Short answer: Multiply weekly calls by your miss rate, then by the share that are new-job leads, then by the share that would book, then by your average job value. Using Invoca's 2023 home services figures (27% missed, 47% leads, 29% booked), the default example of 40 calls a week and a $400 job works out to about $2,552 a month.
This is for Kansas City plumbers, HVAC shops, roofers, electricians and other trade owners who want a straight number on what missed calls cost. Every default is either cited to a named source with a date or marked as your own input. Change any of them to match your shop.
Pull one real week of call logs from your phone system and put your own miss rate and job value in the boxes. Then compare the monthly number to what a receptionist or Nora would cost you.
How the missed-call math works
Five steps. Every input is a box you can change.
- Missed calls a week = calls a week x miss rate.
- Missed leads = missed calls x share of calls that are new-job leads.
- Jobs lost = missed leads x booking rate x (1 minus win-back share).
- Revenue lost = jobs lost x average job value.
- Monthly = weekly x 52 / 12. Yearly = weekly x 52.
Many missed-call calculators apply a close rate to every missed call. That counts existing customers, vendors and spam as lost jobs. This one removes those first using Invoca's 47% lead share, so the number is lower and easier to defend. The win-back box keeps callbacks you already make from being counted twice.
Receptionist wages a month = coverage hours x wage x 52 / 12. That is wage only, before payroll taxes and benefits. Break-even for Nora = $297 / average job value. That is how many jobs a month she has to save to pay for herself.
Where the default numbers come from
Every default is cited. If you have your own numbers, use them instead.
| Number | What it means | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| 27% | Share of inbound calls home services companies miss | Invoca, How Many Phone Calls Are You Missing?, April 6, 2023 |
| 47% | Average share of home services calls that are leads | Invoca, same post, April 6, 2023 |
| 29% | Share of those leads that convert | Invoca, same post, April 6, 2023 |
| 38% | Calls that did not reach a live person within 90 seconds (1,247 U.S. home service contractors, Q1 2026) | Clockwork, Home Service Businesses Miss 38 Percent of Their Phone Calls, April 10, 2026. Vendor study. |
| 52% | Same measure for solo operators and shops under 3 employees | Clockwork, same study, April 10, 2026. Vendor study. |
| $17.89/hr | Median wage, receptionists and information clerks (SOC 43-4171), Kansas City MO-KS metro. $37,210 a year. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, via O*NET OnLine local wages and the BLS Kansas City release |
| $297/mo | Nora, month to month after $897 setup, or $0 setup on a 12-month plan | Blur AI Solutions published pricing, checked October 24, 2026 |
One caveat. Clockwork sells call handling, so I label its numbers as a vendor study. If you pick a Clockwork preset, the calculator still uses Invoca's lead and booking rates. That mixes two different datasets from different years. It gives a fair range. Your own call logs will be closer.
Three Kansas City examples
The call counts and job values below are example inputs I picked, not benchmarks. The results are what the calculator shows for those inputs.
Solo plumber with one truck
30 calls a week, Clockwork's 52% solo miss rate, a $350 example job, no win-back and 128 coverage hours. The calculator shows 15.6 missed calls and 7.3 missed leads a week, 9.2 jobs lost a month, $3,225 a month and $38,698 a year. Receptionist wages for 128 hours would be $9,923 a month, and Nora breaks even at 0.8 jobs a month.
Load this example in the calculator
HVAC shop with an office
80 calls a week, Invoca's 27% miss rate, a $450 example job, 10% won back by office callbacks and 80 coverage hours. The calculator shows 21.6 missed calls and 10.2 missed leads a week, 11.5 jobs lost a month, $5,167 a month and $62,002 a year. Receptionist wages for 80 hours would be $6,202 a month, and break-even for Nora is 0.7 jobs.
Load this example in the calculator
Roofing crew
25 calls a week, Clockwork's 38% miss rate, a $1,200 example job, no win-back and 80 coverage hours. The calculator shows 9.5 missed calls and 4.5 missed leads a week, 5.6 jobs lost a month, $6,733 a month and $80,799 a year. Receptionist wages would be $6,202 a month, and Nora breaks even at 0.2 jobs.
Load this example in the calculator
Receptionist hours vs an AI receptionist
I sell Nora, so weigh this with that in mind. A good front desk person does things AI should not try. They calm an upset customer, greet a walk-in and make judgment calls about squeezing in an emergency. Nora covers the hours a person usually can't: nights, weekends and overflow when the line is busy. She answers in your business name, books on your calendar inside your rules and texts you a summary. She is an AI voice agent and says so if a caller sincerely asks.
The wage figure is wage only. Payroll taxes, benefits, training and sick days add to it. Covering nights and weekends with people also takes more than one person.
Hire a person when you have steady daytime calls, walk-ins, or office work like billing and dispatch to keep them busy. You can also run both: a person during the day and AI after hours.
How to measure your real miss rate this week
- Export one full week of inbound calls from your phone system or carrier portal.
- Count every inbound call. Then count the ones nobody answered live: rang out, went to voicemail, or hung up before pickup.
- Divide missed by total. That is your miss rate.
- Split missed calls into business hours and after hours. Clockwork's vendor study found 29% missed during 8am to 5pm and 84% missed after hours at businesses without call answering, so your two numbers may look very different.
- Check voicemails and caller numbers. Separate new-job calls from existing customers, vendors and spam. That is your lead share.
- Count the missed new-job callers you reached on a callback and booked. That is your win-back rate.
What this calculator does not count
- Repeat business. It counts the first job only, not the years of work after it.
- Referrals. A customer you never served never sends you a neighbor.
- Replacement jobs. A repair call can lead to a full replacement later. Raise your job value if that happens often.
- Margin vs revenue. The output is revenue. Profit is what is left after parts, labor, fuel and overhead.
- Seasonality. Kansas City heat, cold snaps and storms swing call volume. Run a busy week and a slow week to see the range.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate revenue lost from missed calls?
Start with your calls per week and multiply by your miss rate. Multiply missed calls by the share that are new-job leads, then by the share of leads that book when answered, then by your average job value. Take out any jobs you already win back with callbacks. Multiply the weekly number by 52 for a year, or by 52 and divide by 12 for a month.
What percentage of calls do home service businesses miss?
Invoca's April 6, 2023 post puts it at 27% of inbound calls for home services. Clockwork, a vendor that sells call handling, published a 2026 study of 1,247 U.S. contractors. It found 38% of calls did not reach a live person within 90 seconds, and 52% for solo operators and shops under 3 employees. Your own phone logs beat any benchmark.
Is the result revenue or profit?
Revenue. The calculator multiplies lost jobs by your average job value, which is what the customer pays. Your profit is what is left after parts, labor, fuel and overhead, so the hit to your bottom line is smaller. If you know your margin, multiply the result by it for a rough profit figure.
How much does a receptionist cost in Kansas City compared with an AI receptionist?
BLS data for May 2025 shows a median wage of $17.89 an hour, or $37,210 a year, for receptionists in the Kansas City metro. For an example of 80 coverage hours a week, the calculator puts wages alone at $6,202 a month, before payroll taxes and benefits. Nora is $297 a month after an $897 setup, or $0 setup on a 12-month plan.
Will an AI receptionist recover all of these jobs?
No, and I won't promise that. Nora answers in your business name, books jobs on your calendar inside the rules you set and texts you a summary. Whether a caller books still depends on the job, your price, your schedule and the caller. Treat the calculator number as an upper estimate, then track what you actually book once calls get answered.
How can I hear Nora before I pay?
Call the demo line at (816) 683-2229 and pretend you are a customer with a leak. You will hear how Nora answers and asks about the job. The demo line does not book real jobs; I set up booking on your calendar with you. She is an AI voice agent and will tell you so if you sincerely ask. Pricing is on bluraisolutions.com.
Sources
- Invoca: How Many Phone Calls Are You Missing? See How Your Industry Stacks Up (April 6, 2023). Home services: 27% of inbound calls missed, 47% of calls are leads, 29% of leads convert. Checked 2026-10-24.
- Clockwork: Home Service Businesses Miss 38 Percent of Their Phone Calls (published 2026-04-10). Vendor study of 1,247 U.S. home service contractors, Q1 2026. Checked 2026-10-24.
- O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor): local wages for receptionists and information clerks, SOC 43-4171, from BLS OEWS May 2025. Kansas City, MO-KS median $17.89/hr, $37,210/yr. Checked 2026-10-24.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages in Kansas City, May 2025. Checked 2026-10-24.
- Blur AI Solutions: Nora AI receptionist published pricing ($897 setup then $297/mo month to month, or $0 setup on a 12-month plan). Checked 2026-10-24.