What a missed call costs, by trade
A missed call isn’t worth “a lead.” It’s worth a share of a real job, and that share and that job are different for a plumber than for a roofer. Here are the 2026 numbers for eight trades, the formula, and what a month of missed calls adds up to for a Texas shop of each kind.
How much is one missed call worth?
For most home-service trades, one missed call is worth $150–$450 in expected revenue, and for roofing it’s $1,500–$3,000. The formula is simple: the chance the caller was a real job (about 46% of phone leads convert, per Invoca’s call data) times your average ticket, minus the small share who leave a voicemail or call back. At 27% of calls missed, a one-truck plumber doing 80 calls a month is leaving roughly $9,000 a month on the table.
| Trade | Average ticket (2026) | Paid lead cost | Value of one missed call* | Lost per month at 100 calls, 27% missed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC (repair-heavy mix) | $1,400–$1,850 | $149 | $640–$850 | $17,000–$23,000 |
| Plumbing | $950 | $127 | $440 | $11,800 |
| Electrical | $1,200 | $142 | $550 | $14,900 |
| Roofing (replacement) | $8,000–$15,000 | $124 | $1,500–$3,000 (at 20% close) | $40,000–$80,000 |
| Landscaping / lawn care | $1,500 (projects); $50–$80 (mow) | $63 | $690 (projects) | $18,600 |
| Cleaning | $250–$400 first clean; recurring client worth $3,000+/yr | $47 | $115–$185 (first visit) | $3,100–$5,000 (before repeat value) |
| Pest control | $350–$600 (plus annual plans) | $89 | $160–$275 | $4,300–$7,400 |
| Garage door | $800–$1,200 | $95 | $370–$550 | $10,000–$14,900 |
*Value of one missed call = ticket × 46% phone-lead conversion, except roofing where we use a 20% first-call close because replacement quotes are competitive. These are expected values, not guarantees: half your missed calls are a $90 maintenance visit, one is a $9,000 system. The average is what the math uses.
How do you work out your own number?
Count calls missed per month
From your phone log or the 30-day audit. If you haven’t counted, 27% of inbound is the industry figure.
Subtract the ones who came back
Under 3% leave voicemail. A few call again. Knock off 10% to be fair.
Multiply by your close rate on phone calls
Industry: 46% of phone leads turn into a job; 37% close on the first call. Use your own if you track it.
Multiply by your average ticket
Your invoicing software has it. If not, use the table above for your trade.
Add repeat value if you run memberships
HVAC customer lifetime value runs about $15,000. A missed first call loses the tune-up plan too.
Worked example, Houston plumber, 2 trucks: 160 calls a month × 27% missed = 43. Minus 10% who come back = 39. × 46% close = 18 jobs. × $950 = $17,100 a month. A $150 a month AI receptionist that recovers a quarter of those pays for itself 28 times over.
Why isn’t it the same for every trade?
- Urgency. A plumbing or HVAC caller with water on the floor or no AC hires the first company that answers; ServiceTitan’s data puts that at 78% of homeowners. A landscaping quote caller will try three companies either way.
- Ticket spread. Roofing’s average hides the fact that most calls are $400 repairs and a few are $14,000 replacements. One missed replacement call is a month of repairs.
- Repeat value. A cleaning first visit is $300, but a weekly client is $3,000+ a year. Missing that call costs the year, not the visit.
- Season. Texas HVAC in July, DFW roofing after hail, lawn care in March: the missed-call rate doubles exactly when the ticket is highest.
Is a missed call worth more than a paid lead?
Yes, by a wide margin. Owners who pay $124–$149 for a roofing or HVAC lead from Google Ads or Angi will often let a $640 missed call ring out. The inbound caller already chose you; the paid lead is still shopping. If you’re spending on ads before you’ve fixed missed calls, you’re pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it, which is exactly what one r/hvacadvice owner found after spending “$3,400 on HomeAdvisor leads” and closing 7 of 60.
| What you pay for | Cost | Expected value |
|---|---|---|
| One paid HVAC lead (blended 2026) | $149 | $149 × 20–30% close = $370–$555 of revenue, before ad management |
| One missed inbound HVAC call | $0 to receive | $640–$850 of revenue, lost |
| Answering that call with AI | $0.25–$0.50 a minute, about $1.50 a call | Recovers most of the $640–$850 |
Texas examples
- Dallas HVAC, 4 trucks, July: 600 calls, 35% missed in peak = 210 × 0.9 × 46% × $1,600 ≈ $139,000 of expected revenue missed in one month. Even recovering 20% is $28,000.
- San Antonio electrician, solo: 70 calls, 30% missed while on jobs = 21 × 0.9 × 46% × $1,200 ≈ $10,400 a month.
- Fort Worth roofer, two weeks after hail: 500 calls, 40% missed = 200 × 0.9 × 20% × $10,000 ≈ $360,000 in quote opportunities gone to the next truck on the street.
- Austin cleaning company: 120 calls, 25% missed = 30 × 0.9 × 46% × $300 ≈ $3,700 in first visits, but at a 50% recurring rate that’s about $20,000 a year of lost recurring clients.
Questions owners ask
Isn’t 46% conversion high?
It’s Invoca’s figure across home-service phone leads; callers are warmer than form fills (4%). If yours is lower, use yours. Even at 25% the numbers are large.
Where do the average tickets come from?
Foundry CRO’s April 2026 benchmarks and Built on Tenth’s HVAC ticket research, cross-checked against Angi and HomeAdvisor cost guides. Links at the bottom.
My average ticket is lower. Does the math still work?
Yes, plug yours in. A $300 ticket at 27% missed and 100 calls is still $3,700 a month, which covers any answering option many times.
Do missed calls really go to competitors?
Under 3% leave voicemail and 78% of homeowners hire the first company that responds. Most do.
What about calls that were spam or vendors?
Knock 15–20% off your call count before you run the formula. The sheet in the audit has a notes column for it.
Does this include repeat business?
No, except where noted. Add lifetime value if you sell memberships or recurring plans; it makes the number bigger.
How often do you update this page?
Quarterly, with the date at the top. Ticket sizes and lead costs move with equipment prices and ad competition.
What’s the cheapest fix?
Missed-call text-back. Free to $97 a month, recovers the callers who’ll text. The AI receptionist recovers the ones who won’t.
Is a missed after-hours call worth the same?
Usually more. After-hours callers are the emergency ones, and the ticket is higher.
Can you calculate it for my business?
Yes. Bring last month’s call count and ticket to a strategy call and we’ll do it live.
Next pages
Sources
- Foundry CRO, “Home Services Marketing Benchmarks 2026,” 29 Apr 2026 (ticket sizes, cost per lead, Invoca and ServiceTitan figures): foundrycro.com
- Built on Tenth, “Average HVAC Ticket Size by Job Type,” 29 Apr 2026: builtontenth.com
- Hatch, “36 speed to lead statistics for home service businesses in 2026,” updated 13 Oct 2026 (27% missed, under 3% voicemail): usehatchapp.com
- Owner thread on paid leads: r/hvacadvice
Want your number, not the industry’s?
Thirty minutes on Central Time. Bring your call count and average ticket; you’ll leave with what missed calls cost you last month and the cheapest way to stop it.