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Nights, weekends & holidays · opt-inAfter-hours answering for contractors, on your terms
KeptRing answers the calls you miss during business hours by default. If you want nights, weekends, and holidays covered too, you can turn after-hours answering on. Here's how it works and what to weigh first.
Why after-hours answering is opt-in
Google's Local Services Ads missed-call rule applies only during your business hours: a missed business-hours call can be a charged lead once the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds (Google, "How leads work"). An after-hours call nobody answers isn't charged under that rule.
But Google also lists "You answer a phone call" as a valid lead, with no business-hours limit. So if KeptRing answers an after-hours call, Google may treat it as an answered call and charge for it. Google doesn't say how it treats calls answered by an automated assistant. That's why we start with business hours and let you decide about nights and weekends. More in the FAQ.
If you don't run Local Services Ads, or the after-hours jobs are worth the lead cost to you, after-hours answering is usually an easy yes.
What happens on an after-hours call
- It answers in your company's name and says it's a virtual assistant and that the call may be recorded.
- For a gas smell or CO alarm, it tells the caller to leave and call 911 or the gas utility from outside. For sparking, downed lines, fire, or injuries, it tells them to get to safety and call 911.
- It takes the name, callback number, service address, the problem, how urgent it is, and when they'd like someone out.
- You get a lead email a minute or two after the call, with urgent calls marked urgent.
What it can't do yet: transfer the call or ring your on-call phone during the call, or text you. If you run an on-call rotation, keep your own emergency line for true emergencies. KeptRing is not an emergency service.
How to set it up
Tell us your hours
Say which hours count as after-hours and what counts as urgent for your shop.
Forward after hours
Many cell phones and landlines can't schedule forwarding, so we'll show you how to turn it on at closing time and off in the morning. Some business phone systems can do it on a schedule. See how it works.
Watch your minutes
After-hours calls count toward the same 500 answered minutes per line. Extra minutes are 25¢ each. The trial includes 250 answered minutes. See minutes and overage.
Not sure what nights cost you? Try the missed-call calculator with just your after-hours calls.
Hear what after-hours callers would hear.
Call the demo line and pretend you're a homeowner with no heat, or say you're a contractor and ask how it works. It costs nothing and takes two minutes.
The demo answers as Summit Heating & Plumbing, a fictional company. You'll hear that it's an automated assistant and that the call may be recorded.