For plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops
Your hands are in a wall. Your phone still gets answered.
The Answer Box sits in your shop and answers every call, day or night. It asks the right questions, sorts the burst pipe from the quote request, books the job or wakes your on-call tech, and texts the customer what happens next.
What happens when the phone rings
Every call ends with a next step
It answers
First ring, 24/7, in English or Spanish. It tells callers it's the shop's assistant.
It asks what you'd ask
Address, what's wrong, how bad, whether the water or gas is shut off. You set the questions.
It sorts the call
Active leak, no heat in January, sparking panel: emergency. Quote, maintenance, warranty question: routine.
It books or escalates
Routine jobs go into open slots on your calendar. Emergencies ring your on-call list in order until someone picks up.
It confirms by text
The customer gets the appointment or arrival window by text.
You get the summary
A morning report of every call: who, where, what, and what was promised. Nothing is quoted that you haven't approved.
Three-year cost of answering the phone
Priced like equipment, not a subscription
A busy shop taking about 300 calls a month, three minutes each.
Live answering: about $1,475/mo at 900 minutes on a per-minute plan. Cloud AI: $199/mo flat. Both from vendor prices compiled by NextPhone, October 2026. Answer Box: $999 down plus $249/mo for 24 months, plus an estimated $15/mo in phone-line minutes.
After month 24
You own it
A cloud service costs the same in year three, four and five. The box is yours: the phone-line minutes are the only running cost.
- Your call recordings and customer list stay on your hardware.
- No per-call fees from an answering service when a storm doubles your calls.
- Built-in storage for job photos, invoices and manuals.
Built for the way a shop runs
What else it handles
Internet goes down
If the box can't be reached, calls forward straight to your cell. No caller hears dead air.
Morning report
Before the first truck rolls: overnight calls, booked jobs, open callbacks and anything flagged urgent.
Text to book
Customers can text the shop number and book the same way they would by phone.
Spanish callers
Handles the full call in Spanish and writes the summary for you in English.
Job history
Ask "did we service the boiler at 41 Elm?" and get the date, the tech and the notes.
Field software sync
Booked jobs flow into Jobber or Housecall Pro.
Straight answers
Questions shop owners ask
Does it pretend to be a person?
No. It introduces itself as the shop's assistant. Callers who want a person can ask, and it rings your team or takes a callback.
Will it quote prices I didn't approve?
No. It quotes only the service-call fees and prices you enter. Everything else becomes "the tech will give you a price on site."
Are calls recorded?
Only if you turn recording on. Some states require every party's consent, so when recording is on it tells callers at the start of the call.
What does setup involve?
We load your services, service area, hours, emergency rules and on-call list, then forward your shop number to the box. You keep your number.
What do I need on my end?
A spot on a shelf, a power outlet and your shop's internet connection.
Founding pricing
Reserve a box for $1
Your dollar holds the $4,425 price for 90 days. Buy outright or lease at $999 down and $249 a month, and own it after two years.