In a world where customers can reach out to your business at any time of the day or night, it’s more important than ever to have a reliable phone answering service in place.
When you’re looking for the best phone answering service for your business, it’s important to consider all of your options and make sure you choose one that will be able to meet your specific needs. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the best phone answering services available and help you decide which one is right for you.
Top 7 Best Phone Answering Service
- RingCentral – Best Phone Answering Service for an Automated Service
- Moneypenny PA – Best Phone Answering Service for UK Businesses
- PCMSI – Best Phone Answering Service for Budget-Conscious Businesses
- PATLive – Best Phone Answering Service for Small Businesses
- Map Communications – Best Phone Answering Service for Scaling Businesses
- SAS – Best Phone Answering Service for Medical Businesses
- DaVinci Virtual – Best Phone Answering Service for Professional Call Routing
1. RingCentral – Best Phone Answering Service for an Automated Service
PRICING: £7.99 per month per user
RingCentral is one of the most popular phone answering services on the market, and for a good reason. Their plans are affordable, and they offer a wide range of features, including an automated phone answering service. This is an excellent option if you’re looking for a reliable way to answer your calls without having to hire additional staff.
There are many great features to benefit your business here, including document sharing capabilities, desktop and mobile apps on all platforms, inclusive user minutes, call logs, 24/7 customer support, and much more!
KEY FEATURES:
- Manage your business on the move with desktop and mobile apps
- Multiple plans for a more professional, feature-rich experience
- Premium plans come with video calls and live device status reporting
REASONS TO BUY:
- A free trial so you can see the performance for yourself
- Hot desking comes as standard, complete with user role permissions
- Automatic call recording and admin controls
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Call quality can be hit or miss in some circumstances
- Only one person can monitor a phone chat
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2. Moneypenny PA – Best Phone Answering Service for UK Businesses
PRICING: Available by quote (depending on business size)
Moneypenny is a top-rated customer service help service that offers telephone answering, outsourced switchboarding, and live chat services to small businesses all over the world and are currently serving over 21,000 companies.
They have a team of over 500 people who are all based in the UK, which is why they’re one of the best phone answering services for UK businesses.
What’s great about Moneypenny is that they offer a wide range of services, so you can choose what’s best for your business. They also have a very robust system that can handle a high volume of calls, so you can be sure that your customers will always be able to reach you.
KEY FEATURES:
- A team of over 500 UK-based employees
- Offers telephone answering, outsourced switchboarding, and live chat services
- Can handle a high volume of calls
REASONS TO BUY:
- A wide range of services to choose from
- Flexible plans that can be customised to your business needs
REASONS TO AVOID:
- More expensive than some of the other options on this list
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3. PCMSI – Best Phone Answering Service for Budget-Conscious Businesses
PRICING: Available by requesting a quote only
PCMSI is a great option for businesses that are looking for a budget-friendly phone answering service. They offer a wide range of features, including call forwarding, voicemail, caller ID, and more.
One of the best things about PCMSI is that they have no monthly fees or contracts, so you only pay for what you use. This makes them a great option for businesses that are just starting out or don’t have a lot of calls to answer. However, you’ll need to get in touch with the company for them to get you a personalised quote.
KEY FEATURES:
- No monthly fees or contracts
- A wide range of features, including call forwarding, voicemail, caller ID, and more
- A HIPAA Compliant business
REASONS TO BUY:
- Pay only for what you use
- A great option for businesses that are just starting out
- All operators are trained and based in the US
REASONS TO AVOID:
- You’ll need to get in touch with the company to get a personalised quote
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4. PATLive – Best Phone Answering Service for Small Businesses
PRICING: Prices start at $59 per month and up to £1279 per month
PATLive is a great option for small businesses that are looking for a reliable phone answering service. They offer a wide range of features, including call forwarding, message taking, transfer, event registrations, appointment scheduling, and even Spanish language support.
PATLive also offers web and mobile applications, dozens of integrations, voicemail boxes, and a solid and customisable API. You will have to pay for live answering minutes (currently $2.25 per minute on a basic plan) or 75-1000 package minutes depending on your service tier., but more can be purchased as you need and scale your business.
KEY FEATURES:
- Every kind of phone service provider
- PATLive also offers web and mobile applications
- Pay for the minutes you need with custom price plans
REASONS TO BUY:
- Ideal for small businesses
- Customisable API
- 100% of company receptionists based in the US
REASONS TO AVOID:
- More expensive than some of the other options on this list
- Not the best choice for businesses with high call volume.
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5. Map Communications – Best Phone Answering Service for Scaling Businesses
PRICING: Starting at $39 per month at $1.15 per minute
When it comes to phone answering and offering a call centre for your business, helping your customers is always the number one priority. Map Communications offers a wide variety of features to ensure your customers are taken care of, including call forwarding, voicemail, message taking, and even Spanish language support.
One of the best things about Map Communications is that they offer a pay-as-you-go plan, so you only pay for what you use. This is a great option for businesses that are just starting out or don’t have a lot of calls to answer. However, if you need more minutes, you can always upgrade your plan.
KEY FEATURES:
- A pay-as-you-go plan
- Offers call forwarding, voicemail, message taking, and even Spanish language support
- Offers virtual assistant services if required
REASONS TO BUY:
- You only pay for what you use
- A great option for businesses that are just starting out
- Used by some of the biggest companies in the US, including Canon and WebMD
REASONS TO AVOID:
- More expensive than some of the other options on this list
- Glassdoor reports that the company doesn’t really treat their employees well
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6. SAS – Best Phone Answering Service for Medical Businesses
PRICING: Prices start at $34 per month and $1.19 per minute
SAS stands for Speciality Answering Service and is a company that aims to help businesses in the medical industry and businesses within it with their customer service efforts.
One of the best things about SAS is that they are a HIPAA Compliant business. This means that they are compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects patient information. What’s more, they offer 24/7 call centre access and have fantastic reviews from their customers
KEY FEATURES:
- A HIPAA Compliant service
- Offers call forwarding, message taking, appointment scheduling, and even Spanish language support
- A great option for businesses in the medical industry
REASONS TO BUY:
- A great option for businesses in the medical industry
- Perfectly designed with small businesses in mind
- Offers access to a ton of integrated services, including lead generation and virtual assistant services
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Can be expensive to buy minutes on the basic plans
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7. DaVinci Virtual – Best Phone Answering Service for Professional Call Routing
PRICING: Request a custom quote
DaVinci is a phone answering service that offers a wide range of features for businesses, including call forwarding, message taking, virtual assistance, virtual office spaces, live chat services, and even appointment scheduling.
One of the best things about DaVinci is its Professional Call Routing feature. This allows you to route calls to different people or departments within your company, depending on who the caller is trying to reach. This is a great way to make sure that your customers are always getting the help they need when they need it.
KEY FEATURES:
- Offers call forwarding, message taking, virtual assistance, virtual office spaces, live chat services, and even appointment scheduling
- Professional Call Routing feature allows you to route calls to different people or departments
- Completely managed the virtual aspects of your business quickly and easily
REASONS TO BUY:
- A great way to make sure that your customers are always getting the help they need
- Offers a wide range of features for businesses
- Custom plans can be customised to fit the needs of your business
REASONS TO AVOID:
- More expensive than some of the other options on this list
- May not be the best option for businesses that are just starting out