Use case: After-hours answering
Nights, weekends and holidays, answered.
The calls that matter most often come when your office is closed: the furnace that quit at midnight, the pipe that burst on Sunday. Wenly answers them in your company's name, sorts urgent from routine, and emails you the lead in 30 seconds.
After hours is when voicemail costs the most
Customers don't call at convenient times. A frozen pipe doesn't wait for Monday, and a lockout at 11pm won't sit in voicemail until morning. The caller wants an answer, so they keep calling until someone gives them one.
You can't be on the phone 24 hours a day, and you shouldn't be. After-hours answering closes the gap, so the person who does call at night reaches someone in your company's name instead of a beep.
How it works
What happens, step by step
Choose your after-hours rules
You tell us when the office is open and what should happen when it isn't. Some owners forward every call after 5pm. Others forward only the calls they don't answer.
Wenly answers in your name
The greeting uses your company name and says the call is answered automatically and may be recorded. It then asks what your trade would ask, from what's wrong to the address.
Urgent stays urgent
A no-heat call with a baby at home is marked urgent and can transfer to your on-call number. A routine quote request waits for you as a normal lead.
You get the lead in 30 seconds
An email with the caller, number, problem and callback details. On Done-for-you, Pro and Founding, a real person on our team reviews every lead.
What you receive
- An email within 30 seconds of the call, marked URGENT when it is
- An email with the details, the transcript and the recording
- A one-tap callback to the caller
- A weekly jobs saved report that counts what came in while you were away
Starter plan. After-hours answering is in every plan.
What it does and doesn't do
- Wenly doesn't dispatch anyone. It hands the lead to you, or transfers to your on-call number.
- It only uses facts you give it. It won't quote prices or promise arrival times.
- It is not a substitute for emergency services. If anyone is in danger, callers are told to call 911.
Common questions
Do I have to forward every call after hours?
No. You can forward everything after a set time, or only the calls you don't answer. We set it up with you and send the exact steps for your carrier.
Can it wake me for an emergency?
It can transfer urgent calls to your on-call number, and it emails you the details after the call ends. Whether your phone makes noise at 2am is a setting on your phone.
What if I'm asleep and don't answer the transfer?
The caller is told your team will call back with priority, and the urgent email is in your inbox when you wake up.
Is this the same as a call centre?
No. Calls are answered automatically, not by a person. A real person on our team reviews every lead on Done-for-you, Pro and Founding. The answering service comparison lays out the differences.
Keep reading
Trades that use it
How it compares and what to read next
- Wenly vs a human answering serviceWenly vs a human call-centre answering service, using published prices from Ruby and Smith.ai checked 5 October 2026. What the price gap buys.
- After-hours answeringAfter-hours answering is handling calls outside your business hours so callers reach an answer instead of voicemail.
- Conditional call forwardingConditional call forwarding redirects a call only when a condition is met: your line is busy, you don't answer, or your phone is off or out of coverage.
- Lead captureLead capture is recording a prospective customer's details, such as name, number, need and location, when they first make contact, so someone can follow up.
Hear it answer. Then start free.
On business plans: If we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay.