After-Hours Answering Service in Australia
An after-hours answering service answers the calls that come in once your business has closed. Deskie does this with an AI receptionist: it answers nights, weekends and public holidays in a natural Australian voice, captures the enquiry, and texts it to you. From $149 a month, no lock-in contract.
Last updated 30 May 2026
Hear Deskie live. Call 0485 017 007 for a demo. Takes 30 seconds. No email. No signup.
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The 9pm call that books tomorrow's job
Your phone doesn't stop ringing when you knock off. Someone calls at 8pm ready to book, another wants a quote before the weekend, a third has a problem that can't wait until Monday. If that call hits voicemail, most won't leave a message: 80% don't, and 62% just call the next business that answers. The enquiry you slept through became someone else's job.
Deskie answers after hours so the job is yours by morning
Deskie answers every call you miss after hours, day or night, in a natural Australian voice. It has a real conversation with the caller, captures what they need, and texts you the details, so the enquiry that came in at 9pm is sitting on your phone, sorted, when you start the day. You don't lift a finger after hours and you don't lose the caller who wouldn't wait.
What is an after-hours answering service?
It's a service that answers your business calls outside opening hours, evenings, weekends and public holidays, and passes the caller's details to you. Traditionally that meant paying an overnight call centre of human operators. Deskie does the same job as an AI receptionist: it answers in a natural voice around the clock, captures the enquiry, and texts it straight to you, for a flat monthly price instead of call-centre rates. It works alongside a phone answering service for your business hours, or covers the whole clock on its own.
Why do after-hours calls matter so much?
Because the after-hours caller is often the one most ready to act. They're calling in the evening or on the weekend because that's when they finally got to it, and they want an answer now, not a callback in two days. A voicemail beep tells them you're shut and sends them looking. When Deskie answers instead, you capture the caller who would otherwise have booked your competitor before you opened.
How does Deskie handle calls after hours?
The same way it handles any call you miss. Your number rings first if you're available. After hours, calls forward to Deskie instead of voicemail, it answers by your business name (or your own name, up to you), asks the questions you've set, and texts you the details within seconds. You decide what counts as your hours and what Deskie covers.
Can Deskie tell an urgent call from one that can wait?
Yes. Deskie can flag genuinely urgent calls, a lockout, a burst pipe, an outage, and mark them in the details it sends you. You can even ask Deskie to push urgent calls through to you straight away, day or night, and hold everything else until the next working morning, so your sleep isn't broken by an enquiry that can wait. It's up to you.
How much does after-hours answering cost?
Deskie is a flat $149 a month for 60 answered calls, with no setup fee and no lock-in contract. An overnight human call centre charges far more, often per call or per minute on top of a monthly fee. With Deskie, after-hours coverage is included in the same flat price as the rest of your calls, and only genuine, actionable calls count toward your allowance.
Do I need to change my number or set special hours?
No. Deskie works with your existing business number, so nothing changes for your customers. You tell Deskie your working hours during setup, which takes about 3 minutes, and it covers the calls that come in when you can't. You can still answer any call you want to, at any hour.
Deskie vs voicemail vs an after-hours call centre
After hours, your real choices are a beep that loses the caller, an expensive overnight call centre, or Deskie.
| Feature | Deskie (AI) | Voicemail | After-hours call centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers nights and weekends | Yes | No | Yes |
| Captures the enquiry | Yes | Only if caller leaves a message | Yes |
| Texts you the details | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Knows your business | Yes | No | No |
| Flags urgent calls | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Cost | From $149/mo flat | Free but loses jobs | Higher, often per-call |
Don't take our word for it. Call and hear Deskie now: 0485 017 007.
FAQ
Does Deskie answer on weekends and public holidays?
Yes. Deskie answers day, night, weekends and public holidays. Calls that come in any time you're not available are answered the same as any other, with the details texted straight to you.
Will the caller know my business is closed?
No. Deskie answers naturally by your business name and captures what the caller needs, so they feel looked after rather than shut out. Deskie never hides that it's AI: if a caller asks, it tells them plainly that it's an AI assistant here to help.
Can I have urgent calls reach me at night but hold the rest?
Yes. You can ask Deskie to send genuinely urgent calls through to you straight away and hold non-urgent ones until the next working morning, so you only get woken for something that can't wait.
Do after-hours calls cost extra?
No. After-hours coverage is included in your flat monthly price. Only genuine, actionable calls count toward your allowance, and spam, hang-ups, wrong numbers and time-wasters don't count.
Can I keep my existing number?
Yes. Deskie works with your existing business number. Your customers keep calling the number they already know, and Deskie answers the calls you miss, after hours or any time.
Hear Deskie live. Call 0485 017 007 for a demo. Takes 30 seconds. No email. No signup.
Call 0485 017 007Prefer Deskie to call you? Enter your mobile and Deskie rings you back.
No credit card. No sales pitch.