Virtual Office Phone Answering

A virtual office gives you a business address and phone presence without a physical front desk. The phone part is the gap: when someone calls, nobody is there to pick up. Phone answering fills that gap by sending your calls to a service that answers in your business's name.

AllDayDesk answers calls around the clock using the business information you save. Callers hear a greeting based on your details, can ask questions, leave a message, or request an appointment. If the caller asks something the service doesn't know the answer to, like a price you haven't listed or a question about an existing appointment, it takes a message for you instead of guessing.

Everything happens in your dashboard. You can read transcripts, see summaries of each call, and review any bookings that were made. Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests, not confirmed changes, so you stay in control of your schedule.

• You keep your existing public phone number; forwarding sends calls to the service
• The service answers using your saved business details
• Unknown answers, prices, or appointment changes become messages for you
• Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings appear in your dashboard
• New bookings use the built-in calendar by default, with optional Google Calendar in Settings

To use virtual office phone answering, you forward calls from your current phone service to the answering number. The exact steps depend on who provides your phone service, so identify your exact product first — a carrier's wireless, landline, and hosted business products often use different instructions.

Some verified examples: Verizon mobile uses *72 plus the 10-digit destination for all-call forwarding, *71 for unanswered calls, and *73 to turn it off. T-Mobile uses **21*1 plus the destination and # for unconditional forwarding, with separate codes for no-reply, unreachable, and busy conditions. Optimum Business Phone uses *72, waiting for dial tone, then the destination, with *73 to disable. Spectrum Business Voice manages forwarding through the SpectrumBusiness.net portal under Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager rather than star codes. Vonage Business Communications turns on forwarding by selecting Call Forwarding and choosing to forward to a phone number.

Not every service supports every forwarding type, and Google Voice is a known exception: Google states that forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system is unsupported, so don't plan to forward a Google Voice number to AllDayDesk. If you're unsure what your line supports, check your provider's documentation or contact their support before signing up.

• Verizon mobile: *72 + destination (all calls), *71 + destination (unanswered), *73 to disable
• T-Mobile: **21*1 + destination + # (unconditional), **61*1 + destination + # (no reply), ##004# resets
• Optimum Business Phone: *72, wait for dial tone, dial destination; *73 disables
• Spectrum Business Voice: portal-based, under Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager
• Vonage Business Communications: enable Call Forwarding to a phone number in the dashboard
• Google Voice to an automated system is unsupported by Google

Setup starts by choosing your business or entering its website. AllDayDesk pulls in your public business details, and you check them for accuracy before anything goes live — this is what the service will use to answer caller questions, so it's worth a careful review.

Next, you hear a personalized sample of how your calls would be answered. This sample is a demonstration only; it does not create a real booking or commit you to anything. If the tone or details sound right, you move on to choosing your phone setup and forwarding your number using your provider's instructions.

Before bookings can land on the calendar, configure your services and availability in the dashboard. New appointments use the built-in AllDayDesk calendar by default. If you already run your schedule in Google Calendar, you can optionally connect and authorize your Google account in Settings.

• Step 1: Choose your business or enter its website
• Step 2: Review the business details the service pulled in
• Step 3: Hear a personalized sample call (demonstration only, no real booking)
• Step 4: Choose phone setup and forward your number
• Step 5: Configure services and availability so bookings work

Sometimes a caller needs to reach you directly. AllDayDesk can transfer calls, but only after you configure a transfer destination and the rules for when transfers happen. Even with a destination configured, neither that the caller picks up nor an immediate response is guaranteed — a transfer is an attempt, not a promise.

When the service doesn't know an answer, a price, or how to handle an appointment change, it takes a message instead of guessing. You review messages, transcripts, and summaries in the dashboard and follow up yourself. Changes to existing appointments always come to you as requests to approve or decline, never as confirmed edits to your schedule.

• Configure a transfer destination and rules before transfers work
• Transfers are attempts; pickup and immediate response are not guaranteed
• Unknown answers and prices become messages, not guesses
• Existing appointment changes are requests for you to approve

Virtual office phone answering generally comes in two forms: AI-based services and human answering services. They differ in how calls are handled, cost structure, and scope. This comparison covers documented features from each provider's own materials, not hands-on testing, and AllDayDesk is this site's own product.

Human services like Ruby (plans advertised from $245 per month as of October 2026) and Smith.ai's virtual receptionist service (per-call pricing) staff calls with people. AnswerConnect offers 24/7 live answering by people as well. Human reception includes a wider scope — the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes in-house receptionists also greet visitors and handle office tasks — so compare scope rather than treating a phone service as a full employee replacement. Smith.ai also sells a separate AI receptionist product with escalation to its live agent network.

AI-based answering, like AllDayDesk, answers using saved business details, takes messages when unsure, and books into a connected calendar. Pricing for AllDayDesk plans is displayed separately on this page and is not included in this comparison. When comparing any provider, verify the included minutes or calls, overage rates, coverage hours, and contract terms on a current quote, since starting prices alone don't tell the whole story.

• Human services: Ruby from $245/month (advertised), Smith.ai per-call, AnswerConnect 24/7 live answering
• AI services: answer from saved business details, take messages when unsure
• In-house reception covers visitors and office tasks beyond the phone
• Always verify included allowance, overages, hours, and contract terms on a current quote