Auto Attendant Phone System for Small Business | The VoIP Shop
Owning a business entails answering dozens of inquiry calls daily, whether it’s a new prospective customer, an existing customer, a supplier, or a partner; all require your attention. When you miss an opportunity or a call gets passed along without the attention it deserves, or the call is dropped, you risk losing revenue, reputation, and wasted time. An
auto attendant phone system can change all that.
Whether you run a small business, a busy clinic or a law firm that is growing, an
auto attendant phone system can assist you in presenting a professional image, routing calls, and facilitating customer connections around the clock.
It's simple, cost-effective, and a smart way to make your business sound professional from the very first ring.
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What is Auto Attendant Phone System?
An
Auto Attendant Phone System is like a virtual receptionist for your business. It automatically answers incoming telephone calls, greets callers with a customised message, and routes the caller to the appropriate department or a specific person. And it is done with the help of a
VoIP Phone System without the intervention of a human operator.
In short, it allows each caller to be routed properly, rather than wasting valuable employee time and retaining a seamless customer experience. If you have made a phone call to a company and heard, "press 1 for sales, press 2 for support", and so on, that is the
auto attendant in operation.
Auto attendant Phone Systems are designed to accommodate modern-day businesses that value a professional impression, efficient that values professionalism, efficiency, and excellent customer service.
How Auto Attendant Phone System Works?
The process is straightforward:
- Incoming Call: When a customer calls your business number, the auto attendant phone system answers instantly.
- Custom Greeting: The caller hears your personalised greeting, for example, “Thank you for calling Your Business Name Ltd. Please choose from the following options.”
- Menu Options: The system offers clear choices like “Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support.”
- Call Routing: Based on the caller’s choice, the system forwards the call to the correct department, extension, or voicemail.
- Fallback Options: If no one answers, calls can be sent to voicemail or forwarded to a mobile number.
That’s the magic of an automated phone system: professional call handling every time.
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Uk Parliment
NHS
Amazon Prime
Amazon Mgm
Papa John's
Leicester City Council
Wates
Krispy Kreme
Pepes
Chaiiwala
Dalby
Lesta
London medical
Mountbatten School
Rochdale
Madani Schools Federation
Key Features of Auto Attendant Phone Systems
Every auto attendant phone system comes packed with features designed to make call management easy, efficient, and personalised. Here’s what makes it a must-have for UK businesses.
Custom Greeting Messages
Set the tone for your brand from the first hello.
With custom greetings, your phone system auto attendant welcomes callers with a personalised, professional message. Whether you want a formal greeting or something friendly and relaxed, it’s fully customisable.
This feature enhances brand image, builds trust, and ensures consistency in every customer interaction.
Multi-Level Call Routing
For larger businesses, multi-level routing allows layered menus.
For example:
- “Press 1 for Sales” → “Press 1 for New Orders” or “Press 2 for Existing Customers.”
- “Press 1 for Support” → “Press 3 for Technical Help” → “Press 3 for Billing” →"Press * to Listen Again".
This makes your auto attendant phone system UK setup highly flexible, ensuring callers always reach the right person quickly.
Business Hours Management
With this feature, your system automatically switches between day and night modes. During business hours, calls go to your team; after hours, they go to voicemail or an emergency contact line.
It’s a small feature that makes your auto attendant phone system app even smarter, and always keeps customers happy.
Voicemail Integration
Missed a call? No problem.
The best auto attendant phone system automatically forwards voicemails to your email or mobile. You can listen, download, and respond faster, keeping communication efficient and professional.
More Auto-Attendant Phone System Features for Small Businesses
When choosing the right Auto Attendant phone system, it’s essential to understand the features and how they benefit your business. The table below highlights all the key features included in The VoIP Shop’s Auto Attendant phone system, designed to help UK businesses manage calls efficiently and deliver a professional caller experience.
| Feature | Included in All VoIP Plans (Standar, Premium, and Ultimate) |
|---|---|
| 24/7 Operation | Multi-location call routing and after-hours support for seamless operation. |
| Scalability | Add unlimited users, extensions, and departments as your business grows |
| CRM Integration | Seamless integration with leading CRM systems for efficient call tracking and customer management. |
| Support | 24/7 expert support with dedicated account management |
All of our VoIP Phone System Plans come with essential features for handling calls properly, ensuring a professional and efficient call-handling operation. So no matter which plan you go with, you will have a reliable, scalable, and affordable auto attendant phone system to keep your business connected at all times.
Benefits of Auto Attendant for Small Business
A professional and reliable communication can make or break your business. The
auto attendant phone system brings both at a fraction of the cost of hiring a receptionist.
Let’s look at the key reasons UK businesses are upgrading to auto-attendant phone systems.
Professional First Impressions
First impressions matter. When clients call your business, they are expecting your professionalism from the first moment. An
automated attendant will answer the calls quickly and give a friendly, branded greeting that represents who you are.
This is the easiest way to come across as a larger and more established business when you are hardly a team of many.
Cost-Effective Call Management
Hiring full-time receptionists can be expensive. The
auto attendant phone systems eliminate that cost by managing calls automatically.
With features like call routing, voicemail forwarding, and department selection, you reduce the need for manual handling while keeping customers happy.
It’s not just efficient; it’s smart budgeting for your communication system.
24/7 Call Availability
Your business doesn’t stop when the office closes, and neither should your phone lines.
The attendant auto phone system ensures that customers can always reach you. Whether it’s after hours, weekends, or holidays, the system can route calls to the right voicemail or mobile line.
That means you never miss an opportunity, and your customers never feel ignored.
Reduced Missed Calls
The automated attendant will guarantee no call goes unanswered. Even beyond regular business hours, it can automatically route calls to mobile numbers or voicemail, so you never lose track of an opportunity or potential client. The reliability of 24/7/365 communication is invaluable to the healthcare or retail industries.
Scalability as You Grow
As your business grows, your auto attendant phone system UK grows with you, adding users, departments, or locations effortlessly. It replaces the need for a full-time receptionist, offering professional call management at a fraction of the cost, making it ideal for any modern UK business.
For any UK business, this is an investment that quickly pays off in better customer satisfaction and smoother operations.
Industries That Benefit from Auto Attendant
Although all businesses can use an auto attendant phone system, there are some industries that benefit the most. These are often because of the high call volume or customer service expectations. Here are a few of those common industries:
Healthcare and Pharmacies
For healthcare providers, it is essential that every call is answered as quickly as possible. An
auto attendant phone system can help ensure patients are greeted on the phone without delay and routed to the proper department for prescriptions, appointments or emergencies. This system should help reduce wait times, decrease the chance of missing phone calls and enhance the patient experience.
When providing healthcare, it is imperative to answer every phone call as quickly as possible. An
auto attendant phone system makes this easy because an
auto attendant answers every call, greets the patient, and directs them to the appropriate response, whether that is for the pharmacy, prescriptions, appointments, or emergency. This ensures that patients experience reduced hold times, reduced missed calls, and an improved overall experience.
Small Business and Startups
If you’re a small business, professionalism matters.
A virtual auto attendant phone system gives you the same polished image as a large enterprise, without the overhead costs.
It’s ideal for startups looking to grow, as it scales easily with your needs and helps manage calls efficiently from day one.
Professional Services (Legal, Accounting and more)
Law firms, accountants, consultants, and other professionals depend on communication.
The business phone system with auto attendant ensures clients reach the right person, messages are never lost, and calls are handled consistently, reinforcing your professional image.
and more....
How to Set Up Your Auto Attendant System?
Getting started with an auto attendant phone system is quick and simple. You don’t need advanced IT skills or special hardware, just a reliable internet connection and a few setup steps.
Quick Setup Process (4 Steps)
Best Practice Guidelines
Technical Requirements
Here’s generally how the setup works:
1. Choose your plan: Select a package that aligns with your business size and call volume.
2. Customise greetings: Record or upload the message you want to welcome people to your company.
3. Build out menu options: Create how you want the calls to be routed (for example, 1= Sales; 2= Support).
4. Test call and go live: Test (verify) that the call is routed properly.
Once you have completed these steps, your auto attendant phone system small business will be ready to answer your calls in a professional way, usually within hours.
To maximise your new phone system that has an auto attendant facility, adhere to these guidelines:
• Wrap your menu options up fast and clean.
• Use a friendly and professional voice (define the character).
• Avoid creating too many layers of options, making it cumbersome.
• Review and update messages periodically (for holidays, promotions, etc.).
Following these best practice principles will enhance what is an auto attendant in a phone system solution and make it better for your customers.
Most business phone systems with auto attendants are hosted in the cloud, which means there is no additional server or equipment required at your location.
Here’s what you will need:
• Stable internet
• VoIP Phone System (desk phones or softphones)
• Admin Dashboard (you'll be provided with a online dashboard to manage the sequence, automations, and insights of your aut-attendant phone system.
That's it - your system is ready.
Looking to upgrade to an auto attendant phone system for your small business?
Auto Attendant Pricing and Plans
Get a Free Yealink T46 (Refurbished) Desktop Phone Offer Now!
Standard Plan
Complete cloud phone system for businesses
£13.95
£12.95
- 2000 Mobile and Landline mins
- Free Desk phones - Yealink T46 (Refurbished)
- Dedicated direct line
- Mobile and Desktop App
- Click to Dial
- Three Way Conference
- 40+ Phone System Features
- FREE Support and Maintenance
MOST POPULAR
Premium Plan
Best flexible teams and departments
£15.95
£14.95
- Unlimited Mobile and Landline Calls
- Free Desk phones - Yealink T46 (Refurbished)
- Dedicated direct line
- Mobile and Desktop App
- CRM Integrations and Click to Dial
- Conference Calling System
- 40+ Phone System Features
- FREE Support and Maintenance
Ultimate Plan
Ultimate solution flexible teams and departments
£24.95
£19.95
- Unlimited Mobile and Landline Calls
- Free Desk phones - Yealink T46 (Refurbished)
- Dedicated direct line
- Mobile and Desktop App
- CRM Integrations and Click to Dial
- Conference Calling System
- 40+ Phone System Features
- FREE Support and Maintenance
- Popular CRM integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, and more
- Call Recording System
Experience our
HD Quality
Auto Attendant Phone System
Call quality like no other. Our system doesn't sound like an Internet call or VOIP as the sounds quality is High Definition (HD), it will even sound better than your previous landline.
Interactive Voice Response - Inbound IVR System
Dramatically transform your existing IVR with the next generation of IVR technology. Automate complex tasks while giving callers a superior experience.
- Improve call routing and contact centre efficiency
- Reduce call abandonment rate
- Optimise agent time
- Enhance the customer experience
- Handle demand peaks, reduce AHT and cost to serve
Frequently Asked Questions about Auto Attendant Phone System
Answers to some of our most commonly asked questions…
What is an auto attendant?
An auto attendant is a virtual receptionist that automatically answers incoming calls, plays a professional greeting, and routes callers to the correct extension, department, or voicemail. It replaces the need for a live receptionist by using keypad or voice-based menu options to guide callers to the right place quickly and efficiently.
What is the difference between an auto attendant and a virtual receptionist?
Get QuoteAn auto attendant routes calls through a menu system, while a virtual receptionist uses AI or live agents to greet callers and manage calls more personally.
How much does an auto attendant phone system cost in the UK?
UK auto attendant systems typically cost £15–£40 per user per month, depending on features, integrations, and whether it’s part of a hosted VoIP package.
Can I integrate auto attendant with my existing phone system?
Yes. Modern auto attendants can integrate with VoIP or PBX systems, allowing you to add automated call routing without replacing your current setup.
How long does it take to set up an auto attendant phone system?
Setup usually takes 1–3 working days. After figuring out call flows, greetings, and routing, the system is configured, tested, and ready to go live quickly.
What happens if callers don't select any menu option?
If no option is selected, the system can replay the menu, route the call to a default destination like reception, or send it to voicemail automatically.
Is an auto attendant the same as IVR?
No. An auto attendant is a simpler version of an IVR system. Auto attendants focus mainly on greeting callers and routing them to the right department or person, while IVR systems offer more advanced, multi-step interactions such as gathering information, processing inputs, and handling complex workflows. For small businesses, an auto attendant is often all that’s needed for professional call routing.
How does an auto attendant help small businesses?
An auto attendant helps small businesses by answering calls instantly, reducing call wait times, and ensuring callers reach the right department without needing a receptionist. It creates a more professional caller experience, reduces staff workload, and supports business hours announcements, simple self-service options, and seamless routing for remote teams.
What features come with an auto attendant system?
A typical auto attendant includes features such as:
- Custom greetings and welcome messages
- Multi-level menus for routing calls to different teams or services
- Keypad and voice-activated menu options
- Automatic call routing to extensions, mobile phones, or voicemail
- Business hours and holiday announcements
- Failover routing if no one answers
- Integration with cloud phone systems for remote or hybrid teams
Get Started with Auto Attendant Today
A well-designed
auto attendant phone system is not just a call routing system, it is your business’ voice, customer experience, and first impression all merged.
Your phone system should allow every customer caller to feel appreciated, every inquiry handled properly, and for your team to focus on actioning what is most important, running your business.
Whether you are a local business, a professional firm, a startup, or an enterprise, the
auto attendant phone system is the best solution for a combination of professional, efficient and affordable communication.
It’s time to upgrade how your business answers calls, with an
auto attendant phone system built for modern UK businesses.
