Small business and self-employed

Never miss a client call again — even after hours

A number dedicated to your business, an emergency line you hand out to key clients, a service that takes your messages when you can't answer, a simple shared on-call for small teams. From 1 to 10 people, the same platform as Québec's first responders — without the complexity or corporate pricing.

Sector challenges

Our answer

Your personal cell has become your business line. Evenings, weekends, vacation: impossible to pick up. You lose clients — or your private life.

Dedicated number — separate business from personal

A Canadian phone number dedicated to your business, distinct from your personal cell. You give this number to clients; you decide when it rings on your phone and when it goes to the on-call service. A single number to print on cards, website and invoices.

Solo professional (lawyer, accountant, vet, tradesperson): every missed call could be a client calling the competitor next. No secretary, no professional answering service.

Solo service — professional message-taking

For self-employed professionals (legal, medical, trades): the call is answered by our 24/7 service, the message is delivered by email, SMS or app notification. You call back when you can, but the client never hits an empty voicemail. Turn the service on or off to match your hours in one click.

Small team (plumbing, locksmith, HVAC, clinic): on-call is arranged by group text between colleagues, nobody knows who's covering tonight, forgotten shifts cost money.

Shared on-call — simple calendar for 2, 3 or 10 people

A web interface to define who's on call which night, which weekend. Calls go straight to the right person, per the calendar. Swaps in one click if someone trades a shift. No more group texts to figure out who's covering tonight.

Real emergencies (water damage at 3 AM, injured pet, critical outage at a customer site): a simple voicemail isn't enough, someone needs to be reachable fast.

Cascade — no answer, try the next one

If the on-call person doesn't answer within X seconds, the call rolls over automatically to a colleague, or the message is recorded and pushed by SMS / email to the whole team. No client emergency falls into the void.

Tight budget: business phone solutions are built for big companies — long contracts, hardware, install fees. Disproportionate for 1 to 10 people.

Transparent SMB pricing — from $4 / user / month

Team service (IPA): from $4 / user / month based on volume and term. Solo Virtu service (DID number included): $9.95 / month on 12 months, $12.95 month-to-month. No hardware, no install fees, no-commitment trial — keep it if it works.

Emergencies are where you build your reputation — and your premium billing. But if your main line rings all day, you can't tell the urgent call from the routine quote, or prioritize the clients who pay for your availability.

Dedicated emergency line — reputation and premium revenue

A second number, specifically for emergencies, that you give to key clients (service contracts, premium accounts, partners). You choose how it behaves: ring straight to your cell, forward to the on-call person, or professional message-taking with an SMS callback within the minute. Emergencies jump the queue, loyal clients feel prioritized, and your after-hours interventions get billed at their real value.

$9.95 / month for the solo Virtu service, dedicated DID number included (12-month term) — teams from $4 / user / month. The same platform as Québec's emergency services, scaled to your small business. Already adopted by locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, law firms, veterinary clinics and building trades — from solo operators to small partnerships, across Québec.

With the pager, we just knew there was an emergency. With IPAchat, the client sends us a photo of the lock, we reply with a price, and we send the invoice by SMS once the job is done.

They never need to open an email. And if nobody can take the call, the right person gets alerted on their phone — just like before, only better.

Co-owner of a Montréal locksmith shop 3 partners · Info-Page client since 2012 · added IPAchat in 2026

Frequently asked questions

I'm solo — do I need a team to use IPA?
No. The solo service (Virtu) is built exactly for you: a dedicated number, a professional agent who takes messages when you're not available, rollover to your cell when you turn it on. Lawyers, accountants, vets, tradespeople: many of our solo clients use only this piece.
How does the dedicated number (DID) work?
We provide a Canadian phone number (area code of your choice when available). Clients call that number; based on your settings, the call rings on your cell, goes to the message-taking service, or follows your on-call calendar. You keep your personal cell separate.
We're 3 plumbers in partnership — how do we organize on-call?
Simple web interface: you define the calendar (e.g. Jean week 1, Marie week 2, Pierre week 3). The call lands with the right person, the app shows who's on duty, swaps take one click. If the first doesn't answer, automatic cascade to a colleague.
Can I turn off the service during vacation?
Yes, in one click from the app or web interface. You can schedule out-of-office periods, temporarily redirect to a colleague, or let the solo service take 100% of messages while you're away. Very simple, no technician needed.
Do clients know they're talking to a service, not to me?
The solo service answers in your business name with the script of your choice (“Tremblay Plumbing, good morning”). The message-taking is professional and reassuring. You get the full message with name, number, reason and priority within the minute.
Pricing: what does it really cost?
Team service — per-enrolled-user pricing, volume- and term-tiered. Small team (1-49 users): $7.95 month-to-month, $6.45 on 12 months, $5.45 on 24 months, $4.45 on 36 months. The 50-99 and 100+ tiers land even lower (down to $4.00 on 36 months, 100+ users). Solo Virtu service: $12.95 / month (month-to-month) or $9.95 / month (12 months), DID number included, 24/7 message-taking. Additional DID numbers (e.g. a dedicated emergency line) are billed separately. No install fees, no hardware, cancel anytime after the initial term. Prices + taxes.
Can I have a second line, reserved for emergencies, separate from my main business line?
Yes. You can enable one or several dedicated numbers (for example a main number for quotes and general questions, plus a distinct emergency number shared only with key clients or service-contract holders). Each line has its own behavior: direct cell ring, forward to the on-call person, message-taking with SMS callback, cascade to a colleague, or a combination by schedule. Same per-number pricing — usually more than covered by a single billed emergency intervention.

365 × 24/7 support — infrastructure in Quebec

The solidity a critical infrastructure demands.

24/7 human support

Our team is reachable at all times. No bot, no lost ticket — engineers who know your deployment.

Hosting in Quebec

Servers located in Quebec, compliant with Quebec's Bill 25. Your data stays on Canadian soil.

Redundant infrastructure

Redundant servers, encrypted backups, 24/7 monitoring. Availability is our foremost commitment.

Try IPA for your small business — no commitment

Full account created in minutes. Dedicated number active within 24 h. Our team helps you configure the setup for your trade (solo, shared on-call, mixed service). No-commitment trial, pricing that beats the competition — your turn?

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