Guide · Updated 13 September 2026
What does a missed call cost a small business?
More than most people think. Most callers who reach voicemail hang up and ring someone else. A business that misses five calls a week, where two in five would have become £180 of work, loses about £1,560 a month. Here is where that figure comes from, how to work out your own, and how to stop it happening.
The problem
Why small businesses miss so many calls
The phone rings when your hands are full: under a sink, halfway through a colour, with a learner at the wheel or in the middle of a treatment. Trades feel it most. In a 2022 Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, 60% said they struggled to answer the phone at work, and 34% believed they had lost work because of it.
It is almost always the mobile. Only 4% of the tradespeople Fix Radio asked said a landline was their main way of talking to customers. So every missed call lands on the one phone you cannot pick up while you are working.
What happens when a call goes to voicemail
Most callers do not leave a message. Moneypenny’s research into 300 UK micro businesses and the call data of 10,000 more found that a third of incoming calls went unanswered, and 69% of callers who reached voicemail hung up without leaving a message. Someone with a leak, a last-minute appointment or lessons to book does not wait. They ring the next name on the list.
The same research found 54% of small businesses still used their network’s standard voicemail greeting, which does not even tell the caller they have reached the right business.
Your numbers
Work out your own missed-call cost
Missed calls a week, times 4.33 weeks a month, times the share who would have booked, times what that work is worth. Change the numbers to match your week.
This is lost work, not lost profit. It does not count repeat customers or referrals, which make the real figure higher.
5 calls × 40% × £180 = £360 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £1,560 a month.
of work going to someone else.
At a glance
Missed calls cost per month, by value of the work
Assuming two in five missed callers would have booked. Pick the row closest to your week.
| Missed calls a week | £120 of work | £180 of work | £300 of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 calls | £416 | £624 | £1,039 |
| 5 calls | £1,039 | £1,559 | £2,598 |
| 10 calls | £2,078 | £3,118 | £5,196 |
Monthly lost work = missed calls a week × 4.33 × 40% × value of the work.
Beyond the lost customer
The hidden costs of missed calls
- Your evenings. Ringing back voicemails and missed numbers after a full day, often to people who have already booked someone else.
- The best work. Urgent jobs and last-minute bookings pay well and cannot wait. They go to whoever answers first.
- Repeat work and referrals. A customer who books someone else this time usually keeps that number for next time.
- How you come across. A standard network voicemail makes a good business sound like nobody is there.
What to do about it
Five ways to stop missing calls
Record a proper greeting
Say your business name, that you are with a customer, and when you will ring back. Free, and better than the network default. Here are voicemail greetings you can copy.
Text back missed callers
A quick text within the hour stops some callers moving on. It only works if you remember between customers.
Set callback times
Block ten minutes at lunch and at the end of the day to return every call, and say so in your greeting.
Divert to someone who can answer
A partner, an office or an answering service. On most UK networks dial **61*number*11*20# to divert calls you do not answer in 20 seconds, and ##61# to cancel. Every code, by network and for landlines, is on our call divert codes page.
Use an AI receptionist
Missed calls answered in your business name, day and night, with the details sent to you in a minute. While You Work is from £39 a month plus VAT, set up for your trade.
Comparing answering services? Read what a call answering service costs in the UK, or see how our call answering service works.
Questions
Missed calls FAQs
How much does a missed call cost a small business?
It depends on what the work is worth to you and how many callers would have booked. As a worked example, a business that misses five calls a week, where two in five would have become £180 of work, loses about £1,560 a month. Put your own numbers into the calculator on this page.
How many calls do small businesses miss?
Moneypenny research on 300 UK micro businesses found a third of incoming calls went unanswered. Trades feel it most: in a 2022 Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, 60% said they struggled to answer the phone at work and 34% believed they had lost work because of it.
Do customers leave a voicemail?
Most do not. Moneypenny found that 69% of callers who reached a small business’s voicemail hung up without leaving a message. Many of them ring the next business on their list instead.
How do I divert calls I do not answer on my mobile?
On most UK networks you can dial **61* followed by the number to divert to, then *11*20# and press call. That sends calls you do not answer within 20 seconds to that number. Dial ##61# to cancel. Check with your network, as a few use their own settings.
What is the cheapest way to stop missing calls?
A proper voicemail greeting that names your business and says when you will ring back costs nothing. To have calls actually answered, an AI receptionist such as While You Work costs from £39 a month plus VAT for 50 calls.
Is it worth paying for an answering service?
Divide the monthly fee by the value of an average job. At £39 and £180 of work, one extra customer every four months covers it. Most small businesses miss far more calls than that.
Sources
- Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, reported by PHAM News, 4 October 2022: Missed calls causing lost business opportunities.
- Moneypenny, independent survey of 300 UK micro businesses and call data from 10,000 businesses, November 2016: Small business call report.
Stop sending customers to voicemail
From £39 a month plus 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.