Cost is usually the determining factor for people when they are about to choose a telephone answering service. Different providers shape their payment structures differently. Some are completely flexible and adopt the PAYG (pay-as-you-go) approach and some charge monthly. Charges are formed by either costs per a single call / minute or per bundles of calls / minutes.
The difference between PAYG and monthly pricing in the telephone answering service business
The payment types in our business area could be a bit confusing for potential customers, because what someone associates with the terms "PAYG" and "monthly" in relation to mobile phone purchase, is a bit different for telephone answering services.
What we mean is, paying monthly for a mobile phone usually implies signing a long-term contract (normally 24 months) which gives you a monthly price and the minutes, texts and mobile data your chosen plan includes. The difference with the phone answering service business is that paying monthly does not mean you have to commit to the service for a long time ahead . Pocket Receptionist embodies this payment philosophy. We designed numerous packages that include a set number of calls we can answer for you, at a predetermined monthly fee. This does not necessarily tie you to our service for a fixed time period. The only thing we require is a 3-month notice period if you want to cancel your subscription.
The good thing about paying monthly is that you know what you are paying for and where your limits are. It helps if you know how many calls roughly you receive per month. This will make it much easier for your chosen provider to suggest a plan that will satisfy you. On our pricing page we have listed our main packages but it is always possible to call us and devise your own package, should you have more specific requirements. Anything goes, really.
Keep your expenses under control
All in all, signing up for a package with a fixed monthly price allows you more control over your expenses, especially if the number of calls your business receives do not differ much from month to month. Knowing how many calls or minutes you have at your disposal every month tackles the risk of not being able to tell the approximate sum you will have to pay if you were using a total PAYG service.
There is something true that the PAYG option gives you certain flexibility and you pay only for the exact number of calls your virtual receptionists have taken, but it is not always ideal for your long-term budget planning. The majority of phone answering service users are either start-ups, small business, or even sole traders. It is always advisable that this type of enterprises think some time forward and know what their projected expenses will be a few months ahead. If your answering service provider charges per bundles of calls or minutes, you will do the math more easily.
