Missed Call Cost Calculator
Every unanswered call is a customer who called a competitor next. Move the sliders to your real numbers and see what that is costing you a year.
Your numbers
Include every inbound call, not just new customers.
After hours, during jobs, on other lines, lunch, weekends. For most small businesses this is higher than owners expect.
Use your average ticket, not your best one.
Your close rate on inbound calls.
in revenue walking out the door every year, or about $9,750 a month.
- Calls missed per week
- 15
- Calls missed per year
- 780
- Jobs those calls would have become
- 234
This is an estimate built from the numbers you entered, not a guarantee. It is meant to show the size of the problem, not to promise a result.
How the math works
No black box. The calculation is four numbers you control:
missed calls per year = missed calls per week x 52
lost jobs = missed calls per year x close rate
lost revenue = lost jobs x average job value
This is deliberately conservative. It assumes a missed call is simply gone, and it does not count the follow-on value of a repeat customer, referrals, or the review they never left you. For most businesses the real number is higher.
Questions about missed calls
How much does a missed call actually cost a business?
It depends on three things: how many calls you miss, how often an answered call turns into a customer, and what a customer is worth. The calculator multiplies those together. A business missing 15 calls a week with a 30 percent close rate and a $500 average job is losing roughly $117,000 a year in potential revenue.
What percent of business calls go unanswered?
It varies widely by industry and staffing, which is why this calculator lets you set your own number rather than assuming one. Most owners underestimate it, because the calls that come in after hours, during jobs, or while someone is already on the line never show up as a task anyone remembers.
How do I find out how many calls I am actually missing?
Check your phone system or mobile carrier call log for the last month and count inbound calls that were not answered or went to voicemail. If you use a VoIP provider, the reporting dashboard usually shows answered versus missed directly.
Does an AI voice agent fix this?
It addresses the coverage part: an AI voice agent answers every call, at any hour, and can book appointments, answer routine questions, and route the ones that need a person. Whether it makes sense for your business depends on your call volume and how much of your call mix is routine. You can call ours at 720-770-2664 and judge for yourself.
Want to hear what answering every call sounds like?
Call Scarlett, our AI receptionist, and ask her anything. She is a real working system, not a recording.