The problem
The reason a trade business goes looking for an answering service is simple. The phone is the only sales channel you have, it rings when your hands are full, and a caller who gets no answer rings the next name on the list. Voicemail doesn't hold your place.
The trouble is what the market offers in response:
- Premium human answering is priced by volume. The better your month, the bigger your invoice. You end up paying for your own success.
- The receptionist is outside your trade. Polite and professional, but they won't ask whether there's heating and hot water, or whether the roof is felt or slate.
- So the qualifying conversation still happens. Later, with you doing it, after the caller has already explained it once.
A trade business needs a phone that always gets answered by something that knows the work, books the job on the spot, and charges the same whether ten people ring or a hundred.
What Moneypenny does well
Moneypenny is one of the most established telephone answering services in the UK. Real people answer your calls, take messages, and pass details to you. For businesses that want a human voice on every call, that matters.
The service is polished. Receptionists are UK-based, briefed on your business, and trained to sound like part of your team. Moneypenny also handles live chat and switchboard work, so larger firms can consolidate several needs with one supplier. If you want a human touch and have the budget for it, Moneypenny is a serious option.
Where it falls short for trade businesses
Moneypenny publishes no pricing on its UK site. Every figure arrives after a conversation, tailored to your call volume, and its own guidance describes billing by the minute rather than by the call.
So you cannot find out where it starts, let alone where it lands. You cannot model what a busy month costs before you commit, and you cannot compare it against anything without booking a sales call first.
What Moneypenny does publish is the commitment. Its smaller telephone answering schemes, those including 150 minutes or fewer, carry a minimum contract of three months. Larger schemes require six or twelve months, with three months' notice to terminate.
The billing shape is the more important part anyway. Priced by volume means the better your month, the bigger your invoice. You end up paying most for your own success, and the cost per captured job is highest exactly when you are busiest.
Then there is what the receptionist can do with the call. A human message-taker follows a script. They note your caller's name and number, but they do not know a boiler flue from a fuse board. They cannot qualify the job, judge urgency, or tell a serious lead from a tyre-kicker the way someone who understands your trade would.
You are on-site all day with your hands full. You need every call answered, the job scoped, and the time-wasters filtered out, without a per-call meter running.
How Telphi compares
| Moneypenny | Telphi | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | UK-based human receptionists | AI receptionist with a natural voice |
| Availability | Business hours, 24/7 available at extra cost | Answers your calls 24/7 as standard |
| Business understanding | General script, briefed per client | Configured for local businesses and their services |
| Lead qualification | Takes name and message | Asks qualifying questions, filters time-wasters |
| Booking | Passes message for you to act on | Texts the caller a booking link; they book directly into your calendar |
| Pricing model | Not published, quoted by call volume | £44.99/month flat, or £274.99 a year |
| Setup time | Briefing and onboarding period | Set up in minutes |
| Contract | Three months minimum on smaller schemes, six or twelve on larger, three months' notice | No contract, 7-day free trial |
*Moneypenny figures from moneypenny.com/uk, checked August 2026. Pricing is not published; contract terms are.*
Who should choose which
Choose Moneypenny if a human voice on every single call is non-negotiable, you want live chat and switchboard handled together, and the per-call cost sits comfortably inside your margins. For some professional firms, that human layer is worth the premium.
Choose Telphi if you are a sole trader or small team, you want your calls answered 24/7 without a per-call meter, and you want the thing answering to actually understand the job. One captured job worth £100 to £500 covers months of Telphi. Your bill does not climb just because more people called.
Frequently asked questions
Telphi is £44.99 a month, or £274.99 a year, published up front with no per-call fees, and a busy month does not raise your bill. Moneypenny does not publish its UK pricing at all, so a direct comparison depends on a number you only get after a sales call. What is published is the commitment: three months minimum on the smaller schemes, six or twelve on larger ones.
Telphi is an AI receptionist with a natural voice. It answers your calls, captures caller details, qualifies the job, and sends you a summary. Moneypenny uses human receptionists who take messages. Telphi trades the human voice for trade understanding, 24/7 cover, and flat pricing.
Telphi texts the caller a booking link, and they book directly into your calendar. It captures the job details first, so the booking arrives with everything you need.
Yes. Telphi is built for local businesses, with a natural voice and call handling configured around each business's services and terminology. It is available on the App Store with a 7-day free trial.
Telphi sets up in minutes from the app. You tell it about your business, your services, and how you want calls handled, and it starts answering. There is no onboarding period or briefing call, unlike a human answering service.
Try Telphi free for 7 days
Download Telphi from the App Store and start a 7-day free trial. Set it up in minutes, and let it answer your calls, qualify jobs, and send you the details while you work. One captured job pays for months of service.
