Best Virtual Receptionists and Answering Services

Nexa prides itself on providing virtual receptionist services as an extension of clients’ businesses. With receptionists available 24/7/365, Nexa provides lead qualification, appointment scheduling, and traditional answering services along with enhanced support and business tool integration. Backed by industry-leading technology, Nexa strives to provide an exceptional experience so clients may concentrate on business growth.

Abby Connect offers U.S. based, off-site, live virtual receptionists that simplify customer service needs for busy professionals and businesses by skillfully handling incoming calls at a reduced cost in comparison to hiring a full-time employee. The company's virtual assistants filter calls through a screening process based on the client's needs to ensure that all necessary calls are transferred to the right people and right departments.

Conversational focuses on creating pleasant reception experiences for callers and businesses. They can handle all aspects of reception for small businesses, including taking calls, scheduling appointments and forwarding calls to the right department. Their new virtual assistant service provides additional features such as travel planning, social media marketing and typing correspondence.

• Native English speakers: Conversational is based in Canada and the United States, and all of their receptionists are native English speakers.
• Toll-free number: One upgrade Conversational offers is a toll-free number that businesses can use on marketing and other materials.
• Growing company: Conversational is a growing company, and their newest addition is a 4,000 square foot office in Charlottetown with capacity for 100 receptionists.
• Variety of industries: Conversational works with a wide variety of industries, including medical, legal, health and business. They prefer to hire receptionists with a background in administration, particularly people who have a history with medical and/or legal terminology.
• Pinterest expertise: Their active Pinterest board offers business insights in a variety of industries, including real estate, finance, spas, fitness and legal, with information on virtual assistance, virtual reception and more general business advice, ideas and tips.

LiveVoice offers lead response, customer service and virtual receptionist services to large and small businesses in a variety of industries. It is a part of TeleServices Direct and is headquartered in Illinois.

Alliance Virtual Offices is a small business solution that provides an office address, local or toll-free telephone number, live receptionist and meeting rooms in your company name. Its services are ideal for self-employed, mobile and work-from-home professionals who need an occasional office space to meet with clients, a receptionist to take calls and an official office address to receive mail and packages.

A Better Answer is a 100 percent female-owned and operated answering service operating for 30 years. They handle legal, medical and general business answering needs with live operators and features such as customized message delivery.

• Anytime forwarding: Companies adjust their call forwarding anytime they want with A Better Answer.
• Priority caller list: Live operators get a list of numbers to automatically forward when calls come through.
• Customizable message delivery: Businesses receive messages at a customized interval.
• Legal and medical teams: A Better Answer offers virtual protectionist teams specializing in legal and medical requirements.
• Customer service management: The answering service company can head up an entire virtualized customer service department for a company.

Alphapage works with companies looking for medical call and call center services. They offer a wide range of inbound answering service features, such as call screening and dispatching, with a web-based platform that's easy to use.

• Top-of-the-line equipment: Alphapage uses the latest technology to power its infrastructure.
• Live and automated options: Businesses have a choice between live operators or automated answering solutions.
• Dispatch services: Companies requiring dispatching can outsource this service to Alphapage.
• eResponse: Alphapage's answering services also cover a company's email address.
• Greeting box: A recording with basic business information screens customers who don't need to talk to a live person.

With 28 call centers in North America and hundreds of employees, AnswerNet offers services designed for companies of all sizes.

Serving more than 2,300 businesses and individuals, Ruby Receptionists has focused on providing a human connection to inbound calling since 2003. This company has numerous awards, including the prestigious Fastest Growing Company in Oregon Award, which it has won seven times.

Founded in 1990, MAP Communications is an employee-owned business, making every operator invested in client success.

• Real-time analytics: See how much value MAP Communications brings by monitoring call volume and other critical metrics in real time.
• Free trial: Try MAP Communications for seven days before committing to its service or a specific pricing level.
• Customized service levels: Instead of predetermined pricing tiers, MAP Communications lets businesses buy as much or as little service as needed.
• Industry compliant: Some industries have regulations that must be followed, and MAP has programs that meet these requirements for health, legal, financial and other industries.
• All day answers: MAP Communications does not close after normal business hours. It answers calls with live operators at all hours of the day or night.

PCMS is a family-owned business that has been operating since 1962. With more than 50 years of experience in answering phones, Professional Communications Messaging Service has a reputation for excellence.

• No hold times: PCMS advertises a faster than industry-average answer time, and it doesn't put calls on hold to handle other clients.
• Custom service and pricing: Businesses receive a customized quote for the exact package of services needed.
• Health and medical specialty: PCMS offers programs designed to meet the needs of health care providers, and it helps doctors meet regulatory requirements.
• Small business and professional plans: While services are customizable, PCMS has packages designed with small businesses and busy professionals in mind.
• Event registration: Not only does PCMS offer a full range of call center services, but it also offers assistance with event planning and registration for out of the ordinary call volume.

Intelligent Office is a full-service virtual administrative center that offers a range of services to businesses and professionals in need of messaging services, meeting rooms and more.

• Virtual meeting rooms: Intelligent Office creates virtual meeting spaces where you and your colleagues or clients can talk, exchange files and interact as if in your own meeting space.
• Virtual call center: Service staff are on hand to answer your calls 24/7 and help clients deal with any number of queries, requests and issues.
• Appointment scheduling: Support staff can contact people at your request to arrange appointments and save you time.
• Shared office space: Intelligent Office provides you with shared office space, up to 50 locations in the United States and Canada, to lower your overhead costs.
• Virtual assistance: Virtual assistants are on hand to help you with all kinds of tasks, from event planning to answering emails.

American Answering Service is a family-owned and operated virtual administration center. The company serves the United States.

• Message faxing: American Answering Service understands that your messaging needs and those of your clients aren't always as simple as using the telephone. For this reason, faxing, email, text messaging and voice mail are included in your package.
• 24-hour service: Clients can reach you at all hours of the day and night, any day of the week.
• Live operator: When they call your office, clients reach a real person who can help them to address any issue.
• Various messaging plans: Plans start as low as $35 per month, with various price points to suit your budget. Packages are based on the number of calls taken by service representatives.
• Contact options: It is easy to get in touch with American Answering Service support via email, fax or telephone.

ReceptionHQ has been operating since 2007 from Phoenix, Arizona. Its operations stretch across the United States and Canada, as well as through Australia and the United Kingdom.

• Call transfer: Receptionists can transfer calls, at your discretion, to any staff member on a mobile phone or landline, anywhere in the world.
• Flexible contracts: Month-to-month and pay-as-you-go contracts make it easy to change your plan whenever you need.
• Variety of budget plans: Four different packages are offered, from as little as $9.95 per month for a dedicated voice mail account. Custom packages are available upon request.
• Uses provided script: Telephone receptionists will use your provided script when answering calls and responding to customers.
• Answers in three rings: ReceptionHQ has made it their goal to answer at least 90 percent of calls to your business within three rings.

AnswerConnect is a virtual customer service and reception network that turns the traditional call center on its head. Service providers are all U.S.-based, working from their homes to cut down on commuting, polluting and wasted paper.

• Green business: AnswerConnect doesn't house its employees in a call center, which means that home workers don't need to drive to work and add to carbon emissions. Without a building to maintain, the company saves energy as well as money.
• 24/7 service: Companies that hire AnswerConnect can rest easy knowing that clients will always reach a service representative, any time of the day or night.
• U.S.-based: Service representatives working with AnswerConnect are hired within the United States, making it easier for clients to communicate their needs. This also strengthens the local economy.
• Free demo: Businesses that want to test out the virtual services can try a free demo just by filling out their basic information on the website and choosing a plan.
• Contact options: It's easy to get in touch with AnswerConnect support staff through a conversation bubble on the website or through a toll-free number.

Answer America is a pay-as-you-go answering service with multiple locations across the United States. This answering service gives businesses live agents capable of capturing customer information and forwarding messages for companies lacking the resources to handle their own calls.

• Pay as you go: Businesses pay for the calls they receive without any monthly fees or set-up costs.
• 24/7/365 coverage: Answer America provides full call coverage at any time and day of the year.
• Online portal: Businesses receive messages through email, text or a convenient online portal.
• Live operators: Answer America has a fully staffed live operator service for taking messages.
• 50 US locations: US based companies can choose the location closest to their geographic area for a close match on local accents and colloquial speech.

Specialty Answering Service started in 1985 in Philadelphia, PA as a startup service. The virtual receptionists receive extensive training with many quality control measures in place so businesses know their calls get handled with professionalism.

• Focused on small businesses: Specialty Answering Service focuses on the unique needs of small business clients.
• Call volume-based pricing: Businesses pay based on the calls they receive so they only pay for the services they use.
• Focused client areas: Virtual receptionists serve a limited number of clients so they can learn each company's specialized needs.
• Three rings or fewer answering speed: Virtual receptionists answer the phone in three rings or fewer.
• Fully custom: Specialty Answering Service provides fully customized plans for small business phone needs.

Advantage Answering Plus got its start in a small room in 1992. Today, the company helps businesses handle their inbound callers with a professional touch and quick message delivery.

• Prompt message delivery: Virtual receptionists send the messages to the businesses quickly.
• Live operators: This answering service focuses on live operators to handle incoming call volume.
• Custom call handling: Advantage Answering Plus provides custom call handling services for businesses.
• Daytime virtual reception: Small businesses, freelancers, entrepreneurs and other businesses seeking daytime call handling can use this service while they focus on work.
• Highly trained team: Advantage Answering Plus provides an experienced team for call handling.

TeleMed provides answering services exclusively for the healthcare industry since 1986. They work with over 45,000 medical providers and handle their answering needs through live operators and secure messaging features.

• HIPAA compliant: TeleMed's answering services and technology comply with HIPAA requirements.
• Backups: Medical offices receive a backup of all messages.
• Works with existing EMR: TeleMed's services work with a medical practice's existing patient software.
• Appointment scheduling: Virtual receptionists schedule patient appointments for healthcare facilities.
• Emergency messaging: Urgent calls and other emergency notifications go through the system and to the right people.

AnswerFirst provides answering services with a socially and environmentally responsible approach. Their inbound calling features recorded calls available online, quick messaging and email answering support.

• No contracts: Answer First provides pay as you go answering services.
• Call forwarding: Virtual receptionists forward calls to the client on the closest phone.
• Multiple message delivery options: Companies can access messages via four channels.
• Reservations: Professional receptionists take down reservations and handle the schedule for a company.
• Email handling: Many companies also need help with email answering, which this service provides.

PATLive, founded 25 years ago, is a North American answering service with 24/7 coverage. They feature live operators experienced in taking messages from callers, appointment scheduling so businesses can focus on their work and many answering coverage options.

• Data entry: Receptionists enter information into a lead-generation database.
• Event registration: Businesses can outsource event registration processes.
• Messaging: The receptionist creates a brief call log.
• After hours/lunch coverage: This service covers lunch and after hours.
• Overflow: Businesses dealing with unusually high call volume get help before customers get frustrated.

Cloud VO, founded in 2004, provides Workplace-as-a-Service, which gives mobile workers, freelancers and smaller businesses access to a professional answering service, office space rentals and other professional services as needed. These services help smaller businesses handle their calls without distracting small teams from their work at hand.

• Designed for freelancers and virtual businesses: Smaller businesses can outsource their call needs and focus on growth.
• Auto Attendant: The automated phone system helps route the call to the right person without involving a live operator.
• Live receptionist: Small business customers receive a professional greeting and are directed to the right information or person.
• Call patching: Seamless transfers make the customer think the answering service is in house.
• Outbound calling: Outbound calls let businesses focus on core duties while the answering service handles this work.

Contact Communications focuses on U.S.-based contact centers over the past 20 years. This answering service lets businesses greet all callers with a live person who can follow the company's custom script.

• A la carte pricing: Businesses pick and choose which answering service options they want.
• Quick set up: Contact Communications gets businesses up and running within 24 hours.
• Live operators: Live receptionists give a professional feel to the answered calls.
• Customizable: Companies have significant flexibility with this answering service.
• HIPAA compliant: Contact Communications offers answering services meeting regulatory requirements for medical professionals.

Sunshine Communication Services, based in Florida and founded in 1975, offers answering services available on a 24/7 basis. They help businesses handle inbound calling with professional receptionists, trained customer service agents and data entry services.

• Industry specialization: Sunshine Communication Services offers answering services for legal, medical and property management companies.
• Bilingual: English- and Spanish-speaking receptionists help more customers.
• HIPAA compliant: The medical answering service solutions are fully HIPAA compliant.
• Personalized IVR: An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is loaded with a personalized response flow.
• Telephone traffic reports: Companies review reports to look at call volume and other metrics.