UK virtual receptionist answering business calls

Customer Service VA · Virtual Receptionist

Virtual Receptionist UK

One named receptionist who answers in your business name, takes messages and books your diary, not a call queue. Managed from the UK, working your hours. Here is what they handle and what it costs.

Call answeringMessage takingDiary bookingsOverflow cover

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✓ From £5/hour ✓ UK-managed ✓ Dedicated VA, not shared ✓ No long-term contract

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What They Handle

What a dedicated virtual receptionist does for a UK business

Inbound call handling

Answers every call under your brand during the hours you set, so callers reach a person rather than voicemail. Urgent calls are routed to you straight away; everything else is handled on the call or logged for you.

VoIP

Message taking and call-backs

Takes the caller's name, reason and best time to reach them, sends the message to the right person by email or chat, and schedules the call-back so nothing waits on a sticky note.

GmailOutlook

Diary and appointment booking

Books, moves and confirms appointments in your own calendar or booking system, following the rules you set for lead times, buffers and who can be booked where.

Your calendarBooking system

Live chat and email overflow

When the phone is quiet, the same person covers your live chat and shared inbox, replying within the response times you agree and escalating anything outside their scope.

TidioLiveChatDrift

Caller screening and escalation

Asks the three or four questions you agree, records the answers, and passes qualified enquiries to you the same day. Calls you do not want are handled politely and logged.

After-call CRM updates

Logs every call in your CRM or shared inbox, sends any follow-up promised on the phone, and keeps the record clean so the next conversation starts with context.

ZendeskFreshdeskHelp ScoutIntercom

Dedicated vs per-call

A dedicated receptionist VA vs a per-call answering service

Most UK answering services work the same way: a pool of agents shares your line, reads from your script, takes a message, and bills you per call or per minute. It is a sensible fit if you get a handful of calls a day and only need overflow or out-of-hours cover.

A dedicated receptionist VA is a different arrangement. One person learns your business, your regulars and your diary rules. They answer, book, chase and follow up, and when the phone is quiet they cover your chat and inbox. You pay for hours, not calls, so a busy morning does not become a surprise invoice, and the same person is there tomorrow.

The honest rule of thumb: if calls, bookings and follow-ups fill part of every working day, a dedicated receptionist costs less per conversation and does more with each one. If they do not, a per-call service may still be the cheaper option, and we will say so on the first call. If you are still weighing the role itself, our guide explains what a virtual receptionist does across a typical week.

Who It's For

Who a virtual receptionist is for

Trades that miss calls on site Your VA answers, books the survey and texts you the details.
Clinics, salons and practices Appointments booked, confirmed and rescheduled; no-shows chased.
Firms that need a human first answer Calls screened, proper messages taken, the right people reached.
Online stores adding phone and chat One receptionist VA covers phone, live chat and order emails.

Virtual receptionist with a reception progress card: answered, messages taken, transferred

Cost Comparison

What a virtual receptionist costs depends on where you hire

With Ant Assist the entry rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier. Market rates by model are set out in our guide to virtual receptionist pricing UK.

A dedicated Ant Assist VA compared with a UK in-house hire and a UK agency, full time.
	RecommendedAnt Assist£952 a month£800 a month for the first 6 months at £5/hour	UK in-house hire~£2,866/mo	UK agencyapprox. £3,500 to £4,500
Who manages the work	IncludedOur UK team supervises	Not includedYou do	PartlyThe agency
Recruitment and onboarding	IncludedIncluded	Not includedYou recruit and train	IncludedThe agency matches
Employer NI and pension	IncludedNone to pay	Not includedYou pay both	PartlyBuilt into the rate
Office and equipment	IncludedIncluded	Not includedYou provide	PartlyVaries by agency
Holiday and sick cover	IncludedCover provided	Not includedYou find cover	PartlyVaries by agency
Replacement if it is not right	IncludedReplaced, no restart cost	Not includedRe-hire from scratch	PartlyVaries by agency
Contract	IncludedRolling monthly, 30 days' notice	Not includedEmployment contract	PartlyVaries by agency

UK agency figures are an approximate range around the £25 per hour agency benchmark our calculator uses.

What the £5/hour entry rate includes

Dedicated VA, never shared
UK-hour aligned support
Management and supervision included
Recruitment and onboarding included
Office infrastructure included
VA replacement available
No NI, pension, or holiday costs
No long-term contract, rolling monthly

These are typical estimates. Get your exact numbers in the full calculator. Or read how much a virtual assistant costs in the UK.

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Process

How to hire a virtual receptionist

First call

A short call about your tasks, your tools and the hours you need covered.

Matching

We pick a VA from our in-house team for your work and introduce them to you.

Onboarding

Together we write down your rules and set up your access before day one.

Live cover

Your VA starts on your hours from our managed office, supervised from the UK.

Ongoing management

A UK team reviews the work each week; hours scale up or down as you need.

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Why Managed

Why a managed receptionist beats a call centre or a marketplace

Managed, not just placed.

Your VA is recruited, trained and supervised from our own in-house office. Not a freelancer platform, not a shared agent pool.

Replaceable without restart cost.

If the fit is wrong, we replace the VA and carry the handover. No re-recruitment, no starting from zero.

No NI, pension, or holiday overhead.

One hourly rate; the employment costs sit with us.

Language and cultural alignment with UK clients.

Trained on your tone of voice and your scenarios before they handle a single call.

Your data stays yours.

Every VA signs an NDA and a data-processing agreement, works through password managers, and you can revoke access at any time.

Rolling monthly.

Scale hours up or down, pause, or cancel with 30 days' notice.

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FAQ

Common questions about hiring a virtual receptionist

Most clients have their receptionist active within 5 to 7 working days of signing up. The first call covers your call volume, diary and tools; onboarding documents the greeting, the screening questions and the booking rules before the first call is taken.

Yes. Your receptionist VA logs into your phone system, diary and CRM, so the number, the call records and the customer data stay yours. A forward or a user seat is usually a few minutes' work, and we walk through it in onboarding.

You choose at onboarding: a second ring to you or a colleague, a voicemail that promises a call-back inside a set time, or overflow to a second VA in busy periods. Breaks sit outside your peak hours.

Yes. Cover starts at 20 hours a week and runs up to a full 40-hour week, so you can cover mornings, your peak hours or the days you are on site. Part-time cover is £6.50 per hour after the promotion, £520 a month for 80 hours.

They notice that the same person answers every time and knows their name. Your receptionist answers in your business name and works from your greeting and your rules; what callers do not hear is a queue or a script read to them.

The entry rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier. After that the customer service rate card applies: £5.95 per hour full time, £952 a month for 160 hours, or £6.50 per hour part time, £520 a month for 80 hours; Mid £6.84 and Expert £7.44 per hour full time. Rolling monthly, no per-call charges.

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