Who it is for / Handymen and property maintenance
Small jobs add up, but only if you catch the calls. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what needs doing, where and when, and sends you the details a minute later.
The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month plus VAT for their first 12 months, then £69. Plans start at £39. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
On every call
Urgent jobs
On Pro and Business, urgent calls are texted to you straight away, and every call is emailed to you.
An example week
Handyman calls are small, frequent and time-sensitive. Each one is worth less than a trade job, but there are more of them, and they repeat.
The maths
Say you miss 5 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a half-day of odd jobs worth about £120.
5 calls × 40% × £120 = £240 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £1,040 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
Small jobs go to whoever answers. A missed handyman call rarely leaves a voicemail; it leaves a review for someone else.
Setting your own prices? See what handymen charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
Monday mornings after the weekend list has been written, and evenings when tenants report faults to agents. You are usually in someone's loft or under their sink.
What callers hear
The receptionist asks one thing at a time, checks the number back and never makes up a price. The details reach you by email a minute after the call, and by text straight away when it is urgent.
Emailed to you a minute later
Joan, 07700 900274, EX4 Exeter. Curtain pole, dripping tap and a shelf, any day next week.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Fix It Frank. Frank is out on a job, so I’m the automated assistant taking the details for a call back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?
Caller: It’s Joan. I’ve got a list: a curtain pole to put up, a dripping tap and a shelf.
Receptionist: Thanks, Joan. I’ve got all three. When would you like it done?
Caller: Any day next week.
Receptionist: What’s your postcode?
Caller: EX4, in Exeter.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Frank to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 274.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 274. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Joan. Frank will ring you back to arrange a day, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.
Set up
A short form made for handymen:
One code on your mobile sends calls you do not answer within 20 seconds to your While You Work line. Turn it off whenever you like.
Every caller is greeted in your business name. You get the details a minute later, and the caller gets a text saying you will ring back.
Questions
Yes. It writes down every job the caller mentions, in their words, so you can plan the visit before you ring back.
Yes, on the Business plan. It offers the caller your real free times, books the job and texts them a confirmation, with your deposit link if you take deposits. On Pro it can text the caller your booking link instead, and on Starter it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.
Starter is £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month + VAT, for 50, 150 or 400 calls a month. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month + VAT for their first 12 months. There is no contract, and if you cancel within 14 days of your line going live you get a full refund.
Yes. It asks what needs doing and writes every item down as the caller describes it, so a landlord with five small jobs gets one clear message to you.
If you tell it in set-up what you do not take, such as gas or roofing, it says so politely and suggests the caller finds a specialist, then still takes their details in case.
More detail: what to charge as a handyman, what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.
Source: Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, reported by PHAM News, October 2022.
Starter £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month, plus VAT. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 plus VAT for their first 12 months. No contract, and cancel within 14 days of your line going live for a full refund.
Also set up for pest control, window cleaners, removal companies, mechanics and garages, plumbers and heating engineers, electricians, and for every other kind of business.