The short answer
Missed call text back sends a text from your business to anyone whose call you don’t answer, within seconds, so they can reply with what they need instead of calling the next company. It runs through your phone provider or a texting service; in the US the business number has to be registered for texting (10DLC), and the text should be one helpful reply, not marketing.
When you can’t pick up, the caller gets a text from your business right away, so they reply to you instead of calling the next company. Here’s how it works, what it takes to set up, and when it’s enough.
Updated October 27, 2026. CoveDesk is one of the services on this page; other companies’ prices and features are from their own websites, linked below.
Many callers who won’t leave a voicemail will answer a text, because it’s easier and they can do it while they keep looking.
Keep it short, sound like you, and ask for what you need to call back. Our voicemail greeting generator writes a missed-call text and an after-hours text with your business name and hours.
| Option | What callers get | Nights and weekends | Urgent calls | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | A greeting and a beep. Many hang up and call someone else. | Same greeting, all night. | Wait until you check messages. | Included with your phone. |
| On-call cell phone | You, when you can pick up. | Whoever carries the phone. | Straight to you, if you answer. | Your time and sleep. |
| Missed-call text back | A text from your business right after the missed call. They can reply with what they need. | Texts any time; you reply when you can. | Depends on the service; some ring you for emergency words. | A monthly fee. CoveDesk Text-Back: $99/mo. |
| Live answering service | A person picks up, takes the details and sends them to you. | Most cover 24/7. | Put through or sent to whoever is on call. | Usually the highest per minute. See published prices below. |
| Software voice assistant | A computer voice picks up and takes the details. | 24/7. | Depends on the plan; transfers may cost more. | Usually the lowest per minute or per call. |
| CoveDesk Front Desk | A trained voice assistant, set up and run by our team, picks up in your business’s name and texts you the details. | Day or night, every day. | Put straight through to you. | $249/mo with 250 minutes included. |
| Receptionist on payroll | Your own person, in your office. | Only during their hours. | They find you. | Wages plus payroll taxes and benefits. |
A text back is a good fit if you answer most calls yourself and miss a handful a day. If you get urgent calls at night, or miss more calls than you can return, an answering service that picks up and puts emergencies through is the next step.
For owners who answer most calls themselves and want the missed ones covered.
$99 a month
Or $990 for the year: 2 months free
What you get:
Recommended
For owners who are on jobs all day and lose work to voicemail.
$249 a month
Or $2,490 for the year: 2 months free
Everything in Text-Back, plus:
For owners who want the phones and the online side handled together.
$449 a month
Everything in Front Desk, plus:
Paying for the year? Tell us within 30 days of paying and you get the whole year back. After that, the plan runs to the end of the year with no refund for the months left, then moves to month-to-month.
When you’re on a roof, in a trench or under a truck, the phone keeps ringing. Here’s how contractors and home service trades cover their calls, what answering services charge, and how the needs differ by trade.
Voicemail, texts, an answering service or a receptionist: what each costs and gets you.
Nights, weekends and holidays: the ways to cover them and what each costs.
Tell us how your calls come in today and we’ll suggest the simplest setup, even if it isn’t CoveDesk.
