Missing Calls on the Tools? What Tradies Can Do (2026)

If you miss calls on the tools, set your phone up so a missed call still turns into a job. Turn on the free call screening and voicemail features already on your phone, set a voicemail greeting that says when you’ll ring back, and send a text back to every missed caller. If you miss a lot of calls, forward unanswered calls to an answering service. Then set two or three callback times a day and stick to them.

Updated November 2026. Phone features and prices checked on Apple, Google, carrier and provider websites on 5 November 2026.

Your options, from free to paid

Free fixes on your phone

iPhone

• Live Voicemail: shows you the message as text while the caller is leaving it, and you can pick up if it’s worth it. Turn it on in Settings, Apps, Phone, Live Voicemail. Apple’s Live Voicemail guide has the steps.
• Call Screening: answers calls from unknown numbers, asks who’s calling and why, then shows you the answer. New customers are usually unknown numbers, so this is handy. See Apple’s Call Screening guide.
• Respond with Text: when a call comes in, tap Message and send a quick reply like “On a job, will call you back by 12.” You can edit the replies in Settings, Apps, Phone, Respond with Text.

Apple lists Live Voicemail and Call Screening as available in Australian English. Voicemail features depend on your carrier.

Android

• Call Screen on Pixel: finds out who’s calling and why before you pick up. Google lists Australia as supported. See Google’s Call Screen help page.
• Take a Message: handles calls you miss or decline at no charge, and transcribes the message on a Pixel 6 or later. See Google’s Take a Message page.
• Other Android phones have their own versions. Check your phone’s settings under Phone or Calls.

Record a proper voicemail greeting

Keep it short and tell people what to leave. Something like: “G’day, you’ve got Dave from Dave’s Plumbing. I’m on a job right now. Leave your name, suburb and what you need done, and I’ll ring you back within the hour.” That gets you the details you need to call back with an answer, not just a “hello?”

Send a text back to every missed caller

A missed call is a customer who might ring the next tradie on the list. A text straight away buys you time. Something like: “Sorry I missed you, I’m on a job. What do you need done and what suburb are you in? I’ll call you back by 3.”

You can send it by hand at smoko, or use an app that does it for you. Yamate, for example, texts missed callers your booking link so they can book a time and tell you what they need. It lists $29 a month for up to 3 people after its founder price ends, with 30 days free.

Forward calls you don’t answer

All three big carriers let you forward calls when you don’t answer, when you’re busy, or when you’re out of range. You can send them to a business partner, your office or an answering service.

• Telstra: Telstra says call forwarding is included in plans with unlimited calls. See Telstra’s call forwarding page.
• Optus: lets you set how long it rings before forwarding, from 5 to 30 seconds. See Optus’s call diversion page.
• Vodafone: dial **61* then the number then #. Vodafone says there’s no extra cost in Australia. See Vodafone’s call forwarding page.

The codes are a little different on each network, so copy them from your carrier’s page.

Should I pay for an answering service?

It makes sense if you’re missing lots of calls from new customers, or you get emergency work where the first tradie to answer often gets the job. Of the Australian services we checked:

• One service with Australian-based receptionists starts at $25 a month plus $2.65 a call, or $125 a month for 50 calls. GST is added to the call fees.
• An AI answering service that picks up in your business name runs from $19 a month on pay-as-you-go at 50 cents a minute, up to $299 a month, GST included.

Before you sign up, ring a few of them as if you were a customer. If it sounds like a call centre that doesn’t know your trade, your customers will hear that too. Ask whether they’ll answer in your business name and how they’ll pass on urgent jobs.

Set callback times and keep them

Pick two or three times a day to ring everyone back, like morning smoko, lunch and before you pack up. Put the time in your voicemail and your text back so customers know when to expect you. In our experience, a callback within a couple of hours keeps most people waiting. A callback the next day often doesn’t.

Know how many calls you’re missing

Your phone’s recent calls list will show you the missed calls, but not which ones were new customers. If you have a website, you can track how many people tap to call from it. Our Growth plan includes that. Once the calls are coming in and getting answered, a job management app helps you quote and book them. See the best job management apps for tradies.