Most answering service contracts look similar on the pricing page and very different in the fine print. Before you sign anything, these are the questions worth asking, with the answer you want to hear and the answer that should make you pause.
Questions about what the service actually does
1. Does it book the job, or only take a message?
Good answer: it checks your calendar and books a time while the caller is on the line. Pause if: it takes a message and you call the customer back. That moves the work to you rather than removing it.
2. Can I see the questions it asks callers?
Good answer: you can read and change the intake questions for your trade. Pause if: there is one generic script for every business.
3. What counts as an emergency, and who decides?
Good answer: you set the rule, and urgent calls reach you straight away. Pause if: the service decides, or every call is passed to you.
4. Can it see my calendar?
Good answer: two-way sync, so it only offers times you are free and never double-books. Pause if: it cannot see your availability.
Questions about the bill
5. What is billed per minute, per call or per month, and what is included?
Published guides describe live services billed per minute, per call or by monthly bundles. Ask for the rate and the included allowance in writing.
6. What happens when I go over the allowance?
Good answer: a known flat rate, and calls keep being answered. Pause if: the overage rate is vague or much higher than the base rate.
7. Which extra fees are there?
Fees commonly reported in guides to answering service pricing include setup or activation fees, premiums for nights, weekends and holidays, charges for transferring a call, charges for changing your script, and early termination fees. Ask which of these apply to you, and get the full list rather than only the base rate.
8. How is the billing cycle counted?
Some providers bill every 28 days rather than monthly, which produces 13 invoices a year instead of 12. It is a small thing that is easy to miss.
There is a longer list in hidden fees to watch for on our cost guide.
Questions about the contract
9. How long is the commitment, and what does leaving cost?
Good answer: month to month, cancel any time. Pause if: there is a 6 to 12 month lock-in, or a fee for leaving early.
10. Can I keep my number and can I leave without losing it?
Forwarding your existing line means your customers never need a new number, and you can stop forwarding whenever you choose.
11. How fast can I be live, and who sets it up?
Some services need days of onboarding calls. Others are running the same day. Ask what you have to do and how long it takes.
Questions about the limits
12. What does it not handle well?
Any honest provider has an answer. Highly emotional calls, complex negotiations and anything needing your judgement should reach a person. If the answer is that it handles everything, treat that as a warning.
How Ansdale answers these
Since you will ask us too: Ansdale books on the call through two-way Google Calendar sync, uses flat plans of $49, $99 or $199 a month with 100, 250 or 500 AI minutes included, bills extra minutes at a flat per-minute rate rather than cutting calls off, has no setup fee, and is month to month. You keep your number by forwarding it. See the plans, how an AI answering service works and how it compares in answering service vs virtual receptionist vs AI. For night calls, see after hours answering service.
Leave a Reply