Missed call calculator: what could unanswered calls be costing your business?
Every call that rings out could be a job, a booking or a new customer. Enter your own numbers to estimate the potential revenue at risk each week, month and year. It takes about a minute, shows every step of the maths, and doesn’t ask for your name or email.
- Set up by humans · Perth team
- Works with your existing number
- Plans from $149/month incl. GST
Example numbers. Change them below to match your business.
Illustrative screen. Figures are estimates from your inputs.
Your numbers come with you. Nothing is sent until you choose to submit.
For context only. Your estimate isn’t a promise of what answering those calls would earn. How it’s worked out
Four numbers, no guesswork hidden.
Calls a week
All calls to your business number in a normal week, answered or not. Your recent-calls list or your provider’s call records will give you a good starting figure.
Calls that go unanswered
Enter it as a percentage or a number a week. Count calls that rang out, went to voicemail or came in while you were closed.
Callers who’d likely buy
The most important assumption, and the easiest to overstate. Count only new enquiries you’d usually win, and leave out spam, existing customers and anyone who called back.
Average revenue per new customer
What a typical new job, booking or first sale is worth. Switch on gross margin if you’d rather see profit than revenue.
Why there’s a cautious view. The share of callers who would have bought is a judgement call, so the results table also shows the estimate with that share halved. If the cautious figure still matters to your business, missed calls are worth fixing.
Why there are no industry averages here. Most missed-call statistics you’ll see online trace back to small overseas surveys, or to no source at all. Your own call log is a far better guide to your business, so the calculator runs only on your numbers. The starting values are examples, not benchmarks.
What the estimate leaves out. It doesn’t count repeat work, referrals or reviews a new customer might bring, and it doesn’t subtract the cost of handling those extra customers. It’s an estimate, not a forecast, and it’s only as good as the numbers you put in.
Why Perth businesses miss calls.
It’s rarely because nobody cares. It’s because the people who answer the phone are also the people doing the work.
A long city to drive
Perth and Peel stretch about 150 km along the coast, from Two Rocks to Mandurah, and the suburbs growing fastest (Alkimos-Eglinton, Brabham-Henley Brook and Baldivis North in 2024-25) sit at the edges. A day of jobs across the metro area means a lot of calls that come in while you’re driving.
Sources: ABC News, ABS regional population 2024-25
Hands-free, but no notepad
In WA you can take a call while driving only if your phone is in a mounting and you don’t hold or touch it, and you can’t read or send messages, even at the lights. Taking down an address or a quote request at 80 km/h isn’t realistic either.
Source: WA Road Safety Commission
East-coast calls come early
WA stays on Perth time all year. From the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April, 9 am in Sydney or Melbourne is 6 am in Perth. If you deal with east-coast clients or head offices, their first calls can arrive before you’ve opened.
Source: Tourism Australia, time zones
The next business is a tap away
Construction is the biggest industry by business count in the City of Stirling, with 4,267 construction businesses. When a caller can’t get through, there are plenty of other numbers to try, so an unanswered call can easily go elsewhere.
And then there’s everything else: on the tools, with a patient or client, in the lunch rush, or closed for the night. The calculator doesn’t care why a call was missed, only how many and what they could be worth.
Your options, honestly compared.
Voicemail
Free and already set up. Some callers leave a message, but others hang up and try the next business, and every message still needs a call back.
Hire a receptionist
A real person who knows your business, but a wage for set hours. Evenings, weekends, breaks and sick days still need covering.
Call answering service
People answer and pass on messages. Check the hours covered, what they can handle beyond taking a message, and how they charge.
AI receptionist
CXUP’s AI receptionist answers in your business’s name, any hour: it answers common questions, takes messages, books appointments and puts urgent calls through to you. It’s set up by our team in Perth, and plans start from $149 a month incl. GST.
Questions about the calculator.
How does the missed call calculator work out the cost?
It multiplies four numbers you enter, then converts the weekly figure to a month and a year. Here are the steps with your numbers. They update as you change the calculator above.
The maths
- 40 calls × 20% unanswered = 8 missed calls a week
- 8 × 25% likely to buy = 2 potential customers a week
- 2 × $350 = $700 a week
- $700 × 52 weeks ÷ 12 months = $3,033 a month
| Scenario | A week | A month | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your estimate | $700 | $3,033 | $36,400 |
| Cautious view (half as many buy) | $350 | $1,517 | $18,200 |
A month is 4.33 weeks (52 ÷ 12). This is potential revenue at risk, based only on the numbers you entered. It isn’t money you’ve definitely lost: not every missed caller would have bought, and not every call can be won back.
The cautious view does the same sums with the 'likely to buy' share halved. If you switch on gross margin, each figure is also multiplied by your margin. We use 52 ÷ 12 (about 4.33 weeks) for a month, not 4, so the monthly figure isn't understated.
What's a realistic share of missed callers who'd have become customers?
It depends on your business, so use your own experience rather than an industry average. Think about the last few calls you missed: how many were new enquiries, and how many of those would you normally win? Leave out spam, existing customers and people who called back. If you're unsure, pick a low number. The cautious view halves it for you.
Is this money I've definitely lost?
No. It's an estimate of potential revenue at risk, based only on your assumptions. Some callers ring back or leave a message, some weren't going to buy, and no service can win back every call. Treat it as a way to size the problem, not as a promise of what answering those calls would earn.
Can't I just call missed callers back?
Often you can, and it's worth doing. But a callback doesn't always connect. In Telstra research with YouGov (online survey of 1,037 Australian adults, 3 to 6 September 2024), 42% of Australians who own a mobile said they were less likely to answer calls because they were worried about scams. So if you return a missed call from a number the caller doesn't recognise, they may not pick up, and by then they may have tried someone else. Source: Telstra Exchange, 13 March 2025
How do I find out how many calls I miss?
Your phone's recent-calls list, your voicemail, and your phone or business-line provider's call records are the best places to look. Counting a normal week is usually enough to get a sensible starting point.
Do you store the numbers I enter?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and doesn't ask for your name, email or phone number. If you choose to continue to the enquiry form, your calculator numbers travel in the page link so we can see the context of your enquiry, and nothing is sent until you submit the form.
Disclaimer
- An estimate onlyThis calculator gives general information based entirely on the numbers you enter and the assumptions shown on this page. It doesn't know your business, your customers or your market, and it isn't financial, business or legal advice.
- Not money lostThe result is potential revenue at risk, not money you have lost or will lose. Not every missed caller would have become a customer, some call back or leave a message, and no service can answer or win back every call. The starting numbers are an example, not industry averages.
- No guaranteeCXUP does not guarantee that using our AI receptionist will recover any amount shown, increase your revenue or produce any particular result. Results depend on your business, your call volumes and how the service is set up and used.
- Prices and sourcesPrices are in Australian dollars and include GST: plans from $149 a month (100 minutes included, extra minutes billed per minute) and a one-off setup from $599. Outside sources are quoted as at September 2026 and linked so you can check them.
Got your number?
Take it to a short enquiry form and we’ll talk you through how CXUP would answer those calls for your business.