Should I hire a receptionist for my small business?

Hire a receptionist when the cost of missed calls clearly exceeds the cost of coverage and you need someone physically at a front desk. If the problem is purely the phone, an always-on AI front desk closes that gap for a fraction of a salary.

Virtual receptionist vs. in-house receptionist, which is cheaper?

An in-house receptionist runs about $2,500–$3,000 a month for roughly 40 hours a week. A virtual or AI receptionist starts around $95/mo and covers all 168 hours, including nights and weekends.

Front Desk Maturity Check

Should you hire a receptionist?

Six honest questions about your phone. At the end: a straight verdict, the exact break-even math, and a 24/7 coverage plan built for your business, no vendor demo required.

6 questions
~60 seconds
Real cost math

No email to see your result

While you were out

Sample

FromIncoming call

WhenRight now · while you read this

You catch the ones you're near

The rest ring out, and don't call back

After 6 p.m., the line goes quiet

The model assumes 60% of missed callers never ring back and 42% of those would have booked. Your answers set the rest.

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<p style="font:13px/1.4 sans-serif;margin:8px 0 0"><a href="https://lobbyvoices.com/tools/should-i-hire-a-receptionist">Should I Hire a Receptionist?, a free tool by Lobby</a></p>