What eReceptionist does

eReceptionist is a UK-focused virtual business phone system service that provides SMBs with a cloud-based alternative to a traditional office PBX. The platform routes calls via a virtual PBX to user-specified numbers, supports sequential or simultaneous call forwarding to mobile and landline devices, and offers multi-extension routing, voicemail, call recording (with 30-day storage), audio/web conferencing, and professional greetings. Underlying speech features are delegated to third parties: Nuance Communications supplies voicemail-to-text transcription delivered by email or SMS, and AWS Polly provides automated text-to-speech for custom greetings.

The product is sold on a self-serve, product-led basis via the ereceptionist.co.uk website, with mobile and desktop apps on iOS, Android, and Windows enabling secure VoIP calling. Pricing combines monthly/annual subscriptions for phone numbers and the phone system with usage-based per-minute charges, per-seat add-ons (e.g., voicemail transcription at £1.95 or £5.95 per user per month), and one-time fees for professional voice-talent greetings. A 30-day money-back guarantee and a 14-day cooling-off period support a low-friction SMB acquisition motion, while SEO-optimized landing pages for each UK number type (020 London, 03 national, 0800 freephone, 0844/0845) form the core of the demand-generation engine.

The legal entity is J2 Global Ireland Limited (Ireland company registration 379517), headquartered in Dublin, and eReceptionist operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary brand of Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD). The service is GDPR-compliant as a data processor, with payment processing handled by Chase Paymentech/JP Morgan and PayPal/Braintree, and telephony infrastructure provided by carriers including Inteliquent/Onvoy and Lumen. Customer data and support workflows integrate with Salesforce, Zendesk, Pendo, Trustpilot, and AppsFlyer. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the brand functions as one element within Ziff Davis's diversified communications portfolio.

Name

eReceptionist

Legal name

J2 Global Ireland Limited

Website

https://ereceptionist.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

eReceptionist is a UK-focused virtual business phone system (cloud PBX) serving small and medium businesses, offering virtual numbers, call forwarding, voicemail transcription, and conferencing on a self-serve subscription basis. Operated by J2 Global Ireland Ltd, a subsidiary of Ziff Davis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Communications / Virtual Business Phone System

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud PBX & Hosted Telephony (HDAIAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

VoIP Access & ITSP Services (HDAIAHAD)

Keywords

• Virtual phone system
• Cloud PBX services
• Business phone numbers
• Voicemail transcription
• Call forwarding solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Monthly/Annual Subscription Plans: Recurring subscription fees for Phone Number + Phone System and Phone Number only service plans, billed monthly or annually with auto-renewal
2. Voicemail Transcription Add-on: Optional add-on service for voicemail to text transcription, charged per transcript or unlimited monthly subscription
3. Voicemail Transcription Usage: 40 transcripts for £1.95 per user/month with extras at 8p each, or unlimited for £5.95 per user/month
4. Additional Extensions and Numbers: Additional numbers, usage credit, or extensions available for additional monthly fee beyond base plan
5. Usage-Based Charges: Per-minute charges for connected and diverted call traffic exceeding plan limits, including international, mobile, and non-geographic numbers
6. Call Recording: Optional call recording feature added to account for additional monthly fee
7. Web Conferencing: Web conferencing added to service plan for additional monthly fee per applicable rate plan
8. Professional Greetings: Professionally recorded greetings in addition to free greeting included in each plan, available for additional fee

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

eReceptionist provides a cloud-based virtual business phone system (virtual PBX) for UK businesses, delivering dedicated UK phone numbers (Local, London 020, National 03, Freephone 0800, and 0844/0845), advanced call forwarding, multiple extensions, voicemail, voicemail-to-text transcription, call recording, conference and web conferencing, and professional greetings. The service is configured and managed through a web-based dashboard and iOS/Android/Windows apps, with no on-site hardware required.

Product overview

eReceptionist is a virtual business phone system offered by J2 Global Ireland Ltd (a Ziff Davis company) as two core service tiers: the full eReceptionist Phone Number + Phone System (virtual PBX with extensions, voicemail, conference calling, call recording, and web conferencing) and the basic eReceptionist Phone Number plan. The platform is complemented by add-on services including Voicemail Transcription (powered by Nuance), Professional Greetings (via AWS Polly text-to-speech), Multiple Extensions, Call Forwarding, and Mobile & Desktop Apps for iOS, Android, and Windows. Customers can choose from various UK phone number types: Local Geographic Numbers, London Numbers (0207/0208/0203), National 03 Numbers, Freephone 0800 Numbers, and 0844/0845 Service Numbers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eVoice: Underlying technology platform powering eReceptionist services, as referenced in the service agreement ('eReceptionist® powered by eVoice®').

Products and services

• eReceptionist Phone Number + Phone System Full-featured virtual business phone system providing a dedicated UK telephone number, virtual PBX call routing, multiple extensions, voicemail, conference calling, advanced call forwarding, call recording, and web conferencing for UK small and medium businesses.
• eReceptionist Phone Number Basic virtual phone number plan offering a dedicated telephone number with direct call redirection to an existing number and voicemail accessible by telephone, web, and email.
• Voicemail Transcription Add-on service that converts voicemail messages to text and delivers transcriptions to email or SMS, priced at 40 transcripts for £1.95 per user/month or unlimited for £5.95 per user/month, powered by Nuance Communications voice-to-text.
• Professional Greetings Add-on service providing custom welcome greetings and menu systems using AWS Polly text-to-speech, with the option to use professional voice talent recording, plus hold music and after-hours greetings.
• Call Recording Add-on service that records connected or diverted telephone calls via the *2 command during a call, with recordings downloadable from the account and stored for 30 days; subject to UK call recording laws.
• Web Conferencing Add-on web conferencing service with each extension having its own unique log-in and password, billed at an additional monthly fee.
• Multiple Extensions Add-on feature that adds extensions to the account, enabling keypad menu routing (e.g., 'Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support') and routing of calls to any phone on any network.
• Call Forwarding Add-on service that forwards calls from the eReceptionist number to a mobile phone or multiple numbers, supporting simple forwarding, sequential ringing, and simultaneous ringing across multiple devices.
• eReceptionist Mobile & Desktop Apps Native applications for iOS, Android, and Windows that enable outbound calling with caller ID display, free app-to-app calling, and management of up to five phone lines via secure VoIP.
• Local Phone Numbers UK local geographic phone numbers with area codes for specific cities and towns, used to build local trust and a community-focused brand presence.
• London Phone Numbers (0207, 0208, 0203) Prestigious London-based phone numbers with 0207, 0208, and 0203 prefixes, providing instant London presence and global credibility for businesses without a London office.
• National 03 Numbers Non-geographic UK-wide 03 numbers that cost the same as standard local calls, providing national brand presence without regional affiliation.
• Freephone 0800 Numbers Free-to-call 0800 numbers from any UK landline or mobile, removing barriers to contact and enhancing inbound call volumes.
• 0844 & 0845 Numbers Non-geographic 0844 and 0845 service numbers used for information lines, automated booking systems, or technical support desks, with associated call charges.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• TalkTalk Business: UK business communications provider offering hosted voice and SIP trunking to UK SMBs; directly competes for the same buyer eReceptionist targets.
• BT Cloud Voice: UK incumbent carrier's hosted PBX/UCaaS service for UK businesses; closest large UK-domestic incumbent cloud telephony competitor to eReceptionist.

Broad incumbents

• 8x8: Cloud communications provider delivering hosted PBX, VoIP, and contact center; overlaps directly with eReceptionist's virtual PBX and business number offering for SMBs and mid-market.
• RingCentral: Global cloud UCaaS leader offering cloud PBX, virtual numbers, call forwarding and team messaging; eReceptionist competes at the SMB end of the same category, especially as RingCentral pushes down-market in the UK.
• Zoom (Zoom Phone): Zoom's cloud PBX offering increasingly adopted by UK SMBs alongside Zoom Meetings; competes for the same virtual phone system budget as eReceptionist.
• Mitel (MiVoice / MiCloud): Established provider of hosted/cloud PBX and unified communications for SMB and mid-market worldwide; broad incumbent alternative for buyers evaluating eReceptionist.
• Vonage (Ericsson): Provides cloud communications, virtual numbers and SIP/UCaaS solutions; directly comparable category to eReceptionist's hosted telephony, though at larger scale and with APIs.
• Microsoft Teams Phone: Microsoft's cloud telephony add-on within Teams; targets the same UK business number and PBX replacement use cases and is bundled into Microsoft 365 estates that many SMBs already pay for.

Direct peers

• TelcoSwitch: UK reseller/deployer of cloud telephony and UCaaS solutions for UK SMBs with hosted PBX, call recording and call management features directly overlapping eReceptionist.
• Gamma Communications: UK-focused unified communications provider offering Horizon Cloud PBX and SIP trunking aimed at UK SMBs and partners; very direct comparable to eReceptionist's product set and go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ereceptionist

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about eReceptionist