A virtual receptionist can be a great way to manage your calls and customer service without the expense of hiring a full-time member of staff.

They can deal with incoming calls, make outgoing calls and arrange appointments.

They can help you manage your diary, and carry out a range of other admin tasks that save you time to spend on more important things that will make your business money.

But how much does a virtual receptionist cost?

And how are your prices worked out so you’re only paying towards the services you get and the time a virtual receptionist is working for your company (most virtual receptionists work for multiple companies).

Are there any set up costs involved?

Some virtual receptionist services will charge you an initial fee to get your service up and running.

This could include the initial setup, running through scripts and ensuring calls are answered how you would like them to be, and how you want any message or call forwarding services dealt with.

Not all providers will charge this initial fee, so it’s worth asking.

How are you being charged for messaging services?

There are a few ways you could be charged for a virtual receptionist and each one could dramatically impact your final bill at the end of the month.

For example, are you being charged by the hour or based on the number of messages your virtual receptionist takes for you during the day.

Are you being charged extra for anything else. Like message forwarding?

Working out how you’ll be charged, how busy you think your virtual receptionist will be and what your budget is can help you figure out which services are best for you.

What’s included in your service package and are there any extras?

Once you know how your call answering and messaging service pricing is worked out, you can start to look at any additional services you might need, and how these will impact your budget.

For example a virtual receptionist can be used to help with your diary management, as well as taking calls and messages.

Is that something you think you’ll need?

If you’re regularly taking bookings for onsite work for example, your virtual receptionist will have real-time access to your calendar and can confirm bookings based on when your free, and factoring in any scheduling demands you might have.

Are there any minimum monthly fees involved?

This is definitely something to consider if you want to make sure you get the best out of your investment in a virtual receptionist.

Check with your supplier whether they have any minimum monthly fees and what level of service is involved.

If you think the service level is going to be too high based on your initial requirements (like if you’re a small business still in the early days) it would be worth shopping around.

Are there any cancellation and early termination fees?

If you take on a virtual receptionist because you’re expecting to have a busier period at a particular time of year and then find you don’t need as much support, you don’t want to end up choosing between paying for a service you’re not using, or paying an early exit fee.

Check with your provider how they deal with in-contract changes to your services and whether you’re simply able to reduce or increase the level of service you need without facing extra charges.

Find out exactly how much a virtual receptionist will cost you with Face For Business

We’ve handled over 2,000,000 calls for clients over the years so we know how a virtual receptionist fits into most businesses and which services work best based on your needs.

If you want to find out what you’d invest in a virtual receptionist, get in touch with our team today and we can run you through the services we offer to match them to your needs and give you a clear price.

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