What missed calls cost a small business in the UK (and how to work out yours)
What a missed call costs you is: missed calls a month × close rate × average ticket, with your own numbers rather than someone else’s statistic. From £69 a month ex VAT, Zatio answers the calls your team can’t pick up.
Why calls get missed
You are on a job or with a customer
Your mobile rings while your hands are busy. You ring back later and, sometimes, the caller has already spoken to someone else.
You are in a consultation
In a clinic or an office, the person on the phone is also the person on the front desk. Two things at once is one too many.
It is out of hours
Evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Many people ring when they finish work, exactly when you have closed too.
Work it out for your business
No default figures: fill each box with your own real numbers. If you don’t have them, here is where to look.
| Step | Your number | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Missed calls a month | [fill in] | Your mobile or phone provider’s call log: count the inbound calls you neither answered nor returned. |
| Close rate | [fill in] % | Of last quarter’s enquiries, how many became a job or an appointment. Divide one by the other. |
| Average ticket | [fill in] £ | The average of your invoices over the last quarter. |
| Result | calls × rate × ticket | That is the most that is at stake each month. Compare it with what answering them would cost. |
It is a maximum: some of those callers would ring you again. That is why we use your data and not a statistic about other businesses.
Do it with the calculator
Zatio ROI calculator
Enter your missed calls, close rate and ticket and it gives you the result straight away, next to what answering them would cost.
How many calls you really miss
Before working anything out, look at one full week of your call log and count them, rather than estimate.
Four ways to stop missing them
Each with its pros and cons. They can be combined.
1. Voicemail
For: free and already there. Against: the caller gets no answer and may hang up without leaving a message; you still have to return every call.
2. Divert to a team member’s mobile
For: a person from your business answers. Against: that person is busy too, and out of hours nobody wants to pick up.
3. Telephone answering service (people)
For: a human voice and a message taken. Against: pricing depends on volume and is usually by quote; most take a message rather than book the job.
4. AI receptionist
For: answers every call at once, at any hour, with your information, and books appointments. Against: it is an AI and says so; sensitive calls still have to go to a person.
What Zatio does
Your phone rings first
With “When Zatio answers”, during your hours your phone rings for 10 to 40 seconds and Zatio picks up if nobody can. Out of hours it answers straight away.
Answers, qualifies and books
Answers from your website’s information, asks what matters and books into Microsoft Bookings, Calendly or Cal.com.
Phone, WhatsApp and web chat
The same assistant on all three channels, in all 3 plans, with a summary of every conversation in your dashboard.
Price
From £69 a month excluding VAT, with 400 voice minutes, plus WhatsApp and website chat.
Questions
How many calls does a small business miss?
We don’t give a figure, because there is no public UK statistic we can cite with its source. The one that matters is yours: count the inbound calls you didn’t answer in one week of your call log.
What does a missed call cost?
Missed calls a month × close rate × average ticket. It is a maximum, because some of those customers would ring you again. Zatio’s calculator does it with your numbers.
Is voicemail enough?
It is the cheapest option, but the caller gets no answer and you still have to return every call. If your problem is out-of-hours calls or calls while you work, it usually falls short.
Can an AI receptionist answer only when I can’t?
Yes. With “When Zatio answers”, during your hours your phone rings first for 10 to 40 seconds and Zatio answers if nobody picks up; out of hours it answers straight away.
What does it cost to have Zatio answer them?
£69, £129 or £259 a month ex VAT, with 400, 1,000 or 2,000 voice minutes plus WhatsApp and web chat included. Month to month, no minimum term, with a 60-day guarantee.
Can I try it?
Yes. Free 14-day trial with no card, including 30 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations. Your phone number arrives when your plan starts, and you connect WhatsApp yourself from your dashboard.
Zatio in your industry
How Zatio works in each industry: what it asks, what it books and what it passes to your team.
Hear how Zatio would answer while you can’t
Leave your mobile and Zatio rings you within seconds.
- Keep your number
- No annual commitment
- 60-day guarantee
Rather talk to a person? Book a 20-minute demo.