9 Best Answering Service for Small Business (2023)

Answering services provide agents specialized in sales to answer phone calls for your businesses. They can respond to calls at high volume times when your team needs help handling overflow. They can also act as a contact center, eliminating the need for full-time employees. Their services are available in multiple languages both during and after business hours. Answering services also offer live receptionists.

We analyzed 20+ tools to find the top small business answering service. The research took an extended period of 20 hours to ensure we recommended the right tools. Our service selection is based on client satisfaction rates, scalability, features, and value for money. Read more…

Best Call Answering Services for Small Business

1) AnswerConnect

Best 24/7 Call Answering Service

Keep your business human with 24/7 call answering from a team of real people. With over 20 years of experience, our trained team of friendly receptionists are on hand around the clock to provide professional, people-powered support to your customers.

We can handle your overflow calls, your after-hours calls, or every single one of your calls. Whether it’s new leads, current customers, or other contacts, you choose the words they hear. We work with you to determine their needs and build custom responses for each. Records of every customer call and chat are available at any time through the mobile or desktop app, email, or SMS. We can also integrate with your current systems.

Features:

• Offers live call answering services in a variety of flexible and scalable packages, inlcuding full 24/7 phone coverage, after-hours and overflow.
• Provides live chat answering service where their receptionists answer website chats just as they do for phone calls, using scripts devised by the client.
• They provide appointment setting services where customers can book through their receptionists or self-schedule online.
• Provide bilingual answering service support.
• Call forwarding, routing and transfer features enables their virtual receptionists’ to transfer calls on the go to you or your team.
• Integrates with hundreds of CRMs and other popular softwares, so you can get the most important information directly where you want it.
• Mobile and desktop apps to stay upto date and check messages on the go
• AnswerConnect supports SaaS, Android, and iOS platforms.

Key Specs:

Billing increments: Per minute
Service support: Call answering, Virtual receptionist, Call center services, Appointment scheduling, Live chat answering, Call transfer, after-hours and overflow call answering
Languages: English and Spanish
Pricing: Undisclosed
Free trial: No

Visit AnswerConnect

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2) Go Answer

Best Affordable SMB’s Choice

Go Answer streamlines the day-to-day operations and ensures business continuity after hours when your team is out of the office. This call center service gives callers a personalized experience to establish trust and build rapport. Go Answer delegates all outbound matters to expert agents and does follow-ups to customers’ requests.

Moreover, the service plans are customizable to fit the business needs. They include month-to-month services with no underlying binding contract. Go Answer supports property management, medical, contractors, attorneys, emergency restoration, hospitality, and financial services.

Features:

• Businesses can get real-time email alerts and text notifications on account updates.
• The answering service can book appointments with clients according to your calendar availability.
• It includes roles like upselling, cross-selling, and order taking.
• The platform offers live chat services to provide immediate responses to customers.
• Go Answer agents can take messages, capture the reason for the call, and take basic caller information.
• It offers custom, friendly, and professional greetings to address clients after hours.
• You can develop a script through the client portal that agents will read when answering calls.
• This service can patch calls directly to the business’s relevant contact points at no extra charge.
• Go Answer supports SaaS, Android, and iOS platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: One-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Call center services, Legal intake services, Virtual receptionist
Pricing: Plans start at $50 a month.
Free Trial: Yes – 30 Days

Visit Go Answer >>

30 Days Free Trial

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3) Ruby Receptionists

Best Overall live answering solution.

Ruby is a small business answering service that is helpful for the growth process. It is an Oregon-based agency that partners with small business owners across several industries, including education, finance, realtors, healthcare, and legal firms.

With its advanced mobile app, you can take messages in the form of voicemails and forward calls to virtual representatives. The app can also access messages from the in-house receptionist and get all call records. Moreover, you can receive texts and make calls from the business line while keeping the number secure and private.

The Ruby platform has an auto-attendant with a barge and calls whisper features to ensure caller satisfaction. Furthermore, it offers chat services that can bundle chat and set the business status.

Features:

• It schedules appointments depending on your calendar availability, ensuring no double-booking.
• The platform offers a chat call connection and call routing to help connect with the most receptive prospect.
• Businesses can personalize greetings to allow Ruby receptionists to represent your business values.
• The services include call holding with seven on-hold music options to keep callers entertained.
• Ruby screens out solicitors and captures new customers using the lead information collected.
• You can get messages and call notifications on any device via email, text, or the Ruby app.
• Stay connected to clients with real-time usage alerts and voicemail transcriptions.
• Third-party integrations include Clio, Grasshopper, Nextiva, Rocket Matter, and Mycase.
• It supports SaaS platforms, Android, and iOS devices.

Key specs:

Billing increment: 30-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Live web chat, Virtual receptionist
Pricing: Plans start at $219 a month.
Free Trial: 21 Days Money Back Guarantee

Visit Ruby >>

21 Days Money Back Guarantee

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4) Davinci Virtual

Best Administrative task assistance

Davinci virtual has an automated answering service meant for completing administrative tasks. It also provides toll-free 888, 855, 866, and 877 or a local number with your area codes. It allows you to select these numbers from an existing phone or fax line and enjoy unlimited long-distance calling.

With Davinci Virtual, callers can reach you anywhere using the virtual phone locating service known as the Find Me Follow Me feature. It also offers solutions like meeting spaces, catering services, and virtual business addresses. Davinci offers customizable Business and Premium packages for businesses.

Features:

• Virtual assistants can screen callers before your business can answer incoming calls.
• It can screen calls and forward them to the company business phone number.
• The auto-receptionist uses professionally recorded messages to answer calls after hours.
• This platform uses an online calendar to schedule appointments in real-time.
• You can take and process orders using a web-based commerce solution.
• It can hold audio conference calls with up to 99 participants on the online portal.
• The advanced call routing feature can direct calls to a different virtual office phone number.
• Davinci supports SaaS, Android, and iOS platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: one-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Live web chat, Virtual receptionist, Live web chat, Virtual office space
Pricing: Plans start at $50 a month.
Free Trial: No

Visit Davinci >>

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5) VoiceNation

Best Smart virtual PBX solution.

VoiceNation is the best phone answering service for small businesses with USA-based agents. The services also work across construction, real estate, and medical firms. Their team of agents can start taking your calls as soon as you finish the sign-up process.

VoiceNation plans include short message service, email, and message delivery by voicemail. The platform offers custom call scripting and a dedicated account manager. Moreover, it has live chat and answering services 24/7/365 for low pricing with no contracts or setup fees.

Features:

• This phone answer service offers call blocking, on-call scheduling, and custom on-hold music.
• It has online reports that check call duration, volume, and location.
• This answering service can screen calls, process orders, and set appointments.
• The platform’s mobile lead collection captures callers’ information and prioritizes callbacks.
• Users can use the dashboard to customize the call script for their operators.
• You can keep an existing phone number by porting or going for a local/toll-free number to get started.
• VoiceNation has a client portal where businesses can track minutes and view call logs.
• The analytics feature provides insights into the average response time, call rates, and pins top 25 callers.
• VoiceNation supports Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: 6-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Virtual receptionist
Pricing: Plans start at $59 a month.
Free Trial: Yes – 7 Days

Link: https://voicenation.com/

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6) PatLive

Best Live answering service.

PatLive is one of the best answering service companies with professional virtual receptionist services. The remote team is US-based and offers flexible month-to-month plans with no contract. PatLive delivers 24/7 customer services from Monday to Friday, standard working hours to increase your customer’s satisfaction.

Every PatLive plan comes with a dedicated phone number and helps customers with frequently asked questions. It offers additional services like customized call scripts, patching, and a history of every call. PATLive allows business status updates on the online website or mobile apps to change how receptionists handle calls.

Features:

• It offers live receptionists who can record contact information, including the caller’s location.
• The team uses order processing to place direct orders from your e-commerce storefront.
• Users can screen calls and find out who is calling before answering the call.
• The platform can reschedule appointments, book new appointments, and process cancellations.
• PatLive transfer calls to the business representatives whenever you are available.
• The agents take messages when you are away and let customers know when you are available to take calls.
• It has custom forms for lead collection to get important details from callers.
• Third-party integrations include Insightly, Zoho CRM, Salesforce, Google Calendar, Shopify, and more.
• PatLive supports SaaS platforms, Android, and iOS devices.

Key specs:

Billing increment: 6-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Live call answering service, Virtual receptionist
Pricing: Plans start at $59 a month.
Free Trial: Yes – 14 Days

Link: https://www.patlive.com/

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7) AnswerFirst

Best Pay-as-you-go services

AnswerFirst provides small business owners and customers exceptional 24/7 call answering service solutions. This tool serves industries, including information technology, manufacturing, legal, and healthcare. It also offers advanced solutions including online order fulfillment, inbound email processing, and business management.

Moreover, AnswerFirst offers a free Client Web Access (CWA) for every Live Operator account. This account allows businesses to access their information in real-time by securely logging in to the web server. The web interface offers account screen reviews, voice log access, live status updates, and form review.

Features:

• It has virtual receptionists that take messages and transfer calls to your cell phone or office extensions.
• The live call transfer and patching the caller directly to the right extension, person, or department.
• Virtual assistant staff can take and deliver customer messages.
• AnswerFirst offers system monitoring to track phone alerts or email notifications.
• The receptionists can place orders directly on your e-commerce platform.
• It has an on-call schedules feature those book appointments according to your calendar availability.
• Third-party integrations include Freshdesk, Zoho CRM, Salesforce, ServiceNow, TimeTap, and Zendesk.
• AnswerFirst supports SaaS, Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: One-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Virtual receptionist, Call center services
Pricing: Plans start at $30 a month.
Free Trial: No

Link: https://answerfirst.com/

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8) Abby Connect

Best Streamlined live receptionists

Abby Connect is among the best small business answering services with a successful manager and team to answer business calls. It is a Las Vegas-based company offering custom answering hours and customized client intake. They save on time so that you can focus on other important tasks and purpose towards increased returns on investment.

Each group of Abby’s team includes up to seven receptionists for more consistent customer experiences. Abby Connect offers advanced features like custom tunes, call recordings and client data updates.

Features:

• You can ban customers or visitors by using their IP addresses.
• Block spam or unwanted callers from reaching the company lines.
• The dedicated virtual receptionist function as an extension of the business
• Agents can get the caller’s information before answering a call using a call screen.
• The team can schedule appointments via Google or Outlook according to your availability.
• The call announcement feature enables representatives to pick the right calls.
• Third-party integrations include Zapier, HubSpot, Clio Grow, Lawmatics, and Clio.
• It supports Android, iOS devices, and SaaS platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: 30-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Live web chat, Virtual receptionist
Pricing: Plans start at $299 a month.
Free Trial: Yes – 14 Days

Link: https://www.abby.com/

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9) Answering Service Care

Best Professional answering service

Answering Service Care offers 24/7 live answering services. This Florida-based firm offers virtual receptionist services for businesses of all sizes. The company serves clients in the legal sectors, real estate, medical homes, insurance agencies, and funeral homes.

They offer toll-free numbers to local, national, and global businesses to attract more calls and text messages. You can also deliver messages from phone, fax, SMS, or other wireless devices.

Answering Service Care offers inbound call forwarding, voicemail to email, and live call transfer. It also provides multichannel communications and manages calls after hours, on holidays, and on weekends.

Features:

• The custom on-hold music plays music or relays important information when clients wait on a call.
• It offers email marketing that follows up phone conversations after the caller hangs up.
• Users can screen calls and direct them to available representatives.
• You can filter out spam or Robocalls using the spam blocker.
• The team can schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments with callers on your behalf.
• Answering Service Care can digitally record telephone calls and access them for later reference.
• It has an on-call calendar that updates the staff about on-call schedules.
• Third-party integrations include Salesforce, Slack, Webex, Google Calendar, MEDX, and Google Suit.
• It supports SaaS, Android, and iOS platforms.

Key specs:

Billing increment: 60-second increments
Languages: English and Spanish
Service Support: Answering service, Virtual receptionist, Automated services
Pricing: Plans starting at $49 a month.
Free Trial: 21 Days Money Back Guarantee

Link: https://www.answeringservicecare.net/

FAQs

Best Call Answering Services for Small Business