Before you post the job ad — read the real cost comparison.
A receptionist costs £35–38k in year one, works 9–5, can't handle portal leads, and might leave in year two. Cognumi manages your written enquiry workflow from £750/month — 24/7, no recruitment, no sick leave, no notice period.
Three things the salary figure doesn't show
The real cost is closer to £35–38k in year one
A £28,000 salary becomes roughly £35,000–£38,000 once you add employer National Insurance (13.8%), pension (3%), agency recruitment fees, and onboarding time. That's a significant fixed overhead before the first enquiry is handled.
A 9–5 hire leaves your busiest hours uncovered
Rightmove and Zoopla leads peak on Saturday mornings. Mortgage affordability enquiries arrive after 6pm. New patient requests come in at lunch. A receptionist working standard hours is off-desk for most of the written enquiries that actually need a fast response.
Hiring takes 6–10 weeks — and they might leave
Writing the job spec, advertising, interviewing, making an offer, waiting through notice, and onboarding takes two to three months at minimum. Then there is a probation period, and the risk they leave in year two and you start again. Cognumi goes live in weeks with no turnover risk.
Full-time receptionist — year one
- Salary (typical UK)£24,000–£32,000
- Employer NI (13.8%)£3,300–£4,400
- Pension (3% min)£720–£960
- Recruitment / agency£2,400–£4,800
- Holiday cover, onboardingvariable
Cognumi — written enquiry operations
- Essentials plan£750/month
- Growth plan£1,200/month
- One-time setup fee£350–£500
- Employer NI / pensionNone
- Recruitment costNone
How they compare
A receptionist and Cognumi cover different things — in many businesses, both run at once.
Available evenings, weekends, and bank holidays
Most enquiries from property portals arrive outside 9–5
Covers unlimited simultaneous enquiries
A receptionist handles one call or task at a time
No salary, NI, pension, or recruitment cost
Total employment cost for a £28k receptionist is ~£35–38k in year one
Live within a few weeks — no 6-week notice period
Hiring, notice, and onboarding typically take 6–10 weeks
No sick leave, holiday cover, or resignation risk
Staff absence leaves enquiries uncovered on the day
Qualifies and scores leads before handover
Depends on training and available time
Structured daily handover report to your team
A receptionist passes messages; structured pipeline reporting is rare
Handles inbound calls with a human voice
Cognumi manages written channels — pair with an answering service for calls
If you already have a receptionist, Cognumi handles the written overflow and out-of-hours enquiries — freeing your receptionist for higher-value tasks rather than triaging an overflowing inbox.
Written enquiry management — without adding headcount
Written enquiry captured — any channel, any time
A Rightmove lead arrives Saturday morning. A web enquiry comes in at 10pm on a Tuesday. A WhatsApp message on bank holiday Monday. Cognumi captures every written enquiry the moment it arrives — no inbox backlog, no waiting until the office opens.
AI qualifies the lead with human oversight
Follow-up questions are sent, responses collected, and the lead scored and categorised. Sensitive or complex cases are flagged for human review before any response goes out — so the right leads get the right treatment.
Structured handover ready for your team each morning
Your team opens the day with a clear pipeline: who enquired, what they want, their timeline, their score, and a suggested next step. No call-backs to chase context. No re-qualifying at the desk.
Three sectors where the written enquiry gap costs the most
In each sector, the enquiries that matter most arrive outside the hours a receptionist is at the desk.
Hiring a receptionist vs Cognumi — FAQs
Isn't a human receptionist better than AI?
For inbound calls and greeting visitors in person, a human is the right choice. But most written enquiries — portal leads, web forms, email, WhatsApp messages — don't benefit from a human in the same way. They benefit from speed, consistency, and systematic qualification. Cognumi handles those channels; a receptionist handles the voice and in-person side. If you already have one, Cognumi frees them for higher-value tasks.
What does hiring a receptionist actually cost?
A UK receptionist salary typically runs £24,000–£32,000. Add employer National Insurance (13.8%), pension (3% minimum), recruitment (often 10–15% of salary through an agency), holiday cover, and onboarding time. The total cost of employment for a £28,000 receptionist is closer to £35,000–£38,000 in year one. Cognumi starts at £750/month — £9,000/year — with no additional employment costs.
What if we already have a receptionist?
Cognumi and a receptionist work well together. Your receptionist handles calls, visitors, and the high-touch in-person side. Cognumi handles the written workflow — portal leads, overnight email, out-of-hours web forms — and delivers structured handovers each morning. Rather than hiring a second person for overflow, Cognumi covers the gap.
How quickly can Cognumi go live compared to hiring?
A typical hiring process — writing the job spec, advertising, interviewing, offering, notice period, onboarding — takes 6–10 weeks minimum. Cognumi's setup starts with a discovery conversation; most clients are live within a few weeks of sign-off. There is no notice period, no onboarding, and no probation risk.
Can't I just train my receptionist to handle enquiries better?
Yes, and it is worth doing. But a receptionist works set hours, takes one call or task at a time, and isn't available on Saturday evening when your Rightmove leads arrive. Training improves quality during hours; Cognumi covers the hours training can't fix.
Is Cognumi GDPR compliant?
Yes. Cognumi is a UK-based service and all data handling is governed by UK GDPR. A Data Processing Agreement is provided as standard. Enquiry data is processed only within agreed systems and for agreed purposes.
Written enquiry management from £750/month — no hire, no wait.
Start with one focused workflow. Setup is agreed after a strategy conversation — you review and approve everything before it goes live. Most clients are operational in weeks, not months.
- Written enquiries captured 24/7 — no out-of-hours gap
- Portal leads qualified before your team's morning
- No salary, NI, pension, or recruitment cost
- Live in weeks — no notice period or onboarding
- Human oversight for complex or sensitive cases
- UK GDPR compliant — DPA provided as standard
No hire. No wait. Proven in your own workflow first.
Start with a pilot focused on one workflow. Agree the setup in a strategy conversation, approve everything before it goes live, then measure the results.
Apply For a Pilot