For owners who can’t always pick up
A small business answering service for the calls you can’t get to
When you run a small business, you are also the salesperson, the scheduler and often the person doing the work. The phone rings while you’re with a customer, on a job site or finally sitting down to dinner. A small business phone answering service puts a trained, live person on that call. Southern Voices agents answer in your company’s name, follow the script you approve, and send you the details the way you want them.
Every unanswered call is a question: did that caller try again, or call the next business on the list? Many don’t leave a voicemail at all. We look at what that costs in missed calls, missed business. A small business call answering service closes that gap without adding a person to your payroll.
We have answered business calls since 1995, from our headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish.
What we handle
What our small business phone answering service handles
The same calls your front desk would take, handled by live people who know your business.
Complete messages
Name, number, reason for the call and any details you ask for, sent to you by secure text, email or the client portal.
Appointment scheduling
Agents book, confirm and reschedule appointments by your rules, so your calendar fills while you work.
Lead capture
New callers are asked your qualifying questions, and the lead reaches you while the prospect is still interested.
Live call transfers
When a caller needs you right now, the agent connects the call to you with a live phone patch.
English and Spanish calls
Live bilingual agents speak with Spanish-speaking callers from the first hello. No “press 2,” no translation line.
Nights and weekends
After hours, on weekends and on holidays, urgent calls reach your on-call contact and everything else waits for the morning.
Compare your options
Voicemail, a full-time receptionist or a call answering service for small business
Three common ways to cover the phone, side by side.
| Voicemail | Full-time receptionist | Southern Voices answering service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Nobody. The caller talks to a recording | Your employee, during their shift | A trained, live agent in your company’s name |
| Availability | Always on, but nothing happens until you listen | Business hours | 24/7/365, or only the hours you choose |
| After hours | Messages pile up until morning | Usually not covered | Urgent calls escalated to your on-call contact; the rest delivered as messages |
| Sick days and vacations | No change | Someone else has to cover the phone | Covered. A team of agents is trained on your account |
| Cost shape | Little or nothing, but missed callers can cost you | Salary, benefits and training | Usage-based: you only pay for the time you use. Plans start at $33 |
| Setup | Record a greeting | Recruit, hire and train | Tell us how you work, approve the script, forward your calls |
Many owners combine them: staff answer during the day, and calls roll to us when the line is busy, over lunch and after closing. If you already have a receptionist, our overflow answering keeps callers from reaching voicemail when your desk is tied up.
Buyer’s checklist
How to choose the best small business answering service
The best small business answering service is the one that fits how your business actually runs. Whatever provider you talk to, these are the questions worth asking before you sign up.
For a deeper walk-through, read our complete answering services guide.
- Live people or automation? Some services answer with phone menus or AI voice bots. Others put a person on every call. Ask who, or what, your callers will actually hear.
- Real 24/7 coverage. Nights, weekends and holidays should be answered the same way as a Tuesday afternoon.
- Bilingual callers. If you serve Spanish-speaking customers, check for live Spanish-speaking agents, not a menu option.
- Custom scripts. Your greeting, your questions and your escalation rules, approved by you and easy to change.
- Message delivery options. Secure text, email or a client portal, so messages reach you where you already look.
- Room to grow. The service should scale from a handful of after-hours calls to every call your business gets.
- Transparent pricing. Usage-based pricing means you only pay for the time you use, with no pressure on agents to rush your callers.
- HIPAA and a BAA, if you need them. Healthcare businesses should ask whether agents are HIPAA-trained and whether the service will sign a business associate agreement. We do both.
Pricing
Pricing built for small businesses
Plans start at $33. Pricing is usage-based, so you only pay for the time you use: a quiet week costs less than a busy one, and you’re never paying for a receptionist’s idle hours.
Your quote depends on how many calls you get, how long they take and what agents do on each one, from a quick message to booking an appointment. As your business grows and call volume rises, volume discounts lower your rate. We put the caller’s experience first, so our pricing never rewards agents for rushing a call.
See answering service pricing for what goes into a quote, or ask us for one.
Plans start at
$33
Your plan is built around your call volume, and larger organizations get volume discounts.
Getting started
How it works
A live answering service for small business should be simple to start and easy to change.
- Tell us how you workYour hours, the calls that matter most, the questions callers ask and who should hear about what.
- Approve your scriptWe build your greeting, script and escalation steps, and agents are trained on your account before go-live.
- Forward your callsKeep your business number. Forward after hours, when the line is busy, or every call.
- Adjust any timeChange your script, contacts or on-call schedule through the client portal or by calling us.
Questions
Small business answering service FAQs
Don’t see your question? Call and ask a live agent, any time.
What does a business call answering service do for a small business?
It answers your calls when you can’t. Our live agents greet callers in your company’s name, take complete messages, capture new leads, book appointments, answer common questions and connect urgent calls to you, all by the script you approve.
How is a business telephone answering service different from voicemail?
Voicemail records a message and waits for you. A business telephone answering service puts a real person on the line who finds out what the caller needs and acts on it: an urgent call reaches you now, and a new customer gets booked instead of calling someone else.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. Customers keep calling the number they already have. Your phone system or carrier forwards calls to us when you want coverage, and we help you set it up.
Will callers talk to a real person or an AI?
A real person. Every call is answered by a trained, live agent, with no phone tree and no AI voice bot in front of your callers.
How much does a small business answering service cost?
Plans start at $33. Pricing is usage-based, so you only pay for the time you use, and volume discounts lower your rate as you grow. See our pricing page or contact us for a quote.
Can you answer calls in Spanish?
Yes. Live bilingual agents handle calls in English and Spanish, start to finish. See our bilingual answering service.
Industries
Industries we answer for
Every small business has its own urgent calls and its own vocabulary. We build your script around yours.
Trades
Job inquiries captured while your crew is on site: construction answering service and HVAC answering service.
Property
Maintenance emergencies dispatched and leasing calls captured: property management answering service.
Professional services
Polished answering for firms that run on relationships: professional services answering service, law firm answering service and accounting answering service.
Healthcare
After-hours patient calls and on-call routing with HIPAA-trained agents: medical answering service.
Looking for more than a small business answering service? See all of our business phone answering services, or read virtual receptionist benefits for small businesses.