OfficeHQ

OfficeHQ: virtual reception and call answering for businesses in Australia

OfficeHQ is an Australian company specialising in virtual reception and call answering services for businesses of all sizes. Its offering is based on professional receptionists located in Australia who answer client calls with customised greetings and scripted responses, with overflow support to maintain a fast speed of answer. The company operates every day of the year, so it can answer calls at any time if the client activates after-hours live answering.

Call answering and call management services

OfficeHQ's catalogue includes live call answering, message taking, call transfers and appointment scheduling. The company can handle bookings, cancellations and the client's general diary management using the tool of their choice. It also offers pay-per-call answering, after-hours answering, overflow call answering and temporary or short-term answering.

For critical messages, it provides an escalation management service with scripts that allows requests to be triaged and prioritised until they reach the correct on-call person. It also offers outbound calling and AI receptionist services.

Phone numbers and virtual addresses

OfficeHQ allows you to set up virtual inbound numbers for different locations or, if a national presence is required, a 1300 number or a free call 1800 number. The company also offers virtual addresses to expand a business's geographic presence without high costs or the need to relocate.

Hybrid solutions and automation

The company combines artificial intelligence and human receptionists in its hybrid instant call answering service: AI handles routine questions while receptionists step in when necessary. It also offers automated messaging with voicemail-to-email forwarding, call diversion services, voicemail-to-email and IVR systems.

Industries and client types

OfficeHQ serves small businesses, medium-sized enterprises, large corporations and government departments. Among the sectors it mentions are real estate and property management, building, construction and trades, home services, legal services, financial services, allied healthcare, medical and dental, IT, tech and communications, tourism, travel and hospitality, marketing, media and advertising, retail and eCommerce, franchises and mining. The company states that its staff are trained across different industries and that it works with various software programs and appointment scheduling systems for client management.

How it works and access

The sign-up process is described in four steps: set-up in minutes, client call, answering by OfficeHQ and message delivery. The client diverts their business phone to the unique number provided and can choose to send all calls or only unanswered ones. Depending on the plan chosen, receptionists can take messages, transfer selected calls, answer frequently asked questions, enter contacts into the CRM, take orders, process payments and schedule appointments. After each call, the client receives a message by email, SMS or both, with details such as the caller's name, their phone number and the reason for the call.

All virtual reception services include access to a comprehensive portal and a mobile app, with multi-user access and real-time updates.

Business model and trial

The company offers month-to-month subscriptions with no lock-in contract and no cancellation fees, allowing the service to be scaled up or down as needs change. It also has a 7-day free trial with instant activation, no credit card required. The site indicated a promotion for the company's 23rd anniversary, with 23% off live call answering for two months, subject to conditions.

OfficeHQ states that more than 25,000 businesses use its services, from sole traders to large corporations. At the time of analysis, the company showed a rating of 4.8 stars based on 150 Google reviews.