The three ways businesses cover the phone
| AI front desk (Arkansas Automated) | Human receptionist | Per-minute answering service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | $2,500 flat | Hiring, training, and turnover | None |
| Monthly cost | $497 flat | $2,500 to $3,500 before payroll tax | $800 to $2,000 at 300 short calls |
| Coverage | 24/7, nights and weekends | Roughly 40 of the week's 168 hours | 24/7 |
| Billing | Flat, no per-minute meter | Salary plus tax and benefits | $1 to $2 per minute |
| What it does | Answers, qualifies, and books onto your calendar | Answers and handles judgment calls | Answers and takes a message |
All figures in USD. See the full price sheet at services and pricing.
What each option is really paying for
Hire a receptionist. $30,000 to $42,000 a year fully loaded in Arkansas, covering 40 of the week's 168 hours, before turnover, training, and sick days. The right answer at real scale, and the wrong one for a shop where the owner still answers between jobs.
Per-minute answering service. $1 to $2 per minute sounds cheap until you do the multiplication. A service business fielding 300 short calls a month at two to three minutes each is spending $800 to $2,000 monthly, and the operators still take messages instead of booking jobs.
AI front desk. $2,500 setup plus $497 a month with us, flat, no per-minute meter. Call volume, nights, weekends, and storm surges included. Monthly tuning with a human included. That is the number on our website because we think you should be able to read it without a sales call.
What the $497 a month has to beat
For most Arkansas service businesses the break-even is one or two jobs a month. An HVAC replacement, a roof, a new dental family, a retained legal client: any one of those pays for months of service. The missed call is never a line item on the P&L, which is exactly why it leaks for years.
If your call volume is genuinely low, we will tell you on the assessment call and point you at the cheaper fix. The $999 operations audit exists for businesses that want the math in writing before committing to anything.