Home · Blog · How much an AI receptionist costs
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By Goldenhour Solutions LLC ·
An AI receptionist for an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing shop is usually priced as a flat monthly fee with included minutes or texts, a per-minute or per-call fee, or a one-time setup fee plus a monthly price. When the included amount runs out, the next charge is an overage or a refill. The formula below is the monthly price plus the setup fee spread over 12 months, divided by answered calls, and the Goldenhour prices on this page are the ones published on the homepage.
This page is for the owner-operator of an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing company, including a contractor who is on the tools and cannot pick up. Sunny is an AI receptionist, not a person. Callers are talking to an AI. It collects a preferred time and you confirm the appointment. Google Calendar is not synced. A missed call does not send an automatic text. Goldenhour Solutions LLC is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and serves those trades across the United States. The same limits are on the FAQ, in what an AI receptionist can and cannot do, and in the comparison of an AI receptionist, a live answering service, and an in-house front desk.
The common models are a flat monthly price with included minutes or texts, a per-minute price, a per-call price, a one-time setup fee, and an overage or a refill when the included amount runs out. This page describes those models in general and does not print a third-party price.
A vendor can mix them. A plan might charge a setup fee once, then a flat monthly price that includes a set number of minutes or texts, then a refill or an overage after that. Ask which of those pieces are in the offer before you compare it with another offer. A monthly price with no included amount, and no statement of what happens past a limit, is not the same product as a monthly price that names the minutes and the texts.
A flat monthly price is one fee each month, and the plan states how many voice minutes, texts, or both that fee includes.
The included amount is the cap that comes with the fee. It is not a count of calls your shop will receive. If the plan answers the phone, ask how many minutes are included. If it texts, ask how many texts are included, and ask what the monthly fee still includes when you do not use the full amount. On a flat monthly plan the fee does not move with the number of calls, up to that included amount.
A per-minute price charges for each minute the AI is on the call, and a per-call price charges once each time a call is answered. This page does not print a per-minute rate or a per-call rate.
Those two models move with volume. A short call and a long call cost the same on a per-call price, and they cost different amounts on a per-minute price. Ask which one the vendor uses, whether a setup fee sits on top, and whether the monthly bill has a floor. Goldenhour does not bill by the text or minute. The published Goldenhour model is a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly price, described further down.
A one-time setup fee is a single charge to build the system, separate from the price you pay each month.
Ask what the setup fee includes, whether a later upgrade charges the difference, and whether the monthly price starts before the system is live. A setup fee is not a monthly fee, and it should not be described as optional if it is required to start. This page does not invent a setup fee for an in-house hire or for a live answering service.
An overage is an extra charge after the included minutes or texts are used, and a refill is a set amount you pay to restore that included amount for the rest of the month.
Ask which one the vendor uses, the amount, and whether the bill can rise without you choosing it. An overage that bills by the minute is a different model from a refill with a stated price. Read that term before you sign. The Goldenhour plan cards use a refill, and the amounts are in the price section below.
Add the monthly price to the setup fee divided by 12, then divide that sum by the number of calls you expect the AI to answer. The figures that follow are example numbers, and you replace the call count with your own.
Example numbers, not your bill and not a count of calls your shop will get. The monthly price in this example is $249, the published Full Package price. The setup in this example is $1,997, the published Full Package setup. The expression is ($249 + $1,997 / 12) / 100. That example is about $4.15 per answered call. The Full Package includes 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. This example uses 100 answered calls as an illustration, not a promise. Replace 100 with your own number of answered calls. This example does not add a top-up.
Use that formula for the Full Package, which answers the phone. Put your own answered-call count in the denominator.
Price an in-house desk and a live answering service on the front-desk cost calculator with your own wage and your own quote. This page does not print a wage or an answering-service price. For unanswered calls in numbers you enter, use the missed-call cost calculator. Those pages label their sources. They are not a promise that a plan recovers a difference. The other free calculators are on the tools page. The trade pages start at the AI receptionist overview.
Before you pay, check that the product says it is an AI, who confirms the appointment, what happens when the included minutes or texts run out, whether a contract locks the term, and whether you can place a test call before it goes live.
Ask these in plain language. A short, direct answer is what you want. If the answer is fuzzy, the product is fuzzy.
The answers for Sunny are the ones already on this page and on the FAQ. Sunny is an AI receptionist, not a person. Callers are talking to an AI. You confirm the appointment. Sunny collects a preferred time and does not lock a calendar booking. Google Calendar is not synced. A calendar is not connected. A missed call does not send an automatic text. There is no contract. Cancel anytime. You test-call it before anything goes live.
A missed call does not send an automatic text. Calling (520) 602-8435 does not send a text, and calling that number does not opt you in. Texting on a client plan starts only after that client's own registration is approved. Texting from a ported number needs A2P registration on that number, and that number has to be added to your campaign messaging service. Until that registration is approved, the plan does not text your customers. You can hear the AI on that number before any of that.
Goldenhour publishes a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly price, with hosting, your domain, updates, and support included. There is no contract, and you can cancel anytime.
These are the same prices as the homepage plan cards. The monthly price, the setup fee, the included amount, and the refill are copied from those cards. This table does not round them.
| Plan | Monthly | Setup | Included | Refill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Package | $249/month | $1,997 one-time setup | Website, hosting, and your domain. Sunny answers the phone and the texts. 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts a month. | Voice is $1.00 a minute and texts are $0.06 each. Top-ups are $50, $100, or $250. |
New customers buy the Full Package. There is not a smaller plan and there is not an upgrade fee.
The month includes 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. After that, voice is $1.00 a minute and texts are $0.06 each. A top-up of $50, $100, or $250 adds wallet balance for that overage.
Voice answering is on the Full Package.
On the Full Package, an AI voice answers after hours, on weekends, and while you are on the other line. It takes messages, answers common questions, and collects a preferred time. You confirm the appointment. The phone gets answered 24/7 by an AI, nights and weekends included. The allowance is 300 AI voice minutes and 1,000 texts a month. There is not a second allowance.
The Full Package answers the phone and the texts. Texting on a client plan starts only after that client's own registration is approved.
The same limit is on each trade page: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing. The hub for those pages is the AI receptionist overview.
You can call the AI on this site before you buy, and on your own plan you test-call it before anything goes live. That call does not send a text.
Call the AI. Calling that number does not send a text, and calling that number does not opt you in. You deal directly with the person who builds and runs your system — no account managers, no ticket queues, no maze of vendors. Buy the Full Package, fill the one-time form, and we build from those answers. You review the finished package before it goes live. It is ready for that review within about a week. Texting waits for your own registration approval. A call is not required.
The default on every plan is call forwarding. Goldenhour still assigns a number, and you forward busy and no-answer calls to it. You test that forwarding from your own phone. We do not place the test call. Moving your number is a port. Porting is available on the Full Package. It usually takes 1 to 4 weeks. A temporary Goldenhour number answers until the port finishes.
Try the AI before you buy. Call the AI. That call does not send a text. Then buy the Full Package and fill the one-time setup form. A call is optional. If you want one, book a call. The intake form comes first for that call. A time is held only after that form is in, and Alexander confirms it.
It is usually a flat monthly price with included minutes or texts, a per-minute or per-call price, or a one-time setup fee plus a monthly price. When the included amount runs out, the next charge is an overage or a refill. Use your own answered-call count in the formula on this page.
Voice answering is on the Full Package, $249/month with a $1,997 setup, including 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. After that, voice is $1 a minute and texts are 6 cents each. Top-ups are $50, $100, or $250.
The Full Package includes 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. After that, voice is $1 a minute and texts are 6 cents each. Top-ups are $50, $100, or $250.
Add the monthly price to the setup fee divided by 12, then divide by the answered-call count you choose. The worked example uses the published Full Package prices and an example count of 100. Replace 100 with your own count.
Check that callers are told it is an AI, that you confirm the appointment, what happens on overage, whether you can cancel, and whether you can place a test call before it goes live. Sunny collects a preferred time and does not lock a calendar booking. A missed call does not send an automatic text.
Voice answering is on the Full Package, $249/month with a $1,997 setup, including 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. After that, voice is $1 a minute and texts are 6 cents each. Top-ups are $50, $100, or $250.
The owner confirms the appointment. Sunny is an AI receptionist, not a person. Sunny collects a preferred time and does not lock a calendar booking.