Virtual receptionist UK
While You Work is an AI virtual receptionist for UK sole traders and small businesses. It answers the calls you miss in your business name, knows your hours, area and prices, and texts you every job. No staff to hire, no per-call fees, no contract.
Founding members pay £49 now and get their first week free once their line is live. Lines go live for each trade by 31 October 2026, or you get a full refund.
Definitions
A virtual receptionist answers your phone from somewhere other than your premises, in your business name, and passes the caller’s details to you. There are three kinds, and they suit very different businesses.
A person in a call centre answers your calls from a script about your business. Good judgement on unusual calls. Usually charged per call or per minute, and cover outside office hours often costs extra.
Usually means a screen or tablet in a reception area that signs visitors in, or a phone menu that says "press 1 for bookings". Useful in an office, no help to a sole trader on a job.
A natural voice that holds a real conversation, asks the questions your trade needs and sends you the details. Answers every call at once, 24 hours a day, for a flat monthly price. This is what While You Work is.
Trained on you
You fill in one short form. Every answer is used on every call, and you can change it whenever you like.
| You tell us | How it is used |
|---|---|
| Your business name | Used to answer every call |
| Your hours and area | So callers outside your patch are told straight away |
| What you do | Services, specialities and what you do not take on |
| Your prices | Call-out fee or lesson price, only if you want callers told |
| Emergencies | Whether you take out-of-hours emergencies, and what counts as urgent |
| Anything else | Gas Safe number, payment methods, cancellation notice, languages spoken |
Each trade has its own form. A plumber is asked about call-out fees and emergencies. A driving instructor is asked about pick-up area, manual or automatic, lesson prices and cancellation notice. Nobody gets a generic script.
What callers hear
Instructors cannot pick up during a lesson. This is how a new learner’s call goes instead of hitting voicemail.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Sarah’s Driving School. Sarah’s teaching at the moment, but I can take your details so she can ring you back between lessons. Can I take your name?
Caller: Hi, it’s Tom. I’m ringing about lessons for my daughter.
Receptionist: Thanks, Tom. Has she got her provisional licence yet?
Caller: Yes, she got it last month. She’s never driven before.
Receptionist: That’s fine, Sarah teaches plenty of complete beginners. Whereabouts would she need picking up from?
Caller: Horsforth, near the station.
Receptionist: That’s in Sarah’s area. Lessons are £38 an hour, and Sarah can talk you through block bookings. What’s the best number for her to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 615.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 615. Is that right?
Caller: That’s it.
Receptionist: Thanks, Tom. Sarah will ring you back today, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.
Sarah’s text: New learner, parent booking. Tom, 07700 900615, Horsforth. Daughter has a provisional licence, no experience yet.
Cost
Three ways to have your phone answered, and what each one costs a sole trader.
From around £900 a month for part-time hours, plus holiday cover. Still only one call at a time, and nobody after they go home.
A monthly fee plus a charge per call or per minute. Costs rise in your busiest weeks, and 24/7 cover is often an extra.
£49 a month including VAT for founding members. 24 hours a day, up to 150 answered calls a month, no per-call fees, no contract.
Want the detail on per-call and per-minute pricing? See our call answering service page.
Small business
Big firms have a front desk. Sole traders have a phone in their pocket and their hands full. A virtual receptionist gives a one-person business the same first impression as a bigger one: every call answered properly, in your name, with nobody sent to voicemail.
You stay in charge. You decide what callers are told, you get every job by text, and every call is in your dashboard with a transcript and recording.
Beyond the phone
The phone comes first. WhatsApp, web chat, email and social messages are being added for founding members, all sharing the same knowledge of your business. See every module on the features page.
Questions
A virtual receptionist answers your business phone remotely, in your business name, and passes the caller’s details to you. It can be a person in a call centre or an AI. While You Work is an AI virtual receptionist that answers every call you miss, 24 hours a day, for £49 a month.
Human virtual receptionist services usually charge a monthly fee plus a price per call or per minute. Employing a part-time receptionist costs from around £900 a month. While You Work is a flat £49 a month including VAT for founding members, with up to 150 answered calls a month.
If you miss calls while you work, usually yes. One missed job is often worth more than a month of the service. The calculator on our home page shows what missed calls cost you with your own numbers.
A virtual receptionist is any receptionist who is not in your building. An AI receptionist is one kind of virtual receptionist that uses a natural AI voice instead of a person, so it can answer many calls at once, never has a day off and costs one flat price.
Yes. You fill in one short form with your hours, area, services, prices and anything callers should be told. The receptionist uses those facts on every call, and you can change them any time.
Today it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back, with a text to confirm. Booking straight into your diary and taking a deposit is the Voice Booking and Pay module, coming for founding members.
Yes. You switch on divert-on-no-answer from your mobile with one code, so calls you do not pick up within 20 seconds come through. Your customers ring the same number they always have.
No contract and no set-up fee. It is monthly and you can cancel any time. Your first week on a live line is free, and founding members keep the £49 price for as long as they stay.
£49 a month including VAT, locked for as long as you stay. First week free once your line is live. No contract. Full refund if we are not live for your trade by 31 October 2026.