How it works
How it works: from your phone line to your inbox
A virtual receptionist service works by call forwarding. You keep your business number and forward it — always, after hours, or only when nobody picks up. A receptionist answers with your greeting, follows your script, and sends you a written record of every call. Setup takes one twenty-minute call and is usually live within three business days.
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1
The intake call
Twenty minutes on the phone with us, and it’s the part that determines whether the rest works.
We write four things with you: your greeting, word for word. Your questions — what you want asked, in what order. Your urgency rule — what justifies interrupting you and what waits. And your never-say list — the things nobody says on your behalf, ever.
Most people find the third and fourth items harder than they expected, and useful to have written down regardless of what they do about the phone.
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2
Your script goes live for review
We write it up and send it back. You read it, change what’s wrong, and approve it. Nothing runs on a script you haven’t seen.
If you have a Spanish-speaking customer base, the Spanish version is written at the same time — not translated later. Why that matters.
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3
You forward your line
Keep your number. Your carrier sets up forwarding in a few minutes and we walk you through it for your specific provider.
Three options, and you can change between them any day: Always — every call comes to us. After hours — automatic, at the times you set. On no answer — your phone rings first; we get it after the number of rings you choose.
Most businesses start on the third. It’s the cheapest way to find out how many calls you’re actually missing.
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4
We answer as your business
The call rings to a staffed shift. A receptionist answers with your greeting, in English or Spanish depending on the caller, and works your script: asks the questions, takes what you need, and decides by your rules whether this is a message, a booking or a live transfer.
No menu, no hold music, no "your call is important to us."
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5
The call comes back to you
Within minutes: who called, the number, why, what we did, and what’s outstanding. By email, SMS or both — and it can differ per person on your team.
If your rules said this one was urgent, your phone rings instead, with the caller already introduced so you’re not starting from zero.
Everything is also in the portal, searchable by name, number or date, with your own notes attached.
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6
You change things as you go
Nobody gets the urgency rule exactly right on day one. After a week of real calls you’ll want to move the line, add a question, change who gets which messages, or update the on-call rotation.
All of it is an email or a change in the portal, and it applies to the next call.
What happens when something goes wrong
Nobody on your side answers an escalated call. We work down your contact list at the interval you set, log every attempt with a timestamp, and tell the caller honestly what to expect.
A caller asks whether we’re the office. We tell them the truth. We never claim to be physically at your location.
A caller asks something we can’t answer. We say so, take the question, and get it to you — rather than guessing on your behalf.
Two calls come in at once. Both get answered. You’re not renting one person’s time.
You need to pause the service. Switch the forwarding off. It’s your line.
How long the whole thing takes
Intake call day one. Script back to you within a day. Forwarding set up whenever you’re ready. Most businesses are live within three business days of the first conversation, and the first month is free — 12-month agreement, card on file at signup, overage billed from month one, no setup fee.
Hear it for yourself
This is what your callers will hear
Two real calls, unedited. Same receptionist, same greeting, two languages.
Studio recreations of the real scripts, because we never record a customer call. That is the greeting, the questions and the handover you would get on day one. Read both calls word for word.
How it works: questions we get
How does a virtual receptionist work?
You keep your business number and forward it to the service — always, after hours, or only when you don't pick up. A receptionist answers with your greeting, follows your script, and sends you a written record of each call. Urgent calls are transferred live under rules you set.
How long does setup take?
About three business days for most businesses: a twenty-minute intake call, a script you review and approve, and a call forward your carrier sets up in minutes. Nothing is installed.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. Your number stays yours. Forwarding is a setting on your line and you can switch it off at any time.
Can I change my script after we start?
Yes, any day, by email or in the portal, and it applies to the next call. Most businesses adjust their urgency rule in the first fortnight once they've seen real calls.
What if I only want cover some of the time?
That's the normal case. Forwarding can be set for after hours only, weekends only, or on no-answer, so you pay only for the calls we actually answer.
Your first month free
Book the intake call. Twenty minutes, and worst case you leave with your urgency rules written down for the first time.