An answering service takes a message. Cushy takes the job.
Both of them stop your phone ringing out. Only one of them means you don't have to ring anybody back, and only one asks the budget before you drive out to quote. If you build pools, outdoor living or renovations, here is the difference, including the bits where an answering service is the better call.
No sales calls · 6-month minimum · First month back if it books fewer than 3 quote visits
The gap isn't answering. It's the callback.
An answering service ends with a note in your inbox saying Sharon called about a pool. You still have to ring Sharon. By the time you get off site and do that, Sharon has booked two other builders to come and quote. The message was never the bottleneck.
Five ways to handle an enquiry
| What it does | Cushy | Answering service | AI receptionist app | Website chatbot | You, on the tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picks up calls live | Texts back in seconds | Yes | Yes | No | When you can |
| Texts form leads back in seconds | Yes | No | Mostly calls | No | No |
| Answers at 6am on a Sunday | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works out what the job actually is | Yes | No | Partly | No | Yes |
| Knows a full pool build from a pool fence repair | Yes | No | If you set it up | No | Yes |
| Asks the budget before you drive out | Yes | No | Rarely | No | Yes |
| Books a call or site visit into your calendar | Yes | No | Rarely | No | Yes |
| Sounds like your business, not a call centre | Yes | No | If you write it | No | Yes |
| Tested on pretend customers before it goes live | Yes | No | No | No | N/A |
| Hands it to you when it isn't sure, instead of guessing | Yes | Takes a message | Rarely | No | N/A |
| A summary of every lead and what got booked | Yes | Messages only | No | No | No |
| Works while you're on site all day | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Costs you | $990/mo + GST | $400 to $1,500/mo | $49 to $299/mo | $50 to $300/mo | The jobs you miss |
Answering service pricing is a range because most charge per call or per minute on top of a base plan. AI receptionist app pricing is the range of typical published monthly plans. Chatbot pricing assumes a standard website widget, not a custom build. Other providers may or may not include GST in their prices. Cushy's price is plus GST.
Where an answering service is the better choice
There are three situations where I'd tell you to go and use one instead. I'd rather say so here than after you've applied.
Some customers ring because they want to talk to a person, and an answering service gives them one. Cushy replies by text. If your customers overwhelmingly want a live voice and will not accept anything else, an answering service is the better fit, and I'd rather tell you that here.
Answering services can put a caller through to you mid-call. Cushy does not do warm transfers. It captures the job and books the visit instead.
If most of your enquiries are people in trouble right now, a human answering point that can triage and dispatch is worth paying for. Cushy escalates urgent enquiries to you, but it does not dispatch.
What the alternatives cost
A typical Australian answering service runs $400 to $1,500 a month once you account for per-call charges, and the busier you get the more it costs. It answers your calls live, but it doesn't text your form leads back in seconds, book anyone into your calendar or screen out the tyre kickers.
A part-time admin on 15 hours a week costs well over $2,000 a month once you add super, and they still go home at five, while plenty of enquiries arrive after hours.
Cushy is $990 a month plus GST ($1,089 charged), for every lead, with no setup fee. There's a 6-month minimum, then it's month to month, and if it books fewer than 3 qualified quote visits in your first 30 days, your first month is refunded. The full pricing is here.
Why the price makes sense on a $40k job
At a 30% margin, one $40k pool is about $12,000 of profit. A year of Cushy is $11,880 plus GST. So one missed pool lead costs you more than a year of Cushy. That's why it's built for pool builders, outdoor living and renovators, and why it probably won't pay for itself if your jobs are under $15k.
What about an AI receptionist app?
Fair play to them: they answer, every time, and at $49 to $299 a month they cost a lot less than Cushy. If all you need is the phone picked up and a message taken, one of those apps might be enough.
The catch is that you set them up yourself, and most of them don't screen out tyre kickers or book a site visit into your calendar. With Cushy, I set up your services and questions from what you tell me on the form, and you check them before go-live. It runs a dozen pretend customers before it texts anyone real, and if it isn't sure, it hands the conversation to you instead of guessing.
So the question isn't really cost. It's whether you want a message or a booking.
No sales calls · 6-month minimum · First month back if it books fewer than 3 quote visits
Common questions
An answering service takes a message and passes it on, so you still have to ring the person back. Cushy has the conversation instead: it works out what the job is, whereabouts it is and when suits, politely turns away the jobs you don't want, then books a call or a site visit in your calendar with the details attached. You do not ring anyone back.
AI receptionist apps do answer, and they're cheaper, usually $49 to $299 a month. But you set them up yourself, and most don't screen out tyre kickers or book site visits into your calendar. With Cushy, I set up your services and questions from what you tell me on the form, and you check them before go-live. It's tested on a dozen pretend customers first, and if it isn't sure, it hands the conversation to you instead of guessing.
No. A website chatbot only catches people who are already on your site with the widget open. Cushy covers missed calls and website enquiries, and it replies by text to the person's own phone, which is where tradie conversations actually happen.
Typically $400 to $1,500 a month depending on call volume and whether you are paying per call or on a plan. Cushy is $990 a month plus GST, with no setup fee, on a 6-month minimum term and then month to month. If it books fewer than 3 qualified quote visits in your first 30 days, your first month is refunded.
You can, and a few businesses do: the answering service handles live voice during business hours and Cushy covers everything after hours and every enquiry that arrives in writing. It is usually more than most businesses need.
Most do not. They take a message and send it to you, and the booking still depends on you calling back. That callback gap is where the job is usually lost, because the customer has already heard from someone else.
It says so rather than guessing, holds the conversation open, and alerts you. An answering service does the same thing by taking a message, the difference is that Cushy has usually already captured the job details by that point.
Stop ringing people back.
Apply in 2 minutes and I'll reply by email within one business day. If it fits, it takes about 15 minutes to connect, and it's tested on a dozen pretend customers before it texts anyone. It's $990 a month plus GST, with a 6-month minimum.