What a missed call costs: the formula
Monthly cost of missed calls = missed calls × share that would have booked × average job value. Use your own numbers. Each input is in a log you already have.
| Input | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Missed calls a month | Your phone system's call log, or call tracking. Google Ads call reporting records "whether the call was connected" (Google Ads Help). |
| Share that would have booked | Of answered calls from new customers, how many booked last month. |
| Average job value | Your invoices: the average first job, or a year of a new customer's work. |
No booking rate of your own yet? Invoca's 2026 data: 38% of answered calls are leads, and 42% of those leads convert on the call, across 10 industries (Invoca). In home services it's 38% and 45% (Invoca, home services). Your own log beats any benchmark.
How many calls go unanswered?
About half. Invoca, a call-tracking vendor, analyzed over 70 million calls (published July 2026):
"Across all industries, 56% of calls to businesses are answered by a person." (Invoca, 2026)
- Calls longer than 15 seconds (misdials removed): 65% answered (Invoca).
- Home services: 52% answered; 65% for calls over 15 seconds; sub-industries range from 32% to 74% (Invoca, home services).
The "62% of calls go unanswered" figure you'll see on many vendor pages is left out here: we couldn't find the original study.
What callers do when you don't answer
Most don't wait. CallRail, another call-tracking vendor, surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers (published September 2025) (CallRail). When a business doesn't answer:
| What the caller does | Share |
|---|---|
| Leaves a voicemail | 42% |
| Turns to online chat | 24% |
| Immediately calls another business | 21% |
78% said they have abandoned a business after an unanswered call (CallRail). These are survey answers, not tracked behavior.
Your callbacks get missed too
A callback isn't a catch-up plan on its own. At an accounting firm we run marketing for (October 1–30, 2026, 29 bookers with a call due), 55% of first calls went unanswered and 41% of bookers never spoke to the firm. 81 of 86 outbound calls showed a toll-free caller ID; nobody followed a missed call with a text or email; 0 missed calls were rebooked.
Call back from a local number, and send a text when the callback isn't picked up.
Google bills some missed calls on Local Services Ads
If you run Local Services Ads, a missed call can cost you a lead fee. Google's help page lists this as a valid (charged) lead:
"You missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds." (Google Local Services Ads Help)
A call that reaches voicemail or a greeting during your business hours "is treated as a connected call and is charged if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds, whether or not they leave a message" (Google). Business hours are the ones in your Google Business Profile, and unanswered calls are charged only when they fall within those hours and your ad schedule (Google). For disputes, see Local Services Ads lead disputes.
How to stop losing them
Cheapest first.
| Fix | What it does | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Ring more than one phone | Office line rings your cell or a second person | Who answers on a job site |
| Missed-call text back | One text within a minute: "Sorry we missed you, reply here" | US consent and carrier rules: missed-call text back |
| Answering service or AI receptionist | Every call answered, 24/7 | Cost per call, call recording notice: AI receptionist |
| Show call ads only when you can answer | Google call assets can "appear only when your business can accept calls" (Google Ads Help) | Fewer calls, not more answered ones |
| Call back from a local number, then text | Callbacks get picked up | Same text rules apply |
Missed call text back ROI
ROI = (jobs won back × average job value − tool cost) ÷ tool cost. Count "won back" from the log: callers who replied to the text and booked. Don't count callers who would have called back anyway; compare a month before and after.
How to get more calls from Google Ads
First answer the calls you already pay for. More ad spend into a phone that's answered half the time buys more missed calls. Once answering is fixed, see Google Ads not getting calls.
Example
US plumber
100 calls a month from new customers, 40 missed. Of answered calls, 1 in 4 books, and the average job is $400. At stake: 40 × 0.25 × $400 = $4,000 a month. If a text-back wins back 3 of those 40, that's $1,200 a month to compare with the tool's price.
Canadian dental clinic
30 missed new-patient calls a month. 1 in 3 answered new-patient calls books, and a new patient brings about CA$600 in the first year. At stake: 30 × 1/3 × CA$600 = CA$6,000.
HVAC company on Local Services Ads
8 calls a month ring out during listed business hours, each over 20 seconds. All 8 can be charged as leads, and none was answered. Answering them, or setting accurate hours, is the fix.
Different for you?
- You want to text callers back automatically: Missed-call text back: setup and the consent rules.
- You're weighing an AI receptionist, an answering service or a hire: AI receptionist for a small business.
- You run a dental office: AI receptionist for a dental office.
- Your leads come from web forms, not calls: Speed to lead.
- Your callers are in Canada: CASL consent to text or email.
- You run a law firm: Personal injury intake.