Hello Anytime / Guides / The cost of missed calls
Guide, checked 6 October 2026What a missed call can cost your business
A missed call can be a missed job. Here is what UK research says, and a simple way to work out your own number.
What the research says
We only use figures we could trace back to the people who did the research. Each one has its source.
of UK adults said they would give up on a business call within 60 seconds and contact a competitor instead.
Source: YouGov survey for Answer4u, 2,046 UK adults, 5 to 8 June 2026. Answer4u sells call answering. Link checked 6 Oct 2026.
said they would leave a voicemail instead of waiting for an answer.
Source: the same YouGov survey for Answer4u, June 2026. Link checked 6 Oct 2026.
of tradespeople believe they have lost work because they couldn't answer the phone.
Source: Fix Radio survey of over 220 UK tradespeople, published 3 October 2022. Link checked 6 Oct 2026.
of the same tradespeople said they struggled to answer the phone while at work.
Source: the same Fix Radio survey, October 2022. Link checked 6 Oct 2026.
Some figures you may see online, such as "85% of callers never ring back", we could not trace to a real study. So we don't use them.
A simple worked example
These are example numbers, not research. Change them to fit your business.
- You miss 2 calls a week from new customers.
- An average job is worth £150.
- 1 in 3 of those callers rings someone else (an example, not the survey figure).
| Work from missed calls | 2 calls × £150 = £300 a week |
|---|---|
| Lost to someone else (1 in 3) | £300 ÷ 3 = £100 a week |
| Over a year | £100 × 52 weeks = £5,200 a year |
| Each month | £5,200 ÷ 12 = about £433 a month |
This is the value of the jobs, not your profit. But it shows how fast small numbers add up.
For comparison, Hello Anytime costs £29.99 a month including VAT, for unlimited calls. One £150 job is about five times that. Your phone rings first, and Any, our AI assistant, answers the calls you miss. Works on every UK mobile network.
Try the missed call calculator
Costs that are harder to count
- Your time. Ringing back numbers with no message, and getting voicemail yourself.
- Stopping work. Climbing down a ladder or taking off gloves to grab the phone.
- Evenings. Calls at 9pm that you either answer tired or don't answer at all.
How to miss fewer calls
- Record a clear voicemail greeting. Say when you will ring back.
- Text back missed callers quickly. A short text can keep them from ringing someone else.
- Share the load. Divert calls to someone in your team when you are on a job.
- Use an answering service. A person or an AI receptionist can take the details for you. Our guide to answering services in the UK explains the options.
Questions
How do I work out what missed calls cost me?
Multiply the missed calls a week by your average job value, then by the share of callers you think go elsewhere. Times 52 for a year. Our free missed call calculator does it for you.
Do people leave a voicemail when I miss their call?
Few do. In a YouGov survey for Answer4u of 2,046 UK adults in June 2026, just 6% said they would leave a voicemail instead of waiting for an answer.
Is a missed call always a lost job?
No. Some people ring back or leave a message. But in the same survey, 37% said they would give up within 60 seconds and contact a competitor.