Built for trades
A real phone line for Canadian contractors.
You’re under a sink, on a roof, in a crawl space. Your hands aren’t free, your phone is in the truck, and the customer who just dialled doesn’t know any of that. Here’s how a $19.99 CAD/month line replaces the chaos of giving out your personal cell.
The four calls a contractor actually gets in a day
Most trades calls fall into four buckets. Each one needs a different response, but if every call rings your personal cell, you handle them all the same way — by guessing whether to answer. A real business line lets you route each one differently:
- Emergency — water on the floor, no heat in January, smoke. The caller wants you to pick up right now. Route: ring your cell, then your partner’s cell, then a message.
- Quote request— “Can you come look at my furnace next week?” Not urgent, but every quote left in voicemail is real money on the table. Route: clean message + emailed transcript so you can call back tonight from the parking lot.
- Scheduling / confirmation— “Are you still coming Thursday at 10?” Quick, low urgency. Route: voicemail; respond when you’re between jobs.
- Billing question — invoice questions, payment status, supplier callbacks. Route: forward to whoever handles the books — your spouse, your bookkeeper, a separate voicemail.
When every call rings your personal cell, you make split-second decisions on every one of them — usually the wrong call. With routing, the caller routes themselves before you decide whether to answer.
A real sample greeting (steal this)
Twenty seconds. Tells the caller you’re a real business, makes the urgency level their problem to declare, and sets expectations on response time. The caller leaves the line feeling like they reached a company — not like they’re a nuisance.
Pick from 8 professional voices, or record this in your own voice. Rewrite the script anytime — sale this week, holiday closure next month — and the new version is live on the very next call.
The press-1-2-3 setup that fits most trades
- Press 1 → emergencies.Rings your cell for 25 seconds with caller-ID showing the Callkeep number, so you know it’s real work, not a sales call. If you don’t pick up, tries a partner’s cell. If still no answer, falls through to a clean voicemail labelled “EMERGENCY” so it’s the first one you see at the next stoplight.
- Press 2 → quotes and scheduling.Goes straight to voicemail. The caller hears something like “leave your name, the address, and what you need.” You get the audio plus a typed transcript by email within a minute. Call back from your truck between jobs.
- Press 3 → billing. Forward to your spouse, your bookkeeper, or a separate voicemail you check on Friday afternoons. Most trades businesses spend 5 minutes per billing call; getting them off your line entirely is a real time win.
All routing is yours to change from your phone, any time. Going on vacation? Edit the greeting and re-route press 1 to a covering contractor for a week.
After-hours: what happens to a call at 9 PM
The single thing that breaks a small trades business is the after-hours emergency call you never see. With Callkeep, here’s the flow:
- Caller dials your business number.
- “Answer on my phone”rings your cell first for 10-45 seconds (you choose). If you pick up, the call goes through normally. The caller sees your business number, you’re live.
- If you don’t pick up — kids’ bedtime, you’re driving, you’re asleep — the call falls through to your greeting and menu.
- Press 1 (emergency) tries your cell once more with a longer ring. Press 2 leaves a clean voicemail.
- You get the voicemail audio plus a typed transcript by email the moment it’s done. If you check your phone at 7 AM and see the transcript says “water in basement, I’m at 1428 Crescent Heights, please call when you can” — you call them at 7:05.
What this replaces, and what it costs
Most solo trades are choosing between a few real options:
| Option | Monthly cost | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Personal cell as business line | $0 | Your evenings, weekends, and family time all become work-eligible. After-hours calls catch you mid-shower. |
| Callkeep | $19.99 CAD | Real business number, professional greeting, routing, transcripts. ~5 min setup. |
| Carrier business line add-on (Bell, Telus, Rogers) | ~$10-25 CAD | A second number, no menu, no routing, no transcripts. Calls still ring your phone. |
| Live answering service | ~$100-300 CAD | Real human takes messages. Significant monthly cost; works for higher-volume trades. |
| Receptionist (part-time) | ~$2000-3500 CAD | Reasonable at higher revenue; complete overkill if you’re solo. |
For solo and 2-3 person trades, Callkeep is the cheapest option that includes real routing and transcripts. For bigger crews, the math shifts toward a part-time receptionist or an answering service.
Common questions from contractors
I'm always on the road — do I need to install an app?
No. Everything works through your phone's browser — setting up the line, changing the greeting, listening to messages, calling customers back. Audio and transcripts arrive by email, so on a normal workday you don't even need to open Callkeep.
What if a customer calls while I'm under a sink?
The greeting plays, the caller picks emergency (press 1) or message (press 2). Press 1 tries your cell — you'll hear the ring eventually. Press 2 leaves a transcript you read between jobs. Either way, you don't lose the lead, and the customer doesn't feel ignored.
Can my spouse take billing calls?
Yes. Press 3 (or any digit you assign to billing) forwards to whoever you set — her cell, a bookkeeper, a separate voicemail. Change it any time. Common setup: press 3 goes to your spouse during the day, falls to voicemail in the evening.
I already have a number my customers know — do I have to give them a new one?
No. Forward your existing carrier line to Callkeep with one short code (most carriers: *72 then your Callkeep number). Your customers keep dialling the number on the side of your truck; the call lands on Callkeep, plays your greeting, routes appropriately. See setup guides per carrier for the exact code.
What happens to forwarded calls — do they use my mobile minutes?
On most current Canadian postpaid mobile plans (Bell, Rogers, Telus, and their sub-brands), forwarding is included with no per-minute surcharge. On prepaid plans, the forwarded leg uses your prepaid balance. Worth checking your specific plan if you're on prepaid; for postpaid it's typically a no-op.
Can I call customers back FROM my business number?
Yes. Click 'Call back' on any voicemail or call in your dashboard — Callkeep rings your cell, you pick up, and we bridge you to the customer with your Callkeep number as the caller ID. They see your business line, never your personal phone. Works from the phone you already carry.