What should I check before buying a telephone answering service?

An answering service promises that someone picks up when its clients cannot. That promise is kept by a small group of operators, a roster that covers odd hours and a phone platform. A buyer needs to see how each of those holds up when the current owner steps back. The checks below take each of those in turn.

Overnight and weekend coverage

Ask for the roster over the last several months. Who takes the quiet shifts, and who steps in when someone is sick? In small services the owner often covers gaps without it showing on paper. Ask the operators how they are scheduled and paid, and use the employment records checklist.

Client agreements and scripts

Each client should have a written account setup: the greeting, what to ask the caller, and when to wake someone. Ask to see them. Check whether clients signed an agreement, how either side can end it, and whether it can pass to a new owner. If it is all verbal, the relationship rests on the seller.

The call platform

Find out whether the platform is owned, licensed or rented, and what the contract says about transfer, price changes and support. Ask what happens to the numbers clients dial. Your data room should hold these contracts.

Client mix and missed calls

Note whether clients are medical offices, trades, property managers or others. Each has different urgency and different risk when a call goes wrong. Ask for logs of missed or late-handled calls and any complaints. A clean record is reassuring. A messy one is something to raise with the seller and your advisers.