DeskBuddy Getting Started Guide
From sign-up to your first AI call: your 24/7 smart AI receptionist. Follow this guide and finish core setup in 10 minutes.
For owners, managers, and front-desk staff of local service businesses — hair salons, pet shops, fitness studios, and more. DeskBuddy serves as your digital receptionist, automatically answering calls, handling bookings, and reducing missed calls.
What DeskBuddy Does for Your Business
Hand off phone answering and appointment booking — the tasks most likely to be interrupted or missed — to a 24/7 AI receptionist.
Core Benefits
- • 24/7 call answering: Automatically answers calls outside business hours and during busy periods, reducing missed calls.
- • Automated bookings: Creates, reschedules, and cancels appointments, syncing with your calendar.
- • FAQ handling: Answers questions about pricing, services, and location to boost conversion.
- • Smart transfer: Routes urgent or complex calls to a real person when needed.
Compared to a Traditional Front Desk
Automated answering reduces reliance on human receptionists — especially during peak hours — while 24/7 availability prevents customer loss from missed calls.
3-Step Onboarding After Sign-Up (Steps 1-4)
After signing up, follow 3 guided steps to generate your AI phone number and enter the dashboard.
Set Up Business Info
- • Business Name: Enter your store name.
- • Region (important): Select the correct time zone — affects booking times and AI responses.
- • Business Hours: Set your hours so AI can tell callers if you're open.
Customize AI Voice
- • Language: Supports English, Spanish, and Chinese.
- • Voice: Choose professional or friendly male/female voices.
- • Greeting / Goodbye: First and last impressions matter for callers.
Get Your AI Number
Enter your store's area code, and the system will assign a dedicated AI phone number.
Setup Complete — Start Testing
When you see the success popup, your AI agent is ready. You'll see your assigned number and can click Web Call to start testing.
Make Your First Call: Web Call Test
After setup, you can call from your phone or click Web Call in the top-right corner of the dashboard — ideal for quick verification.
Click Web Call
Simulate a conversation
- "What time do you open?"
- "How much is a haircut?"
- "I'd like to book tomorrow at 10 AM."
Verify results
What You'll See on the Calls Page
Statistics Cards
Total Calls and Successful Bookings at a glance.
Call List
Caller number, time, duration, tags (Inquiry/Booking), and detail links.
Review Call Results: Call Details
Click 'detail' on any call to open the sidebar: view summary, transcript, and recording to review and improve AI performance.
Information Available
- • Summary: AI automatically summarizes key points from the call.
- • Transcript: Full conversation text for review and training.
- • Recording Playback: Listen to the original call to check tone and accuracy.
Complete Business Info: Make AI Sound Like Your Store
The more complete your Business Info, the more accurate AI responses will be. We recommend adding key rules to FAQs / Documents.
4 Key Configuration Tips
Basic Info
Confirm time zone, industry category, and business hours.
Website
Add your website URL so AI can reference official information during calls. Still recommended to supplement key details in FAQs / Documents.
FAQs (Key)
Parking info, cancellation policy, promotions, pricing, and service duration.
Documents
Upload service manuals or detailed price lists.
Set Up Inbound Rules: Inbound Settings
Decide how AI speaks (language/voice/greeting) and what key information to collect during bookings.
Recommended Fields (Adjustable by Industry)
- • Appointment Time: Booking time (essential).
- • Customer Name: Client name (for calendar identification).
- • Service Type: Service category (for differentiation).
- • Preferred Staff: Stylist/trainer preference (enable when needed).
Integrate Your Calendar & Systems
Calendar sync is the key to automated bookings. After connecting, always run a test booking to confirm sync accuracy.
Supported Integrations
- • Google Calendar: We recommend a separate Google account per location to avoid calendar conflicts.
- • Mindbody / Square: Management system integrations for fitness and beauty businesses.
Set Transfer Rules: Route to Humans When Needed
AI isn't perfect. For complaints, emergencies, and out-of-scope requests, set up at least one transfer rule.
Recommended Scenarios
- Urgent / Complaints: Detects strong emotions or emergencies, transfers to manager's phone.
- Complex Inquiries: Beyond FAQ scope or caller explicitly asks to speak to a human.
- Business Hours Routing: Routes to front desk during hours; AI records requests after hours.
Subscription & Upgrades: Choose Your Plan
Choose based on call volume and number of locations. During trial, earn extra credits via social tasks.
Three Plans Available
Free Trial
$0 · 7 days · 20 calls (try core features)
Standard
$39.9/mo · 100 calls/mo (solo studios / single location)
Professional
$99.9/mo · 300 calls/mo (busy stores / up to 5 locations)
Call Volume
High monthly calls → go with Professional.
Multi-location
Multiple stores to manage → Professional (up to 5 locations).
Get More Free Calls: Social Media Tasks
Running low on trial credits? Complete social sharing tasks to earn extra calls and trial days.
- Click Copy to copy the recommended post text.
- Post to Instagram, Twitter (X), or Facebook.
- Copy your post link, paste it back in the popup, and submit to claim.
Ready to Let AI Answer Your Calls?
Set up in 10 minutes, start your free 7-day trial.
Start Setup NowFor more questions, click Contact Us in the bottom-right corner of the dashboard.