How Does Virtual Receptionist Pricing Work?

If you’re researching virtual receptionist services, you’re probably wondering: how can all these companies that claim to offer the same services vary so widely in their pricing models?

It can be difficult to compare companies that seem so similar and yet charge very differently, so let’s focus on what they all will have in common. Like most other services, virtual receptionist services will charge on a periodic basis (monthly, in most cases).

But other than frequency, pricing can vary. In this blog, we’ll explore the two most common virtual receptionist pricing models: per-call and per-minute. We’ll also discuss the common practice of charging for add-ons to your service. Read on if you’d like to learn about the pros and cons of each of these virtual receptionist pricing models.

What Is Per-Call Pricing?

Per-call virtual receptionist pricing sounds like you’ll be charged for every call that comes into your firm. That’s not really what’s going to happen (except in the case of overage charges, which we’ll discuss later). Basically, services that charge per-call will charge you a monthly fee with a call limit, usually starting at 10 calls a month.

The main advantage of this virtual receptionist pricing model is that the calls that are likely to last longest are the ones that matter most: new client calls. If one of those calls goes long because the caller’s legal problem is complex, it’s nice to know that those valuable calls aren’t going to count extra against your service. That’s why you’re hiring a virtual receptionist service, after all; to make sure you’re securing new clients calling when you can’t get to the phone.

Here’s the problem, though: 71 percent of clients prefer their first contact with a lawyer to be over the phone.

It can feel like you’re being punished for success with this virtual receptionist pricing model. As your firm grows, you’ll get more and more new clients, and seven out of every ten will be calling you to hire you rather than using another method like an online form.

Think about it: with the starter package many of these services have, 10 calls a month, they’re only handling one call every third day! Even thirty calls a month is only one call a day. Most firms get more than that, even if you’re just using the service for after-hours support.

In addition, there are all the other kinds of calls you might get. Spam calls, of course, would eat away at your monthly call limit, though the most reputable services won’t count them against you. Existing client calls always count, though, and they are usually much shorter. It follows that as you secure more new clients with the service, your existing client call volume will go up proportionally. Soon, short calls from clients (who usually could have just sent an email) will send you over your call limit!

What About Per-Minute Pricing?

Again, the name of this pricing convention is a bit misleading. Most virtual receptionist services charge monthly for a package of minutes, like an old-fashioned cell phone contract. The smallest package for many services will be 50 minutes per month, which, if you went over, you would have to pay per minute for overage charges.

Per-minute is the virtual receptionist pricing method that makes it clearest what you’re getting for your money. Essentially, with this pricing model, you’re getting what you’re paying for. If you pay for 500 minutes of answering every month, you’re getting 500 minutes, whether that’s 10 50-minute calls or 100 5-minute calls (the latter is much more likely).

You might be worried about spam calls—after all, the average American receives 3 to 4 spam calls a day.

Many companies don’t charge for spam calls, which means at least this constant annoyance won’t be draining your minutes—and you won’t ever have to worry about them again.

This model isn’t immune to abuse, however. While most virtual receptionist service providers don’t charge for hold time, some do. You’ll want to make sure that the service you choose doesn’t, because you don’t want to pay for dead time. Less-than-reputable services may also extend calls to spend more of your budget. Make sure you never settle for less than the best in your budget range.

Why Per-Minute Works For More Firms

As we discussed above, new client calls take longer than other calls, and they’re the ones you’re most interested in answering.

Add in the fact that studies have shown that attorneys spend an average of 1.1 hours a day talking to clients on the phone, and you might be concerned about speeding through your minutes package.

But here’s the thing: with per-minute pricing, every minute counts. A two-minute call with an existing client barely affects your balance. A thirty-minute call with a new client might be a big hit, of course, but calls of that length are rare, and, if it ends with that client hiring you, then it was probably worth the hit to your balance. It’ll probably pay for months of your virtual receptionist service!

The same isn’t true for per-call pricing. That two-minute call with an existing client, the one that just as easily could have been an email, is never going to be worth the hit to your balance. It’s going to cost the same as a thirty-minute call that leads to a case every time.

Remember how we said it can feel like per-call pricing is punishing your firm for success? As your firm grows, those two-minute calls from existing clients will multiply, yes, but in a per-minute virtual receptionist pricing model, they won’t be draining your call balance exponentially. When you’re running a business, every minute and every dollar counts. Most law firms are better off choosing the model that doesn’t punish you for growth.

How Do Add-ons Work?

In addition to per-minute and per-call pricing models, some virtual receptionist services offer add-ons to enhance your service.

Sometimes these are just additional features as you scale up. In these cases, the base package includes a basic set of features, and larger packages add more features to that basic set. Often, these additional features are the more expensive to implement, more technologically involved ones, like calendaring or integrations.

Some virtual receptionist pricing models start with an inexpensive base price and then have add-ons you can supplement your service with. After research, however, it usually becomes clear that these add-ons are basic necessities listed this way to hide the full price of the service. If you ever have to pay more for better legal intake, for example, you’re probably using the wrong service.

You can think of the basic package of features as a kind of trial period; if you like what you get, you can upgrade and get more. Of course, that’s a trial period you’re paying for.

At the end of the day, all of this is about money. Most virtual receptionist pricing is worth what you’re willing to pay for it. If your firm can afford it, it’s almost always less overhead, in both time and money, than hiring additional phone handling staff internally.

Answering Legal’s Virtual Receptionist Pricing Model

Here at Answering Legal, our virtual receptionist pricing schedule is per-minute. We offer a number of minutes packages, perfect for different-sized firms. If you’d like to learn more about our virtual receptionist pricing, click here.

But there are a few important differences between our service and others. First, all of our plans are all-inclusive. There are no add-ons, no additional features for bigger plans. From 50 to 5000 minutes, every firm of every size gets everything we have to offer. You even get access to all of our features in the free trial!

Also, our virtual receptionists are 100 percent U.S.-based, unlike many other legal answering services. Our receptionists only answer for lawyers, as well, which allows us to train them for months. You can learn more about our virtual receptionists here.

Get the best virtual receptionists in the business, no strings attached. Click here or call 631-686-9700 to sign up for our free trial. For a limited time, we’re offering firms that sign up for our service their first 400 minutes free.