Founded in 2000, Moneypenny has grown from a small team of receptionists to the world’s leading answering service provider with a stellar reputation for excellence.
Employing more than 1,000 staff in the UK and US, Moneypenny continues to grow while maintaining the same small business values that were put in place the day the company was established.
We support thousands of businesses globally with our unique combination of extraordinary people and market-leading technology.
With an emphasis on continual development, both in regards to our level of customer service and our answering service software, our dedicated Virtual Receptionists provide all the benefits of an in-house receptionist, at a fraction of the cost.
As the market leader in our industry, we thought it would be helpful to provide a complete guide to telephone answering services, giving you all the key information about how outsourcing works and answer our frequently asked questions.
A telephone answering service is a popular alternative to hiring a full-time in-house receptionist. An outsourced provider, like Moneypenny, gives you a receptionist to answer calls exactly as if based in your office.
Your receptionist screens calls, transfer callers to yourself or a colleague, or takes a detailed message and immediately sends it via text message or email .
Acting as an extension of your internal team, they look after calls all of the time or just when you’re busy – you choose.
For those times you’re on another call, in a meeting or it’s outside your usual business hours, they’re on hand whenever you need; some providers even offer 24-hour answering support.
As a business, you are in control of when your calls are answered. Whether that’s some or all of your calls, you tailor your answering to suit your business and lifestyle.
For those wanting to capture calls outside of normal working hours, an answering service is the ideal option as it means evening or weekend calls are answered, without the need to hire additional staff in-house.
Calls are handled by a friendly, dedicated receptionist, who takes the time to get to know your business and how you like your calls answered.
Approximately 1 in 3 business calls are missed. Missed calls means missed sales opportunities. With so much time, effort and money channelled into marketing and branding a business, missing calls means that you are missing out on revenue and wasting your efforts.
People rarely leave voicemail messages. It is likely that a potential lead or client will instead get in touch with a competitor, whilst an existing client may even leave a negative online review if they are unable to speak to somebody regarding an issue.
Missing your clients’ or potential clients’ calls is one problem, but being interrupted by unwanted calls is another.
With Moneypenny, not only do our receptionists provide a great customer experience to anyone with a relevant inquiry, they filter out any unwanted calls for you too.
Reducing annoying interruptions from unwanted calls allows you to focus on the work at hand and be more productive.
Whilst hiring a full-time receptionist can solve this problem, it can be beyond many entrepreneurs’ and businesses’ budgets. With Moneypenny’s telephone answering service, you can enjoy all the benefits of a full-time hire, for a fraction of the price.
You can also opt for our 24/7 answering service, which revolutionises your working week, allowing you to switch off during the evenings and weekends without having to worry about missing any calls.
There are many reasons why a business chooses to outsource their calls to an answering service company. Here are a few of the most common:
Some of these ringing a bell? Check out our 5 reasons to use a call answering service blog to find out how Moneypenny can support your business, whatever your situation.
There are a number of reasons why hiring an answering service is a great idea. The most obvious benefits of a telephone answering service are saving your business time and money, allowing you to be more efficient and provide your customers with an exceptional level of service every time they call.
But these are only really scratching the surface of what an answering service does for your business. A specialist phone answering service helps you to:
A live telephone answering service has many benefits for entrepreneurs. You could be working remotely, or even on a mobile basis, anywhere in the world, and have a highly professional, UK-based receptionist answer your calls. Our receptionists get to know you, your business, and your clients down to the finest detail. This attention to detail and professionalism allows our clients to relax and get on with the work at hand, knowing that their calls are in safe hands.
The great thing about a business telephone answering service is that you can get up and running and enjoy the benefits of a full-time receptionist without the paperwork and administration associated with an employee. Outsourcing your telephone answering is not only cheaper, but it’s also less hassle. You don’t have to worry about pensions, sick days, and holidays and there are no lengthy contracts. It is a great way to improve your productivity and grow your business without the commitment of hiring new staff.
Check out our blog, 5 benefits of using a telephone answering service, to discover how your own Moneypenny Receptionist can help you too.
In short, any business can use a phone answering service; whether you’re an solicitor at a global law firm, a agent at a regional estate agency, or you’re an tradesman running your own business, you’ll see the benefits. With a range of tailored solutions available, Moneypenny has over 20 years’ experience of providing a world-class phone answering service to every kind of enterprise; from small businesses up to international organisations. Whatever the size of your business, Moneypenny can help.
Some of our typical clients include:
Whether you’re an independent plumber getting one or two calls a week, or a nationwide law firm getting 100, an answering service can be utilised to help manage your time and resources much more effectively.
Don’t just take our word for it. Read our case studies to find out more about the different types of businesses we support here at Moneypenny.
Understandably, there are many online searches each week for “affordable answering service” and for “how much does an answering service cost?”. In regards to the cost of an answering service, unfortunately, there’s no set answer, and the price of a phone answering service varies from provider to provider.
Generally, there are two ways a telephone answering company will charge for their service; either by the number of calls you receive, or the duration of those calls in minutes. Each provider will have a different price per call or per minute.
Typically, you will select a package based on the number of calls or minutes you expect to need on a monthly basis. This can be tough to figure out if you’ve never thought about this, which is why at Moneypenny we offer all prospective clients a free 7-day trial, so they can experience our full service and see exactly where and when they need support.
How do Moneypenny charge for their service?
Our service is charged for on a per minute basis, offering a range of schemes based on the amount of minutes you use. Get your quote now to find out what plan package is right for you.
Are there any long-term contracts?
No – all of our smaller Telephone Answering schemes (inclusive of 150 minutes and below) have a minimum contract length of three months. Thereafter, we require one month’s notice to close your account from the date of your next invoice. For our larger schemes, we require either a six or twelve-month commitment (depending on the volume of inclusive minutes) with three months’ notice to terminate your account. This may not be the case with other answering service providers, so make sure to check before you make your decision.
In most cases, there is very little difference in what these two services offer, but the services will vary from provider to provider, with some offering more than others.
Here are some of the basic common features:
Additional features, that may or may not be included in a phone answering service and a virtual receptionist service, include:
The services can be the same in many businesses, but there will be some small nuances between different providers, that’s why it’s essential that you pick the answering service company best suited to you.
It’s so important that you choose the right provider and that they meet the needs of your business. After all, they will be speaking with your customers every day so the importance of your decision shouldn’t be underestimated.
You need to ensure you find a company that you trust to represent your brand perfectly, but also one that can understand and meet the requirements of your growing business.
Some of our top tips on choosing the right provider are:
Need help finding the right phone answering service for you? Why not check out our Top tips for engaging a phone answering company blog for more information.
There are a number of ways you can work with an answering service company, some of which include:
The important thing is that they are flexible enough to satisfy the unique requirements of your business. You don’t want to be tied into long-term contracts and receive invoices that will mean spending thousands of pounds a month, if you only want them to answer calls when you’re unavailable.
This can vary depending on your provider and the service they offer. At Moneypenny, we offer a 24-hour answering service, where we answer calls on your behalf every day of the year, even during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
As standard, your calls will normally be diverted to a professionally recorded voicemail system outside of your usual business hours. Moneypenny, however, have the capacity to answer your calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with our dedicated 24/7 team.
Not sure you need support out-of-hours? We’ve put together a blog post to help you out – Do I need a 24/7 call answering service?
You are given a forwarding number that is unique to you. Any calls received on that line will make your screen pop up here at Moneypenny and the call will be answered in your company name by your dedicated receptionist.
In short, they are answered; however you want us to answer them.
As part of your introduction to Moneypenny, we get to know you and your business and how you want us to answer your calls. We’ll discuss how you would like us to greet your customers, what questions you would like us to ask them and whether you would like us to try and transfer the call to you or write up a message and send it via text or email.
Moneypenny Receptionists are professional, experienced and knowledgeable, and will obtain all of the appropriate information from the caller while maintaining a relaxed and friendly conversation. We work with businesses from all sectors and of all sizes, and have years of expertise in call handling.
All of our clients get exclusive access to our Moneypenny app and online portal for free.
Our app is the perfect way to keep in touch with your Moneypenny Receptionist when you’re not in the office. You can also view calls and messages, update your availability and set your status to change automatically all at the touch of a button.
Not to mention our online portal – as well as basic tools like viewing your call history and updating your status, you can also review call stats and trends, update company details or use our clever heat map to find out where your callers are located.
Picturing what our app or online portal are like? Find out more about the Moneypenny app or Get to know the Moneypenny portal.
Your own Moneypenny PA to answer calls exactly as if based in your office.
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