Virtual receptionist services UK, in local hours
AssistBPO's virtual receptionist services for UK businesses put a named receptionist on your line who answers in your company name, handles the call, books the appointment and takes a proper message, 8am to 6pm UK time. Unlike a per-call answering bureau, the same person learns your team, your regular callers and your rules, and does admin between calls.
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom hours
- GBP
- Named assistant plus backup
How does a virtual receptionist work in the United Kingdom?
Telephone answering in the UK has its own habits. Callers expect the company name, a first name and a plain offer of help, not a scripted greeting. They ask for the person they spoke to last time. Solicitors want a conflict check question before an enquiry goes through, dental practices want the receptionist inside the appointment book, and estate agents want viewings booked while the caller is still on the line. Your receptionist is employed by the group, trained on your call handling rules in the first week, and answers your divert from 8am to 6pm on GMT or BST. We answer on your existing number, so nothing on your letterhead changes. Messages reach you by SMS, email or Teams within minutes, and warm transfers go to mobiles as easily as desk phones. A recording notice sits in the greeting where you record, TPS and CTPS screening applies to any outbound marketing call, and caller data is handled under a UK GDPR processing agreement. Quotes are in GBP for a person and a shift, not a per-minute meter.
· Reviewed by Issabela Masters
What is different about running this desk in the United Kingdom?
The same desk, run to the rules, hours and vocabulary of this market.
Ofcom and the way calls are handled
Ofcom's rules on persistent misuse mean no silent or abandoned calls and a valid calling line identity on every outbound dial. Your receptionist returns missed calls from a number that displays your business and never uses an autodialler.
Recording notices and UK GDPR
If you record calls, the greeting says so and the purpose is written into your privacy notice. Call notes, messages and booking details are processed under a DPA with the international data transfer addendum and stored in your systems, not ours.
TPS and CTPS for outbound
Answering inbound calls needs no screening. Any outbound marketing call the receptionist makes is checked against the Telephone Preference Service and the Corporate TPS first, with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing logged per number.
UK receptionist benchmarks
Moneypenny, a UK-founded provider, sells dedicated receptionist teams and reports handling 20 million calls a year; UK virtual PA rates run £25 to £45 an hour, and an offshore managed full-time desk publishes at £900 to £2,000 a month (Moneypenny, SVA and 2026 agency price lists).
What does your assistant handle?
- 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
| Deliverable | KPI we report |
|---|---|
| Calls answered in your company name | Answer rate and average speed to answer, 8am to 6pm |
| Messages delivered to the right person | Delivered within 5 minutes by SMS, email or Teams |
| Appointments and viewings booked | Bookings per week, entries with complete fields |
| Warm transfers to mobiles and desks | Transfers completed against transfers declined |
| Monthly QA scorecard | Greeting, accuracy, tone and call handling, scored by the team lead |
How it works
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
Coverage
Staffed now, GMT/BST
Shifts run from the group's two offices. Pick your zone to see each shift in your local time and what is staffed right now.
- US Eastern shiftChecking
- US Pacific shiftChecking
- UK shiftChecking
- Australian Eastern shiftChecking
- After-hours deskChecking
Bilingual and extended AEST coverage are available on request and confirmed in your staffing plan.
United Kingdom rules we follow
- United Kingdom
- UK GDPR with a data processing agreement and IDTA, PECR with TPS and CTPS screening, Ofcom persistent-misuse rules, call-recording notices.
Outbound calls, texts and emails only with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing. Plain-language detail on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Tools UK clients ask us to work in
Other desks we staff in United Kingdom hours
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual receptionist cost in the UK?
Plans depend on hours, desks and coverage. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day. For a sense of the UK market, virtual PA and receptionist providers publish £25 to £45 an hour, SVA surveys sit around £28 to £35, and offshore managed full-time staff are advertised at £900 to £2,000 a month against £3,000 to £5,000 for a UK-based employee (SVA, PayScale and 2026 agency price lists). We quote in GBP for a named receptionist on a shift, backup included, so a busy fortnight does not bring per-minute charges.
Are your receptionists based in the UK?
No. Receptionists are employed by the group and work from our offices in Vancouver, Washington and a second office in Pakistan, on a shift that matches the UK day from 8am to 6pm. They are trained on UK conventions: dialling codes, postcodes, the way a caller from a solicitor's office or a GP surgery expects to be spoken to. We do not claim a UK office and we do not use freelancers. If your callers must reach someone on UK soil, tell us and we will say whether we are the right fit.
Will callers hear that the receptionist is overseas?
Callers hear a clear, unhurried voice using your greeting and your vocabulary. Every receptionist passes an English and telephone assessment before joining a UK line, then learns your names, products and the ten calls you get most. Accents vary, as they do in any UK office, and the QA scorecard listens for clarity, pace and courtesy rather than any single accent. If a caller asks where the receptionist is based, the answer is honest and short, and the conversation moves on to what they rang about.
Can you answer our existing landline and 0800 number?
Yes. Most UK clients set a divert on the landline, 0800, 0330 or mobile number so calls forward to the line we answer, either all the time or after a set number of rings. VoIP systems such as RingCentral, Aircall and Dialpad route natively, and older BT lines divert with a short code. Your number, your caller ID and your billing stay with your provider; we only add the person who picks up.
What happens to calls after 6pm and at weekends?
Three options. Calls can go to your voicemail with the day's messages summarised the next morning, to our after-hours and weekend desk, which follows the escalation rules you set, or to an on-call mobile for genuine emergencies. Most UK clients pair the 8am to 6pm receptionist with the after-hours desk for evenings, Saturdays and bank holidays, so a tenant with a leak or a patient in pain reaches a person rather than a recording.
Can the receptionist book straight into our practice or case system?
Yes, with the access you grant. Receptionists work inside Calendly, Acuity, Clio, HubSpot and most UK practice management systems, book against the rules you set for durations, providers and buffers, and send the confirmation from your account. Where a system has no remote access, the receptionist takes the details and your team books within the hour. Every booking is logged with the caller's contact preference so reminders go out the right way.
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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.
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