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After-hours phone answering for small businesses

After-hours answering means your calls are still picked up once your team goes home. Kalvo covers evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and holidays, answering on your existing number when you close. It books appointments, answers common questions and takes messages, so callers reach a receptionist instead of voicemail.

In short

  • Kalvo answers evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and holidays on your existing number.
  • Callers reach a receptionist who books, answers and takes messages, not voicemail.
  • Set the exact hours you want covered, and route genuine emergencies to a person.
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80%

of callers sent to voicemail do not leave a message

Source: Forbes, 2014

What is after-hours answering?

After-hours answering is a service that picks up your calls once your team stops for the day. Instead of ringing out to voicemail, callers reach Kalvo, which answers on your existing number during evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and holidays. It books appointments, answers questions from your knowledge base and takes messages. Your daytime team still answers as normal. Kalvo only takes over during the hours you mark as closed, so nothing changes about how you run the working day, and callers hear a natural voice rather than a recorded message. Because it handles many calls at once, a busy evening never produces an engaged tone. Every caller is greeted, helped where possible and logged. You can run it fully automatic, or in approval mode where any draft action waits for one-tap approval, and you see the full record the next morning.

What happens to a call that comes in after you close?

When a call comes in after you close, Kalvo answers it on your existing number instead of letting it ring out. The caller speaks to a receptionist that books appointments, answers common questions and takes messages. Nothing goes to voicemail, so you keep the enquiry rather than losing it overnight. This matters because most missed calls do not leave a trace. About 80% of callers sent to voicemail leave no message, and many simply ring the next business on their list. A call that reaches a person, even after hours, is far more likely to turn into a booking. Kalvo captures the caller's name, number and reason for calling on every out-of-hours call. If it books an appointment, the slot is held straight away. If it takes a message, that message is waiting for your team when the day starts.

How do you set the hours Kalvo covers?

You set a custom schedule that marks when your team is available and when Kalvo should answer. Mark your normal opening hours as staffed, and Kalvo covers everything else, including evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and public holidays. You can adjust the schedule at any time as your hours change. Routing calls is simple. You can point your number at Kalvo for the closed hours, or keep your number as it is and set a divert so calls come to Kalvo only when your team does not answer. Either way, callers still dial the same number they always have. The schedule is yours to control. Set different cover for weekdays and weekends, block out a lunch break, or add one-off dates like a bank holiday or a team training day. Changes take effect straight away.

How does Kalvo handle a genuine emergency out of hours?

When you set it up, Kalvo can transfer a genuine emergency to a person straight away, even out of hours. It listens for the situations you define as urgent, and connects those callers to your on-call contact. Routine enquiries are still booked or logged as normal, so only real emergencies interrupt anyone. You decide what counts as an emergency for your business. That might be a burst pipe, a broken boiler in winter or a patient in pain, described in plain language that Kalvo uses to tell an urgent call from a routine one. If no one is available to take the transfer, Kalvo does not simply drop the caller. It takes down the details and flags the call as urgent, so it sits at the top of what you see the next morning. Emergency handling is optional, and works only when you have configured it.

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Common questions

Can I set exactly which hours Kalvo covers?

Yes. You set a custom schedule marking when your team answers and when Kalvo takes over. Cover evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and public holidays, and set different hours for different days. You can add one-off dates and change the schedule whenever your hours change, with updates taking effect straight away.

Do I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. Kalvo works on the number you already use. You either point that number at Kalvo during your closed hours, or keep it as it is and set a divert so calls come through only when your team does not answer. Callers dial the same number they always have.

Can callers still reach me in a real emergency?

Yes, when you configure it. Kalvo can transfer a genuine emergency to your on-call contact straight away, even out of hours. You define what counts as urgent in plain language, so routine calls are booked or logged while only real emergencies are put through to a person.

What does after-hours answering cost?

Kalvo starts at £49 per month on the Starter plan, which includes 100 minutes. Growth is £99 per month for 400 minutes, and Pro is £199 per month for 1000 minutes. There is no separate charge for after-hours cover, it uses the same minutes as any other call.

What do I see the next morning?

You see every out-of-hours call in a single place: who called, their number, what they wanted, and any appointment Kalvo booked or message it took. Urgent calls are flagged at the top. In approval mode, any draft actions wait for one-tap approval before they go ahead, so nothing happens without you.

Set up after-hours cover in minutes

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