QA
How do you run call QA in a small call centre? (5 to 30 agents)
Written by Callyst. Parts marked "Our suggestion" are advice, not Callyst features or rules. Here an "agent" is a person on your phones; Callyst prices "reps" (explained below).
What should a small call centre score?
Score what an agent can change on a call, and what a customer or an auditor would notice. Our suggestion: 8 to 10 questions, mostly yes/no, plus two or three on a scale for softer skills. Each question should say what a good call looks like, in words two reviewers would read the same way.
Here is a made-up starter scorecard for an inbound support line. Use your own items and wording.
| Question | Type |
|---|---|
| Gave their name and the company | Yes/no |
| Checked who they were speaking to before sharing account details | Yes/no |
| Understood the problem and said it back | Scale |
| Explained the next step and when it will happen | Yes/no |
| Stayed calm and kind with an upset caller | Scale |
| Closed by asking if there was anything else | Yes/no |
Add one flag for a serious miss, for example: "Promised a refund or outcome they are not allowed to offer."
Callyst fact: Callyst loads your scorecard as you wrote it: 1 to 20 items, each scored on one shared scale or as yes/no, and each applying to all calls, inbound only or outbound only. It also holds up to 12 flags, each with a severity. Callyst marks an item N/A when it does not apply to the call. Points are not used in the score. Flags are a separate list for a person to review; raising one does not change the call's score. Add your compliance checks to the scorecard and Callyst flags the calls that miss them, with the quote. A flag whose quote isn't in the transcript is dropped.
No scorecard yet? Paste your checklist into the free scorecard builder, read the draft, then follow how to use your own scorecard.
How many calls should a small call centre sample?
Treat this as advice, not a rule. A handful of calls shows what happened on those calls. It does not prove how an agent handles every call.
Our suggestion for 5 to 30 agents:
- To coach: review 4 to 5 calls per agent a month, and coach from them.
- To compare agents: do not rely on that sample. With 4 calls, a 75% pass rate could really be anywhere from about 30% to 95% (our own calculation, explained here).
- To see more: widen the sample with software, then listen to the calls it points you to.
Choose most calls at random and a few on purpose, such as a long call, a complaint or a new starter's first week. Write down how you chose them. Have two reviewers score the same three calls each month and talk through the gaps (how to run a calibration session).
This table assumes 5 reviews per agent a month and 15 minutes per review. Both are our assumptions, not benchmarks.
| Agents | Reviews a month | Reviewer hours a month |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 25 | 6.25 |
| 10 | 50 | 12.5 |
| 20 | 100 | 25 |
| 30 | 150 | 37.5 |
Callyst vs manual QA walks through what those hours cost.
Callyst fact: Callyst scores the recordings you send, so you choose how many. Each rep brings 1,000 calls a month into a shared pool, far above a manual sample. Filter the Calls page by rep, date or score, and open any call to see each item's score, with the quote behind it when one checks out. The dashboard lists the items each rep is weakest on.
What does call QA cost for 5 to 30 agents?
On Callyst the price follows one rule at every size: $200 a month for 1 to 3 reps, $280 for 4 to 7 reps, and $40 per rep from 8 reps. Each rep adds 1,000 calls to the pool.
| Reps | Monthly price | Per rep | Calls included each month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $280 | $56 | 5,000 |
| 10 | $400 | $40 | 10,000 |
| 15 | $600 | $40 | 15,000 |
| 20 | $800 | $40 | 20,000 |
| 30 | $1,200 | $40 | 30,000 |
Extra calls cost 5 cents each. There is no setup fee and no platform fee. Billing is monthly, with no annual contract; cancel anytime. Teams of 20 or more reps can ask about a private version that runs in your own cloud.
What counts as a rep? Callyst prices per rep: a person whose calls Callyst scores. Your headcount and your reps may not be the same number. The table assumes every agent you want scored is one rep. This page makes no promise about part-timers, shift cover or agents who leave mid-month, so ask us if that matters to you.
A made-up month: a 25-agent centre scores 20,000 calls. The price is 25 × $40 = $1,000, and the 25,000-call pool covers every call. Voicemails, unanswered calls, duplicates, calls over 90 minutes and, by default, calls under 60 seconds are set aside. They are not scored and not billed.
Full details are on the pricing page. For how other tools charge, see What does call QA software cost?.
How do you start with the free check?
The free check scores your own calls before you pay anything.
- Fill in the free-check form: name, work email and company. Gmail, Outlook and other free addresses cannot be used. On the same form you can add your scorecard, or a checklist Callyst turns into a draft scorecard. If you skip it, Callyst uses its standard sales scorecard.
- Open the sign-in link we email you. It works once and expires after 15 minutes.
- On your private upload page, add up to 10 calls (.wav or .mp3, up to 50 MB each) and optionally a rep name. Tick "We have permission to share these calls" only if the people on the calls, and your company, allow Callyst to process the recordings.
- Press "Done, build my report".
Your scored report arrives within 24 hours. We email you the headline numbers and a link to the full report online, where you sign in with your work email. You can save the report as a PDF from the report page. Want to see one first? Here is a sample report.
Our suggestion: send two calls each from five agents, one ordinary and one harder. The report then shows how the scorecard handles different people. Ten calls is a first look, not a measure of any agent.
There is one free check per company. It needs no card, no call with sales first, and does not commit you to buy.
Good to know: Callyst scores calls in English. Scores, flags and coaching notes are generated by AI and can be wrong. Review them before acting, especially before any step that affects a person's job or pay.
Frequently asked questions
How many calls should a small call centre review per agent each month?
Our suggestion: 4 to 5, mostly at random with a few chosen on purpose, to coach from. That is enough to find a coaching topic and too few to rank agents. Software can widen the sample.
What does Callyst cost for a 10-agent call centre?
If all 10 agents are reps, $400 a month (10 × $40), with 10,000 calls included and shared. In a made-up month with 12,000 scored calls, the 2,000 extra calls cost 2,000 × $0.05 = $100, so the month is $500.
Does Callyst work with our phone system?
Callyst works from recordings, so it fits any phone system that can export them. You upload .wav or .mp3 files, up to 50 MB each. See Use Callyst with your phone system and how to upload call recordings.
What happens to our recordings?
Callyst transcribes the audio itself. Our AI model provider gets text only, such as the transcript and your scorecard, never the audio, and your data is not used to train AI models. Audio is deleted 30 days after scoring, and no recording is kept longer than 35 days. Transcripts, scores and flags are kept until you cancel, and all of your workspace's data is deleted within 30 days of cancelling. Details are in the privacy policy.
Score 10 of your own calls, free
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