Call answering service UK
A call answering service that picks up in your business name, day or night.
While You Work answers the calls you cannot get to, in your business name, 24 hours a day. The caller is asked what they need, where they are and how urgent it is, and you get the details by email a minute later, with a text straight away if it is urgent, on Pro and Business. Three plans for small businesses of every kind, priced per call, not per minute.
Plans from £39 a month + VAT; our guide to what a call answering service costs sets named UK providers side by side. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with 7 days free and no card first.
In one paragraph
What a call answering service does for a small business
When you are busy with a customer, a missed call usually means a lost one. Most people who reach voicemail do not leave a message. They ring the next name on the list. A call answering service makes sure somebody always picks up, takes the details properly and gets them to you, so you can ring back when you have a free hand. While You Work does that with an AI receptionist set up for your kind of business, so it answers every call at once, never has a day off and costs the same in a busy week as a quiet one.
How it works
Three steps. You keep your number.
Tell us about your business
Your kind of business, hours, area, what you do and your prices if you want callers told. A short form, about ten minutes.
Switch on divert
One code on your mobile sends any call you do not answer within 20 seconds to your While You Work line. Switch it off whenever you like.
Get the details in a minute
The caller is greeted in your business name and asked the right questions. You get their name, number, where they are and what they need. They get a text saying you will ring back.
What your callers hear
An example call, word for word
This is a typical call to a plumber. A salon, cleaner or driving instructor gets the same care, with questions set for their business. The receptionist asks one thing at a time, reads the number back to check it and never makes up a price.
- Answers in your business name
- Confirms the caller’s name and reads the number back
- Asks what they need, where they are and how urgent it is
- Gives your prices only if you have set them
- Politely ends sales calls so they never reach your inbox
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Dave’s Plumbing. Dave’s out on a job, so I’m the automated assistant taking the details for a call back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?
Caller: It’s Jill. I’ve got water coming through my kitchen ceiling.
Receptionist: Thanks, Jill. I’m sorry, that sounds worrying. Is it still coming through now?
Caller: Yes, it’s dripping quite fast.
Receptionist: Right, I’ll mark this as urgent so Dave sees it first. What’s your postcode?
Caller: LS6, in Headingley.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Dave to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 482.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 482. Is that right?
Caller: That’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Jill. Dave will ring you back as soon as he can, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.
Dave’s text: URGENT. Jill, 07700 900482, LS6 Headingley. Water coming through kitchen ceiling, still dripping fast.
Price
A set monthly price, counted per call
Each plan includes a set number of calls a month. A call counts once however long it lasts, up to 10 minutes, so a long call costs the same as a short one, and sales calls are ended before they take up your time.
The simplest way to judge it: what is one new customer worth to you? If a single missed call a month would have become a job, the Starter plan pays for itself several times over. Try our missed-call calculator with your own numbers, and see the three plans for what each one includes.
Compared
AI call answering against a human answering service
Human answering services are a good fit for firms that need a person to use judgement on every call. For a small business that mainly needs the details taken and passed on, AI is quicker and cheaper, and our guide to choosing an AI receptionist or an answering service sets out the published prices and the trade-offs.
| Typical human answering service | While You Work | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly fee plus a charge per call or per minute | A monthly plan with a set number of calls, then a set price for each extra one |
| Busy week | Costs more | Costs the same |
| Hours | Often office hours, with 24/7 as an extra | 24 hours a day as standard |
| Several people ring at once | Depends how many staff are on shift | Several callers answered at the same time |
| Knows your business | Reads from a script about your business | Asks the questions your kind of business needs, every time |
| After the call | Message by email or app | Email in a minute with name, number and what they need, urgent calls texted straight away on Pro and Business |
| Complex judgement calls | A person can use judgement | Takes the details and passes them to you |
Out of hours
After-hours and 24/7 call answering
A lot of work comes in when you have finished for the day: the boiler that fails at 7pm, the client who wants a Saturday appointment, the learner who books lessons on a Sunday night. While You Work answers around the clock, so those callers get a proper answer instead of a voicemail box.
You choose what callers are told. If you deal with urgent work out of hours, urgent calls are flagged so you can decide what to do. If you do not, callers are told you will ring back in working hours, and they still get a text to say so. More on out of hours and 24/7 answering.
Who it is for
Call answering for small businesses and sole traders
For anyone who cannot answer because they are busy with a customer:
- Plumbers, electricians, builders and every trade
- Salons and barbers, mid-appointment
- Driving instructors, between and during lessons
- Cleaners, groomers, trainers and every business that loses work to missed calls
- Small teams with no receptionist: see answering for small business
Want a receptionist that feels like part of the team rather than a message service? See our virtual receptionist page, or what a full call handling service covers.
Questions
Call answering service FAQs
What is a call answering service?
A call answering service picks up the calls you cannot, in your business name, takes the caller’s details and what they need, and passes them to you. While You Work does this with an AI receptionist, so every call is answered straight away, day or night, for one monthly price.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. You keep your number. You switch on divert-on-no-answer from your mobile with one code, and any call you do not pick up within 20 seconds comes through to your While You Work line. Turn it off any time.
Does it answer out of hours?
Yes. It answers 24 hours a day, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Anything urgent is flagged, such as a leak through a ceiling for a plumber or a problem with today’s appointment for a salon, so you ring those back first.
Will callers know it is not a person?
Callers hear a natural British voice that answers in your business 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.
What if a caller asks for a price?
It gives your prices, call-out fee or lesson price if you have told it to. It never invents a quote. For anything else it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.
Is there a contract?
No. It is monthly and you can cancel any time with no notice period. Cancel within 14 days of your line going live and you get a full refund.
Stop sending callers to voicemail
Priced per call, not per minute. Try it free for 7 days with no card, then 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.