UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS

• Call volume: Estimate the number of calls your business receives on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
• Call duration: Determine the average length of each call.
• Services required: Identify the type of services you need (e.g., message taking, appointment scheduling, customer support).

UNDERSTAND THE PRICING MODEL
At Pittsburgh Telephone Answering Service, we offer monthly answering service plans: Flat-rate plans offer a set amount of minutes or calls per month. If you exceed the allotted amount, you will be charged an additional per-minute rate. A monthly answering service plan offers the benefit of predictable costs, allowing businesses like yours to budget more effectively, as it includes a set amount of minutes or calls. Our monthly plan simplifies billing and includes our comprehensive feature set as part of the package.

CHOOSE YOUR PLAN AND CALCULATE TOTAL COST
Consider your call volume and average call duration when selecting a plan. For instance, if you typically receive 100 calls per month with an average call duration of 3 minutes, your total minutes per month will be approximately 300. Using the table below, you could choose the $299/month plan with 250 minutes included, or, if you expect your call volume to grow, the $549/month plan with 500 minutes included. With the $299/month plan, your cost for 300 minutes per month would be: $299 + (300-250 minutes) *$1.18 = $350.18

REVIEW ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME AND MONTHLY FEES
At Pittsburgh Telephone Answering Service, we charge a one-time account setup and education fee of $75.00. Other answering services may follow a different pricing structure or rates. Always review your entire agreement to understand the fee schedule and to estimate what your total costs will be on a monthly basis.