The new-business phone setup checklist

10 things to nail down in your first 90 days so callers don't slip through.

1. Pick your business number. Cell, dedicated business line, or virtual number? A dedicated line is worth it once you start advertising — you can hand it off, route it, and keep work and personal separate. If you're using a cell number now, that's fine to start, but plan the switch before you scale up marketing.
2. Know what happens when you can't answer. Right now, today, have a friend call your business number while you set your phone to "do not disturb." Does it ring out? Go to voicemail? Get picked up by something else? Whatever the answer, it should be on purpose, not by default.
3. Voicemail greeting — 20 seconds max. Business name, what you do, when you'll call back, and a way to text. Anything longer and callers hang up. Re-record yours today if it's the carrier default or a rambling personal greeting.
4. Decide your call-back window. Within 1 hour during business hours is the bar. Past 2 hours and most leads are gone — they already called the next listing. If you can't hit 1 hour consistently, you need either a part-time person, an AI receptionist, or a smaller advertising footprint.
5. Treat the missed-call list like a to-do list. Even when you can't talk, every missed call still leaves a number in your phone. Open the recent-calls screen end-of-day and work through anything you don't recognize. One callback per missed lead, every day.
6. Set up texting. Most new customers will text you after hours — that's how they live the rest of their life. Either reply yourself with clear expectations ("I'll get back to you in the morning"), have an auto-response, or use a service that handles it. Silence loses.
7. Calendar discipline. Paper, Google Calendar, app, doesn't matter — pick one and put every appointment on it the moment it's scheduled. Double-booking once is forgivable. Twice and you have a reputation problem in a small market.
8. Write down your 10 most common questions. Hours, service area, pricing range, what the customer needs to have ready, how you take payment, whether you offer estimates over the phone, etc. Keep the list next to your phone. Saves 2 minutes per call and keeps you consistent.
9. Build a review-request habit. After every completed job: ask in person ("Mind leaving us a quick Google review?"), then text the review link 24 hours later. Most new businesses get zero reviews in year one because they never asked. The ones who ask average 8-15.
10. Have an after-hours emergency plan. If you're in a trade where customers call at 9pm with a real problem (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, lockout), either advertise that you take emergencies and price them accordingly, or have a clear voicemail that says you don't and points them to who does. "Maybe I'll answer, maybe I won't" is the worst of both worlds.