In need of a temporary answering service?

Our virtual receptionists can provide the short-term help your business needs, answering your calls 24/7 if needed. Whether you are facing a staffing issue, need holiday cover or expect higher call volumes than usual, you’ll find our services are reliable, flexible and cost-effective.

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Affordable short-term receptionist support that ensures your inbound business calls continue to be answered

US receptionists

The majority of our receptionists are in the US, with bilingual answering options and overflow support available.

24/7 live call answering

We operate all day, every day, so we can seamlessly answer your calls around the clock if you want us to.

Custom call greetings

We answer your calls with your custom greeting to ensure your callers enjoy a seamless experience.

Instant emails or texts

Receive email or SMS messages after each call, containing caller details and their reason for calling.

Your tools are our tools

We can input leads, book appointments, raise support tickets and more using your preferred software.

No lock-in contract

No long-term contracts or cancellation fees gives you flexibility to use our services for the time period you need.

Help is at hand, whatever your situation

Illness & ad hoc coverage

Are staff absences making it hard to maintain productivity while ensuring the phone is answered? We can provide same-day service coverage!

Staff off sick
Staff on breaks
Staff in meetings
Staff in training
Staff at conferences
Staff working remotely

Inquire today

Periods of peak demand

Swamped with calls and don’t have the capacity to handle them effectively in-house? We can assist during unusually busy periods, whatever the cause.

Promotions or campaigns
Class actions for law firms
Tax time for accountants
Seasonality factors
Event registrations
Product recalls
Fundraisers

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Vacation & leave coverage

Need someone to answer the phone while you’re out of town or your in-house receptionist is away? Enjoy peace of mind that we have it covered.

Vacations
Federal holidays
Other holidays
Personal leave
Medical leave
Funeral leave

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Events and office closures

Is your office shutting for a period of time? Whether a planned or sudden unforeseen event, we can answer your calls remotely.

Staff functions
Renovations
Moving offices
Holiday shutdowns
Conferences or other events
Pandemic lockdowns
Natural disasters

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How our call answering services work

1 Set up within minutes 2 Customer calls you 3 We answer for you 4 We send a message

Set up within minutes

Tell us about your business, your preferred greeting and how you’d like us to interact with your callers. Then simply confirm who should receive messages or, depending on your plan, call transfers when they’re available.

Customer calls you

Divert your phone to the unique number we provide so we know when an incoming call is for your business. If you only need our services temporarily, simply divert your phone to us when you want us to start answering your calls and undivert it when you want us to stop. It’s that simple.

We answer for you

Our friendly and professional receptionists will answer your business calls with your preferred greeting. Depending on your plan, we can take messages, transfer selected calls, answer FAQs, submit leads into your CRM, take orders, process payments, schedule your appointments and more. Note: a mimimum service period applies for calls involving appointment setting.

We send a message

After each call you’ll immediately receive a message by email, SMS or both (as chosen by you) including details such as the caller’s name, phone number and, of course, the reason for their call.

Our virtual receptionist services

A temporary answering service is like having a casual receptionist who is available 24/7, whenever the need arises! Best of all, it’s risk-free as you only pay for what you use.

Whatever your industry, complexity of calls or call volumes, if you need a short-term phone answering service, we can provide the solution.

	MessageExpress	ReceptionistPlus	MyAssistant	MyDiary
Compare our live call answering services	Call answering and message taking for one individual or team. See pricing	Messages, support and call transfers for multiple staff or departments. See pricing	Tailored scripting and virtual assistance for unlimited staff or departments. See pricing	Appointment scheduling and diary management using your preferred software. See pricing
Caller greeting	Personalized	Fully customized	Fully customized	Fully customized
List staff or departments	One person or team	Unlimited contacts	Unlimited contacts	Unlimited contacts
Collect information from callers	3 details	5 details	Up to 11 details	Up to 11 details
Warm call transfers
Advise business hours/location
Answer common questions
Scripted questions & responses
Quote fees & take payments
CRM input or submit online forms
Appointment scheduling
Calendar management
	About MessageExpress Inquire now	About ReceptionistPlus Try our 7-day free trial	About MyAssistant Inquire now	About MyDiary Inquire now

* Plus relevant sales tax. Refer to Terms & Conditions.

MessageExpress

Call answering and message taking for one individual or team.

US-based receptionists
No lock-in contract
Personalized greeting
Instant email or SMS messages
One person or team listed as message recipient
Mobile app & portal
24/7 service upgrade option
Toll-free number upgrade option

Find out more

Hear a sample call

ReceptionistPlus

Messages, support and call transfers for multiple staff or departments.

All MessageExpress features plus

US-based receptionists
No lock-in contract
Instant email or SMS messages
Mobile app & portal
24/7 service upgrade option
toll-free number upgrade option

Fully customized greeting
Warm call transfers
Multiple staff or departments listed as message or transfer contacts
Collect 5 pieces of info
Advise business hours/location

Find out more

Hear a sample call

MyAssistant

Tailored scripting and virtual assistance for unlimited staff or departments.

All ReceptionistPlus features plus

US-based receptionists
No lock-in contract
Instant email or SMS messages
Mobile app & portal
24/7 service upgrade option
toll-free number upgrade option
Fully customized greeting
Warm call transfers
Multiple staff or departments listed as message or transfer contacts
Advise business hours/location

Collect 11 pieces of info
Custom scripting or FAQs
CRM input or online form submissions
Quote fees & take payments

Find out more

Hear a sample call

MyDiary

Appointment booking and diary management using your preferred software.

All MyAssistant features plus

US-based receptionists
No lock-in contract
Instant email or SMS messages
Mobile app & portal
24/7 service upgrade option
toll-free number upgrade option
Fully customized greeting
Warm call transfers
Multiple staff or departments listed as message or transfer contacts
Advise business hours/location
Collect 11 pieces of info
Custom scripting or FAQs
CRM input or online forms
Quote fees & take payments

Appointment scheduling
Calendar management

Find out more

Hear a sample call

A reliable solution to short-term problems

You can use ReceptionHQ’s service for an hour, a day, a week … whenever you need our assistance.

Many clients use our live call answering for short-term needs, such as when their own in-house receptionist is away, when staff are at events or to cope with seasonal demands. We offer temporary relief without the HR headache.

It’s even possible to switch our service on and off as needs dictate. Be sure to ask about our pause package!

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FAQs

Why should I get a live call answering service?

At ReceptionHQ we make it easy to connect you with your customers by answering your calls when you aren’t available.

Many callers hang up when their call goes to voicemail, so you can miss out on vital conversations or leads. Ensuring your calls are answered by a live person, increases customer satisfaction, builds loyalty and improves your opportunity to create a rapport and obtain caller details.

Live call answering also allows you to screen calls, as you can advise your receptionist to transfer or take messages for only those call types you wish to receive. Once answered, you can see each message as it’s taken and prioritize who you will call back first.

Live call answering increases revenue through better customer connections, reduces costs as you’re not paying for a full time receptionist and helps you to be more efficient with your time.

Utilizing ReceptionHQ’s answering services means you have an experienced and personable receptionist with exceptional customer service skills interacting with your callers, all while costing significantly less than a full-time receptionist.

Are you able to answer just some of our calls?

Yes. This is referred to as “call overflow”.

A lot of companies require their phone calls to be answered only when they are unable to take the call themselves. For example, if you step out of the office for an hour or your in-house receptionist goes to lunch, is on leave or is busy on another call and you have multiple calls coming in at the one time.

You can set your business phone number to divert (to the unique local phone number we allocate your business during the Free Trial setup process) only when the phone rings for more than a specified period (such as after 5 rings) or if your line is busy/engaged.

In such instances our receptionists will then answer the phone as if we were in your office. You’re always in control and can relax knowing you will never miss another important call again!

Are calls answered within the United States?

Yes. ReceptionHQ’s team of receptionists based in the United States predominantly answer calls for our US clients during standard office hours, with overflow support available from our international teams such as in Australia and the UK. Calls are answered by our team in the US whenever possible, however calls overflow to our international teams after hours and during unforeseen peaks in call volumes. This enables us to provide 24/7 coverage for businesses that need it and ensure calls are always answered as fast as possible, reducing the risk of call abandonment. We know Average Speed of Answer (ASA) is very important to our clients and one of our key differentiators is that we’re able to answer calls in under 10 seconds, on average.

Are you able to book appointments for us?

Yes, we have a dedicated team of highly experienced receptionists who can book appointments for you. The MyDiary service is ideal for professionals who depend on appointments being made and managed while they are focused on their clients. Our receptionists can schedule and reschedule appointments, manage cancellations and even take payments in your preferred software. We support a large number of third-party appointment booking tools and CRMs. Please contact us for more information.

Can email or text messages be sent to multiple recipients?

Yes, messages can be sent to multiple email addresses and cell phone numbers – it’s your choice. We can also attempt to transfer calls to multiple people in sequential order. How your calls are managed can be updated instantly via your ReceptionHQ online client portal or mobile application at any time.

Can we list multiple staff members with individual message preferences?

Yes. Each staff member and/or department can set their own availability status and decide whether to have their calls transferred or a message taken. All settings can be updated individually and instantly via the ReceptionHQ client portal or mobile application.

When can I start using the call answering service and how long does it take to set up?

You can get set up in a matter of minutes, using your preferred and distinct greeting. For a MessageExpress or ReceptionistPlus service, you can start using the service almost instantly. Simply create and activate an account yourself, using the free trial webform, or have our customer service team do this for you. Either way, it only takes a few minutes to get started. Once set up, you can immediately direct or divert your calls to ReceptionHQ and we will answer your calls to your specific requirements.

If you’re interested in a MyAssistant or MyDiary plan, a short setup may be required, depending on complexity, to train our receptionists on your preferred software, business information or webforms. Please contact us to find out more.

How do I forward my calls to ReceptionHQ?

Forwarding your business phone calls to ReceptionHQ is easy. To have our team of virtual receptionists answer your calls, simply:

Decide whether you wish to forward calls immediately to ReceptionHQ (the best solution for most businesses) or have delayed call forwarding.
Identify the call forwarding codes for your telecommunications provider. Most providers publish these codes on their websites.
Use the codes to enable call forwarding to the local or toll-free number you choose to have allocated to you (aka your Assigned DID).

For more information, check out our article Forwarding Your Business Calls to ReceptionHQ’s Reception Team, which outlines:

Immediate and delayed call forwarding options
Specific instructions for forwarding from AT&T, CallRail, Dialpad, Google Fi, Google Voice, Grasshopper, JustCall.io, Nextiva, Ooma, Ring Central, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Vonage, Wix and ZOOM Phone

Let us manage your calls so you can manage your business

You can easily manage the receptionist’s greeting, call transfer availability and message preferences in real-time, plus add additional staff of departments as contacts for transfers or messages, using our online client portal or mobile app (iPhone and Android).

Hear a sample ReceptionistPlus call

Hear a sample call

Try our 7-day free trial

Answering service add-ons

+ Phone numbers

Add multiple additional local numbers or toll-free numbers to the local number you receive for free with your live call answering package.

Find out more

+ Voicemail to email

Have voicemails instantly emailed to you both for convenience and to ensure no important communications are ever missed.

Find out more

What our customers love

Knowing I would be out of the country for three weeks, I knew I needed a very professional answering service in my absence. I was very impressed.

Lissie Brooks

As a solo attorney with a mostly virtual practice … I’ve received great feedback on the professionalism of the ReceptionHQ virtual receptionists.

Andrea Paris, Californian attorney

Saved me loads of time and freed me up to concentrate on my work.

Jane Kemp

Read all testimonials

Trusted by more than 25,000 businesses

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Have questions? Please fill in your details and we’ll be in touch.

Want to try our call answering services for free?

Put America’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.

Start your free trial

Want to try our call answering services for free?

Put America’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.

Start your free trial

What does the free trial include?

The trial is based on our ReceptionistPlus service, with our team of virtual receptionists able to take messages and transfer calls based on your availability settings.