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After hours · what works today
Closed for the night. Still taking details.
When you are closed, a customer on your website can still leave their name, number and what they need. It is waiting in your inbox in the morning. We do not answer your phone, and we will not tell you we do.
Tonight
What a customer gets when you are closed
Each line says plainly whether it works today. The full list is on the status board.
Website chat, any hour
Working today. Shows your closed-hours greeting, takes a name, a number and what they need. Plain questions, no AI.
Web chat →One list in the morning
Working today. Every overnight enquiry in one inbox with a status, so the first call of the day is the one that waited longest.
Lead inbox →A text to missed callers
Being built. It sends no texts yet. When live, it holds texts from 9 PM to 8 AM, so nobody is texted at night.
Text-back status →Straight answers
What we do not do after hours
- We do not answer phone calls. If your callers need a person at 2 AM, you need a live answering service; we compared three, with public prices.
- We do not send texts yet. Texting waits for carrier registration, explained in what is A2P 10DLC.
- We do not use AI to reply to your customers. The chat asks set questions and hands the answers to you.
Free first
Three things to fix before you pay anyone
Most after-hours trouble is solved with what you already have.
An after-hours greeting
Say when you open and when you return calls. Scripts for five trades.
Greeting scripts →Right hours on Google
Stop calls to a closed shop: main hours, holiday hours, closures.
Hours on Google →Forward to who is on call
For true emergencies, send unanswered calls to a second phone.
Forwarding steps →Keep reading
Next steps
After-hours calls
What a caller needs when you are closed, the four things a small shop can offer after hours, what each costs, and the calling-hours rule to know before you reply.
Read next →Business voicemail greeting
The five things a business voicemail greeting should say, example scripts for plumbing, HVAC, roofing, cleaning and auto repair, and how to record one on your phone.
Read next →Answering service vs voicemail vs text-back
What a live answering service, plain voicemail and missed-call text-back each cost and do, with public prices read on October 9, 2026, and when each one fits.
Read next →Questions
After-hours questions
Does NewFrontDesk answer my phone after hours?
No. NewFrontDesk never answers phone calls, day or night. After hours it takes website enquiries through the chat and form link and has them waiting in your inbox.
Will a caller get a text at night?
Not today. Missed-call text-back is built but in test mode and sends no texts. When it is live, its rules hold any text from 9 PM until 8 AM local time, so nobody is texted in the night.
What does the website chat say when we are closed?
You set your opening hours and a closed-hours greeting. Outside those hours the chat shows your greeting, still takes the visitor's name, number and what they need, and tells them you will get back to them.
I need a person to answer at night. What should I use?
A live answering service. We compared public prices for three of them in answering service vs voicemail vs text-back.
Didn't find your answer? Write to [email protected], or see how it works.
Ready when you are.
Request setup now. No payment is taken until the features in your plan work.