After hours answering service for contractors: what it costs and what it should do
Calls don’t stop at 5 p.m., but your office does. This guide prices live and AI after hours answering services from their published rates and covers how to forward only the calls you can’t take.
By the HelloSetter team · Updated · 7 min read
What an after hours answering service does
An after hours answering service takes the calls that come in when your office is closed: evenings, weekends, holidays and, for many shops, lunch. A basic one takes a message for the morning. A good one answers in your company’s name, finds out what the job is, books routine work into your calendar and sends emergencies to your on-call tech. For a 24 hours answering service, the same setup simply stays on all day.
Lunch counts. When we called 281 roofing, HVAC and plumbing companies in October 2026, the share answered by a person dropped to about one in three between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
What after hours answering costs
Live answering services publish per-minute plans. PATLive starts at $99 a month for 50 minutes, which it estimates at about 20 calls, then $349 for 200 minutes, with 24/7 coverage included and no contract. Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 minutes and $720 for 200, and says there is no extra charge for coverage at certain times.
| Plan | Monthly price | Included | Extra minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PATLive | $99 | 50 minutes (about 20 calls) | $2.29 a minute |
| PATLive | $349 | 200 minutes (about 80 calls) | $1.99 a minute |
| Ruby | $250 | 50 minutes | Not listed |
| Ruby | $720 | 200 minutes | Not listed |
Per-minute pricing means your bill grows in exactly the weeks you are busiest. A shop that gets 80 after hours calls a month at 2.5 minutes each uses 200 minutes, about $349 on PATLive’s plan, and a storm week can push it over. AI answering services usually charge a flat monthly fee instead. Our AI answering service cost guide compares their published prices.
Emergency calls: what it should do with them
Decide what an emergency is before you sign up, and write it down: no heat with someone elderly in the house, water coming through a ceiling, a gas smell (which goes to the gas company first). Those calls get put through to your on-call phone. Everything else, like a quote for a new roof, a noisy furnace or a dripping tap, gets booked into the next open slot so you wake up to appointments instead of a list of people to call back.
How to forward only after hours calls
- Keep your business number. The service gives you a number to forward to.
- For after hours only, use the schedule in your business phone app, or turn call forwarding on when you leave and off in the morning.
- For missed calls during the day too, turn on conditional call forwarding (often called forward when busy or forward when unanswered) after four or five rings.
- Call your own number from another phone at night to test it.
Live or AI after hours answering
Live agents are better with odd or upset callers and with true emergencies that need judgment. AI picks up every call immediately, even ten at once, costs the same in a heat wave as in a quiet week, and with most contractor tools books straight into your calendar. Many shops combine them: AI on new-customer calls with a transfer number for emergencies.
HelloSetter, which we make, works that way. Forward your after hours or missed calls to your HelloSetter number and the AI answers new callers day and night, asks what the job is and books the visit; with a handoff number set, callers who ask for a person are put through. It doesn’t dispatch techs or handle billing calls. Plans are $697 a month for 20 booked appointments, $1,297 for 50 and $2,197 for 120. By trade: HVAC, plumbing and roofing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an after hours answering service cost?
Published live plans start at $99 a month for 50 minutes (PATLive, about 20 calls) and $250 for 50 minutes (Ruby). Extra minutes on PATLive run about $1.99 to $2.29. AI services usually charge a flat monthly fee instead.
Is a 24 hour answering service different from an after hours one?
Usually it is the same service with different forwarding. After hours means you forward only when the office is closed; 24 hours means calls can go to it any time, often only the ones you don’t answer.
Can an after hours answering service book appointments?
Some only take messages. Ask whether the agents or the AI can see your calendar and book the visit, because a booked appointment is worth far more than a message you return the next morning.
What is the best after hours answering service for a small business?
For a contractor, the one that books jobs and transfers real emergencies. Compare your likely monthly minutes against per-minute plans, and against a flat-fee AI service if your call volume swings with the weather.