The formula
Weekly revenue lost equals missed requests, times the share that would have become jobs, times the average job value. Multiply by the weeks you work in a year for the yearly figure. Nothing else is hidden in it: no industry average, no assumed growth, and no number you did not type.
A worked example
These inputs are illustrative, not statistics about any trade. With 5 missed requests a week, 30% of which would have become paid jobs, at $200 a job, the weekly loss is $300. Over 48 working weeks that is $14,400. Change the inputs in the calculator to see your own figure.
How to count your own misses
The number only you can supply is how many requests you miss. For two weeks, keep a running tally in your phone and add one mark for each of these, counting each person once.
- A call you could not answer and did not return the same day.
- A voicemail from someone who wanted a time or a price.
- A message or form submitted after hours that waited until the next day.
- A direct message on a social page that went unanswered.
Then estimate, from your own past jobs, how many out of ten of those people would have booked. That is your close rate. Be conservative: an honest low number is more useful than a hopeful one.
Why requests go unanswered
- You were on a job. The phone rang while your hands were busy, which is the normal state of a trade business.
- It was outside your hours. A customer who looks at nine in the evening wants an answer now, and a business that is closed loses to one that takes the request.
- There was no visible booking path. If a visitor cannot book from your site, they phone, and if you cannot answer, they move on.
- The reply was slow. A request that waits a day competes with every business that answered the same hour.
What a booking path changes
A booking path lets a request arrive when you cannot answer. It does not decide whether that request becomes a job; that depends on your price, your reviews and your timing, which is why the close rate in the calculator is yours to enter. The gap is common: in HelpWin's Toledo sample, 52% of the 1,663 established websites that loaded showed no booking path (the study). To see whether yours has one, run the free Book Check.
Questions
How accurate is the missed booking calculator?
It is arithmetic on the numbers you enter, so it is only as accurate as those numbers. The part only you know is the share of missed requests that would have become paid jobs; use your own close rate.
Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is stored or sent.
What counts as a missed booking request?
Any call, message or form from someone who wanted to book and did not reach you or get an answer in time. Count each person once.
Related guides
HelpWin publishes this guide and sells online booking tools for local businesses, including the upcoming Book Button. We wrote it to be useful whether or not you ever use them. Published 2026-10-24, updated 2026-10-24, by HelpWin.