AI Receptionist for Contractors

You are on the job site. Yapper is on the phone.

Yapper answers your calls while you run projects. It captures project details, books consultations, and makes sure no lead slips through while you're managing a build.

Try Yapper Free

7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

I don't have a website
tryyapper.com/dashboard
Yapper AI receptionist dashboard showing call logs, transcripts, and appointment summaries

Key takeaways

  • 24/7 phone answering for contractors for $199 a month, no contracts and no per-call fees.
  • Captures appointment requests, urgency, contact details, and preferred times so you can confirm the job fast.
  • Detects real emergencies for contractors and transfers to your cell with a spoken brief.
  • Setup takes about 5 minutes. The first 7 days are free.

The basics

What is an AI receptionist for contractors?

An AI receptionist for contractors is software that answers your business phone instead of voicemail. It captures service requests, recognizes the language your customers use on the phone, and transfers real emergencies to your cell with a quick brief.

Most callers do not leave voicemails. According to Invoca research on phone behavior, 80% hang up when they reach one and call the next business on Google. An AI receptionist closes that gap for the price of a few missed jobs a year.

Common Challenges

Why contractors lose customers

Too busy to answer the phone

You are managing subs, checking materials, and keeping projects on schedule. The phone rings all day but you can't drop everything to answer it.

Project details get lost

A homeowner calls about a kitchen remodel while you are on a roof. You try to remember the details later but half the info is gone. You call back and they've already hired someone.

Subcontractor coordination

Subs call with schedule changes, material questions, and updates. If you miss those calls, projects slow down and timelines slip.

Every missed call costs real money

Kitchen remodels and bathroom renovations are five-figure jobs. One missed inquiry could be your biggest project of the quarter.

What the research says

According to BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor, 66% of small and medium-sized businesses rate phone calls as a good or excellent source of leads, ahead of online forms (58.2%), in-person (54.1%), and email (43.7%). For trade work, phone is not a fallback channel. It is the channel.

“Calls have always been highly valued by small businesses, and now the notion of calls as currency has accelerated in the smartphone era.”
— Michael Boland, VP of Content and Senior Analyst, BIA/Kelsey

How It Works

How Yapper works for contractors

AI that knows your trade and talks to your customers like you would.

Module_01

Captures Every Inquiry

Yapper picks up every call and has a real conversation with potential clients. It collects project type, budget range, timeline, and contact info so you have a complete lead when you review it.

Intake_Active
Module_02

Books Consultations

Callers schedule consultation visits directly into your calendar. No phone tag. You show up with all the project details already in hand.

Calendar_Sync
Module_03

Handles Sub Calls

When subs call with updates or questions, Yapper takes the message and texts you a summary. Urgent matters get forwarded to your cell.

Sub_Routing
Module_04

Full Call Summaries

After every call you get a text with who called, what they need, and what was scheduled. Full transcripts are in your dashboard for reference.

SMS_Dispatch

Integrations

Works with the calendar you already use.

Yapper captures appointment requests and preferred times from callers, then sends the details to your dashboard. You stay in control of final pricing, dispatch, and exact appointment confirmation.

If you run a larger shop on ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, FieldEdge, or Service Fusion, Yapper is not the right fit yet. Yapper is built for solo operators and small crews that need a phone answered, not a full dispatch system. If that describes you, we will tell you up front instead of selling you something that does not match.

For everyone in between, you keep using your existing calendar. Yapper handles the call. The job lands on your schedule before you have set down the wrench.

Demo · Contractors

See it. Hear it. Get the text.

Here's a real contractors call Yapper handled. Hit play to hear how it sounds, read the transcript, and see the text the business owner got the moment the call ended.

Step_01

Caller dials

Customer rings your business line. Day, night, weekend, holiday.

Step_02

Yapper answers

Picks up in three rings. Real conversation, never a recording.

Step_03

Captures or transfers

Collects the request for follow-up, or routes urgent calls to your cell.

(Calendar sync: Pro plan, requires one-time setup.)

Step_04

Texts you a summary

Caller, ask, outcome. Hits your phone seconds after the call ends.

Sample Call
Inbound · 3 rings
Karen S.
Estimate Booking
0:000:47
Length0:47
VoiceReal Yapper
OutcomeEstimate Request
Live_Transcript
6 turns
Caller
Hi, we're thinking about redoing our kitchen. New cabinets, counters, maybe move the island. I'd like to get an estimate.
Yapper
Happy to set that up. Quick few questions so the right person comes out. About how big is the kitchen, and are you keeping the same layout, or moving plumbing and electrical?
Caller
It's about two hundred square feet. We'd want to move the island and add a sink to it, so plumbing would change.
Yapper
That's helpful. For a project that size with plumbing relocation, our lead estimator handles those personally. He has openings next Tuesday at ten AM and Wednesday at two. Which works for you?
Caller
Wednesday at two.
Yapper
Booked for Wednesday at two. He'll bring sample material books and walk through options on site. You'll get a confirmation text.

Post_Call_Summary

Seconds after the call ends, your phone buzzes.

Every call ends with a summary text: who called, what they needed, what was booked or transferred. No more "how did that call go?".

  • Caller name + phone number for instant callback
  • What they need, in their own words
  • Booking time or escalation status
  • Full transcript searchable in your dashboard
9:41
Yapper
Today, 2:35 PM
Estimate Request · Karen S.
  • •Project: full kitchen remodel, ~200 sqft
  • •Scope: cabinets, counters, island relocation, new island sink
  • •Plumbing change: yes
  • •Booked: Wed 2:00 PM, lead estimator
  • •Phone: (440) 555-0144
Delivered

Pricing

Simple AI receptionist pricing.

Start with a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Cluster_Starter
$199/mo
  • 200 minutes included
  • 1 phone number
  • Call logs & full transcripts
  • SMS summaries after every call
  • Calendar integration
  • Smart emergency transfer

7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Mainframe_Pro
Popular
$349/mo
  • 500 minutes included
  • Everything in Starter
  • Calendar integration
  • Smart emergency transfer
  • Priority support

7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

One missed $500 job pays for 2+ months of Yapper.

The cost of missed calls

See what missed calls are costing you.

Most callers do not leave voicemails. According to Invoca's research on phone behavior, 80% hang up when they hit voicemail and the majority of those callers move on to the next business on Google before you have a chance to call back.

For a plumber, HVAC tech, or electrician, that lost call is usually a job worth a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Slide the numbers below to see what your own missed calls add up to.

Missed calls per week

5
130

Average job value

$400
$100$2,500
$8,000

lost every month

$96,000

lost every year

$199

per month to stop missing calls

One missed call could pay for a full year of Yapper.

Start your free trial
Open the full missed call calculator

Free tools

Useful calculators for contractors.

Run the numbers before you change your phone setup. These tools help you spot missed-call risk, local profile gaps, and the cost of different answering options.

Missed Call Revenue Calculator

Estimate what unanswered contractors calls may be costing each month.

Use the tool

Google Business Profile Call Readiness Audit

Check whether your local search profile is ready to turn searchers into answered phone leads.

Use the tool

Receptionist Cost Calculator

Compare Yapper, a human receptionist, an answering service, and the cost of missed calls.

Use the tool

How we compare

See how Yapper stacks up.

Swipe to compare providers
Feature
Yapper
Built for trades
Smith.ai
Human + AI hybrid
Dialzara
Budget AI
Starting price$199/mo (200 min)$300/mo (30 calls)$29/mo (60 min)
Cost per minute~$1.00/min~$10.00/call$0.48/min overage
24/7 coverage
Free trial7 days7 days
AI or humanAIHuman + AI hybridAI
Setup time5 minutesDays5 minutes
Call transcripts
AI call summaries
Emergency detection and transfer
Revenue tracking
Common issues analyticsLimited
Trades-specific
Custom AI instructionsLimited
Voice options6 curatedN/A (human agents)50+
BilingualComing soonEnglish/Spanish10+ languages
CRM integrationsComing soonYes (many)Zapier/Make

FAQ

FAQ for Contractors

Yes. Yapper asks about project type, budget range, timeline, and any special requirements. You get all the details in a summary text so you can follow up with the full picture.
Yes. Yapper can take messages from subs and text you the summary. For urgent issues like schedule changes or material problems, it can forward the call to you.
Most small contractors see ROI in the first week. One captured kitchen remodel inquiry pays for a full year of Yapper. The smaller your team, the more calls you miss.
When you sign up, you paste your website URL. Yapper reads your site and automatically learns your business name, hours, services, location, and common questions. You review it, tweak anything that's off, and you're live.
No. Yapper uses the latest AI voice technology that handles natural conversation, interruptions, and follow-up questions. Most callers don't realize they're talking to AI.
Yapper picks up on urgency. Burst pipes, no heat, flooding. When it detects an emergency, it transfers the call to your cell and whispers a summary of the situation so you're ready before you say hello.
Yes. You get a 7-day free trial with full access. Cancel anytime before the trial ends and you won't be charged. Set up takes about 5 minutes.
Keep it. Just set up call forwarding from your existing number to your Yapper number. Takes 2 minutes with your phone provider. Your customers never know the difference.
Yapper can still help. Use it for overflow, after-hours calls, lunch breaks, vacations, weekends, and busy seasons. If your receptionist is on another call or your crew is slammed, Yapper catches the call instead of sending that customer to voicemail.
Voicemail loses you customers. Most callers won't leave a message. They just call your competitor. Yapper actually answers, has a conversation, captures what the caller needs, and texts you a summary.
AI receptionists for small businesses typically run $150 to $400 a month with flat-rate pricing. Yapper starts at $199 a month for the Starter plan and $349 a month for Pro. Both include unlimited calls within your minute allowance, with no per-call charges and no contracts.
Yes. Yapper is built specifically for trade businesses. It understands the language plumbers, HVAC techs, electricians, and contractors actually use on calls (water heater, condenser, panel upgrade, drain cleaning) and detects real trade emergencies like burst pipes or no heat in winter.
It captures appointment requests and preferred times during the call, then sends you the details so you can confirm the job. That keeps scheduling honest while still avoiding voicemail and missed-call phone tag.
Yapper transfers to your cell when it detects an emergency or a request that needs you specifically. It whispers a one-line brief so you know what you are walking into before you say hello. Routine questions are answered from the details you provide, while final prices and appointment times stay with you.
You get a 7-day free trial before your first paid charge. Cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged. If a paid billing period starts and you decide Yapper is not a fit, email hello@tryyapper.com within the first 7 days of that paid period for a full refund. After that window, we do not issue prorated refunds, but your service stays active through the end of the billing cycle.
Yes. Every call gets a full transcript and an AI summary in your dashboard. You also get a text after every call with the caller number, what they wanted, and what was scheduled. Nothing is hidden.

Last reviewed

Keep Reading

More for contractors

Guide

Best AI receptionist for small business

How the AI receptionist space actually shakes out for trades and small operators, with pricing breakdowns.

Read more
Deep dive

What happens to unanswered calls?

Where homeowners go when nobody picks up, and why voicemail almost never recovers the lead.

Read more

More Industries

Yapper works for every trade

Plumbers
HVAC
Electricians
Law Firms
Auto Repair
Roofers
Landscapers
Locksmiths
Pest Control
Garage Door