Every missed call is a job that can quietly walk to the next tradie, and it never shows up on an invoice. This free calculator puts a real number on that leak using your own figures, no sign-up and no invented averages. Enter three numbers and see what unanswered calls could be costing you a year.
Book a free discovery call →Quick answer
This free calculator turns your own three numbers, missed calls a week, average job value and how many answered calls book, into a directional estimate of what missed calls cost your trade business each year. No sign-up, and no invented averages, just your figures.
Key takeaways
- The calculator uses your own three figures (missed calls a week, average job value and the share of answered calls that book) with no sign-up and no invented averages.
- The maths is deliberately simple: missed calls a week times average job value times your close rate gives a weekly figure, and multiplying by 52 gives a yearly one.
- The starting defaults (10 missed calls, a $400 job, a 1 in 3 close rate) are illustrative placeholders, not a claim about your business, so change them to match what you see.
- The 15% to 45% recovery range shown for a missed-call text-back is a directional industry estimate with low confidence, a guide to adjust rather than a guarantee.
- The guide does not promise any capture or conversion rate; the honest way to firm up the numbers is to check your own call logs and average invoice.
Work out your number
Three numbers, all yours. Use your real average invoice, not your best week, and a conversion rate you would actually stand behind. The figures update as you type.
How the maths works
The method is deliberately simple, so you can trust it: missed calls a week x your average job value x the share of answered calls that book gives a weekly figure, and multiplying by 52 gives a yearly one. It is the same worked example we walk through in what missed calls really cost a trade business, just interactive.
Where the numbers come from
Your three inputs are your own numbers. The starting defaults, 10 missed calls, a $400 job and a 1 in 3 close rate, are illustrative placeholders, not a claim about your business, so change them to match what you see. The 15% to 45% recovery range shown for a missed-call text-back is a directional industry estimate with low confidence, so treat it as a guide and adjust it, not a guarantee. We do not promise any capture or conversion rate. The honest way to firm these numbers up is to check your own call logs and average invoice, which is exactly what a free discovery call and audit do.
From a number to a fix
Once you can see the leak, the fix is to stop calls ringing out in the first place. An AI receptionist for tradies answers the calls you cannot get to and books them in, and a simple text-back covers the ones you miss, covered in can AI text a customer back when you miss their call and after-hours answering service versus AI. To size the whole opportunity for your business, start with a free AI automation audit.
Put this calculator on your own site
You are welcome to embed the calculator. Copy this snippet into any web page and it loads the tool in a frame, with a link back to the full version.
<iframe src="https://www.tradiebuddyai.com.au/missed-call-cost-calculator-embed" width="100%" height="480" style="border:0;max-width:560px" title="Missed call cost calculator" loading="lazy"></iframe>Common questions about the calculator
How accurate is the missed call cost calculator?
It is only as accurate as the numbers you put in, and it is meant as a directional estimate, not a precise figure. It uses your own missed-call count, average job value and close rate, so the more honestly you fill those in, the more useful the result.
Where do the default numbers come from?
The starting values are illustrative placeholders, not a claim about your business. The 15% to 45% recovery range for a missed-call text-back is a directional industry estimate with low confidence. Change every figure to match what you actually see.
Does answering more calls guarantee more jobs?
No, and we will not promise a capture or conversion rate. What the calculator shows is the size of the opportunity, not a guaranteed result. A call you answer is simply a job you can win, where a missed one is a gamble you did not have to take.
Can I put this calculator on my own website?
Yes. Copy the embed snippet on this page into any web page and it loads the calculator in a frame, with a link back to the full version here. There is no sign-up and no cost.
Written by
Mitchell Cross
Founder, TradieBuddy AI
Mitchell Cross is the founder of TradieBuddy AI. He identifies the pain points and bottlenecks holding Australian trade businesses back and fixes them, improving profitability, efficiency and scalability. He builds the automations and systems that cut admin, capture missed leads, and connect a business's tools into one place, and writes these guides to share what actually moves the needle for tradies.
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