Struggling to manage your customer inquiries and missed calls? Letting leads slip through the cracks can’t be an option if you want to grow your revenue.
Every missed call could be a lost opportunity. Poor customer service can damage your reputation, and overworked staff can’t focus on growth.
In 2025, hiring a virtual receptionist is the answer.
What’s a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist is a professional who handles administrative tasks for your business from a remote location. Unlike an answering service, a remote receptionist is multifaceted.
A live virtual receptionist can answer your calls, handle inquiries, schedule appointments, and route messages using cloud-based communication tools. A virtual receptionist is usually outsourced, which means you’ll need to subscribe to a third-party provider (a.k.a. an agency).
Virtual receptionists can handle multiple tasks, such as managing your front-end communication, ensuring you don’t miss any calls from your clients. They can also offer bilingual or multi-timezone services if you need them.
Discover how providers of all sizes quickly enjoy benefits!
Virtual receptionist Vs. Virtual answering service
Scope of responsibilities 
A virtual receptionist performs a broader range of tasks beyond answering calls. They also answer emails, handle data entry, manage calendars, and more. On the other hand, an answering service only focus on call-handling tasks for a business.
Personalized service
With a virtual reception service, your customers will get a more personalized service as they’re trained to understand your business, customers, products, and/or services. A virtual answering service, meanwhile, offers a more generic service. They use a customized but basic script, and aren’t usually equipped to answer complex customer queries as they’re not familiar with your business’s ins and outs.
Call handling approach
Virtual receptionists can handle more difficult customer queries, as they can provide more detailed answers about your products or services. A virtual answering service is more impersonal with their approach, as they’re only usually hired to forward calls to the right staff member or department.
Customer interaction
A virtual receptionist may interact with customers across many communication channels such as the phone, Gmail, Slack, or Facebook and Instagram. They can give a multifaceted customer service experience. An answering service is more limited, as they don’t usually answer emails or reply to chats. They only answer incoming calls from customers.
Level of integration
A virtual receptionist or virtual assistant can be a deeper part of your office operations. They can integrate with your CRM, scheduling tools, and other software to provide a seamless experience to your customers. In contrast, an answering service works independently and handles customer interactions at a surface level.
Insider tip
If you’re a growing business with a focus on customer experience, a virtual receptionist or virtual assistant offers more value due to their ability to perform a variety of tasks and personalize interactions.
That said, for small business owners with basic call handling needs, an answering service might be a more cost-effective solution. Make sure to assess your customer interactions’ complexity before deciding which option suits your business best.
How does a virtual receptionist work?
Day-to-day tasks
On a daily basis, the virtual receptionist logs into your communication system at designated time. They handle tasks such as:
Answering and directing inbound calls
They answer all inbound calls, provide professional greetings, answer questions, and forward calls to the right team member or department.
Managing appointments
They book, reschedule, or cancel appointments using your calendar or scheduling software.
Handling emails and live chats
Some services may extend beyond calls to manage emails, live chat inquiries, and even social media messages.
Customer communication
They communicate with your customers or clients regarding inquiries, offering customer service or follow-up information.
Weekly operations
Reporting
Virtual receptionists often provide a weekly report detailing your volume of calls, types of inquiries, and other key performance metrics.
Follow-ups
They may also conduct follow-up calls to ensure your clients or customers get the information they need or confirm appointments.
Team coordination
Virtual receptionists can also coordinate with your internal team. They can make sure your staff has the most up-to-date information on appointment changes, customer details, or urgent issues.
Monthly operations
Call volume analysis
Some virtual reception service providers perform a monthly review to help you identify peak call times and adjust your availability. This helps you optimize your productivity during demand periods.
Client feedback and adjustments
You can also review the service’s efficiency and professionalism and then suggest adjustments to the script, procedures, or call handling to better align with your brand and customer experience.
Billing
When monthly billing is processed, the provider may discuss if you want to upgrade or downgrade your subscription.
Quarterly operations
Performance reviews
You can schedule quarterly meetings to review your virtual receptionist’s performance and discuss potential improvements. You might also want to assess how well the service has integrated with your business processes.
Training and updates
If your company’s offerings or protocols change, the quarterly review will be an excellent time to align with your virtual receptionists on new SOPs, products, or services.
Technology check-ins
The service provider may review your communication systems to ensure everything stays seamless. They will address technical issues that prevent you from working with your assigned virtual receptionist.
Annual operations
Strategy planning
The annual review will involve evaluating how the virtual reception service contributed to your business’s growth, customer satisfaction, and overall efficiency. You may consider long-term changes, such as upgrading to a more advanced package or even automating certain aspects of your receptionist’s responsibilities.
Cost-benefit analysis
This is also a great time to review the ROI of the virtual receptionist service. If the service has reduced workload, increased customer satisfaction, and positively impacted lead conversion rates, it may justify renewing your contract with them.
Contract renewal
During this time, you may also renegotiate service terms, consider new features, or reassess the scope of tasks that your virtual receptionist handles.
Insider tip for working with a virtual receptionist 
Set up a regular feedback loop such as quarterly calls to align the virtual receptionist service with your evolving business needs. This ensures they’re always working effectively for your current goals and customer base.
Additionally, discuss seasonal trends to adjust call handling and staffing levels, ensuring you’re always prepared for your busiest periods without overpaying during quieter times.
Benefits of having a virtual receptionist
1. You’ll save a lot of hiring costs
Hiring a full-time, in-house receptionist comes with significant costs, including salary, benefits, and office space. A virtual receptionist, on the other hand, is more affordable. Just like an answering service, you only pay for the services you need, whether it’s hourly, per-call, or flat fee. You won’t spend on overhead costs, unlike hiring traditional receptionists.
2. 24/7 availability
Virtual receptionist services often provide 24/7 coverage, ensuring your business can respond to inquiries at any time, even outside your business hours. This is beneficial if you cater to international clients or operate in multiple time zones.
3. Improved customer service
Virtual receptionists are trained professionals who can handle customer inquiries with care, ensuring that each caller feels valued. With their ability to answer frequently asked questions, manage bookings, and direct calls efficiently, they provide a seamless and positive first impression for your business.
4. Increased productivity
With a virtual receptionist handling routine tasks like answering calls, scheduling appointments, and responding to basic inquiries, your core team can focus on more important tasks that directly contribute to business growth. This delegation helps eliminate distractions and allows your employees to stay productive.
5. Scalability
If you’re a startup founder, virtual receptionist services can scale with your business as it grows. Whether you need someone part-time to manage a few virtual office phone calls or a team of receptionists to cover high call volumes during peak seasons, the flexibility of virtual services allow you to tweak your needs without hiring or training more team members.
6. Professional image
Just like having a live answering service, having a virtual receptionist gives your business a polished, professional appearance, even if you’re a solopreneur or a small company owner. Clients and customers receive consistent, courteous service that elevates your brand reputation.
7. Multichannel support
Many virtual receptionists are trained to cover more than just virtual office phone calls. They also manage email inquiries, live chat, and even social media messages. You just need to integrate them properly into your tech stack.
Insider tip
To get the most out of your virtual receptionist, make sure they’re fully integrated into your business systems such as your calendar, customer service software, CRM, and appointment scheduler. The sooner they can familiarize themselves with your tools, the faster they can fine-tune their service to your virtual office’s brand and customer interaction policy.
How to start hiring a virtual receptionist
Determine your call volume and workload – How many calls or inquiries do you receive in a day, week, or month? Do you need 24/7 or just coverage during your business hours?
Gauge your required services – Do you need someone to answer calls, or do you need calendar management, email handling, and live chat support? This will guide you later in choosing the right service provider and plan.
Specialization – If your business has specific needs (ex. HIPAA-compliant services), make sure to prioritize these up front.
Look for providers – Look for providers with a strong reputation, positive reviews, and the ability to meet your specific business needs. Consider whether they offer flexibility such as scaling up during peak periods.
Check for customization options – Ensure the service can provide custom scripts and procedures that reflect your brand’s voice and ethos.
Compare pricing models – Some service provides require per-minute, per-call, or flat rates. Pick the model that works best for your budget needs.
Select the right technology – Your virtual receptionist will need access to your phone system and, if applicable, tools such as your CRM, email software, and appointment scheduler.
Cloud-based phone system – Many virtual receptionist services use VoIP systems to manage systems to manage calls. Make sure you have a reliable cloud-based phone system to integrate with their services.
Software integration – Work with the provider to ensure their systems integrate with your current tools such as booking software, messaging apps, or customer databases.