How much does answering the handyman line cost?

Phone answering starts at $29/month billed annually. Choose Pro for the on-call schedule and text confirmations. The answering service cost guide shows how the pricing compares.

Can she separate a walkthrough from a repair booking?

You define which tasks book directly and which need an estimate first. Penny applies that list using the scope she collects; she does not guess a labor duration from “a few small jobs.”

What if the caller bought the materials?

She records the product, quantity the caller knows, and whether it is on site. You confirm suitability and any additional materials during your review.

Does she ask about old paint?

When the scope may disturb painted surfaces, Penny can ask the building age and flag older or unknown-age properties. Your qualified reviewer decides lead-safe requirements and what work can proceed.

Will she tell a homeowner whether a permit is needed?

She captures the address and full scope for you. Permit and license requirements go to the qualified owner or local authority; the caller’s description of a task as small does not decide them.

Can a customer add tasks after booking?

Penny records each addition as a scope change and routes it through your rule. You decide whether the existing block fits or the visit needs a new estimate.

Can a caller send a photo of what is broken?

On Pro, Penny can request a photo by text and attach it to the intake. A picture of damaged drywall or a rotted board helps you review the scope before the visit. She still asks about size and access, and the caller is never asked to approach a hazard to get the shot.

What happens if a caller describes a dangerous repair?

Gas odor gets evacuation without switches or phone use indoors, then 911 and the gas utility from outside. Smoke, flames, or panel sparks get everyone outside and 911. Water near electrical equipment gets a stay-clear instruction. Penny alerts your owner contact after that safety step.

AI receptionist for handyman and home-repair businesses

Penny’s handyman answering service turns a punch list into a scoped estimate visit.

A door that will not latch and two bedrooms needing paint make very different visits. Penny works through the caller’s list, asks what preparation is done and who supplies the materials, then follows your rules for a service booking or estimate walk-through.

A fact about the setup

Before a painting estimate, Penny asks how many rooms are involved and whether the walls still need patching.

Try Penny free

14 days of Pro included. No credit card.

Or call her from your phone: (630) 324-4620

The demo line

Try changing the details of an appointment request

The live demo uses Summit Heating, a fictional HVAC business. Listen to her intake here; test your own trade’s rules in your Penny account.

(630) 324-4620

Call your configured Penny account with a painting request that still needs drywall preparation.
On your own test line, add an electrical task to a furniture-assembly request and check that it reaches your scope-review rule.

Quotes

A two-item list still needs the size of each job

She never quotes

A project total inferred from a room count
A fixed repair duration for an uninspected punch list
A permit or license determination
A promise that customer-supplied hardware fits
A conclusion that an old painted surface is lead-free

What she does instead

Penny records the full task list and asks about preparation, materials, and access. She can relay a fee you approve and book a walkthrough; you decide the price and work duration from the scope.

She books the visit during the call. The price comes from the visit.

Example calls

A painting job starts with the preparation it needs

Everyday call
Two bedrooms need painting and the walls still need patching.
The caller hears
Are the ceilings or trim included, and do you have the paint?
Penny does
Records preparation, room count, materials, and building age for the estimate walkthrough.
Everyday call
A customer has bought a flat-pack wardrobe.
The caller hears
Have all the boxes arrived, and which room will it go in?
Penny does
Captures the product, stairs, and access before offering the assembly visit type you approve.
Everyday call
A customer wants to add shelves to a booked visit.
The caller hears
What size and how many shelves, and which appointment is this for?
Penny does
Sends the added scope through your rule so you can confirm whether the existing visit block fits.
Needs attention
A caller reports water reaching an electrical outlet.
The caller hears
Stay out of the water and don’t touch the electrical equipment.
Penny does
Uses the safety rule and alerts the owner for a qualified response before arranging repair work.

Your intake questions, booking permissions, and contact rules decide the next step. Read the emergency rules.

A call, written out

Two bedrooms needing paint arrive with the preparation notes

Estimate request for painting in an older home; preparation and building age go to the owner’s review before the repair is priced.

pennyassistant.com/calls

Inbound call · Kestrel Button Home Repair

Answered by Penny · transcript

Penny
Kestrel Button Home Repair, this is Penny. What work are you planning?
Tavish (caller)
I’d like two bedrooms painted. There are some holes from old shelves.
Penny
Are the holes already patched, and are the ceilings or trim included?
Tavish (caller)
They still need patching. Just the walls, and I have the paint.
Penny
About what year was the home built?
Tavish (caller)
Around 1965.
Penny
Work that disturbs paint in an older home needs the owner’s lead-safe review. I’ll flag the year and the unpatched walls for the estimate visit.
A fact from the knowledge pack, used on the call.
Tavish (caller)
That makes sense. I’m Tavish Fenwick at 24 Hazel Lane in Lombard. Call 630-555-0126.
Penny
I have two bedrooms, wall painting, patching still needed, and customer-supplied paint. There’s a Wednesday afternoon walkthrough open. Would you like it?
Tavish (caller)
Yes, Wednesday works.
Penny
Your estimate visit is booked for Wednesday afternoon. The owner will review the preparation and materials on site before quoting the work.

In the log

Name

Tavish Fenwick

Service address

24 Hazel Lane, Lombard

Scope

Two bedrooms · walls · patching · customer paint

Appointment

Wednesday afternoon · estimate walkthrough

Written to your calendar

Every line she said is in your log with the fields she captured beside it.

Before her first call

Your accepted work list sets the boundary for each repair request

From the handyman knowledge pack

Punch lists, small repairs, assembly, and the owner’s accepted work categories.
Room counts, surface condition, preparation, and painting-job scope.
Building age and lead-paint concerns routed for qualified review.
Customer-supplied materials, product identity, measurements, and access.
Trade licensing, permit questions, and requests beyond the shop’s scope.
Gas, fire, and water near electrical equipment reported during repair calls.
Estimate visits, time-and-materials policies, and changes to a punch list.
Calendar blocks, return visits, and unfinished-work callbacks.

Penny, on a call

Work that disturbs paint in an older home needs the owner’s lead-safe review. I’ll flag the year and the unpatched walls for the estimate visit.

The topics in the list are why she can say this.

On your website

A self-bought wardrobe brings questions about boxes and stairs

kestrelbuttonhomerepair.com

Kestrel Button Home Repair

Services
Hours
About
Contact

Penny

Chat with Kestrel Button Home Repair

Visitor

can you put together a wardrobe if I buy it myself?

What Penny does

Asks for the product name, whether all the boxes have arrived, and where the assembled wardrobe will go. She records stairs and access for your review and books the visit type you allow for assembly requests.

Write a message

The chat follows the same rules as the phone line, so a visitor gets the answer a caller would.

Your numbers

Adjust the job value to reflect your own mix of work

Change the three numbers to yours. The default job value comes from a named source, dated.

Missed calls a weekAverage handyman job value$Share of those callers you expect to book%

Default job value $407, from Angi — typical cost to hire a handyman (national average) (as of 2026-01-01). Change it to yours.

Potential job revenue

If you miss 6 calls a week and book 45% of them at $407 a job, those jobs would represent about

$4,758/month

This is estimated gross revenue, not measured lost revenue or profit. Some missed callers may still book with you. Change the assumptions to match your call records.

Penny starts at $29 a month, billed annually. At this job value, one booked job brings in enough revenue for the annual Starter subscription. Allow for extra usage charges and subtract job costs when estimating profit.

The result is your own arithmetic from the three numbers above.

Where it lands

Keep the punch list attached to its calendar entry

Google Calendar
Outlook
Jobber
Housecall Pro

Connect Zapier or signed webhooks to send the captured details to the tools your office uses.

Questions

Answers for the owner handing off the work phone for the first time

Send setup or plan questions to support@pennyassistant.com.

Google Calendar or Outlook receives the configured appointment. Jobber can receive a Request, and Housecall Pro can receive a customer/job record for your office workflow. Intake notes stay attached; a record handoff does not itself confirm a crew’s schedule.

Other lines of work

Compare the intake for jobs requiring a specialist

Contractors

A question she asks

“Is this a permit job, and who’s pulling it?” Penny asks before she books the walk-through.

Appliance Repair

A fact about the setup

For a Whirlpool dishwasher, Penny asks for the model number on the inside rim when the caller can reach it safely.

Garage Door

A question she asks

For a replacement door, Penny asks about the current door, insulation preferences, and whether the customer also wants the opener reviewed.

Penny bills a monthly price with minutes included, then the published per-minute rate. The answering service cost guide sets it beside per-minute human services, and the plans are on the pricing page.

Give Penny a call before you forward yours.

Try the HVAC demo, then set up Penny for your business. Your account includes 14 days of Pro; Free keeps your website chat after the trial.

Try Penny free Call Penny: (630) 324-4620

14 days of Pro included. No credit card.