Southwest Answering Service: Translate the Quote into an Office Budget

Published by Revo, a competing AI receptionist provider. Official pages reviewed October 30, 2026. This is a documentation-based buying guide, not a firsthand service test or legal advice. Obtain the proposed agreement and confirm its current terms directly.

Start with the billing rules, not an invented tariff

Southwest’s published terms describe 28-day invoices, recurring base charges in advance and overage or quantity-based services afterward. Calls have a 60-second minimum and 60-second billing increments, measured from connection to disconnection. Inbound and outbound actions, programming and account-management time can be chargeable. No complete dollar tariff is established by the reviewed pages.

The terms also reserve holiday charges subject to the agreement. Ask for the actual proposal’s definitions and rates. Do not assume that every action discussed during a sales conversation is included in the recurring base.

A contractor office should identify which work creates usage before comparing a provider that meters only a different set of activities. A lower quoted rate is not automatically a lower bill when the measured work differs.

Normalize the calendar using real dates

A 28-day cycle is four weeks. Thirteen such periods span 364 days, but that calculation does not establish how many invoices land in your particular calendar year. Activation dates, advance billing and the period being budgeted matter.

For a useful comparison, choose a start date and an end date. Ask the provider to show which recurring charges and usage charges fall inside that window. Use the same window for an answering service that bills by calendar month.

Keep usage and cash timing in separate columns. A usage charge invoiced after the covered period may arrive later than the base charge for that same service period. Your office needs both the service budget and the payment schedule.

Turn the proposed workload into a quote worksheet

Use real call records where available, with unnecessary personal information removed. Do not assume that one supplier’s billed minutes are equivalent to another supplier’s measured minutes.

For example, a service manager might ask the provider to add a second recipient, change an on-call destination and revise the handling of appointment questions. Record those as three requested changes and ask what is billable. This example does not establish that Southwest charges a particular fee for any one change.

Establish an exit and invoice-review owner

The published terms describe an initial 84-day term, then cycle-to-cycle renewal with 28 days’ written cancellation notice. They also specify a 28-day window for written invoice disputes. Confirm the dates and process in the proposed agreement rather than treating this summary as a determination of legal rights or enforceability.

Give one office role responsibility for tracking the activation date, reviewing invoices and keeping any notices. A field technician who receives a message is not necessarily the person authorized to dispute a charge or end an account.

These records also make a future service transition easier. They do not establish that forwarding has changed, an account has closed or a refund has been accepted. Confirm each event separately.

Evaluate the actual reception outcome as well

A complete budget is useful only for a service that fits the office’s calls. Define what happens to a new inquiry, an existing-job question and a request requiring a team member. Distinguish a delivered message from a recipient accepting responsibility or a technician attending the property.

Southwest’s contractor and service descriptions should be checked against the purchased configuration. This guide does not verify emergency response, field dispatch outcomes or guaranteed handling during a surge.

Revo offers AI reception for inbound calls. Its current plans describe appointment booking and configured scripts, hours and rules; team transfers depend on plan. Revo is not presented as a supplier of Southwest’s live staff or as having the same billable-work definitions. Compare the same supported tasks and workload before choosing.

Frequently asked questions

Does a 28-day plan cost the same as a monthly plan?

The calendar differs. Compare charges over the same actual service dates, including applicable usage and other charges, rather than comparing base labels alone.

Is a current Southwest dollar price established here?

No. Request a quote for the required work. The reviewed terms establish billing rules, not a complete tariff for your business.

Does changing an instruction necessarily cost extra?

The terms include programming and account-management work in chargeable scope. Ask which proposed changes are included or billed under your actual agreement; this guide does not assign a fee to a particular edit.

Can this guide determine my cancellation rights?

No. Confirm the proposed agreement and obtain qualified advice if needed. The worksheet helps the office collect dates and evidence, not determine legal enforceability.

Make the service and the budget agree

Request a Southwest proposal that completes the worksheet. If configured AI reception fits your inbound workload, review Revo’s current plans using the same dates, required tasks and exception process.