What your missed calls cost you
Start with your missed calls. Keep only the callers who never try again. Count how many of those you would have booked. Multiply that by your average job.
Missed call cost
firmkit.co/tools/missed-call-cost/ · Oct 19, 2026
Example numbers, not yours.
Your calculation, step by step
- 20missed calls a month, your figure
- 50%of them never reach you again, your assumption
- = 10callers gone
- 25%of enquiries you normally book, your figure
- = 2.5jobs, unrounded. The headline shows one decimal.
- x $1,000your average job
- = $2,500a month
Get the full plan by email
Opens on this page the moment you press the button. Print it, save it, or mail a copy to yourself from there.
Your result stays free above. Email adds a 30‑day plan ranked for your numbers, with a weekly target and a blank column to log what happened, plus scenarios and a break-even table.
- A 30‑day plan with the steps ranked for your numbers, and the dollars each one touches
- A four-week tracker: a target for missed calls each week, and a blank column for your actual count
- A break-even table for five example fix costs, plus the price you type
- Three scenarios side by side and a 12‑month view, ready to print
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Report ready. It is the next section.
Your table and printable plan
This report uses the example numbers.
Set a target and price a fix. The plan and the break-even update below.
A goal for the four-week tracker, not a forecast.
A guess, not a statistic. Leave blank to see only the break-even.
Made with firmkit.co/tools/missed-call-cost/.
How the numbers are worked out
The formula, in words
Jobs lost = missed calls x share lost for good x booking rate
Money lost = jobs lost x average job
Low and high case = the same sum with the share set to 25% and to 75%
Plan order = steps sorted by a score. Text back starts at 100, or 60 if you set that share under 30%. Naming an answerer starts at 90, plus 25 if you miss 15% of calls or more and 60 if you miss 25% or more. Closed hours start at 40, or 80 once you enter an after-hours share, plus 50 at 30% or more. Same-day callbacks are 70.
Weekly target = a straight line from your missed calls today to your target over four weeks, with a month taken as 4.345 weeks. Dollars kept = calls kept x that share x booking rate x average job.
If you enter more missed calls than total calls, the tool caps missed calls at the total and says so, because a typo should not grow the number.
What the tool cannot know
- Whether callers who reach voicemail try again. That is the slider.
- Seasonality. The 12‑month view is a straight multiply by 12.
- Wrong numbers and spam, unless you took them out of the missed count.
- Whether a missed call was a new customer or a repeat one.
Every assumption, and who set it
| Assumption | Value | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Calls a month | Your number | You |
| Missed calls | Your number, capped at calls | You |
| Booking rate | Your number | You |
| Average job | Your number | You |
| Callers who never call back | 50% to start | You, with a low and a high case at 25% and 75% |
| After-hours share | Blank | You, optional |
| Win-back guess | 0% to start | You, and it is a guess |
| Missed-call target | Half of today to start | You, and it is a goal |
| Plan scores | The rules above | Firmkit, our judgment, printed so you can argue with it |
Sources
- No outside statistic is used in this tool. We left speed-to-lead studies out on purpose, because they measure different businesses than yours.
- Why missed-call calculators lie, including ours (Firmkit blog). It explains the hidden assumption this tool puts on a slider.
Source check
- Outside statistics. None used on this page
Questions people ask
How do I count missed calls?
Use your phone carrier's call log for last month. Count inbound calls that rang and were not answered, then add voicemails nobody returned. Do not estimate from memory. If calls ring several phones, use the main number's report so each call is counted once. Enter the real count, even if it is small.
Why is the share who never call back a slider?
Nobody can know that share for your business without tracking it, so the tool does not hide a number in the code. It starts at 50 percent, shows a low and a high case at 25 and 75 percent, and lets you move it. If you have called missed numbers back, use what you saw.
Does a missed-call text back help?
It can. A text sent within a minute tells the caller you saw the call and gives them a next step, so some stay instead of calling the next company. How many stay depends on your trade and your message. Firmkit does not publish a recovery rate. Use the guess box in the report and test it for 30 days.
What if I miss no calls?
Then the answer is zero, and the tool says so. Enter 0 missed calls and every figure drops to $0. That is the point of building it from your own numbers. Spend your time on other leaks instead, such as follow-up after estimates or your Google profile, which the audit and the other tools here check.
Is the number a prediction?
No. It is arithmetic on your own four inputs. Change any input and the figure changes. The tool shows a range so you can see the spread. Treat it as a size check, not a forecast of revenue.
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Money at risk from after-hours calls you miss, net of what coverage costs.
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Fix the free things first
The 60‑second audit looks at your site, your Google profile and your follow-up. Your score shows without an email.