Answering service for small business
An answering service for small businesses, from £39 a month.
Nobody in a small business is paid to sit by the phone. While You Work answers every call you cannot get to, in your company name, 24 hours a day. Your caller is asked what they need, where they are and how urgent it is, and the message reaches you by email a minute later, with a text straight away if it is urgent on Pro and Business. From £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls.
How much does an answering service cost? Human answering services in the UK usually charge about 99p to £2.20 a call, often plus VAT, and pay as you go answering with no monthly fee starts at 99p a call in office hours. While You Work is from £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls, counted per call, not per minute. Prices from the providers’ own websites, checked 16 October 2026.
Plans from £39 a month + VAT, and the first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 + VAT for 12 months. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
In one paragraph
Why small businesses lose work on the phone
A small business misses calls for reasons no one can fix by trying harder: everybody is doing the actual work, calls arrive in clumps, and the phone rings hardest in the hour you are least free. Most callers who reach voicemail do not leave a message, and most who get a busy tone do not ring twice. They ring the next company on the list, which is usually a competitor who happened to be free. An answering service closes that gap by making sure someone always picks up, takes the details properly and gets them to the right person, so nothing depends on who is standing near a handset.
Cost
What answering the phone actually costs a small business
Four ways to cover your calls, and what each one really costs once you count the hours it does not cover.
| Option | Cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Part-time receptionist, 20 hours a week | About £1,100 a month at the £12.71 National Living Wage, plus employer National Insurance, pension, holiday and cover when they are off | Answers only while they are at their desk |
| Human answering service, 50 calls a month | Roughly £50 to £110 a month plus VAT on published bundle prices, more if you go over | Busy months cost more |
| Voicemail | Free | Most callers ring the next company instead of leaving a message |
| While You Work | £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls, £69 + VAT for 150 | Every call answered, 24 hours a day |
Named providers and their published prices are in our UK call answering cost guide, worked through at 20, 50 and 100 calls a month. Where another service is cheaper for your volume, the guide says so.
What you get
Set up around your business, not a generic script
You fill in a short form once: your company name, hours, the area you cover, what you do, what you charge if you want callers told, and anything a caller should always be asked. The receptionist works from that, every call, without variation.
- Answers in your company name, day or night
- Asks the questions your business needs, in order
- Reads the caller’s number back to check it
- Flags urgent calls so you ring those back first
- Ends sales and nuisance calls so they never reach your inbox
- Emails you the message within a minute, and texts you urgent ones straight away on Pro and Business
Where a person is better
When to use a human answering service instead
We would rather you bought the right thing. A human service is the better choice if:
- You need live calls transferred between several staff
- Your callers need genuine judgement rather than good questions
- You miss only a handful of calls a month, where pay-as-you-go is cheaper
- You want the same named receptionist learning your regulars
See how the main UK providers compare on price, billing and hours, including where they beat us. Two that use people on the phone are Face For Business and Answer4u.
Who it is for
Small businesses that cannot stop to answer
Trades and field work
Plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers and every trade where the phone rings while your hands are full. See the receptionist for your trade.
Appointment businesses
Driving instructors, salons and anyone teaching or treating someone when the phone goes. New enquiries and cancellations both get taken properly.
Small teams and offices
Two to ten people with no dedicated receptionist, where calls land on whoever is nearest and overflow at the busy hours. Our guide to answering the phone is a good one to share with the team.
Questions
Small business answering service FAQs
What is an answering service for a small business?
It is a service that picks up the calls your business cannot get to, answers in your company name, takes the caller’s details and what they need, and passes the message to you. While You Work does it with an AI receptionist, so calls are answered straight away, day or night, for a set monthly price.
How much does an answering service cost for a small business?
Human answering services in the UK usually charge roughly 99p to £2.20 a call, often plus VAT and sometimes with a monthly fee, so the bill moves with how busy you are. While You Work is £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls on Starter, or £69 + VAT for 150 calls on Pro, with extra calls at 60p or 50p + VAT, and a call counts once however long it lasts.
What is the cheapest answering service for a small business?
It depends on how many calls you miss. At about 20 calls a month in office hours, The Answer Centre’s 99p a call is cheapest at about £20, with VAT not stated. A pay-per-call AI plan or a small human bundle comes next at roughly £27 to £30. At about 50 calls a month, While You Work Starter at £39 + VAT is cheaper than every human answering plan that publishes its prices.
Is there a pay as you go answering service?
Yes. Answer.co.uk charges £2.20 a call plus VAT for human answering, with no monthly fee and a £25 minimum credit, which suits a business that misses only a handful of calls. At 50 calls a month that comes to £132 including VAT. While You Work is not pay as you go: Starter is £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls, £46.80 with VAT, which is the cheaper of the two from about 18 calls a month.
Is it a live answering service?
Every call is answered live, as it rings, by an AI receptionist rather than a person, and several callers can be answered at once. If you want a person on every call, a human answering service will suit you better, and our comparison pages show what they charge.
Is it cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
Considerably. A part-time receptionist working 20 hours a week costs about £1,100 a month at the £12.71 National Living Wage, before employer National Insurance, pension and holiday cover, and only answers while they are at their desk. An answering service covers all 168 hours in the week for a fraction of that.
What happens if two people ring at once?
Both are answered. Several callers can be answered at the same time, so there is no queue and no hold music. That is usually the point where small businesses lose work: the second caller rings someone else.
Can it answer for a small team, not just a sole trader?
Yes. It answers in your company name, asks who the caller needs and why, and sends the message on. It does not transfer live calls between staff today, so if you need warm transfers to several people, a human service will suit you better and we will say so.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You keep your number and switch on divert-on-no-answer with one code, so any call nobody picks up within 20 seconds comes through to your While You Work line. Turn it off whenever you like.
Will my customers know it is not a person?
They hear a natural British voice that answers in your company name and asks one question at a time. The greeting tells every caller it is the automated assistant for your business and that calls are recorded. It never pretends to be you.
Is there a contract?
No. It is monthly or yearly, you can cancel any time, and if you cancel within 14 days of your line going live you get a full refund.
Every call answered, for less than one lost customer
From £39 a month + VAT, priced per call, not per minute. No contract, and cancel within 14 days of your line going live for a full refund. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form.