Guide
How much do missed calls cost a small business?
By the RingVia team
It depends on your business, so instead of quoting someone else's average, here is how to work out your own number in a few minutes.
The formula
Missed calls a month × share that would have become customers × what a new customer is worth = what missed calls cost you each month.
Each part is something you can estimate from your own records. Be conservative: the goal is a rough number you trust, not a big number.
Step 1: count your missed calls
Your phone carrier's call log, your cell phone's recent calls or your phone system will show calls you didn't answer. Count a typical week, including evenings and weekends, and multiply by four. Don't forget voicemails nobody returned in time.
Step 2: estimate how many would have booked
Look at the calls you do answer. Out of every ten, how many turn into a booking, a job or a sale? That share is a fair starting point for missed calls too, though callers who reach voicemail often try another business instead of waiting.
Step 3: decide what a customer is worth
Use the value of a first booking for a quick number, or the value of a customer over a year if they come back (cleanings twice a year, a furnace service every fall, a haircut every six weeks). Use your own average, not a best case.
A worked example
Example numbers, not statistics
Say a salon misses 20 calls a month. In its own records, about 4 in 10 answered calls become a booking, and a booking is worth about $60. That's 20 × 0.4 × $60 = $480 a month in first bookings alone, before repeat visits. Put your own numbers in instead.
What you can do about it
- Answer more often: forward missed calls to a second person, or to a service
- Call back fast: the sooner you return a missed call, the more likely the caller is still looking
- Text back automatically when someone hangs up, so they know you’ll respond
- Use an AI receptionist that answers every call, books the appointment and only hands you the calls that need you
If your monthly number is bigger than the cost of a plan, it is worth testing. RingVia starts at $99 USD ($149 CAD) a month with a free trial. See pricing.