We answer your phone, take the message, and book the appointment or job — 24 hours a day. The customer who calls while you're busy with a client, in a consultation, or on a job still becomes your customer.
You're in a consultation, hands-on with a client, in the field, or with a customer. It goes to voicemail. Most people don't leave one — they call the next business on Google. That missed call was a valuable client or job, and you never knew it existed.
Owners we talk to miss a third of their calls. At the going rate for local services, that is the most expensive leak in the business, and it doesn't show up anywhere.
A receptionist who sounds like part of your team answers after a few rings, finds out what the caller needs, takes the details, and gets it to you the way you want it. No script. No hold music. No "someone will call you back".
"Thanks for calling [Your Business Name], this is Riley. How can I help you today?" — your business, your hours, your services, your rules.
What's wrong, the address, who's calling, the best number — read back and confirmed. Urgent calls (urgent repair, client emergency, priority intake) can be put straight through to you.
A text to you with the summary, the caller added to your customer list, and the appointment request waiting for your yes. One reply from you confirms it.
Tell us your services, hours, service area, what counts as urgent, and how you like to be reached. We draft the greeting from your answers and you read it before it goes live.
You keep your existing business phone number on your trucks, storefront, business cards, Google Business Profile, and website. Zero vehicle re-wraps or new signs. Zero reprinted cards. Zero risk of Google listing suspensions. Unanswered calls silently forward to Riley after a few rings. Pick up yourself whenever you like.
Transcript, summary, and recording for every call, kept for you. Check what was said, any time, from your phone.
Need both calls and invoices? Groundwork Complete — $299/mo ($99 one-time setup).
Local small businesses, independent practices, and solo operators — CPAs and accountants, salons and wellness clinics, auto repair shops, small businesses (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing), cleaners, and professional service providers. Anyone whose customers call while they are busy serving clients or working hands-on.
Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC first. If you're somewhere else and want in, sign up anyway — the receptionist works anywhere in the US — or call (571) 554-5050 and ask.
No per-minute meter, no per-call fee, no surprise at the end of the month. Every month you get a line that says how many calls we answered, how many became appointments, and how many you would have missed.
$49 one-time non-refundable setup fee ($248 total Day 1). Zero long-term contracts. Billed monthly in advance.
Start Plan — $199/mo Hear Live Demo Line: (571) 554-5050Want a custom voice, or both products together? Ask Riley on the demo line, or bundle both online for $299/mo.
Most answering services trap you with per-minute meters, per-call overage penalties, and long hold times. We designed Groundwork to be flat-rate, industry-fluent, and frictionless.
e.g. Ruby Receptionists, AnswerConnect
W-2 In-House Receptionist / Assistant
No-Missed-Calls 24/7 Voice Receptionist
A single saved job, client booking, dental patient, or service ticket ($450–$1,800) pays for your entire Groundwork subscription for the month. Every call after that is 100% net profit.
Ring the number, pretend you're a customer calling your business — an urgent service request, a consultation booking, an appointment intake, whatever you like — and see how Riley handles it. Give a name, an address, and a time you'd want someone round.
Nothing you say is used for anything but the demo. You can talk through your questions with Riley right on the line, or start your plan online in 10 minutes.
Open now. Answered by Riley, our receptionist.
Call Riley on the Demo Line: (571) 554-5050Or call Groundwork directly: (571) 554-5050
It's an automated 24/7 voice receptionist, trained specifically on your business and services. It answers after a few rings at 2am on a Sunday, never puts anyone on hold, and every call is transcribed and texted directly to your phone. For anything urgent, you receive the notification within a minute.
They hate voicemail more. Callers get a polite, quick conversation that ends with confirmation that you will follow up directly — which is more than most businesses give them. You hear the demo line before you decide.
Every call is recorded and transcribed, and every appointment is a request until you confirm it. Nothing is promised to a caller on your behalf — no prices, no arrival times. If a name is unclear, it says you'll confirm it when you call back.
Absolutely not. You keep your exact existing business phone number on your vehicles, storefront, business cards, Google Business Profile, yard signs, and website. You never change a single piece of marketing, reprint cards, or re-wrap a vehicle. Using standard carrier conditional call forwarding (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile), your phone rings a few times first. If you don't pick up because you're busy with a client or on a job, the call silently routes to Riley, who answers in your company's name. The whole setup takes about ten minutes.
You tell us what counts as urgent for your business. Those calls are put straight through to you, and if you can't be reached the caller gets your emergency instructions and you get a text immediately.
Complete our 10-minute online setup, listen to your greeting, turn on conditional forwarding from your handset, and reply to the lead texts. Then read one summary on Mondays.
Need both calls and invoices? Groundwork Complete — $299/mo ($99 one-time setup).
I run Groundwork from Tysons Corner, Virginia. Every small business owner I know is brilliant at the work and quietly losing customers to a phone they can't answer. Groundwork does the boring part so you don't have to — answering the phone, following up on invoices, and the rest of the admin nobody enjoys.
Questions? (571) 554-5050