Remain open for business with out-of-hours call handling

Stay open for business with out-of-hours call handling

Need to be on-call for after-hours emergencies or simply don’t want to miss opportunities overnight or on weekends and public holidays? You’ll love our out-of-hours call answering service!

Stay awake to opportunity by outsourcing out-of-hours call management to trained receptionists available 24/7

Local receptionists

Our receptionists are based in Australia, meaning a localised caller experience.

Available at any hour

We can answer your calls 24/7/365 (additional charges apply after hours).

Divert when you want

Simply forward calls at the day’s end and turn off the diversion on your next business day.

Customisable greetings

You can customise how we answer each call, so customers are greeted exactly how you like.

Emergency transfers

We can triage calls and also quote call-out fees before contacting after-hours on-call personnel.

All the info you need

Receive messages with the caller’s details, why they called and other info important to you.

Ensure quality customer service continues even while you sleep

Only answering calls during the day can be risky business. Callers hate reaching an ‘out of office’ voicemail and you can lose opportunities because of it. For the likes of IT firms and tradies including plumbers, it’s absolutely imperative that customers can make contact in an after-hours emergency … but who wants to be woken unnecessarily when it’s actually a matter that can wait?

With Australian-based remote receptionists available to answer overnight, on the weekend or a public holiday, Vodafone Business Answering provides a professional response whenever someone calls you out-of-hours.

And any on-call personnel are only disturbed when they need to be.

Affordable out-of-hours call handling services

We have a variety of remote reception services to suit businesses of all sizes and across all industries, each with the option of diverting calls to us only after hours if you wish.

Business Starter

Simple telephone answering

and message-taking service

$22

per month minimum (cancel anytime)

Total minimum cost $22 + $2.85/call + after-hours premium $0.40/call


All plans include:

  • All calls answered in Australia
  • Messages sent by SMS* or email
  • Access to online portal

Other Business Starter features:

  • Choose preferred caller greeting
  • 1 contact can receive messages
  • 3 details collected per call

* Additional charges apply for add-ons. See critical information summary. Pricing excludes GST.

Business Receptionist

Messages, call transfers and

more customer support

$33

per month minimum (cancel anytime)

Total minimum cost $33 + $3.99/call + after-hours premium $0.60/call


All plans include:

  • All calls answered in Australia
  • Messages sent by SMS* or email
  • Access to online portal

Other Business Receptionist features:

  • Fully customisable caller greeting
  • Unlimited contacts for messages
  • 5 details collected per call
  • Call transfers when appropriate*
  • FAQs answered

* Additional charges apply for add-ons. See critical information summary. Pricing excludes GST.

Business Assistant

Tailored scripting and
virtual assistance

$65

per month minimum (cancel anytime)

Total minimum cost $115 + $3.35/min + after-hours premium $0.50/min


All plans include:

  • All calls answered in Australia
  • Messages sent by SMS* or email
  • Access to online portal

Other Business Assistant features:

  • Fully customisable caller greeting
  • Unlimited contacts for messages
  • Up to 11 details collected per call
  • Call transfers when appropriate*
  • FAQs answered
  • Optional conditional scripting
  • Orders & payments processed
  • Leads inputted via CRM or form

* Additional charges apply for add-ons. See critical information summary. Pricing excludes GST.

How out-of-hours answering works

Set up quickly

Share details about your business, how you’d like your phone answered, which staff should receive messages and/or call transfers.

Caller contacts you

Simply forward your business phone to the unique number we provide at the end of the business day and we’ll know when an incoming call out-of-hours is for you.

Our receptionist answers

After answering in your business name, using your chosen greeting, the remote receptionist can take messages, transfer calls, enter data into your CRM, answer questions and more depending on your plan.

You receive messages

Immediately after each call, a message is sent to you with details captured. You can choose just to receive the caller’s name, number and what they called about, or more.

Test out our Business Receptionist service free for a week

Sign up today for a 7-day free trial of our business answering services, based on our Business Receptionist inclusions, without paying a cent. No credit card required. No strings attached.

Experience the power of Vodafone Business Answering for yourself.

Note: Because free trials are based on our Business Receptionist service, some features might be different to the plan you’re interested in. Compare features for Business Starter and Business Assistant.

An excited business owner with laptop jumping for joy after signing up for a Business Receptionist call handling service free trial with Vodafone Business Answering.

Test out our Business Receptionist service free for a week

Sign up today for a 7-day free trial of our business answering services, based on our Business Receptionist inclusions, without paying a cent. No credit card required. No strings attached.

Experience the power of Vodafone Business Answering for yourself.

Note: Because free trials are based on our Business Receptionist service, some features might be different to the plan you’re interested in. Compare features for Business Starter and Business Assistant.

After-hours answering FAQs

Have questions relating to our out-of-hours call handling services? Browse these common questions and get in touch if you don’t find the answer you need.

Yes.  All Vodafone Business Answering receptionists are based in Australia and professionally trained. The majority are located in southeast Queensland.

Of course! Upon activation of your service, Vodafone Business Answering will provide you with an individual number specific to how you would like your calls handled. Once the number has been provided, you are able to set the diversion from your landline, mobile and/or 1300/1800 number based on your specific requirements.

Common diversion settings able to be setup conditionally are:

  • Divert your calls if on another call
  • Divert your calls after a number of rings (able to be set up with your originating number provider)
  • Divert your calls if switched off or out of range (mobile-specific)

Alternatively, we are operational 24/7/365 so you are able to divert your calls and have them answered by our team whenever you feel necessary (for example, turning on your diversion only after hours, if a staff member is away sick or on annual leave, or if your usual capacity to answer calls in-house is impacted by anything else – such as a training day).

We will send your messages out with the details of your call via email and/or SMS depending on your preference. You are limited to a single message recipient on a Business Starter plan, however if you have multiple recipients who should be receiving the same message (eg sales and service departments), we can ensure message delivery to multiple mobile phone numbers and/or email addresses on any Business Receptionist or Business Assistant plan.

Read more.

On any Vodafone Business Answering plan, with the exception of Business Starter, calls are able to be transferred to your mobile and/or landline number any time of the day or night. Your availability can be toggled on or off via our easy-to-use client portal.

Have multiple departments or staff that callers may ask to be put through to? Not a problem! We can have your staff/department list attached to your account so callers can be transferred to the right number.

Yes! Vodafone Business Answering’s escalation service, available as an add-on to any Business Assistant plan, is a foolproof way to ensure the right personnel are notified promptly of any emergency situations (even if it’s the middle of the night).

An escalation call is when a message is sent to your relevant contacts via SMS, email or outbound phone call and continually followed up (using a set procedure based on your company requirements) if there is no response confirming the message has been received.

Depending on your service type, and the complexity of the change, changes to your services are able to be made through your online Vodafone Business Answering client portal.

Alternatively, we have a dedicated rostering team who are able to manage your roster as per the frequency of your rotation.

Yes, as part of your business answering service, you’ll receive a free local number. You can add as many local numbers as you wish for no additional cost. We also offer 1300 numbers and 1800 numbers which you can publish as your main business number to give your business a national presence.   Please contact us for more details.

Complementary business solutions

Complementary
business solutions

Inbound phone numbers

Bundle a 1300 number or 1800 number with your answering service to create national appeal or boost business credibility.

Call escalation management

Depending on your chosen plan, we can effectively screen calls and ensure urgent notifications get through to the right rostered or on-call personnel.

Want more information? We’re here to help!

Submit the form below to get in touch with our team and learn more about Vodafone Business Answering.

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out-of-hours