How much do missed calls cost a small business?
Multiply the calls you miss in a month by the share that would have booked, then by what a typical job is worth. Five missed calls a week, one in four booking and a $600 job comes to about $3,250 a month.
Updated November 3, 2026
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- The sum
- Missed calls × share that books × job value
- Example
- 5 a week, 1 in 4, a $600 job
- Comes to
- About $3,250 a month
- Your numbers
- Your phone's call log
What it comes to
| Missed a week | $300 job | $600 job | $2,000 job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 calls | $1,625 | $3,250 | $10,833 |
| 10 calls | $3,250 | $6,500 | $21,667 |
A month's cost, with one in four missed calls booking and 4.33 weeks in a month.
How to work out your own
- Count the calls you didn't answer in a normal week, from your phone's call log
- Take off the ones you called back in time and still booked
- Multiply by 4.33 for a month
- Multiply by the share that would have booked
- Multiply by what a typical job is worth
Talalevel's home page has a calculator that does this for you.
What the sum leaves out
It counts one job per call. A customer you keep may come back and may send a neighbor, so the real figure for your business can be higher.
Which missed calls cost the most
- Urgent jobs, because that customer books whoever answers first
- Big-ticket estimates, because one lost job can be worth months of smaller ones
- New customers, because a regular may try you again and a stranger rarely does
- Calls after hours, because nobody calls those people back until morning
How to get the number down
- Answer more of them, in person or with Talalevel
- Text back anyone who hung up, as soon as you can
- Follow up every quote until it's a yes or a clear no
- Check your call log every month, so you know the number is moving
Questions owners ask
- How many calls does a small business miss?
- Your own call log is the number that matters. Count a normal week.
- What share of missed calls would have booked?
- It depends on your trade. One in four is a place to start, and you can change it if your numbers say otherwise.
- Does calling back fix it?
- Sometimes. Someone with a problem today often calls the next company first, so the sooner they're answered the better.
- What's the first thing to do with the number?
- Compare it with what it would cost to answer those calls some other way, whichever way that is. Then you're deciding with your own figures.
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What are missed calls costing you?
Work it out in a minute, or talk it through with us.