What a missed call really costs: a contractor's worksheet

Step 1: Pull an honest call log

You need one month of inbound calls with date, time, caller number and whether each was answered. A typical month is better than your busiest.

Most phone providers and VoIP systems let you export this from their online account. If you use a field-service platform with built-in calling, it's usually in the reporting section. If you only have a mobile phone, your call history shows missed calls, but you'll need to count by hand.

Write down four totals:

1. All inbound calls to your business number or numbers.
2. Unanswered calls: rang out, voicemail, declined.
3. Unique numbers among the unanswered calls. This removes the caller who tried four times.
4. Unanswered calls by time block: early morning, working hours, lunch, evening, weekend.

That last list is the most revealing. Many owners find that their missed calls cluster in two or three predictable windows, like mid-morning on site and the hour after they get home.

Step 2: Separate real inquiries from noise

Not every unanswered number was a customer. Some were suppliers, some were existing customers checking on a job, some were robocalls.

Go through the unique unanswered numbers and sort them into four groups as best you can:

If you can't identify a number, count it as half a new inquiry. That's crude but fair. The goal is a number you'd defend, not the biggest number you can produce.

Step 3: Put a value on each real inquiry

Each real new inquiry is worth your average first-job value multiplied by your close rate on answered inquiries.

Use your own records:

• Average first-job value. Total revenue from new customers' first jobs, divided by the number of new customers. Use the first job only; don't fold in lifetime value yet.
• Close rate on answered inquiries. Of new-customer calls you did answer, what share became paid work? If you don't track it, think about the last 20 inquiries you took live and count the yeses.

Then: value per inquiry = average first-job value × close rate.

Worked example A: an emergency trade

A placeholder drain and plumbing business, two trucks.

• 140 inbound calls a month; 35 unanswered (25%)
• 28 unique unanswered numbers; sorted, about 12 look like new inquiries
• average first job $480; close rate on answered inquiries 55%
• value per inquiry: $480 × 0.55 = $264
• monthly value of missed new inquiries: 12 × $264 = $3,168

Worked example B: a project trade

A placeholder exterior renovation business, one crew.

• 60 inbound calls a month; 18 unanswered (30%)
• 14 unique numbers; about 7 look like new inquiries
• average first job $6,500; close rate 20%
• value per inquiry: $6,500 × 0.20 = $1,300
• monthly value of missed new inquiries: 7 × $1,300 = $9,100

Example B looks bigger, but read Step 4 before drawing conclusions.

Step 4: Apply a realistic "lost for good" rate

Not every missed caller is lost. Some call back, some leave a voicemail, some were going to call three companies anyway.

This is the step most "missed call calculators" skip, and it's why their numbers look alarming. Estimate the share of missed new inquiries that never reach you again. You can check it: of the unique new-inquiry numbers from Step 2, how many show up again as an answered call within a week?

• Emergency trades tend to lose a high share; the caller needed someone now.
• Project trades tend to lose fewer outright; the buyer is shopping over days.

In example A, suppose 8 of the 12 never called back. That's 67% lost for good, so the realistic monthly loss is 8 × $264 = $2,112.

In example B, suppose only 3 of the 7 never came back: 3 × $1,300 = $3,900. Still larger, but much less than the headline figure, and the four who called back may have already spoken to a competitor first.

Step 5: Estimate what text-back could recover

Text-back doesn't recover all of the lost inquiries; it recovers the ones who reply and then book. Calculate three scenarios so you're not relying on a single guess.

For example A (8 lost inquiries, $264 each):

For example B (3 lost inquiries, $1,300 each), the cautious case recovers 0.6 of a job a month, or $780, and the hopeful case 1.5 jobs, or $1,950.

These percentages are assumptions for the worksheet, not industry figures. After a month of live text-back, replace them with your real numbers: how many text-backs got a reply, and how many of those booked.

Step 6: Compare with the cost, and decide

Now set the monthly recovered value against what text-back costs you: the texting tool, any message charges, and the time someone spends replying.

Some guidelines from working through this with owners:

• If even the cautious scenario covers the tool and the time, set it up. It's one of the few marketing changes that pays from the first month.
• If only the hopeful scenario covers it, try it on the cheapest tool you already have, for 60 days, and measure.
• If none of the scenarios cover it, your missed-call problem is smaller than it feels, and your marketing money is better spent elsewhere.

Remember to think beyond the first job. A recovered customer who comes back every year for maintenance is worth several times the first ticket. We leave that out of the base calculation deliberately, so the decision doesn't rest on it, but it's a real upside.

Common mistakes in this calculation

• Counting call attempts, not people. One customer calling five times is one inquiry.
• Using your busiest month. It exaggerates the problem. Use a typical month, then look at the busiest month separately to plan for peaks.
• Using lifetime value as the job value. It makes every missed call look like a disaster and leads to over-spending.
• Ignoring existing customers. They're not new jobs, but a regular customer who can't reach you twice may quietly switch. Text-back helps here too.
• Forgetting the reply time. A text-back that gets a reply at 10:15 and a human answer at 4:30 has recovered very little.

What to do with your number

If your number says text-back is worth it, the next step is the wording. Our first-text templates guide gives you templates to adapt, and our CASL texting guide explains the rules on consent and opt-outs.

If you'd rather we run this with you, it's the first step of our missed-call text-back setup. Bring your call log to a free consultation; the contact page explains what to send. Our pricing shows how the work fits into a monthly plan, so you can compare it with the numbers you just calculated.