Frequently asked questions
Direct answers to the things prospective clients ask us every week.
What an answering service does — and doesn't
What is a live answering service?
A live answering service is a team of trained U.S.-based agents who professionally answer your business phone calls 24/7. Agents follow your custom script, take messages, book appointments, dispatch emergencies, and route calls — so every caller reaches a real person instead of voicemail.
How is an answering service different from a virtual receptionist?
Traditionally, answering services focused only on taking messages after hours. Modern services like United Answering Service function as full virtual receptionists — booking appointments, running intake, dispatching emergencies, integrating with your CRM, and handling day-time overflow. The terms are used interchangeably today.
Are the agents based in the United States?
Yes. Every agent on our team is U.S.-based, native English speaking, and professionally trained in courteous, accurate call handling.
How quickly do your agents pick up?
Average answer speed is under 15 seconds. More than 95% of calls are answered within four rings, day or night, weekends and holidays included.
What it costs — and what happens if things change
How much does a 24/7 answering service cost?
Plans start at $49/month for 50 minutes and scale by call volume. Additional minutes run $0.89 to $1.19 per minute depending on plan. There are no setup fees, no long-term contracts, and every plan includes 24/7 live coverage, custom scripting, and message delivery.
What counts as a "minute"?
A billable minute is any 60 seconds our agent spends actively engaged with your caller — from "hello" to "goodbye." Message transcription and delivery are included at no extra charge.
Are there long-term contracts?
No. We bill month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime with 30 days' notice.
Do you offer a free trial?
Yes. Every new client gets a 7-day free trial with a fully custom script and integration setup. No credit card required.
Do unused minutes roll over?
Yes — unused minutes roll over for up to 30 days, so seasonal spikes even out over time.
Getting live and staying integrated
How long does onboarding take?
Most clients are live within 24 to 48 hours. Onboarding includes a discovery call, custom script writing, integration setup with your calendar or CRM, and agent training.
Can I keep my existing phone number?
Yes. You keep your existing business number and simply forward calls to us — full time, after hours, or overflow only. Setup takes under 30 minutes on any major carrier.
What calendars and CRMs do you integrate with?
Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Jane, most EMRs, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Slack, Teams, Zapier, and many more. If you use it, we probably integrate with it — and if not, we can usually build a webhook.
How are messages delivered to me?
Choose one or more channels: email, SMS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, push notification, or fax. Every message includes caller ID, call time, transcript, and audio recording.
Keeping your data and your callers safe
How do you protect caller information?
Every agent signs a confidentiality agreement and completes privacy training. Call recordings and messages are encrypted at rest and in transit, access is restricted to authorized personnel on your account, and we follow strict data-handling policies for every industry we serve.
Do you handle payment information?
Our agents can capture order details for standard phone workflows. For direct card processing, we recommend routing callers to your own payment gateway or PSP so cardholder data stays inside your existing PCI environment — we can help design the handoff during onboarding.
Are calls recorded?
Yes. Every call is recorded and transcribed for quality assurance. Recordings are retained for 90 days by default; longer retention is available on request.
How do you protect against fraud and impersonation?
Every agent goes through a background check and confidentiality training. Custom caller-verification questions can be added for high-security workflows (legal, professional services, financial).
How day-to-day service actually works
Do you handle emergency dispatch?
Yes. We use your custom triage questions to identify true emergencies and follow your escalation tree — primary, secondary, tertiary on-call — with confirmed acknowledgement by voice and SMS. Popular with HVAC, plumbing, IT MSPs, and medical practices.
Can I change my call script on the fly?
Yes. Small updates (holiday hours, on-call schedule, promo language) can be pushed to agents in under 15 minutes through your client portal. Major script changes are handled by your dedicated account manager.
What if I don't like a specific agent?
Flag it in your portal — we'll route future calls away from that agent for your account. Your feedback is coaching material for our team.
Can I listen back to my calls?
Yes. Every call is available in your dashboard with audio + transcript. Filter by date, agent, disposition, or caller ID.
What if a caller wants to speak with me directly?
Warm transfer, cold transfer, or scheduled callback — you tell us the rule per caller type (new lead, existing client, emergency) and we execute it.