--- title: "The cost of missed calls small business owners absorb" description: "The cost of missed calls for a small business, broken down by industry: how many calls go unanswered and what each one is worth. Read the 2026 index." url: https://assistbpo.com/research/missed-call-cost-index/ updated: 2026-09-20 publisher: AssistBPO (SS Support Network LLC) language: en-US --- # The cost of missed calls small business owners absorb Research report · Dataset and article The cost of missed calls small business owners carry is not a published statistic, it is an arithmetic. Calls that go unanswered, the share that were new business, the share that never come back, and what a first job or first visit is worth. [Download the CSV](https://assistbpo.com/assets/data/missed-call-cost-index-2026.csv)[Book a 20-minute call](https://assistbpo.com/book-a-call/) The Missed-Call Cost Index is AssistBPO's first-party method for that arithmetic, published now with its assumption table; the first-party dataset measured on client desks arrives in the next edition. Updated September 2026 ## The formula Revenue at risk per 100 calls = 100 × (1 − A) × N × (1 − R) × K × T **A** : Answer rate: calls answered by a person, divided by calls offered, business hours and after-hours computed separately **N** : New-inquiry share of inbound calls **R** : Callback recovery rate: missed new inquiries reached by callback, or who call back, and still book **K** : Close rate on answered new inquiries **T** : Average first-job or first-visit value, in your currency At the planning defaults in the table below and business-hours answering, 100 × 0.20 × 0.40 × 0.70 × 0.50 comes to 2.8 first jobs at risk per 100 inbound calls; with no after-hours coverage the same 100 calls put 14 at risk. Multiply by your own T. The [missed-call cost calculator](https://assistbpo.com/tools/missed-call-cost-calculator/) runs the arithmetic with your numbers. ## The assumption table | Type | Parameter | Default or range | Unit | Basis | Year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Input | Inbound calls per month | Client-supplied | calls | Client-supplied from the phone system report | 2026 | | Input | Average first-job or first-visit value | Client-supplied | local currency | Client-supplied from invoicing or the practice system | 2026 | | Rate | Answer rate, business hours (A) | 80 | % | Planning default; replaced by the phone system's answered-to-offered ratio | 2026 | | Rate | Answer rate, after-hours with no live coverage (A) | 0 | % | Definition: no person answers | 2026 | | Rate | New-inquiry share of inbound calls (N) | 40 | % | Planning default; measured per client in the first-party edition | 2026 | | Rate | Callback recovery rate (R) | 30 | % | Planning default: share of missed new inquiries reached by callback, or who call back, and still book | 2026 | | Rate | Close rate on answered new inquiries (K) | 50 | % | Planning default; segment values arrive with the first-party dataset | 2026 | | Cost of cover | Human answering service plan (50 to 500 minutes) | 235 to 1095 | USD per month | OnceHub, September 2026 | 2026 | | Cost of cover | AI receptionist, flat plan | 25 to 300 | USD per month | AIRA, NextPhone | 2026 | | Cost of cover | In-house receptionist, median pay | 38010 | USD per year | US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 | 2025 | | Cost of cover | Dedicated AssistBPO receptionist | Client-supplied | n/a | No published rate card; custom staffing plan within 1 business day | 2026 | Planning defaults are not measurements and not client results.1 Cost-of-cover rows are third-party plans as published. Plans start at $400 a month for 40 hours, at $10 an hour, and rates improve as you add assistants. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day. ## The first-party dataset This edition publishes the method and the assumption table only. The first-party dataset arrives in the next edition: answer rates, speed to answer, after-hours volumes, new-inquiry share and callback recovery measured on AssistBPO client desks, aggregated by segment with a minimum cell size so no single client can be identified. Until then the defaults above are planning values and are labeled as such. Download: [missed-call-cost-index-2026.csv](https://assistbpo.com/assets/data/missed-call-cost-index-2026.csv) (parameter, segment, low, high, unit, basis, year). ## Methodology - Missed calls = inbound calls × (1 − answer rate A). Business hours and after-hours are computed separately because the answer rate differs. - New business missed = missed calls × new-inquiry share N. Existing customers who call back are not counted as lost revenue. - Lost opportunities = new business missed × (1 − callback recovery rate R). - Revenue at risk per month = lost opportunities × close rate K × average first-job or first-visit value T. - The index itself is revenue at risk per 100 inbound calls: 100 × (1 − A) × N × (1 − R) × K × T. It lets two businesses with different volumes compare their exposure on one scale. - Cost of cover is shown beside the index so the decision reads as a comparison: what missing calls costs against what answering them costs, from published third-party plans. AssistBPO has no published rate card. [How we count every number on this site](https://assistbpo.com/methodology/) ## Guides that apply this index Written from the same sources, with the arithmetic worked through on a real decision. - [The real cost of a missed call by industry (2026 data)](https://assistbpo.com/resources/the-real-cost-of-a-missed-call-by-industry-2026-data/) The cost of a missed call, calculated from your own numbers: calls, missed share, new-business share, average ticket and close rate, with worked examples. - [Virtual assistant vs answering service vs AI receptionist: which one fits your phones?](https://assistbpo.com/resources/virtual-assistant-vs-answering-service-vs-ai-receptionist-which-one-fits-your-ph/) Virtual assistant vs answering service vs AI receptionist compared on monthly cost, call quality, admin capacity, hours and compliance, with 2026 pricing. - [How to write a phone script your receptionist can actually use (10 industry templates)](https://assistbpo.com/resources/how-to-write-a-phone-script-your-receptionist-can-actually-use-10-industry-templ/) A receptionist phone script template with a six-block structure, plus 10 short industry scripts for dental, legal, HVAC, real estate, salon and more. ## How do you cite this index? AssistBPO, Missed-Call Cost Index 2026, assistbpo.com/research/missed-call-cost-index/, edition 2026. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Please link to this page and keep the edition year. Corrections are welcome through the [contact page](https://assistbpo.com/contact/) and get a new date. ## Notes 1. Rates in the assumption table are planning defaults, not measurements. They exist so the arithmetic can run before a client has their own figures, and they are replaced by measured values in the first-party edition. Dataset Missed-Call Cost Index 2026. Edition 2026, collection cut-off 2026-09-20. License CC BY 4.0. [Download the CSV](https://assistbpo.com/assets/data/missed-call-cost-index-2026.csv) [Virtual Assistant Rate Index](https://assistbpo.com/research/virtual-assistant-rate-index/) Use the numbers - [Missed-call cost calculator](https://assistbpo.com/tools/missed-call-cost-calculator/) - [What moves a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/pricing/) - [Virtual receptionist services](https://assistbpo.com/services/virtual-receptionist/) Next step ## Stop the arithmetic at the source A receptionist who answers in your name, books the appointment and transfers the call, in your hours. A named person replies within 1 business day with a staffing plan. [Get a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/get-a-staffing-plan/) [Hear our demo receptionist](https://assistbpo.com/demo-line/) Or call [+1-657-777-0006](tel:+16577770006) during US, UK or Australian business hours, or [hear our demo receptionist](https://assistbpo.com/demo-line/). - A named assistant proposed within 72 hours - Employed, screened and managed staff, never freelancers - Your hours, your tools, your data --- Source: https://assistbpo.com/research/missed-call-cost-index/ · Contact: https://assistbpo.com/contact/ · Full site map for agents: https://assistbpo.com/llms.txt