An affordable virtual receptionist that answers calls, takes messages, and books appointments for your business. Day and night.
"With Upfirst, someone who would’ve been on hold now gets help right away. Whether they just want to know the exam fee or refill a prescription, the AI can handle it. Clients love that."
"We’re often busy with pets and can't always get to the phone. Now every call gets answered and we get a clear summary so we can respond fast."
"Your AI, she’s amazing. She sounds great and is very responsive. Residents love it because they feel heard, and prospects get the information they need right away."
"Upfirst fit our non-profit's budget and ended up giving us more flexibility and control over calls than we got with our previous answering service."
The affordable virtual receptionist for small business
A virtual receptionist answers your business calls so you don't have to or when you can't. Upfirst's virtual receptionist service naturally handles calls around the clock.
It greets callers, answers their questions, books appointments to your calendar, captures lead information, and sends you a summary after every call. You customize the greetings, call handling rules, and responses to match how your business works.
Whether you're a small cake shop or a busy law firm, Upfirst provides a professional, affordable way to make sure no important call is ever missed.
Discover how our virtual reception service makes it easier to answer every call.
Voicemail costs you customers. Half of callers won't leave a message, and most will try the next business on the list. With Upfirst, every caller gets a warm, professional greeting tailored to your brand. They get help right away, and you capture the opportunity.
Your virtual receptionist never clocks out. Callers reach a real conversation at 2 AM or on a Sunday, not a phone tree or voicemail box. Upfirst handles scheduling, FAQs, lead capture, and urgent requests. You get a summary and follow up on your terms.
Hiring an in-house receptionist costs thousands per month for 9-to-5 coverage. Upfirst gives you 24/7 call answering, appointment scheduling, and lead qualification at a fraction of the cost. See our pricing to compare.
You control the greeting, the questions your receptionist asks, and how calls get handled. Need it to take messages? Transfer calls to the right person? Book appointments? Set it up the way you want and change it anytime.
One customer said Upfirst took 50% of the phone calls off their plate. When your receptionist handles the routine calls, answering FAQs and booking appointments, you stay focused on the work in front of you.
Start with 30 calls a month. Scale to 600 or more when business picks up. Upfirst handles high call volume and grows with you without changing your workflows.
Our virtual assistant isn’t just a friendly voice; it seamlessly connects the dots for your callers, no matter the call volume or urgency of their request. Upfirst handles it all.
Catch every caller no matter what hour they dial your line. Beat competitors by being the first business to respond, any time of day.
Direct callers to the right team member or department with customized rules. Get customers to the person who can help them fastest.
Schedule consultations and meetings directly to your calendar without the back-and-forth. Stay organized and keep your calendar full.
Speak to your diverse callers in up to 30+ languages. Connect with more clients and make communication easier.
Review caller details, questions asked, and urgency level after every conversation, delivered to you via email, SMS, or both.
Screen callers with smart questions to identify your most promising prospects. Spend your time on leads who are genuinely interested and ready to buy.
Automatically filter out robocalls and telemarketers before they interrupt your day. Only receive notifications for legitimate customer inquiries.
Set different protocols for new customers, support requests, and urgent calls. Update your workflows anytime your business needs change.
Sync caller information automatically to 7,000+ apps using Zapier. Skip the manual data entry.
Get a dedicated business line for your Upfirst agent. Local and toll-free numbers are available.
Adjust your plan as your business grows or slows down. Pay month-to-month with complete flexibility and no commitment.
Quick, easy setup
Getting our system set up is designed to be quick and easy, ensuring you're up and running in no time.
Create your Upfirst account in minutes. It's free to try for 14 days with no credit card required, so you can fully test it out risk-free. Add basic details about your business, choose your AI's voice, customize how it greets your callers, pick its phone number, and your ready to go.
Next, you'll add commonly asked questions about your business. Input information about your services, products, and common customer inquiries. What types of callers and inquiries do you mostly receive? Tell your AI in the Knowledge base and give it instructions on how to handle these types of calls.
After you've input your business information and protocols, start making a few test calls to see how your agent handles calls. Keep refining until you are satisfied with the set up.
Once you're happy with the setup, it's time to go live! Simply forward calls from your existing business line or use your new number directly. You can choose to forward all calls no matter what, just the ones you miss, or only after-hours calls to your new AI phone answering service. The 24/7 virtual receptionist makes sure you never miss an opportunity, even outside business hours.
Set up in under 10 minutes
In just minutes, you can have a realtor virtual receptionist ready to answer every call, qualify leads, and support your real estate business 24/7.
We’ll pull key details from your real estate website. You can add info about current listings, service areas, showing availability, rental rates, and anything your callers need to know.
Tell your receptionist how to handle buyer leads, seller inquiries, tenant screening questions, or maintenance requests—everything is customizable to fit your real estate business.
You don’t need a new number. Just forward your existing real estate phone line to Upfirst and we’ll handle every call, even after hours.
Whether it’s a new buyer, seller, or tenant calling, your AI answering service answers 24/7. You’ll get a detailed call summary by text and email so you can follow up fast.
Whether you need to pass a lead to Zoho or schedule an appointment in Calendly, you can use Zapier to pass caller info from Upfirst to any app.
Who we serve
Our virtual receptionists have the power to make an impact for a full spectrum of industries. From legal teams to plumbing experts, Upfirst can be the answer for all types of businesses.
Have a question about our virtual receptionist service that isn't answered here? Get in touch with our team.
How will I be notified about incoming calls?
You will receive call summaries through email or SMS right after each interaction. Notifications include caller details, conversation notes, and any actions your virtual receptionist completed.
Can Upfirst help with scheduling appointments?
Yes, the virtual receptionist can schedule appointments for you. It connects directly to Google Calendar, Outlook, Acuity Scheduling, and Clio calendars. You can also text callers a link to your booking page, or collect their information so you can confirm the appointment later.
How much does a virtual receptionist service cost?
Our virtual receptionist pricing is simple and flexible, with no setup fees and no long term contracts. You can start with a 14 day free trial to test the service. Plans begin at $24.95 per month for 30 calls, $59.95 per month for 90 calls, $159.95 per month for 300 calls, and $299 per month for 600 calls. This gives small businesses and growing teams an affordable way to manage customer calls without hiring in-house support.
Can the virtual receptionist transfer calls to me or someone on my team?
Upfirst can perform live call transfers to your preferred number or team members when you want a call to be handled directly. You can set these transfer rules in your settings.
Is the virtual receptionist customizable to my business needs?
You can customize call flows, business info, scripts, questions, routing rules, availability windows, appointment preferences, and CRM connections with Zapier. This makes the virtual receptionist feel like part of your team.
Is it possible to scale the service as my business grows?
Yes, you can move to a larger call plan at any time. Upfirst is designed to handle high call volumes and can grow with your business without changing your workflows.
Does Upfirst support English, Spanish, and other languages?
Upfirst speaks over 30 languages and can switch languages automatically if the caller starts in another language. You can also receive call transcripts translated into your preferred language.
Is Upfirst able to follow specific instructions?
Yes, you can give Upfirst detailed directions on how to handle callers. It can greet customers using your preferred script, ask required questions, gather details, route calls to different team members, and follow business specific processes.
Do you charge for spam calls or robocalls?
No, we don't charge you for spam calls, robocalls, quick hangups, or any calls that last less than 15 seconds. Our virtual receptionist service automatically filters out these interruptions so you only pay for legitimate customer conversations that matter to your business.
Can I use your virtual receptionist only during certain hours?
Yes, you can set up your answering service to handle calls only after hours, during lunch breaks, or whenever your team is unavailable. Many businesses use Upfirst as an overflow receptionist to catch calls when their in-house staff is busy or during peak call times. Many users also use us as an after-hours virtual receptionist only. You have complete control over when the virtual receptionist answers and when calls go directly to your team.
Is it possible to change the voice of my AI receptionist?
Absolutely. You can choose from multiple voice options to find the one that best represents your brand. Whether you prefer a friendly and warm tone or something more professional and direct, our virtual receptionist service lets you customize the voice to match how you want your business to sound to callers. You can pick the right voice from our library of realistic human voices.
Stop letting opportunities go to voicemail — get a virtual answering service that picks up the phone for you and answers every call. Get started for free today!
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