Every trade page on this site carries a version of this calculator with that trade's Perth defaults baked in. This is the standalone one: pick a preset or drag the sliders, and the formula, the presets and what the number leaves out are all written down below, so you can change any assumption you disagree with. Paying for leads as well? The lead cost calculator shows what each one costs per job you win.
What are your missed calls costing you?
Start from a trade preset, then drag each slider to match your business.
Presets are the defaults from our trade pages. The 60% recovery figure is an assumption, not a Perth measurement. Your real numbers come out of a fortnight of your own call logs, or the audit.
How the maths works
There is nothing hidden in it. Four lines:
- Lost per week = calls missed × close rate × average job value. A missed call is only worth the job you would have won from it, so the close rate is applied before the value.
- Lost per month multiplies the week by 4.33. Lost per year multiplies it by 52.
- Recovered assumes a text-back gets 60% of the missed enquiries back into a conversation you close at your normal rate. That figure is deliberately conservative, and it is an assumption.
- Net takes twelve months of the $197 monthly platform fee off the recovered figure. It does not take off the setup, which starts at $999, because that is a one-off.
The plumbing preset, for example: 14 missed calls × 55% × $450 is $3,465 a week, $180,180 a year, $108,108 recovered at 60%, and $105,744 net of the platform fee, before the setup. If that number looks too big for your business, it almost certainly means the calls-missed figure is wrong for you, which is the point of the next two sections.
Where the preset numbers come from
The job values are the Perth 2026 prices used across this site.[1] The calls-missed figures are the defaults we set for a business of one to three vans. They are the least certain input, and the one to replace with your own count first.
| Preset | Missed a week | Average job | Close rate | Behind the job value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber | 14 | $450 | 55% | An emergency callout runs $250 to $700 and a hot water replacement $1,450 to $4,300, but most weeks are the small jobs. |
| HVAC | 18 | $3,200 | 40% | A split system install is $1,250 to $4,725 and ducted $8,400 to $23,100. Lower close rate because more callers are collecting quotes. |
| Electrician | 12 | $350 | 55% | Callouts and small jobs dominate. An EV charger install is $1,050 to $3,150 and a switchboard upgrade $735 to $2,950. |
| Roofer or solar | 8 | $2,500 | 35% | A roofing visit is $210 to $525 and a solar install $5,250 to $8,900. Solar quotes close slowly. |
| Any trade | 14 | $1,800 | 50% | The homepage default, a middle value across the four trades. |
What the number leaves out
Two things push it down, two push it up, and none of them are in the maths.
- Not every missed call was a job. Suppliers, sales calls and wrong numbers are in your phone log too. If a third of your missed calls are noise, take the slider down by a third.
- The 60% is an assumption. We do not yet have a Perth client's measured figure to replace it with, so we set it low on purpose.
- A recovered customer comes back. The calculator counts one job. It does not count the repeat work or the review that follows a job done well.
- After-hours jobs pay more. Perth after-hours work carries a 50 to 100% surcharge, and after hours is when the most calls go unanswered. The average job value slider does not know that.
How to get a real number
Two ways, and the first costs nothing.
- Count your own for a fortnight. Missed calls come straight from the phone log; note which ones left no message, because those are the callers who rang someone else. The average job comes from the invoices you sent in the same fortnight. Put those two numbers in the sliders and the result is yours, not ours.
- Book a free call. Fifteen minutes on the phone. We go through how your calls are handled now, where the enquiries fall out, and what that costs at your job values. You keep that either way.
Frequently asked questions
What is missed call text back?
How much does missed call text back cost?
Is missed call text back legal in Australia?
How accurate is this calculator?
Does it work for a business outside Perth?
Sources
Last checked 18 September 2026.
- What's The Damage — Tradie costs in Perth 2026. The Perth job values behind the presets, including roofing $210 to $525 per visit and solar $5,250 to $8,900 installed; the plumbing, air conditioning and electrical ranges are from the same guide's trade pages.
- ACMA — About the SMS Sender ID Register and Avoid sending spam. Texts sent from a number are not relabelled "Unverified"; marketing texts need consent, identification and an unsubscribe.
How it works, what it costs, whether it is legal, landlines, ServiceM8 and Simpro.
RelatedHow Perth tradies lose jobs to missed callsWhat a missed call is worth at 2026 Perth prices, and the 60-second fix.
GuideSMS compliance for tradiesSpam Act consent, identification, unsubscribe and record keeping, with current penalties.
More for Perth trade businesses: every article and free tool.