Front desk, without the payroll
Outsourced receptionist for small businesses
A trained US-based professional answers your phone in your company name, works from your script, qualifies every caller, and logs the lead — for less than a tenth of what a front-desk hire costs.
Outsourced receptionist vs. hiring in-house
| In-house hire | CareDesk™ | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $2,400–$3,200 | $299–$399 |
| Payroll taxes & benefits | Yours | None |
| Sick days / vacation | Phone goes unanswered | Always covered |
| Training time | 2–6 weeks | 5 business days |
| Call transcripts & summaries | Manual notes | Automatic |
| Scales with call volume | Hire another person | Included |
In-house figures assume a part-time receptionist at $18–$22/hour plus payroll taxes and benefits. Your numbers will vary by market.
What your outsourced receptionist handles
Live call answering
Your greeting, your company name, a real human voice — no menus and no hold music.
Lead qualification
Every caller screened against your service area, service types, and job-size rules.
Pricing conversations
Starting ranges shared from the numbers you set, so callers get an answer on the first call.
Message taking & routing
Existing clients, vendors, and spam sorted so only what matters reaches you.
Written record of everything
Recording, transcript, and an AI summary of every call in your CareDesk dashboard.
Instant alerts
Email and SMS notifications the moment a high-intent caller comes through.
Outsourced receptionist FAQs
What is an outsourced receptionist?
An outsourced receptionist is a trained professional outside your payroll who answers your business phone, greets callers in your company name, qualifies them, books or routes them, and logs every conversation. You get the coverage of a front-desk hire without the salary, benefits, or management overhead.
How much does an outsourced receptionist cost?
A part-time in-house receptionist runs roughly $2,400–$3,200/month once payroll taxes and benefits are counted. CareDesk is $299/month for Assistant and $399/month for Secretary — flat, with no per-minute fees and no setup fee.
Is an outsourced receptionist the same as an answering service?
A classic answering service takes a message. An outsourced receptionist works from your playbook — answering service questions, quoting your starting price ranges, screening by service area, and handling the caller the way a trained employee would.
Will callers know it is not my own employee?
No. We answer with your company name and your greeting, follow your script, and reference your services and policies. To the caller, it is your front desk.
Do I keep control of what gets said?
Completely. You own the script. Pricing rules, service-area boundaries, what to escalate, and what to never promise are all set by you and can be changed any time.
How long does onboarding take?
Most businesses are live within 5 business days: we build the script from your intake call, you forward your number, and your outsourced receptionist starts answering.
Try a receptionist before you hire one
Three days of live coverage for $30. Listen to the recordings, read the summaries, then decide.