A receptionist who knows your business, not a call queue

AssistBPO's virtual receptionist services give your business a named receptionist who answers every call in your company name, books appointments in your calendar, takes accurate messages and transfers callers warmly, in your hours. Unlike a per-minute answering service, the same person learns your business, your regulars and your rules, and the same person also handles the admin between calls.

  • Named assistant plus backup
  • Front desk & phones
  • Employed, screened, managed

Get a staffing plan

A named person replies within 1 business day

A short call sizes the desk faster than email. We call only if you leave a number.

  • A named assistant proposed within 72 hours
  • A person replies, not a bot
  • Details stored only to reply. Privacy

What is a virtual receptionist?

A virtual receptionist is a trained person who answers your business phone remotely, in your company name, and does what a front-desk receptionist would do: greet callers, answer common questions, book and reschedule appointments, take messages, screen and transfer calls. At AssistBPO the receptionist is a dedicated employee of the group, not a shared call center queue or an AI voice.

· Reviewed by Issabela Masters

  1. Virtual receptionist: what we do and how it runs

    A virtual receptionist is a trained person who answers your business phone remotely, in your company name, and does what a front-desk receptionist would do: greet callers, answer common questions, book and reschedule appointments, take messages, screen and transfer calls. At AssistBPO the receptionist is a dedicated employee of the group, not a shared call center queue or an AI voice.

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  2. What it is

    A virtual receptionist is a trained person who answers your business phone remotely, in your company name, and does what a front-desk receptionist would do: greet callers, answer common questions, book and reschedule appointments, take messages, screen and transfer calls. At AssistBPO the receptionist is a dedicated employee of the group, not a shared call center queue or an AI voice.

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  3. What you get

    One named receptionist, a trained backup and a team lead

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  4. How it runs

    Live answering in your name, bookings in your calendar, warm transfers

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  5. Match

    A 20-minute discovery call on call volume, hours, systems and tone. Within 72 hours we propose a named receptionist with the right industry background and accent match for your callers, plus a trained backup.

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  6. A named assistant, a backup and a team lead

    In your hours, inside your tools, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or ask for a staffing plan.

    Get a staffing plan 06 / 06
Self-playing walkthrough built from this page's copy, about 36 seconds. Static storyboard under reduced motion; every scene is readable without pressing play.

Who is the virtual receptionist desk for?

Clinics, dental and healthcare practices
A HIPAA-trained receptionist who schedules, confirms recalls and checks eligibility with SS Support Network's healthcare desk behind them.
Law firms and professional services
Consults booked, intake captured the same way every time, conflict-check details collected before the lawyer picks up.
Trades and home services
Every job call answered while your crew is on site, quotes requested, jobs booked into ServiceTitan or Jobber.
Founders and small teams
A front desk without a front desk: one person who answers, screens and handles the admin in the quiet minutes.

What does the virtual receptionist service include?

These 12 tasks are what AssistBPO's virtual receptionist desk handles as standard for a business that lives on its phones.

  • Live answering in your company name during your hours
  • Custom greeting, call flow and FAQ script you approve
  • Appointment booking, confirmation and rescheduling in your calendar or practice system
  • Warm transfers to the right person with a whispered introduction
  • Accurate messages by email, SMS or CRM note within minutes
  • Caller screening and gatekeeping rules you set
  • New-lead capture with the fields your CRM needs
  • Outbound confirmation and reminder calls with lawful consent
  • Voicemail clearing and callback list every morning
  • Admin between calls: inbox triage, data entry, follow-ups
  • End-of-day report with every call, message and booking
  • Monthly QA scorecard on greeting, accuracy and tone

Deliverables and KPIs

AssistBPO reports 6 measures on the virtual receptionist desk: what lands on your desk, what we count, and how often you see the number.

DeliverableKPI we reportCadence
Calls answered in your nameAnswer rate and average speed to answerDaily, in the end-of-day report
Appointments booked and confirmedBookings made, no-show rateDaily and weekly
Messages deliveredMessage accuracy, delivery within 5 minutesPer call
Warm transfersTransfer success rateWeekly review
Lead captureLeads logged with complete fieldsDaily
QA scorecardGreeting, accuracy, tone, resolutionMonthly

KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement in the weekly review. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement, not on this page.

How does the virtual receptionist desk work?

  1. Match

    A 20-minute discovery call on call volume, hours, systems and tone. Within 72 hours we propose a named receptionist with the right industry background and accent match for your callers, plus a trained backup.

  2. Onboard

    We build the greeting, call flow, FAQ sheet and transfer tree with you, connect a softphone to your existing number or a new local number, and run test calls before the first live day. Most front desks are live within a week.

  3. Daily rhythm

    Your receptionist starts the shift with your calendar and callback list, answers throughout your hours, books and transfers as agreed, and sends an end-of-day report listing every call, message and booking.

  4. Weekly review

    A 20-minute review with the team lead: call volumes, missed-call reasons, script tweaks and next week's coverage. Monthly, the team lead scores a sample of recordings on the QA scorecard.

Hours, coverage and models

AssistBPO staffs the virtual receptionist desk on 4 models. US Eastern and Pacific, UK and Australian Eastern hours from the group's two offices. Bilingual Spanish or French answering is available on request.

  • Dedicated receptionist, 80 or 160 hours a month, in your hours
  • Shared front desk for lower call volumes, priced per call
  • After-hours and weekend desk as an add-on
  • 24/7 front-desk pod on request

See what is staffed in your zone on the coverage clock.

What are the terms on the virtual receptionist desk?

The card, the contract terms and the virtual receptionist desk's own numbers, in one place.

What are the terms on the virtual receptionist desk?
SpecificationWhat you get
Focus, 20 hours a week$800 a month, 80 hours
Dedicated, 40 hours a week$1,600 a month, 160 hours
Managed Pod, three seats or moreFrom $4,800 a month
Evening, weekend or overnight coverTier rate plus 20 percent
DeskFront desk & phones
Standard scheduleDedicated receptionist, 80 or 160 hours a month, in your hours
CoverageUS Eastern and Pacific, UK and Australian Eastern hours from the group's two offices.
Tools10 platforms, including RingCentral, Dialpad, Aircall
KPIs reported6 measures: daily, monthly, per call
Setup feeNone
Minimum termMonth to month, no lock-in
Notice30 days, to stop or to change hours
If the fit is wrongTrained backup covers the desk the same day, re-match at no charge
ContinuityOne named assistant, one named backup, one team lead
Who does the workEmployed by SS Support Network LLC, never freelancers or contractors

These are rate-card starting points. What you pay depends on the hours, the desk and the coverage window, which is what the staffing plan sets. Rates improve as you add assistants. Your staffing plan states the rate for the number of seats you need. The rate card carries the other currencies, the add-ons and the six things that move a plan off it.

How much does a virtual receptionist cost?

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.

What moves the plan

  1. Hours a week and whether the desk is dedicated or shared
  2. Phones: live answering needs a receptionist profile and a backup
  3. Coverage zone: business hours, after-hours, weekends or 24/7
  4. Tools and access to set up
  5. One person or a pod with a lead

What the market publishes

Other providers' published ranges, by market, so you have something to hold this against. These are not AssistBPO prices.

Third-party published rates by market, dated, for orientation only
MarketPublished rangeSource
United StatesHuman answering plans from about $235 a month for 50 minutes to $1,095 for 500 minutes, with $2.95 to $4.70 a minute overage; in-house receptionist median pay $38,010 a yearOnceHub, NextPhone and AIRA pricing roundups, September 2026; BLS Occupational Outlook, May 2025 data
United KingdomTelephone answering from about £0.85 to £1.50 per call or £30 to £150 a month plus per-call fees; dedicated receptionist teams from £1,000 onboardingMoneypenny and UK answering-service pricing pages, 2026
AustraliaOnshore virtual receptionists A$39.90 to A$65 an hour; offshore managed reception from A$8 to A$35 an hourDotVA, Smart Staffing and Australian VA pricing roundups, June to August 2026
CanadaCanadian virtual receptionists C$25 to C$60 an hour; managed offshore plans US$699 to US$899 a monthVirtual Gurus and VantaStaff published pricing, 2026

Get a staffing plan How we build a plan

Proof

Case study

One engagement on this desk, anonymized. Numbers appear only once the owner has verified them.

All case studies

New matters captured on the first call

Case study

Law Firm Intake Answered in Under 10 Seconds

A personal injury and family law practice in the US Northeast had one paralegal covering reception between her own case work. New inquiry calls landed while she was on another line or in a meeting, and a caller who reaches voicemail with a legal problem usually calls the next firm rather than waiting. Intake notes varied by whoever took the call, so conflict checks and consult bookings often needed a second conversation. AssistBPO put a named legal receptionist on the line with a trained backup and a team lead, working in the firm's own case management system during office hours and on an after-hours desk in the evenings. Every new inquiry now follows one intake script, gets the conflict-check details captured before anything else, and either books a consult or is declined politely with a referral note.

Law firm

Security and compliance

  1. Background-checked, employed receptionists under NDA; never freelancers
  2. Softphone access only, on managed devices with MFA and no local call storage
  3. Card numbers are never taken over the phone; callers use your payment portal
  4. Call-recording notices follow each state and country rule
  5. HIPAA-trained staff and a BAA for healthcare practices

Full control list on the security page and country rules for calls, texts and email on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.

Country rules for this service

AssistBPO makes outbound calls, texts and emails only with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing. Assistants never take card numbers. Country rules.

  • US: two-party consent states require a recording notice; scripts carry it
  • UK: PECR and TPS screening apply to any outbound marketing call
  • Canada and Australia: CASL consent and Do Not Call Register washing before outbound campaigns

Frequently asked questions

How much does a virtual receptionist cost?

Plans depend on hours, desks and coverage. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day. For orientation, published US answering plans run from about $235 a month for 50 minutes to $1,095 for 500 minutes with per-minute overage, and an in-house receptionist earns a median $38,010 a year before benefits (BLS, May 2025 data). A dedicated AssistBPO receptionist is priced per person for a block of hours, not per minute, so busy months do not produce surprise bills.

Is it the same person every day?

Yes. You get one named receptionist who works your hours, a trained backup who covers leave and breaks, and a team lead who runs the weekly review. We do not route your calls to a pool. Callers hear the same voice and the same greeting, and the receptionist learns your regulars.

Will callers know the receptionist is remote?

Callers hear your company name, your greeting and a person who knows your services, hours and staff. We match accent and pace to your caller base during the 72-hour match, and every receptionist passes a phone and English assessment before joining a client desk.

Can the receptionist book appointments in our system?

Yes. We work inside your calendar or practice system: Calendly, Acuity, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dentrix, Open Dental, Clio, ServiceTitan, Jobber, Mindbody and many more. Access is granted through your own user account with the permissions you choose, and you can revoke it at any time.

What happens after hours and at weekends?

Your dedicated receptionist covers the hours you agree. For evenings, weekends and holidays, add the after-hours desk or a 24/7 front-desk pod, with an escalation tree for calls that cannot wait until morning.

Do you keep our existing phone number?

Yes. We connect a softphone to your existing number through your provider (RingCentral, Dialpad, Aircall, Zoom Phone and others) or forward it to a number we provision. Nothing about your published number changes.

Can the receptionist make outbound calls too?

Yes: appointment confirmations, reminder calls, callbacks and follow-ups, always with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing under TCPA, PECR, CASL and the Australian Do Not Call Register rules. We never make robocalls and we never do third-party debt collection.

How is this different from an AI receptionist?

An AI receptionist answers from a script and hands off anything unusual. A human receptionist handles the exception, calms the upset caller, books around a doctor's lunch and notices when a regular sounds worried. Many clients run both: AI for overnight overflow, a person for the hours that matter.

What do you need from us before the first live day?

Four things, built with you on the onboarding calls: the greeting exactly as you want it said, the FAQ sheet covering what callers ask most, the transfer tree naming who takes which call, and the booking rules for your calendar or practice system. After that we connect a softphone to your number or forward it to one we provision, and run test calls against every branch before anything goes live. Most front desks are ready within a week of the match.

Is a dedicated receptionist worth it on low call volume?

Often not, and we would rather say so on the discovery call. If you take a handful of calls a day and nothing happens between them, the shared front desk priced per call is the better fit. A dedicated receptionist earns the hours when the calls create work behind them: bookings to make, records to update, voicemails to clear, follow-ups to chase. The question to ask is not how many calls you get. It is how much admin each one leaves behind.

How do we add evening or weekend cover later?

As an add-on to the plan you already have, not as a new engagement. The after-hours desk and the weekend calendar are separate shifts, and the same greeting, call flow and transfer tree carry across so callers hear no change. Terms are month to month, and thirty days notice adds or removes hours in either direction. Practices tend to add weekends first and trades tend to add evenings; the weekly review is where you decide, using the missed-call pattern rather than a guess.

What happens when a call is handled badly?

Tell the team lead and it is dealt with that week. Calls are recorded wherever your greeting carries the notice state or country law requires, so the team lead listens to the call you mean rather than to a description of it. A wrong answer becomes a line in the FAQ sheet and a wrong transfer becomes a branch in the tree, and both are checked again in the monthly QA scorecard on greeting, accuracy and tone. If the fit is wrong rather than the script, the backup takes the desk and we re-match you at no charge.

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Next step

Your desk, staffed. Wherever you are.

Tell us what is overloaded. A named person replies within 1 business day with a staffing plan, and we propose your assistant within 72 hours.

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Or call +1-657-777-0006 during US, UK or Australian business hours, or hear our demo receptionist.

  • A named assistant proposed within 72 hours
  • Employed, screened and managed staff, never freelancers
  • Your hours, your tools, your data
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