Answering service minutes explained: what counts, what rolls over, what overage costs
How answering services meter minutes, what gets billed, rounding, rollover, overage, and how to estimate the minutes a small business needs.
Updated October 17, 2026
Most live answering services bill every minute an agent spends, round up to the minute, and charge overage per minute once your bucket is used. Elavo Answer bills only time the AI is on the call, in 6-second steps, never bills calls under 10 seconds, screened spam, or time after a transfer, resets included minutes monthly, and has no overage: you add one 300-minute block for $75 when you need more.
What usually counts
Live services commonly bill agent time including note-taking after the call, round to the minute, and count wrong numbers and hang-ups. Read the metering section of any contract.
Rounding
Rounding to the minute inflates short calls: a 70-second call costs two minutes. 6-second metering costs 1.2 minutes.
Rollover
Included minutes typically reset each month and do not roll over. Elavo Answer works the same way for included minutes, but minutes you buy in blocks never expire.
Overage
Published overage runs about $1.85 to $2.60 a minute at live services and is billed in arrears, so a busy month surprises you on the next invoice. A flat recharge block is predictable.
Estimating your need
Inbound calls last month × 2.5 minutes. Add a buffer for a storm or a busy season. Pick the plan that covers the normal month and let a block cover the spike.