Field Notes

Blog.

Latest news, product updates, and field guides from the Finn team.

105 posts · page 1 of 9

What Is a Virtual Call?

A virtual call travels over the internet rather than a phone line. The term means three different things, and knowing which one matters when buying.

Digvijay Singh Shekhawat

July 28, 2026

What Is an Answering Service?

An answering service answers your phone when you cannot: taking messages, qualifying callers and escalating what is urgent. Here is what to ask before buying.

July 28, 2026

IVA vs IVR: Routing the Call or Handling It

IVA vs IVR comes down to one question: does the system route the call or finish the job? Here is what each does and which one you actually need.

July 28, 2026

Conversational IVR: Speech Instead of Menu Trees

Conversational IVR lets callers say what they want instead of pressing numbers. Here is what changes, where the keypad still wins, and what breaks.

July 28, 2026

Virtual Receptionist Cost: What You Actually Pay

Virtual receptionist cost runs per minute, per call or on a monthly plan. Which is cheapest depends on your call pattern, not the headline rate.

July 28, 2026

After Hours Answering Service: What It Actually Does

An after hours answering service answers calls when your office is closed. The real question is not whether to cover the hours, but what happens next.

July 28, 2026

Call Center Service Level: What 80/20 Really Means

Service level is the share of calls answered within a target time. Here is what the two numbers mean, and what they hide about the other 20%.

July 28, 2026

Occupancy Calculator: Why 100% Is a Failure State

Occupancy is the share of logged-in time spent on calls. Above about 83% you trade attrition for efficiency. Here is how to read it honestly.

July 28, 2026

TCPA Calling Hours: 8am to 9pm, Whose Local Time?

TCPA calling hours run 8am to 9pm in the called party's local time. The trap is in those last words, and it is a dialler configuration problem.

July 28, 2026

Acceptable VoIP Latency for Voice Agents

ITU-T G.114 puts conversational latency at 150ms one-way. A voice agent has to think inside that budget. Here is where the milliseconds go.

July 28, 2026

Shrinkage Calculator: What 30% Actually Costs You

Shrinkage is the share of paid hours agents are not available. It divides rather than subtracts, which is why staffing plans come up short.

July 28, 2026

Erlang C Calculator: How Many Agents Do You Need?

An Erlang C calculator turns a service level target into a headcount. Here is what it models, and the two corrections that make its answer usable.

July 28, 2026