Pay for the calls you get, and nothing else
A pay as you go virtual receptionist for quiet weeks and flat-out ones. NZ$10 a month keeps the number live, calls are NZ$1 a minute, and your first NZ$10 of credit is free.
A quiet week in July
Four answered calls. You paid NZ$10 for the number, then only the minutes those four calls used.
A storm week in October
Thirty one answered calls. The same NZ$10 number fee, then the minutes those calls used.
An example of two weeks on the same service. Nothing changed except the phone.
How pay as you go works
It is the shape of a prepaid phone, applied to reception. NZ$10 a month keeps the number, credit goes on the account, and calls come off it at NZ$1 a minute.
You top up when you want to
Put credit on the account. It sits there until it is used. There is no direct debit going out on the first of the month and no bundled minute allowance to buy before the phone rings.
Answered calls come off the credit
You are charged for the time somebody is actually being looked after. Not for a seat. Not for availability. Not for the hours nobody rang.
Nothing expires
Credit does not burn off over a quiet winter. If you paid for it, it is yours until it is used.
You can see where it went
Every call is on the record with the time, the caller and what they wanted. Your bill is a list you can check, not a number you have to trust.
The same business, two different months
Here is why the shape matters more than the rate. Take one sparkie with one van and one number. Nothing about the service changes between these two months. Only the phone does.
| The month | On a monthly plan | On a retainer with a call centre | On pay as you go |
|---|---|---|---|
| July. Two weeks away, a handful of calls. | The full plan fee, most of it unused. | The full retainer, plus whatever the calls cost on top. | A handful of calls. That is the whole bill. |
| October. Storm week, the phone never stops. | The plan fee, then overage once the included time is gone. | The retainer, then per call charges on every extra call. | More than July, because you got more work. |
| A month you shut the doors. | Still the plan fee. | Still the retainer. | NZ$10 for the number. No call minutes. |
The rate is NZ$10 a month for the number, NZ$1 a minute for calls and 15c a text. You start with NZ$10 free credit. There is no setup fee and no lock-in.
Why almost nobody else offers this
It is not stubbornness. It is arithmetic. Most answering services in New Zealand pay wages, and a receptionist in a room is paid for the hour whether your phone rings or not.
Somebody has to cover the cost of being ready, so it gets spread across every customer as a fee that arrives every month, with call charges stacked on top of it. That is a sensible way to run a business full of people. It is just not a good deal for a business whose phone is quiet half the year.
Our cost of being ready is close enough to nothing that we can pass that on. That is the whole difference, and it is not something a staffed bureau can copy without letting its receptionists go.
When a monthly plan is the better call
Pay as you go is not automatically cheaper. Past a certain number of calls a month, a plan with time included works out lower per call, and the bill being the same number every month is worth something on its own when you are trying to budget.
If your phone rings steadily all year, say so and we will put you on a plan. We would rather tell you that up front than have you work it out from an invoice in March.
- Pay as you go suits
- Seasonal trades, one person businesses, anyone whose phone is busy some weeks and silent others.
- A monthly plan suits
- A steady phone all year, or a business that needs a fixed line in the budget.
- Either way
- No term, no cancellation fee, and you can move between the two.
Questions about paying per call
Does my credit expire?
No. Credit you have paid for stays on the account until it is used. A quiet season does not burn it off.
Am I charged for spam and wrong numbers?
Silent calls and recorded sales calls are dropped and not charged. A real person ringing the wrong number is a real answered call, so it is short and it costs very little, but it is not free. We would rather say that than pretend.
What happens if my credit runs out mid week?
You are warned before it does, by text and email, so it is not a surprise. If it does run down, calls go back to ringing your handset the way they did before. Your callers are never left with nothing.
Can I switch to a monthly plan later?
Yes, in either direction, and any credit you have already paid for stays yours.
Is there a minimum spend?
There is no bundled monthly plan. The number costs NZ$10 a month and calls are NZ$1 a minute. The only thing you cannot do is run the service on no credit at all.
Put it on your own calls first
You do not have to decide how to pay before you know whether it works. Trial it on your real number, then pick the footing that matches the way your phone actually behaves.