For trades
The receptionist who answers while you're on the tools
For plumbers, electricians, heating and roofing firms: a missed call is a missed job that goes to the next number. Ansela answers every one in your own voice, quotes the call-out, books the visit and logs the job — while your hands stay on the work.
A missed call is a missed job
You're up a ladder, under a sink or halfway through a board change — and the phone goes. You can't stop, so it rings out. The trouble with trade calls is that people rarely leave a voicemail. They just dial the next number on the list, and that job is gone before you've wiped your hands.
Ansela is an AI phone receptionist for small businesses, built by bookeasy.ai. She answers every inbound call in your business's own voice — first ring, after hours, and even when three people ring at once. No voicemail, no hold music, no missed work. She picks up so you can keep both hands on the job. New to the idea? Here's what an AI receptionist actually does.
She answers on the tools, and captures the job
Ansela learns your services, prices and hours from your website, so a trade call goes the way it should. She's warm and natural — not a phone menu — understands accents, interruptions and follow-up questions, and handles the whole call end to end:
- Quotes the call-out from the information you give her, and answers the common questions callers always ask.
- Books the visit straight into your diary — she offers your real availability and writes the appointment in, rather than just taking a message.
- Captures every lead into your CRM: name, number and exactly what they wanted, so nothing slips through.
When she hits something she can't answer, she takes the details, tells the caller you'll be in touch, and logs it — and if it's urgent, she can put the call straight through. She's also the front of a full booking platform: start with the phone, then switch on diaries, jobs and follow-ups when you're ready, with no migration. The same picks-up-every-call logic works for salons, clinics and estate agents too.
A human answering service vs Ansela
A traditional answering service
- Answers within staffed hours, or as overflow when your own line is busy.
- Many tiers only take a message — you still have to ring the customer back and book them yourself.
- Charged per call or per minute at human rates, so a busy month costs more.
- Priced by the person, not always the job that gets booked.
Ansela
- Answers every call on the first ring, 24/7 — after hours, weekends and several at once.
- Books the visit into your diary and captures the job, not just a note to call back.
- Flat monthly price with unlimited callers — no per-call surcharge for a good week.
- Live in about ten minutes, keeps your existing number, cancel anytime.
The core difference is cost per minute. Across the UK market, human answering broadly runs from 60p to £1.50 a minute; Ansela's bundles work out at roughly 10p a minute — about an order of magnitude less.
How the market prices it
Every figure below traces to each provider's own pricing or marketing page. Where a price isn't published, it's flagged as a third-party estimate, not a quote.
| Service | What their own page says | How it's charged |
|---|---|---|
| Moneypenny | Human telephone answering, premium positioning | Human staff, quote-based |
| AllDayPA | “Pay per call / per minute, you choose” — no published monthly tiers | Bespoke; third parties estimate ~£90–£210/mo + ~£1/min on a 30-day contract |
| Face For Business | Taster from £49/mo, Message Only from £99/mo, Inclusive Minutes from £115/mo | Per-call / message-limited, staffed by named PAs |
| AnswerConnect | Positions on “real people, not automated voices” | ~$350–$575/mo for just 200–400 minutes |
| Answer.co.uk | PAYG human answering, plus its own AI receptionist | £2.20+VAT per call (human); £10/mo + £0.85/call (AI) |
| Ansela | Answers, books the visit and captures the job in your voice | Flat from £99/mo, all-in, unlimited callers (~10p/min) |
Human services cost more per minute precisely because real people answer them — which is why several position against AI. Ansela's answer: listen to her first call before she ever takes a real one.
Ansela pricing
One flat monthly price. Every plan includes setup, a UK number if you need one, and unlimited callers — minutes are talk time, and you can change or cancel anytime. Go over your minutes and it's 15p/min on Starter, 12p on Team and 8p on Scale. Need full platform integration? Enterprise is custom. Full detail on the pricing section.
| Starter | £99/mo | 1,000 mins — sole traders, ~20 calls/day |
| Team | £279/mo | 3,000 mins — adds transfer rules & business hours |
| Scale | £499/mo | 5,000 mins — adds priority voice quality |
Common questions
Does she actually sound human?
Yes — a natural, warm British voice, not a phone menu. She understands accents, interruptions and follow-up questions, and she knows your services, prices and hours. You can listen to her very first call before she ever takes a real one.
Can she quote a price on the phone?
She quotes the call-out and answers common job questions from the information you give her, learned from your website. For anything bespoke she takes the details and books you in, so you can price it properly on the visit.
What if she can't handle a question?
She does what a good receptionist does: takes the details, tells the caller you'll be in touch, and logs it. If the call is urgent she can put it straight through to you and take a message for the rest.
Do I have to change my number?
No. Ansela keeps your existing number. If you need one, a UK number is provisioned for you — either way there's nothing to move.
Will she book straight into my diary?
Yes. She offers your real availability and writes the appointment in — she doesn't just take a message like many human services do. She's the front of a full CRM and booking platform, so you can switch on jobs, customers and follow-ups when you're ready.
How long does setup take?
About ten minutes. There's no card needed to try the setup, unlimited callers on every plan, and you can cancel anytime.
Never miss another job.
Set Ansela up in about ten minutes — she keeps your number, answers on the first ring and books the visit while you're on the tools. No card to try the setup. Cancel anytime.
Start your receptionist