I run OpsJuice. Every figure below names who published it and when, and links to the page it came from. Where the data is thin I say so on the line rather than in a footnote. At the end you put in 3 of your own numbers and get your own figure.
You were under a sink, on a roof, or driving between jobs. The phone rang out. The common belief is that the call comes back later. The measured behaviour says it does not.
Put those 3 together and an unanswered call is not revenue arriving late. It is a job that went to whoever picked up.
That last figure is the one worth sitting with. A lead who reaches a person books on that call close to half the time. A caller who reaches voicemail mostly hangs up and rings the next name on the list.
Tell me which trade you are in and I will show you the worked sum for it below, using published average job values, plus the 3 things worth checking this week. No call, no charge.
The sum, on 20 calls in a normal week
3 things to check this week
The calculator asks for 3 numbers and no email address. You have already given me yours, so this is the part where you get something back.
Want a view of the whole operation rather than the phone alone? Take the free readiness scorecard →
| Trade | Average job (HomeAdvisor, updated 19 June 2026) | Lost per missed call | Missed calls a week at 20 calls | Lost per week | Lost per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | $341 | $58.04 | 5.4 | $313 | $16,297 |
| Heating and cooling | $350 | $59.57 | 5.4 | $322 | $16,727 |
| Electrical | $351 | $59.74 | 5.4 | $323 | $16,775 |
Example math, 20 calls a week, worked unrounded. Lost per missed call = average job x 0.37 x 0.46, where 0.37 is "37 in every 100 calls from digital marketing are leads" and 0.46 is "46 in every 100 leads convert on the call" (Invoca Call Conversion Benchmarks Report, 2025). Missed calls a week = 20 x 0.27 = 5.4, where 27 in every 100 calls go unanswered (Invoca, May 2024, updated July 2026). Lost per week = lost per missed call x 5.4. Lost per year = lost per week x 52. Each column is computed from the unrounded value and rounded once, to the cent for the per-call column and to the dollar for the rest.
You will find pages saying missed calls cost the average small business a specific 6 figure sum a year. I am not repeating those, because every one I followed traced back to another blog rather than to a study, and a number with nobody behind it is worth nothing to you.
The table above is different in kind. It is example math: published averages multiplied together on a placeholder of 20 calls a week, with every input named and linked. It shows how the sum works for a typical job in each trade. It is not a reading of your business, and your count of unanswered calls, your average job value and your win rate will each differ from the averages. Your own numbers tell you what your missed calls are worth, and nobody else average can do it for you.
These are third party figures as published by the organisations named, read on 12 September 2026, except the Invoca 37 in every 100 figure, which I read on 15 October 2026. I did not run any of these studies. The Invoca figures are that company own platform and survey data, so they describe the businesses on its platform rather than a random sample of the trade. The HomeAdvisor job values are a marketplace own aggregated cost guide and do not publish a sample size. Both are the best current public numbers I could open and verify, and neither is an academic result.