Question 1

What is a virtual receptionist?

Accepted Answer

A virtual receptionist is a UK-based trained operator who answers your business phone in your company name, takes a message or qualifies the caller, and either books them in or escalates the call — without you needing an in-house receptionist.

Question 2

How much does a UK virtual receptionist cost?

Accepted Answer

UK virtual receptionist services typically cost £50–£300/month on a per-call plan, or from £299/month for a fixed package. VA365 Lead365 includes virtual receptionist cover plus enquiry handling for £299/month — and Desk365 (£999/month) bundles receptionist with full admin.

Question 3

How does a virtual receptionist work?

Accepted Answer

You divert your business number to your VA365 receptionist team during chosen hours. They answer in your business name, follow your call-handling script, qualify the caller, log it to your CRM and either email/SMS you the message or book the appointment directly in your diary.

Question 4

Will the caller know I'm using a virtual receptionist?

Accepted Answer

No. Every VA365 receptionist answers in your business name with your script. To the caller, it sounds like they reached your office.

Question 5

Can a virtual receptionist book appointments into my diary?

Accepted Answer

Yes. VA365 receptionists book directly into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Jobber, ServiceM8 and most modern CRMs — and confirm the booking with the caller before hanging up.

Question 6

What's the difference between a virtual receptionist and an answering service?

Accepted Answer

An answering service typically just takes a message. A virtual receptionist qualifies the caller, follows your script, books appointments, updates your CRM and acts as a real extension of your team. VA365 always provides the receptionist version.

Question 7

Are VA365 virtual receptionists UK-based?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every VA365 receptionist is UK-based, trained from our Edinburgh HQ and works UK business hours.

Question 8

How quickly can I have a virtual receptionist live?

Accepted Answer

Most VA365 receptionist setups go live within 48 hours of the discovery call.

Question 9

What happens out of hours?

Accepted Answer

Out-of-hours calls are handled by AI-assisted call capture: every caller is greeted, message taken and SMS/email sent to you within minutes. You wake up to a tidy inbox of qualified leads.

Question 10

Can a virtual receptionist work alongside my own staff?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Many VA365 clients use the receptionist as overflow cover — calls only divert when in-house lines are busy or after a set number of rings — so you never miss a lead but only pay for the calls you need handled.

Option	Price	What you actually get
Voicemail / answerphone	£0	Most callers hang up. ~70% of missed leads never call back.
Answering service (per-call)	£50–£300/mo	Message taken. No qualification. No CRM update. No booking.
In-house receptionist	£28k+ salary	Brilliant — until they're on lunch, off sick, or you can't afford one.
VA365 Lead365	£299/mo	UK receptionist + enquiry handling + CRM logging + booking in <5 minutes.
VA365 Desk365	£999/mo	Receptionist bundled into a full admin team — inbox, diary, CRM, customer service.

UK Virtual Receptionist — Never Miss A Business Call Again

More than message-taking

Answered in your name

Under 5-minute response

Real UK people

AI-assisted

Voicemail vs answering service vs virtual receptionist

UK businesses that live or die by inbound calls

UK virtual receptionist FAQ

Stop letting calls go to voicemail