As a small or medium-sized business owner, you are in a never-ending cycle of looking for ways to stay efficient, competitive, and poised for growth while managing your costs. And while there is no argument that having a live receptionist answer your phones creates a better customer service experience, the debate is whether or not you should hire an in-house receptionist or outsource a virtual receptionist. Let’s look at a comparison.  

In-House Receptionist

Typically, an in-house receptionist takes on some administrative tasks in addition to answering phones, like scheduling appointments, entering orders, responding to emails, and providing customer service to name just a few. But if you are employing a receptionist full-time, you might want to consider whether the costs associated with that employee make the best financial sense.

Depending on where you live, a full-time receptionist earns approximately $30,000 a year. And then there are the payroll taxes you’ll have to pay—an additional 7.65% of the employee’s wages.

Now, consider the other benefits that come along with employment, like health insurance premiums, matching contributions to retirement accounts, paid sick leave, and paid vacations. Maybe you don’t offer all of these benefits, but anything you do increases your costs.

Additionally, with an in-house receptionist, you’ll need to provide office furniture, a computer, an expensive phone system and upgrades, and other equipment that might be necessary for your receptionist to do the job.

An in-house receptionist will most likely be limited to regular office hours. If you need your receptionist to answer phones after hours or on holidays or weekends, that increases your payroll obligations.

Outsourced Virtual Receptionist

When you use a virtual receptionist service like Voice Link’s, you can greatly save on staffing costs without sacrificing customer service. Anything an in-house receptionist can do, virtual receptionists can do—and more. Here’s a look at how Voice Link’s Virtual Receptionist services compare.

Pricing plans are designed to meet every business’s needs. Most small to mid-size businesses can expect to pay less than $1,000 a month for virtual receptionist service. For businesses with lower volumes, we have flexible with smaller plans.  

Our virtual receptionists don’t just answer your incoming calls. They can also schedule appointments, do order entry, respond to emails, provide customer service, provide help desk support, text messages to you or your staff, dispatch, and provide information about your products or services. Basically, everything an in-person receptionist does except ask for a Vacation or call out sick. Our virtual receptionist work 365 days a year. 

And, our virtual receptionists can be available after hours including on nights, weekends, and holidays.  That means you can extend your office hours—without you having to be there—and never miss another opportunity.

Voice Link’s virtual receptionists are held to the highest quality assurance metrics so you can rest assured that your customers are getting the most professional, friendly, and purpose-driven response every time.

 As you can see, hiring a virtual receptionist can be a cost-effective solution with all the same benefits as an in-house receptionist.

Virtual Receptionists are the preferred choice! Request a Quote today or you can fill out our survey to find the plan that’s right for you.