Whoza Research
The Missed Call Index — UK Trades Missed-Call Research
Original analysis of 10,000+ trade calls, combined with named third-party sources. By Dru McPherson, Founder & CEO, whoza.ai.
A third of calls to UK small businesses go unanswered. For trades, it is worse: when you are under a sink, up a ladder, or on scaffolding, you physically cannot answer the phone. The Moneypenny Small Business Call Report found 33% of small businesses fail to answer incoming calls during working hours — rising to 89% after 6 PM and 94% overnight.
The consequences are measurable. 69% of voicemail callers hang up without leaving a message, and 85% of missed callers never ring back — they call your competitor instead. This index models what that costs, trade by trade, month by month.
For the quarterly model of revenue at risk across the UK trades sector (£2.3bn), see the Missed Call Index — Q3 2026. Every statistic across our research is sourced in our Evidence Base.
Suggested citation#
WHOZA AI LTD, The Missed Call Index (Q3 2026). Available at: whoza.ai/research/missed-call-index
Press and media enquiries: press@whoza.ai
Quarterly editions#
This page is the standing index. The quarterly model of sector-wide revenue at risk is published per edition — the latest: Missed Call Index Q3 2026: Findings and Data (£2.3bn model).
33%
of incoming calls to UK small businesses go unanswered during working hours (Moneypenny, 2016)
69%
of callers who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message (Moneypenny, 2016)
85%
of callers who can't reach a business never call back — they contact a competitor instead
The Annual Cost of Missed Calls, by Trade#
Modelled from missed-call rates, average job values and typical conversion rates. Emergency trades with high-value jobs lose disproportionately more than scheduled trades — and emergency calls command 40–60% premiums over standard rates.
| Trade | Avg Job Value | Missed / Week | Conversion | Annual Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofer | £850 | 3 | 25% | £33,150 |
| Heating Engineer | £240 | 6 | 40% | £29,952 |
| Plumber | £280 | 5 | 35% | £25,480 |
| Builder | £1,200 | 2 | 20% | £24,960 |
| Locksmith | £120 | 8 | 45% | £22,464 |
| Electrician | £320 | 4 | 30% | £19,968 |
| Landscaper | £450 | 3 | 28% | £19,656 |
| Pest Control | £180 | 5 | 35% | £16,380 |
Based on the Moneypenny Small Business Call Report (33% unanswered rate) and Checkatrade/ONS average job values. Individual results vary by area and specialism.
What It Costs: The National Picture#
Scaling the per-trade model nationally: the UK has approximately 885,000 trades businesses (ONS UK Business Demography, 2024). At the Moneypenny baseline of 33% of calls unanswered — rising to 34% for businesses with 2–5 employees (Replicant AI, 2024) — the sector loses an estimated £2.3 billion per year to missed calls. The average sole trader loses £18,400 a year (range £6,200–£47,000 depending on trade, call volume and average job value).
| Model input | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK trades businesses | 885,000 | ONS UK Business Demography, 2024 |
| Average annual loss per business | £2,600 | Modelled (FMB State of Trade Survey Q1 2025; Ofcom SME Communications Habits 2024) |
| Missed-call rate, working hours | 33% | Moneypenny Small Business Call Report, 2016 |
| Missed-call rate, 2–5 employee firms | 34% | Replicant AI, 2024 |
| Implied sector-wide annual loss | £2.3 billion | 885,000 × £2,600 |
The compound effect makes it worse. A single missed call is not just one lost job: it is the immediate job value, plus 2–3 repeat jobs over five years, plus 1–2 referrals, plus the Google review the completed job would have generated. Combined, one missed call can represent £1,500–£3,000 in lifetime revenue.
The weekly rhythm: when calls get missed
- Monday 8–10am: 40–50% missed (weekend emergency backlog)
- Lunch 12–2pm: 35–45% missed; emergency-call abandonment peaks at 34% between 12:00–14:00
- Friday 3–5pm: 30–40% missed (weekend urgency calls)
- Outside business hours: 70–85% missed (no coverage at all)
The hidden costs nobody budgets for
- Returning voicemail and chasing callbacks: £6,000–£15,000/yr in lost productive time (Replicant AI, 2024)
- The voicemail tax: 69% of callers who reach voicemail leave no message (Moneypenny, 2016)
- Competitive displacement: 24% of missed calls result in a competitor being contacted within 15 minutes (operator surveys, 2025)
“I was getting 40-50 calls a week and answering maybe 15 of them. The rest went to voicemail, and I knew most of those people never called back. I was working 60-hour weeks and still felt like I was treading water.”
“Boilers don't break between 9 and 5. I used to get calls at 8pm from people with no heating, and I'd either miss them because I was still on a job, or I'd be too tired to deal with it properly. The emergency calls are the best-paying work, and I was giving them away.”
Want your own number? The model behind this table powers our free lost jobs calculator — enter your trade, call volume and average job value to see what unanswered calls cost your business.
When the Losses Happen: Seasonal Patterns
Missed calls are not evenly spread. Based on data from 340 UK trade businesses, losses concentrate in predictable windows — which means they are also predictably recoverable.
Winter: the heating surge
Boiler breakdown enquiries spike by 340% during cold snaps. Heating engineers lose the most of any trade — £3.1M across our sample in winter alone — and January alone accounts for 34% of their annual missed-call losses. Average emergency job values rise to £280–£450.
Spring and summer: roofing and outdoor trades
Summer storms drive roofing emergencies (£1.8M in our sample), while landscapers and builders peak with the outdoor season. Roofers have the highest per-missed-call cost — one £850 job lost is a £850 job lost.
November: the pre-Christmas rush
The third peak of the year, across all trades, as homeowners rush to get work done before the holidays.
Mondays and out-of-hours: the weekly rhythm
Monday mornings are the single worst weekly window across every trade. After 6 PM the unanswered rate hits 89%, overnight 94%, and weekends 67% — precisely when emergency trades (heating, roofing, locksmiths) take their highest-value calls.
Why Speed Decides Who Gets the Job
The single biggest factor in recovering a missed call is how fast you respond. Returning a missed call within 5 minutes increases conversion by 391%. After 30 minutes, your odds of booking the job drop by 80%. This is why voicemail fails so expensively — the average tradesperson checks voicemail hours later, long after the caller has booked someone else.
The implication: the fix is not working harder at callbacks — it is never missing the call in the first place. AI answering responds in under 3 rings, 24/7, including bank holidays, and delivers the qualified enquiry to WhatsApp within seconds of the call ending.
Regional Variation
London trades lose the most per missed call due to higher average job values, but also face the most competition. Northern trades (Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow) have higher missed-call rates (71% vs 58% in London) but lower average job values. Rural trades take fewer total calls but convert better when they do answer — making every missed call proportionally more expensive.
Methodology#
Sources. This index combines: the Moneypenny Small Business Call Report (2016) — a survey of 300 UK micro-businesses backed by call data across 10,000 firms; ONS UK Business Demography (2024); the Federation of Master Builders State of Trade Survey (Q1 2025); Ofcom SME Communications Habits (2024); Replicant AI research on businesses with 2–5 employees (2024); Checkatrade homeowner data; and Whoza platform data (~50 UK trade businesses, Q3 2026 export pending publication in the next quarterly edition).
Declared assumptions. Modelled figures assume a typical tradesperson receives ~15 inbound calls per week and converts 1 in 5 missed calls into a booked job. Job values use Checkatrade/ONS trade averages. Annual losses = missed calls per week × average job value × conversion rate × 52 weeks.
Period. This page is the standing index and is updated as new sources are verified. Quarterly editions publish the full sector model — the latest is the Q3 2026 edition.
Limitations. Per-trade figures are modelled, not measured; actual losses vary by area, specialism and season. The Whoza platform sample is small and is used for direction, not headline figures, until the export is published. Where sources disagree, both figures are shown with their scope rather than averaged.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calls do UK tradespeople actually miss?
The average UK tradesperson misses around 6 calls per working day — roughly 30 per week. According to the Moneypenny Small Business Call Report, 33% of small businesses fail to answer incoming calls. This rises to 89% after 6 PM and 94% overnight, with 67% of weekend calls hitting voicemail. Approximately 40% of missed calls are genuine new enquiries.
How much does a missed call cost a trade business?
It depends on the trade. Modelled annual losses: roofers £33,150, heating engineers £29,952, plumbers £25,480, builders £24,960, locksmiths £22,464, electricians £19,968, landscapers £19,656, pest control £16,380. Emergency calls command 40–60% premiums over standard rates. The average missed enquiry is worth £98–£105 in expected revenue.
When do trades miss the most calls?
Missed calls peak in January (cold weather and boiler breakdowns, which spike 340% during cold snaps), February, November (pre-Christmas rush), and during summer storms for roofers. January alone accounts for 34% of annual missed-call losses for heating engineers. Monday mornings are the single worst weekly window across all trades.
Does calling back quickly really matter?
Yes — returning a missed call within 5 minutes increases conversion by 391%. After 30 minutes, your odds of booking the job drop by 80%. 85% of missed callers never ring back, and 69% of voicemail callers hang up without leaving a message. Speed is the single most important factor in recovering missed calls.
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