when my line is busy?
Potentially. Busy-line and no-answer forwarding are common options, but the exact diversion choices depend on your telephone provider or phone system. We recommend checking what your existing service supports.
How long should my phones ring before the call comes to you?
There is no single setting that suits every business. Your own team needs a reasonable opportunity to answer without making the caller wait unnecessarily. The important point is also to make sure voicemail or another service does not answer before the overflow diversion can operate.
Will callers know they have reached an overflow answering service?
Our receptionists answer using your agreed business greeting rather than introducing themselves as Connect. We then follow the call-handling instructions agreed for your account.
Can you transfer an overflow call back to somebody in our business?
Yes, where call transfers have been agreed as part of your service. It is important that the destination number does not simply divert the call straight back to us and create a routing loop.
Can you take appointments on overflow calls?
Yes, where the booking system and process are suitable. Our online diary management service allows receptionists to book, amend or cancel appointments while dealing with the caller.
What happens outside 8am–6pm?
Our live UK receptionist service operates from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. We do not currently offer live receptionist answering during evenings or weekends.
Is overflow answering the same as business continuity?
Not quite. Overflow answering is normally used for day-to-day capacity when your team is busy or temporarily unable to answer. Business continuity cover is designed around a larger disruption, such as an office or telephone system becoming unavailable.
Let us answer the calls your team can’t get to
Tell us how you currently answer your calls, when callers tend to slip through and what you would like our receptionists to do when an overflow call reaches us.