Missed Lead Calculator for Small Businesses

Your industry

New enquiries a month

Average job value

Enquiries missed or answered too late

Fine-tune the assumptions

Enquiries you normally win

Missed enquiries automation wins back

Which build Quick automation One process, like missed-call text back, R2,950 CRM foundation Pipeline, forms, follow-ups and three workflows, R7,500 Growth automation system Up to eight workflows across your tools, R15,000

Include monthly automation care (R2,500/month)

Walking away each month R0

Automation could win back R0

Build: R0 once-off
Or spread it
Monthly running cost: R0
Extra revenue after running costs: R0 a month
Pays for itself in: -

Estimates based on your inputs and published industry figures. Revenue, not profit. Platform usage like SMS is estimated at about R350 a month and billed at cost.

Win these leads back

Where the numbers come from

Typical figures by industry

The starting points the calculator uses, for small owner-run businesses in South Africa. Your own numbers will differ; change them above.

Industry	Enquiries a month	Value of a won customer	Usually won	Missed or late	Sources
Solar installers	30	R70,000Average job value	15%	20%	Kandua: inverter and battery installation cost (5kW hybrid with 5kWh lithium about R70,000), Kandua: solar backup power installation cost (overall average about R120,000), Engineering News, July 2026: installations still below 2023 levels, customers more discerning, ProCompare survey: South Africans collect 3.1 quotes on average
Electricians	40	R2,000Average job value	50%	30%	Kandua: electrical fixture repair cost (R450 to R2,500+, average about R950; call-out R500 to R850), Kandua: single-phase electrical COC cost (inspection plus minor repairs about R2,500), ProCompare survey: 26% hired the pro who called first
Plumbers	45	R2,500Average job value	55%	30%	Kandua: burst pipe repair cost (R1,500 to R12,000+, average about R5,500), Kandua: kitchen drain unblocking cost (average about R1,500), Kandua: geyser installation cost (150L electric about R8,500), Invoca 2026 home services benchmarks (US): 52% of callers reach a person
Builders and renovators	20	R50,000Average job value	15%	20%	ProCompare: kitchen renovation price 2026 (R63,000 to R190,000 all-inclusive), ooba: cost of renovating a kitchen (bathroom renovation about R52,000), JLC: remodeling benchmarks (US close ratio about 35% of prospect meetings, about 1 in 5 leads)
Aircon and HVAC installers	30	R7,000Average job value	35%	30%	Kandua: aircon installation cost (12,000 BTU mid-range installed about R13,500), Kandua: aircon regas and repair cost (average about R2,800, annual service R600 to R1,200)
Roofing and waterproofing	25	R12,000Average job value	25%	30%	Fonster waterproofing pricing guide, July 2026 (torch-on R280 to R480 per m2; 40 m2 flat roof R12,000 to R24,000), Roofr: roofing sales metrics (US close rates 30% to 50% on qualified leads)
Hair salons	25	R2,000First-year value of a new client	60%	25%	Fresha: Pretoria (Waterkloof) hair salon listings with prices, Boulevard 2023: 45% of salon clients return after a first visit (US)
Nail salons	25	R1,800First-year value of a new client	60%	25%	Fresha: gel nails in Ballito (around ZAR 330 per appointment), Booksy: Polished, Wapadrand (Pretoria) nail price list, Boulevard 2023: 45% of salon clients return after a first visit (US)
Beauty and skin clinics	25	R2,500First-year value of a new client	45%	25%	Soma Laser, Pretoria: treatment price list (facial R810, peels R770 to R1,290, microneedling R1,600), Boulevard 2023: 45% of salon and spa clients return after a first visit (US)
Barbers	20	R900First-year value of a new client	65%	30%	Sorbet Man treatment menu (clipper cut R175, faded clipper cut R270), Briefly: Legends Barbershop price list 2024 (fades R150 to R250), Boulevard 2023: 45% of salon clients return after a first visit (US)
Mechanics and service workshops	40	R3,000Average job value	50%	25%	Autotrader, 21 Oct 2025: car service costs in South Africa (minor R1,000 to R3,500, major R2,200 to R8,000+ for entry-level cars; independents 20% to 40% cheaper), BusinessTech: Lightstone labour rates (volume brands average R587 an hour)
Panel beaters	15	R8,000Average job value	30%	25%	Sell Your Damaged Car: cost of accident repairs without insurance (minor R1,500 to R8,000; moderate R8,000 to R45,000), BusinessTech: Lightstone labour rates (R300 to R1,195 an hour)
Car parts sellers	80	R2,000First-year value of a new client	35%	25%	AA survey: 37% of owners service at private mechanics, 57% prefer original parts, ProCompare survey: 26% hired whoever responded first (services, used as a proxy)
Pest control	30	R1,500Average job value	50%	30%	Pestcare, March 2026: pest control cost in South Africa (cockroach 3 to 4 bed R800 to R1,600; rodents R800 to R3,500; termites R1,500 to R20,000), Pest Control in Pretoria: 2026 price list (3-bedroom treatment R730 to R970)
Cleaning services	30	R3,000First-year value of a new client	40%	25%	ProCompare: cleaning services prices 2026 (move-out 3-bed R1,900 to R2,500; once-off R400 to R600 an hour), Briefly: cleaning services price list (updated 2024; deep clean 3-bed R1,200 to R1,600)
Landscaping and garden services	20	R10,000Average job value	30%	30%	ProCompare: landscaping request estimates (design R4,500 to R15,000; installs R35,000 to R85,000), ProCompare: garden maintenance request estimates (R1,200 to R3,500 a month)
My business	30	R5,000Average sale value	35%	25%	ProCompare survey: 26% hired the pro who called first; 3.1 quotes collected on average, CallRail 2025 benchmark: home services missed 14% of calls (US), Quo 2026: businesses called back 31% of missed calls within 48 hours (US)

How it works out

The maths, in plain English

Missed enquiries = enquiries a month × the share that are missed or answered too late.
Walking away = missed enquiries × the share you'd normally win × the value of a won customer.
Won back = missed enquiries × the share an instant reply and follow-ups recover × the share you'd normally win × the value.
Running cost = automation care (if ticked) + platform usage such as SMS.
Pays for itself = the build price ÷ (won back − running cost).

The research behind it

In a 2022 survey of 385 South Africans looking for home and business services, 26% said they hired the pro who was the first to call, second only to lowest price (31%). People collected 3.1 quotes on average. ProCompare client challenges survey (Oct to Nov 2022)
Firms that tried to contact a web lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it (have a meaningful conversation with a decision maker) as firms that waited even an hour longer, and more than 60 times as likely as firms that waited 24 hours or more. In an audit of 2,241 US companies, 37% responded within an hour, 24% took more than 24 hours and 23% never responded. Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review, March 2011 (US research)
Across 15,000 web leads and over 100,000 call attempts at six companies, the odds of contacting a lead were 100 times higher, and the odds of qualifying it 21 times higher, when the first call was made within 5 minutes rather than 30. These are odds, not probabilities, and qualification is not a sale. The study was run with a lead-response software vendor and presented at a conference, not peer reviewed. Elkington and Oldroyd, Lead Response Management Study (InsideSales.com with MIT), 2007 (US research)
In CallRail's 2025 small-business benchmark (1.1 million leads), home services businesses missed 14% of calls; healthcare missed 32%, legal 28% and real estate 9%. These are businesses already paying for call tracking. CallRail press release, 14 January 2025 (Business Wire) (US research)
52% of callers to home services businesses spoke with a person (65% for calls longer than 15 seconds), averaged across Invoca customers and over 70 million tracked calls. Invoca Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report 2026 (US research)
Across 16.7 million missed calls to its customers over three months, businesses called the number back within 48 hours only 31% of the time. Quo (formerly OpenPhone) small business callback statistics, August 2026 (US research)
On average only 45% of salon clients return after their first appointment; top-decile salons convert 70% of first visits into a second appointment. Based on over 11 million appointments and 4 million clients on Boulevard. Boulevard salon retention report, October 2023 (via GCI Magazine) (US research)

Figures last checked 2026-10-12. Prices for Remy Systems builds come from the pricing page.

Questions, answered

Before you trust the number

Are there any hidden fees?

No. Every service page lists exactly what you pay once-off and what runs monthly (like the care plan at R350/m for hosting, security and small updates). What you see is what you pay.

Can I mix services?

That's the whole point. Most clients start with a website, then add automation, ads or video as they grow — everything is built to connect.

When can I cancel monthly services?

Anytime. Send a message saying you'd like to cancel and your subscription is closed within 72 hours — no lock-in contracts.

Do you build online stores?

Yes — e-commerce builds from 30 to 200+ products with payment gateways, reviews and abandoned-cart automation. Ask about it on the Website Design page or in the form below.

Do you work with overseas clients?

Yes — I'm based in Pretoria, South Africa, and work with select UK and US clients remotely. Time zones have never been a problem.

How accurate is this calculator?

It's an estimate, not a promise. The starting numbers for each industry come from published South African prices and research on how fast businesses reply, and they're deliberately conservative. Change them to match your own business and the result gets much closer to reality.

What counts as a missed lead?

Any enquiry that doesn't get a reply while the person is still deciding: a call you couldn't answer on a job, a WhatsApp answered the next day, a form that sat in an inbox over the weekend. Most people contact more than one business, so the first useful reply usually wins.

What would Remy Systems actually set up?

Usually an instant reply to every new enquiry by SMS or WhatsApp, missed-call text back, a simple pipeline so nothing gets lost, and reminders that follow up until the person books or says no. It runs on n8n, Make.com, Zapier or Cloudflare, connected to the tools you already use.

Can I pay monthly?

The build is a once-off cost, quoted in writing first. Builds from R7,500 can be spread over six months on approval. Monthly automation care starts at R2,500 and keeps everything monitored and fixed when an app changes. Platform usage, like SMS, is billed at cost.

Get started

Let's stop the leak

Tell me what you do and how enquiries reach you. I'll show you exactly where they're slipping and what it would take to fix.

InstantlyYour message comes straight to meStraight to me — not a call centre, not a shared inbox.
NextI read it personallyNo account manager in between — you hear from the person who will build it.
Usually within one working dayA recommendation and a real numberBy WhatsApp, call or email — whichever you prefer.
If it fitsA short call, then I buildLive in 5–15 working days once I have your content.

Prefer to talk? WhatsApp 081 789 8630

Message me directly

The quickest way to reach me. Tell me what you do and what you want more of, and I'll come back with a plan and a real price.

WhatsApp 081 789 8630 rhyne@remysystems.com Call 081 789 8630

What slow follow-up is costing you

Calculator