Small Business Telephone Answering Service

When you are on a job, with a customer, or closed for the day, calls still come in. An answering service picks up those calls in your business's name. For a small operation, often run by one owner, this means callers reach a real conversation instead of voicemail, and you get the details afterward instead of a missed-call notification.

With AllDayDesk, the service answers around the clock using your saved business information. It can answer questions about your services, take messages when it does not know an answer or a price, and book new appointments using the built-in dashboard calendar once you have configured your services and availability. An optional Google Calendar connection is available in Settings after you connect and authorize your Google account.

Everything is visible in your dashboard: calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings. If a caller asks for something the service cannot answer, it takes a message so you can follow up. Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests, not confirmed changes, so you stay in control of your schedule.

• Answers calls in your business name using your saved details
• Takes messages when an answer, price, or appointment slot is unknown
• Books new appointments once services and availability are configured
• Shows calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings in the dashboard
• Keeps your existing public phone number

Not every answering service fits every small business. Before comparing options, work through a few practical questions about how you operate.

First, decide what you want handled versus what should always reach you. Many owners want routine questions and new-appointment booking handled automatically, but want to review any change to an existing appointment. AllDayDesk treats appointment changes as requests for you, which keeps edits under your control.

Second, decide how calls reach the service. You keep your public number and forward calls to the service, so your published number never changes. The forwarding method depends on your phone provider, and some providers support forwarding all calls while others also support forwarding only when you do not answer. Check which product you actually have, since instructions differ even within one company.

Third, think about transfers. If you want some calls passed to you directly, you need to configure a transfer destination and rules. A transfer depends on the call connecting, so neither pickup nor an immediate response is guaranteed. Plan for which calls should transfer and which should simply become messages. Finally, compare scope: an in-house receptionist typically handles greeting visitors and office tasks beyond the phone, so a phone service is not a full replacement for that role, and human and automated services differ in cost structure and coverage.

• Decide which call types should be handled and which should reach you
• Confirm your phone provider and product before setting up forwarding
• Configure transfer destinations and rules if you want calls passed to you
• Compare included minutes, overage rates, and coverage across services

You keep your public number and forward calls to AllDayDesk. The exact steps depend on your carrier and the specific product you have, so identify your service first. Here are verified examples from major providers:

On Verizon mobile, dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, and *73 to disable. Unanswered-call forwarding uses *71 plus the destination. Setup must be done from the phone while in Verizon coverage, and forwarding applies to calls, not texts. On T-Mobile, dial **21*1 followed by the 10-digit destination and # to enable unconditional forwarding, and ##21# to disable; no-reply forwarding uses **61*1 and destination #, and ##004# resets forwarding to defaults.

On AT&T Phone for Business, dial *72, the destination, then # for all calls; *92 with destination and # covers no-answer forwarding, and *73# disables all-call forwarding. These codes differ from AT&T wireless and AT&T Collaborate, so confirm your exact product. On Spectrum Business Voice, sign in to SpectrumBusiness.net with an account role that manages voice, open Voice, choose your number, then Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager, and enable forwarding with your chosen destination.

If your carrier is not listed here, contact its support and ask whether your specific line supports call forwarding and whether conditional options like no-answer forwarding are available. Do not borrow another carrier's codes. Note that Google Voice does not support forwarding calls to an automated system, so a Google Voice number is not a compatible forwarding source.

• Identify your exact carrier product before using any code
• All-call forwarding sends every call to the service; conditional forwarding sends only unanswered ones
• Dial codes are entered from the phone line being forwarded
• Google Voice numbers cannot be forwarded to an automated answering service

Setup starts by choosing your business or entering its website. AllDayDesk pulls in your business details, and you check them for accuracy before anything goes live. You then hear a personalized sample so you know exactly how your calls will be answered. The sample does not create a real booking, so you can listen freely.

After that, you choose your phone setup and forward your number using your carrier's steps. Once you have configured your services and availability, new appointments are booked into the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default. If you prefer, you can connect Google Calendar in Settings after authorizing your account.

Plans are priced by included minutes with a per-minute rate for extra time, and current pricing is displayed on the plans page separately from this content.

• Choose your business or enter its website to pull in details
• Review the details and hear a personalized sample
• Choose phone setup and forward your number
• Configure services and availability to enable appointment booking