Built for the trades
The AI Receptionist Built For The Trades. It Books The Job.
Miss a call on a job site and that customer dials the next company on the list. Inboxsmith answers every call for you, a done-for-you AI receptionist for home-services trades, on three flat plans from $47 a month:
- ✓Every call answered 24/7, booked, not just taken as a message
- ✓Three flat plans from $47 a month, published $0.20/min overage, never a per-call meter
- ✓Done for you, we build it, tune the triage for your trade, and run it every month
Keep your number · No risk · Cancel anytime
A 24/7 receptionist is a coverage style: every call, day and night, on any Inboxsmith plan.
The Play-By-Play
Every beat of a real call, the caller’s side, and the dispatch side working behind it.
8:12 PM · 📞 Call · Incoming · Saturday night
Inboxsmith: Thanks for calling Beacon Home Services. I’m the automated dispatcher, and this call is recorded. What’s going on?
Caller: There’s water dripping through my kitchen ceiling, right under the upstairs bath. Can someone come tonight?
8:12 PM · 📞 Call
Inboxsmith: That qualifies as an emergency, what’s the address?
Caller: 88 Birchwood Lane, Milford 08848, the gray house on the corner.
8:13 PM · 📞 Call + 🛠️ Dispatch
Inboxsmith: Got it, I’m pinging the on-call tech right now. They’ve got 60 seconds to respond, so hang tight. If they’re free, they head your way tonight.
To Sam · on-call tech: Emergency: water through the kitchen ceiling at 88 Birchwood Lane, Milford 08848. Can you take it tonight? 60 seconds to claim it.
System: Waiting on Sam to confirm, 0:60 ⏳
8:13 PM · 📞 Call · During the wait
Inboxsmith: While we wait, what’s your first name, and the best number to reach you?
Caller: Marco. 555-0177.
8:14 PM · 🛠️ Dispatch → 📞 Call
Sam: I’ll take it. 25 minutes out from Birchwood.
Inboxsmith: Good news, Marco, Sam’s on the way, about 25 minutes out. You’re set for tonight.
8:14–8:15 PM · 📞 Call + 🛠️ Dispatch
Inboxsmith: Any special directions or notes for Sam, anything that’d help them find you easier?
Caller: Park in the driveway, not the street, and the doorbell’s broken, so knock.
Inboxsmith: Confirmed, Sam’s en route, ETA ~8:40 PM. Marco’s number and directions are on their phone; call summary emailed to the office.
If Sam doesn’t respond in 60 secondsThe dispatcher asks the caller right on the line: “Are you available between 8 and 10 tomorrow morning?”, and books the first morning window. Your office confirms.
If Sam frees up a few minutes lateThey’ve already got Marco’s name and number, they call him directly and still take the job tonight.
60 seconds
Your on-call tech's window to claim an emergency call
Every call
Answered, booked, and recapped to your inbox
24/7
Nights, weekends, and overflow answered
The Calls That Decide Your Month
Answered while everyone else’s phone goes to voicemail.
2:14 AM · After hours
Burst pipe, shut-off valve stuck
2:14 AM · 📞 Call
Answered & triaged as an emergency
Name, address and the problem captured
2:15 AM · 🛠️ Dispatch
On-call plumber pinged
60 seconds to claim it, job details on their phone
2:19 AM · 🛠️ Dispatch
Plumber confirms, heading out tonight
Nobody free? First morning window, office confirms
July heat wave · Overflow
No AC, office line busy
11:02 AM · 📞 Call
Overflow answered while your line is busy
Caller never hits voicemail
11:04 AM · 📞 Call
Same-day window offered
Your office confirms the time
11:05 AM · 🛠️ Dispatch
Your office pinged with the job details
Saturday · New customer
Weekend quote call
Sat 3:40 PM · 📞 Call
Answered, job details captured
Instead of your competitor’s voicemail
Sat 3:43 PM · 📞 Call
Monday-morning window offered
Your office confirms Monday
Mon 8:00 AM · 🛠️ Dispatch
Your office opens with the job details waiting
Want the real thing? Pick a plan and hear it answer on your own line.
What Happens To The Calls You Can’t Answer?
Every shop already handles missed calls one of four ways:
One way
Answer everything yourself
Every ring interrupts a job, and after 6 PM the phone keeps going. You didn’t start a business to be chained to it.
Jobs lost every time you’re under a sink or up on a roof.
Second way
Let it go to voicemail
A caller with an emergency doesn’t leave a message, they hang up and dial the next company on the list.
The job is gone before you even hear the voicemail.
Third way
Hire a per-call answering service
A message-taking service bills per call, and booking and overage often cost extra on top.
The busier your month, the bigger the bill.
Fourth way
Set up a DIY AI tool yourself
The self-serve AI receptionists work, if you spend nights configuring greetings, calendars and routing, then keep tuning them.
Your evenings, and calls handled wrong while you tinker.
The fifth way: done for you.
Inboxsmith is built, tuned and run for you. It answers 24/7, books the job into a window your office confirms, and pings your on-call tech in under a minute, on a flat monthly plan that fits your call volume, from $47 a month.
Plans For Full 24/7 Coverage
The 24/7 receptionist runs on all three plans. Full-Time and Pro book straight into your calendar.
After Hours
$47/mo
Cover nights, weekends and overflow. Keep answering your own phone by day.
- ✓250 minutes a month included
- ✓Custom message taking for up to 2 call types, built for you
- ✓Live emergency transfer to your on-call tech
- ✓Telemarketer screening, do-not-call request and a screened-call log
- ✓Website widget: text chat and voice
- ✓Email recap after every call
7 days or 300 minutes. Then $47/mo. Cancel anytime.
Full-Time
$147/mo
Every call answered and booked into your calendar, day and night.
- ✓1,000 minutes a month included
- Everything in After Hours, plus:
- ✓Custom message taking for up to 5 call types, built for you
- ✓Warm transfers: your AI briefs your tech before connecting
- ✓Calendar booking with Calendly, Cal.com, and Google Calendar (via their sync)
7 days or 300 minutes. Then $147/mo. Cancel anytime.
Pro
$297/mo
Full-service and custom-trained on how your shop actually runs.
- ✓2,000 minutes a month included
- Everything in Full-Time, plus:
- ✓Unlimited call types, built for you
- ✓Custom training on your documents and price sheets
- ✓Smart department routing: each caller goes to the right person
- ✓White-glove setup and priority support
7 days or 300 minutes. Then $297/mo. Cancel anytime.
Went over? $0.20 / min after your included minutes, billed to the whole minute, never a per-call meter.
All plans include
- ✓Answers 24/7, in your company name
- ✓Live emergency transfer to your on-call tech
- ✓Telemarketer screening and a screened-call log
- ✓Email recap after every call
- ✓Website widget: text chat and voice
- ✓Call recordings, transcripts and summaries
- ✓Keep your existing business number
- ✓Published overage: $0.20 / min after your included minutes, billed to the whole minute
- ✓No per-call fees and no setup fee
- ✓Month to month, cancel anytime
Keep your number. Month to month. Cancel anytime.
What Changes On Pro?
Everything in Full-Time, plus three upgrades built around your shop.
Smart department routing
A billing question goes to your office line; an emergency goes to on-call.
Custom-trained answers
It answers from your own service menu and policies, and never invents a price it was not given.
Unlimited call types, built for you
Warranty claims, memberships, financing questions, whatever your shop handles.
AI Receptionist Questions
What is an AI receptionist?+
An AI receptionist, sometimes called an AI virtual receptionist or AI answering service, is software that answers your business phone with a natural voice. It greets callers, answers common questions, captures the details, and books the job. Inboxsmith is one built specifically for home-services contractors, with emergency triage tuned to your trade.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?+
Inboxsmith runs on three flat monthly plans: After Hours at $47 a month for 250 included minutes, Full-Time at $147 for 1,000 minutes with calendar booking, and Pro at $297 for 2,000 minutes plus custom training. Overage is a published $0.20 a minute. Every plan is month to month, with no setup fee and no per-call fees.
How is an AI receptionist different from an answering service or IVR?+
An answering service takes a message that someone still has to call back; an IVR makes callers press buttons through menus. An AI receptionist holds a real conversation: it picks up 24/7, sorts an emergency from a routine job, captures the name, address and issue, and books a time window your office confirms.
Can it book appointments automatically?+
Yes, it books appointments and schedules jobs the way you choose. Out of the box, it offers a time window and your office confirms. Prefer it to commit firm appointment times, or quote from your approved price list? We set that up for you during onboarding. The one thing that never changes: it won’t invent a price or a time it wasn’t given.
Can it handle several calls at once?+
Yes, it answers many calls at the same time, so a storm week, a heat wave or a marketing push never hits a busy signal. Every caller gets answered like they’re the only one on the line, and your office gets a summary of each call.
What happens after hours and on weekends?+
That’s where it earns its keep. It answers, routes a true emergency to your on-call tech, who gets 60 seconds to claim it, and books everything else into a window your office confirms in the morning. Nights, weekends and holidays all work the same way.
Will it work for my trade?+
Inboxsmith is built for home-services contractors: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, Pest Control and Garage-Door Service. The emergency triage is tuned to your trade: a burst pipe at 2 a.m. reads very different from a quote request. If you’re not in the trades, we’re probably not your best fit.
How fast can I go live?+
Most shops are live in a few days: one short kickoff call, we build and tune your receptionist, you approve a few sample calls, then we flip your call forwarding. You configure nothing, and you keep your existing business number, so nothing on your trucks, cards or listings changes.
Do I get to hear what it said?+
Yes. Every call is recorded (with disclosure), transcribed word-for-word, and summarized to your office, caller, issue, and what was booked. Nothing happens in a black box.
Is there a free trial?+
Yes. Inboxsmith runs a free 7-day pilot on any plan, capped at 7 days or 300 minutes, whichever comes first. We build your receptionist and you hear it answer on your own line before you pay a cent. It stays month to month after that, and you can cancel anytime.
Stop Losing The Calls You Can’t Answer.
Pick the plan that fits your shop and Inboxsmith answers every call in your company name, books the job, and pings your on-call tech when it’s an emergency. Live in a few days, from $47 a month.
Keep your number · No setup fee · Cancel anytime