Tool · Missed calls
Missed call calculator — what unanswered calls cost your business
Estimate what unanswered calls cost your business per month and per year. Pick an industry, adjust call volume and coverage, and see the leak in real time. Figures are estimates based on Numa 2025 — not guarantees.
A missed call is an inbound phone call that doesn't get answered — typically because the business is closed, busy, or under-staffed. This calculator estimates monthly and annual loss as «calls per week × 52 / 12 × unanswered share × conversion rate × job value». Treat the result as a decision anchor, not a guarantee.
Enter calls per week, how much of the week you actually have phone coverage, and what a typical call is worth if it converts to a booking or job. The estimate updates live. Defaults are conservative — adjust down for a stricter number, up if you have data that justifies it.
Typisk klippe-/fargingstime.
Hva er en typisk samtale verdt hvis den blir til en booking eller et oppdrag?
Totalt antall innkommende anrop per uke (svarte + ubesvarte).
Andel av ukens anrop som faktisk blir besvart i dag.
Konservativt anslag: ~30 % av tapte anrop hadde blitt til ekte bookinger eller oppdrag hvis noen hadde tatt telefonen.
Anslag — ikke en garanti
Estimert tap per måned
26 000 kr
Estimert tap per år
312 000 kr
Ubesvarte anrop per måned (estimat)
108
Dette er et anslag basert på dine inntastede tall og en konservativ konverteringsrate. Faktisk tap varierer med sesong, bransje, andel eksisterende kunder og hvor mange av de ubesvarte anropene som gjentar et forsøk eller skriver inn på nettsiden i stedet. Skaala Essentials starter på 299 kr/mnd — sammenlign tallet over med abonnementsprisen, ikke som en garanti, men som en beslutningsanker.
Why missed calls cost more than people think
Numa (2025) shows that about 62 % of inbound business calls go unanswered within three rings, and about 80 % of callers who land on voicemail hang up without leaving a message. That means the average small business loses most of its calls — without knowing it.
Dialzara (2025) shows that about 85 % of callers who don't reach a person never call back. They call a competitor, look for an alternative online, or drop the matter. First-attempt loss is, in most cases, permanent loss.
The third cost — reputation — doesn't show up in the calculator. A caller who rings twice without answer also tells colleagues. Industry data suggests every lost first-time call can also cost one to two potential referrals.
How loss breaks down by industry
Hair and beauty
30–80 calls/week. Booking value typically $60–$120.
Dental and medical
80–300 calls/week. Urgent booking typically $150–$300.
Law and accounting
10–40 calls/week. $300–$700 per new client matter.
Trades and auto repair
20–60 calls/week. $400–$800 per job.
Hotels and restaurants
50–200 calls/week. $60–$200 per reservation.
What 'real cost' includes
The visible cost is the lost booking or job — what the calculator computes. The invisible cost is the relapse effect: the caller who didn't reach you doesn't call again next week either.
The third component is referral loss — small businesses get 20–40 % of new customers from referrals. A bad phone experience shows up not in your books but in a flatter growth curve.
The calculator estimates only the first component. Treat the figure as a floor, not a ceiling.
How an AI phone assistant closes the leak
An AI phone assistant answers every inbound call — 24/7, on the first ring. That closes the coverage gap: calendar says 'closed' but the call is still picked up, routed to an action (booking, message, callback), and you get a summary when you're back on the clock.
Skaala Essentials starts at $29/month including 50 minutes of AI calls, a local phone number, calendar booking, built-in CRM, and human handoff. Compare the monthly loss from the calculator above to $29 — the math usually does itself.
Estimate, not guarantee — how to read the number
The calculator is a formula model, not industry-data analytics. It assumes a constant conversion rate — in reality, this varies with season, time of day, and caller loyalty.
Use the number as a decision anchor, not a truth. Is the order of magnitude enough to justify trying an AI phone assistant free for 7 days?
Read on
The calculator is one of several tools in our communications resource set:
FAQ
How many calls do small businesses typically miss?
Numa (2025): about 62 % of inbound business calls go unanswered within three rings. For 1–10 employee businesses, the share is often higher.
What's a realistic conversion rate for missed calls?
Urgent industries (dental, plumbing) 40–60 %. Low-intensity bookings 15–25 %. 30 % is a conservative default.
How is monthly loss computed?
Calls per week × 52 / 12 = calls per month. × (1 − coverage %) = unanswered. × conversion rate × job value = estimated loss.
Why aren't callbacks counted?
Dialzara (2025): ~85 % of callers who don't reach a person never call back. We treat first-attempt loss as permanent.
Does Skaala replace every missed call with an answered one?
Yes, every inbound call is answered. Not all convert to revenue — Skaala also filters wrong numbers and spam.
How long is the trial?
7-day free trial with payment method at signup. Cancel anytime.
Is the calculator only for small businesses?
The model works for any business, but is most meaningful for 1–50 employee businesses where each call counts.
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