How it works
The calculator turns your weekly calls into a month (calls a week × 52 ÷ 12), then works down:
- Missed calls = calls a month × the share you miss.
- Real work = missed calls × the share that were customers, not spam or vendors.
- Lost jobs = real work × the share that would have booked if someone had answered.
- Lost revenue = lost jobs × your average ticket.
It is deliberately conservative. It does not count the repeat work and referrals a new customer brings over the years (their lifetime value), and it assumes a missed caller never calls back, which some do.
Where to get your numbers
- Calls and missed calls: your phone carrier's call log or your phone system's report. Count a call as missed if no person or system answered it live, including calls that went to voicemail.
- Booking rate: of the calls you answer from people who need work, how many become a booked job? If you do not track it yet, see how to book more of the calls you get.
- Average ticket: total invoiced over the last few months divided by the number of jobs.
What to do with the answer
If the number is big enough to pay for a person or a service, it is worth fixing. The usual options are a second person on the phones in the day, an answering service, or an AI receptionist that answers after hours and when the line is busy. The trade-offs are in AI receptionist vs answering service and how to stop losing after-hours calls.
SWITCHBOARD's receptionist answers in your shop's name, books the job while the caller is on the line and writes out every call, and you choose when it picks up. You can hear it on the live demo.
Questions people ask
What counts as a missed call?
Any call no person or system answered live, including calls that went to voicemail. Many callers who reach voicemail hang up and ring the next shop instead of leaving a message.
Are the starting numbers industry averages?
No. They are an example to show how the maths works. Replace them with your own from your phone log and your invoices.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Why does it not count repeat customers?
To keep the answer conservative. A first job often leads to years of repeat work and referrals, so the real cost of a missed new customer is usually higher than this shows.