What a live answering service does well
A person answers. For a caller who wants to hear a voice, that is better than any text, and Moneypenny is good at it: its receptionists answer in your company's name, take the details you agreed with them, and send the message to you immediately by email or text. Its message-taking covers weekday office hours, with 24-hour cover as an extra.
Where it stops, by design
A receptionist is a message-taker. They can tell a homeowner with water through the ceiling that you will be in touch, but not when you can get there or what it will cost, because they do not know. So the customer is still waiting for you, the same as if you had texted, and the person they spoke to was not you.
And it is paid by the minute. Moneypenny sells minute plans: use more than your plan and the extra minutes are charged, or calls go to voicemail. A busy month, the one you most need covered, is the one that costs most.
Side by side
- The caller gets
- A live answering serviceA person who takes a message
- Missed-call text back (Slate OS)A text from your firm within seconds, which they can reply to
- You get
- A live answering serviceThe message by email or text
- Missed-call text back (Slate OS)The missed call and their reply on your phone, as a job
- Can it price or book the job?
- A live answering serviceOnly what you have briefed them on
- Missed-call text back (Slate OS)No. You do, when you ring back
- After hours
- A live answering serviceExtra cover, at extra cost
- Missed-call text back (Slate OS)Your after-hours text, included
- How it is paid for
- A live answering serviceMinute plans; busy months cost more
- Missed-call text back (Slate OS)£249 a month, calls and texts included
| A live answering service | Missed-call text back (Slate OS) | |
|---|---|---|
| The caller gets | A person who takes a message | A text from your firm within seconds, which they can reply to |
| You get | The message by email or text | The missed call and their reply on your phone, as a job |
| Can it price or book the job? | Only what you have briefed them on | No. You do, when you ring back |
| After hours | Extra cover, at extra cost | Your after-hours text, included |
| How it is paid for | Minute plans; busy months cost more | £249 a month, calls and texts included |
What we say about Moneypenny is from its own message-taking page, read on 22 October 2026. Check its current plans before you decide.
Which suits you
- If you want a human voice on every call, and the minutes are worth it to your business, a live answering service does that well.
- If what you need is for the caller to wait for you instead of ringing the next firm, a text back in your firm's name does that for one price, and gets you the job in writing first.
Straight answers
- Is a text as good as a person answering?
- For some callers a voice is better. For most people ringing a plumber, what matters is knowing their call was got and that you will ring. A text does that within seconds, and in the YouGov survey for Answer4u only 6% said they would leave a voicemail, so silence is the thing to avoid.
- Does a receptionist text the caller back?
- Moneypenny's message-taking page, read on 22 October 2026, says messages are sent to you by email or text. It describes nothing sent to the caller.
- What does Slate OS cost?
- £249 a month, one plan. The first 25 firms pay £199 a month for as long as they stay. You get 14 days free from the day you start, and if you are not happy within 14 days of your first payment, you message us and we refund it in full.
Sources
Slate OS gives you an office line that rings your own mobile. When you can’t pick up, the caller gets a text in your firm’s name within seconds, and the job lands on your phone. Quotes, invoices and a diary come with it, for when you want them.