For most solo consultants, no, not yet. Your enquiries probably arrive by email, LinkedIn and introduction, and the phone may only ring a few times a month. If that's you, a same-day email habit and a missed-call text will do more, for less. That's my judgement, not a measured result.
It's a different answer if you serve local owner-managers who search and ring, or if you're in workshops for days at a time and real enquiries keep going to voicemail. Then I think it can pay for itself quickly, because a single consulting client can be worth thousands.
A clear disclosure: we sell one, and the table below shows two that cost less. If this article talks you out of it, or into a competitor, that's fine.
Before you decide
- First, count your missed calls for a month. Without that number, you're guessing.
- Count where enquiries come from too. If it's mostly email, fix email first.
- The two cheaper UK products I checked start at £39 and £49 a month.
- On the example figures below, one extra client a year covers ours.
- If you handle sensitive client matters, read what can go wrong first.
What are your options?
| Route | What it costs | Good at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Free | Costs nothing | Just 6% in one UK survey said they'd leave a message |
| Missed-call text | Ours is from £99 a month | Replies in seconds | The caller has to reply |
| Human answering | Around 60p to £1.50 a minute, as Moneypenny estimates for the market | A real person, which suits senior callers | May only take a message |
| AI receptionist | From £39 to £99 a month, usage varies | Answers at any hour | Some callers dislike it |
| Employing a receptionist | £24,000 to £35,000 or more a year, by one vendor's estimate | Does everything | Far too much for a small practice |
I'd take the human option seriously. My guess is a solo practice gets 20 calls a month or fewer, and at those volumes a per-minute service is cheap. If your buyers are senior, a person may suit them better.
Three UK products side by side
Each price is from the provider's own page, read on 6 November 2026. Fasthosts and ours exclude VAT. Moneypenny's page doesn't say. Allowances differ, so compare like with like.
| Who | Per month | Allowance | Also worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fasthosts | £39, £69 or £99 | 30, 100 or unlimited calls. Extra calls £0.49 or £0.39. | One-month free trial. Booking from the middle plan. Says it doesn't record calls. |
| Moneypenny AI Receptionist | From £49 | Allowance not confirmed | Books appointments, follows approved scripts, and hands over to a human on complex calls. |
| Real Business Systems | £99, £149 or £199 by team size | £10, £15 or £20 of usage included | Plus £500 set-up, or £990, £1,490 or £1,990 a year with none. 30-day money-back guarantee. Doesn't book on this plan. |
For a consultant, Moneypenny has a real advantage: a human can take over. If you want a low-cost test, Fasthosts' lowest plan covers 30 calls a month, and that may be more than you get. Either could be the better choice for you.
The extra you pay with ours buys set-up and changes done for you, plus a CRM and one inbox on your phone for calls, texts and enquiries. If you're happy setting something up yourself and you've already got a CRM, a cheaper tool may suit you better. I'd rather you knew that now.
One client pays for almost anything
That's the trouble with this sum for a consultant. Fees are high, so the break-even always looks easy.
Worked example (made-up figures)
Say a first project is £6,000, and £3,000 of that is left after your delivery time and direct costs.
| Option | Cost in a year | Extra clients a year to cover it |
|---|---|---|
| £39 a month tool | £468 | Less than 1 |
| £99 a month tool | £1,188 | Less than 1 |
| Ours, first year on monthly billing | £1,688 (£99 × 12 + £500), or £2,025.60 with VAT if you can't reclaim it. Any usage above the included credit is extra. | Less than 1 |
| Ours, annual billing | £990 | Less than 1 |
Now the other side. Suppose you miss 3 calls a month, or 36 a year. If 1 in 6 is a real enquiry, that's 6. If you'd win 1 in 6 of those, that's 1 client a year.
Every line clears on less than one client, which is why I wouldn't stop at this table. The real test is whether those missed calls exist, and whether they'd have become clients at all.
It falls apart if your missed calls are mostly sales pitches, existing clients or recruiters. I'd expect a lot of them are. So be honest when you count.
A good fit if
- You serve local owner-managers, who I'd expect to pick up the phone more.
- You're in workshops or on site for days at a time.
- Your month of counting shows several real enquiries going to voicemail.
- You've got a small team, and nobody's job it is to answer.
- You'll return calls the day they come in.
Leave it if
- Most of your work comes from referrals and LinkedIn. The phone isn't your problem.
- You're booked up for months. Raise your fees instead.
- Your buyers are senior, few and expect to deal with you.
- Your calls are mostly existing clients with confidential matters. Give them a direct line.
- You work with people in distress and can't test a safety script properly.
- You won't follow up. Every captured enquiry still needs you.
A cautious way in
Try it in stages:
- Count missed calls and enquiry sources for a month.
- Set a same-day rule for email, LinkedIn and forms.
- Set up a missed-call text. Ours or anyone's.
- Count how many of those texts become discovery calls.
- If people still get stuck, try an AI receptionist or a human service, on a new enquiry number. Use a free trial if there's one.
- Check the first 20 summaries by hand, and correct the script.
Step 3's wording is in our free templates.
My verdict
Worth it for consultants with real phone enquiries they can't take, and a clear line between new enquiries and client matters. Not worth it for the typical solo adviser who gets work through people they know. For that person, I'd spend the money on a better website or a follow-up habit.
The proof is thin. I found no independent research on results for UK consultants, and we've no customer results of our own to show you yet. Treat it as an experiment, and cancel if the count doesn't move.
Questions consultants ask
What would I pay for one?
From about £39 to £99 a month for the products we checked, and more with higher usage. Fasthosts, a seller, puts the UK range at £30 to £500 or more a month.
AI or a human answering service?
For a consultant, not always AI. I'd expect a person to handle senior or sensitive callers better. AI answers at any hour. At low call volumes, a per-minute human service can be very reasonable.
Can an AI receptionist book discovery calls?
Some can. Moneypenny and the middle Fasthosts plan say so. Ours doesn't on the single offer, but booking comes with the full AI Business Engine, from £499 a month plus £1,500 set-up. A simple booking link on your website does much the same for free.
Can I keep my existing number?
With ours, yes. With anyone else, ask how it works.
David Bell, founder of Real Business Systems
David helps small UK businesses get found, answer every enquiry and keep customers coming back. We sell some of the services mentioned here, and we say so where they come up.
Sources
- Fasthosts, AI Receptionist and cost guide (9 July 2026)
- Moneypenny, AI Receptionist and per-minute pricing (updated 5 November 2026)
- YouGov for Answer4u, June 2026, 2,046 UK adults
Prices and rules change. Check the source before you rely on a figure. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.