How much do missed customer messages cost? A free calculator
Multiply your messages a day by the share you miss, your close rate and your average order or job, and you have an estimate of the money at risk every day. The calculator below does the math for a month and a year from your own numbers, runs in your browser and saves or sends nothing.
What the calculator does
Every DM, website chat or text that goes unanswered, or gets answered after the customer has moved on, is a sale you might have made. This calculator turns that into a dollar figure using four numbers only you know.
The boxes start with example numbers so you can see how it works. Replace them with yours. The result updates as you type.
Estimate your revenue at risk.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent.
Example numbers, replace with yours.
Estimated revenue at risk, from your numbers
$1,789 a month · $21,462 a year
Messages per day × share missed × close rate × average order × 365 days for a year, divided by 12 for a month.
30 × 20% × 35% × $28 × 365 = $21,462 a year. ÷ 12 = $1,789 a month.
An estimate from your own numbers, not a forecast or a guarantee. Not every missed message was a sale, and some customers come back on their own.
The formula, in plain words
Messages a day, times the share that go unanswered or late, gives your missed messages a day.
Missed messages a day, times your close rate, gives the sales at risk each day.
Sales at risk a day, times your average order or job, gives the revenue at risk each day. A year is 365 days of that, and a month is the year divided by 12.
Put together: messages per day × share missed × close rate × average order × 365 days for a year, divided by 12 for a month.
How to find your four numbers
- Messages a day: count one normal week of DMs, website chats and texts, then divide by 7.
- Share missed or late: in that same week, count the messages you answered after a few hours, the next day or never. Divide by the total.
- Average order or job: your total sales for a month divided by the number of sales. A restaurant might use its average pickup order. A contractor might use its average job.
- Close rate: of the messages you answered, how many turned into a sale. If you don't track it, start low.
What the estimate leaves out
This is an estimate from your own numbers, not a forecast. Treat it as a rough size of the problem.
- Not every missed message was a sale. Some were questions with no order behind them. Your close rate covers part of that.
- Some customers come back on their own, or call instead.
- A missed message can cost more than one sale: a customer who gives up may not try again.
- Your close rate on late replies is probably lower than on fast ones, so the real number can sit on either side of the estimate.
How to bring the number down
The number you control most is the share you miss, which includes messages answered too late.
- Write down the answers you give every day: hours, prices, menu or services, area you cover.
- Decide who answers messages during your busiest hours, and after hours.
- Use a saved reply or an AI assistant for the common questions, and hand anything sensitive to a person.
Restaurants can see how DM DESK turns DMs into Square checkout orders, and contractors how it captures leads while on a job.
Questions owners ask.
Is my information saved anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Your numbers are not stored or sent anywhere, and they are gone when you leave the page.
What counts as a late reply?
A reply that comes after the customer has likely moved on. For a dinner order that may be 20 minutes. For a repair job it may be a few hours. Use what fits your business.
What if I don't know my close rate?
Start with a low number. Then track one week of answered messages and count how many became a sale.
Why a month and a year instead of a day?
A few dollars a day is easy to ignore. The same number over a month or a year is easier to weigh against what it costs to answer faster.
Set it up with us on a free call.
Book a free 30 minute setup call. We set up DM DESK with you on your real products or menu, prices and hours.