The inquiry that comes in after 5 still needs an answer tonight.
Your office closes. New business keeps arriving by form, by email and by phone. Some of it is a client you'd want. A lot of it is a vendor pitch, a wrong number or a question for someone else. Right now you or a partner sorts all of it in the morning, and by then the good inquiry may already be talking to another firm.
Berry Buckley builds one AI agent that handles that first reply for you, on the tools you already use.
What the after-hours agent does
- Answers right away. It replies to the form, email or message in your firm's voice, using language you've approved.
- Screens out the noise. It recognizes sales pitches, wrong numbers and misdirected requests, and keeps them away from your morning.
- Collects the key facts. It asks your intake questions, such as what they need, the timing, and how they found you, so the first real conversation starts informed.
- Never gives advice. It doesn't give legal, tax or financial advice, quote fees or promise outcomes. If someone asks, it says a person will follow up.
- Books or queues the call. Qualified inquiries go straight onto your calendar, or into a morning queue if you'd rather review them first.
- Hands off to the right person. It routes by practice area, office or partner, and flags anything urgent or unusual for a human.
What it looks like in your kind of firm
Law firms. Someone fills out your consult form on a Sunday night. The agent confirms the practice area, runs your conflict-check intake questions, offers consult times and makes clear it can't give legal advice.
CPA and accounting firms. A prospect writes in on a Friday afternoon, after you've closed for the weekend. The agent asks whether they need tax prep, monthly bookkeeping or cleanup, collects entity type and timing, and books the right partner.
Financial advisory firms. A family asks about working with you. The agent gathers the basics you'd want before a discovery call, points them to your questionnaire, and never discusses investments or recommendations.
PR, brand and creative firms. A project inquiry lands in info@ next to three vendor pitches. The agent sets the pitches aside, turns the real inquiry into a short brief (scope, timing, budget range if they share it) and sends it to the right lead.
How we build it safely
We don't ask you to take guardrails on trust. We write them down and you approve them.
- An owner playbook before it runs. It lists what the agent can read, what it can send, and what it must never touch. You approve it before the agent works on its own.
- Only the access its one job needs. An intake agent needs the new inquiry and your calendar. It doesn't need client files, tax software, matters or portals.
- Approved language only. Anything outside the script waits for a person.
- A log you can see. Every reply shows what went out, when and why.
- Your data stays on your tools. We build on what you already run, such as Google Workspace, HubSpot or Squarespace, and walk you through where information lives before we connect anything.
How the sprint works
- Audit with Paul (Week 0). In 45 minutes we look at how inquiries reach you today. If an agent isn't the answer yet, we'll tell you.
- Written brief within one business day. It covers the workflow, your tools, the risks and a fixed-scope sprint, or a clear no.
- Build (Weeks 1 to 3). Drate builds and tests the agent on your existing tools. You approve the playbook before it runs on its own.
- Day 28 review. We look at response time, error rate and how many of your minutes it still needs. You keep it, we tune it, or you stop it.
Pricing: the audit costs nothing. First Agent Sprints start at $7,500, a fixed fee quoted after your audit. Care plans start at $750/month. You own your agent. It's built on your accounts and your tools, and the care plan covers monitoring, tuning and regular reviews.
Two partners in Dallas
Paul Buckley runs the engagement and the first conversation, with 25+ years in marketing and business strategy. Drate Berry builds the agent, drawing on his background in AI, SaaS and agent development. We're at 1920 McKinney Ave. We run two sprints at a time, so if we're full you'll get a real start date.
Find out what your after-hours inquiries need
Book 45 minutes with Paul. You'll get a written brief within one business day, whether or not we're the right fit.
Frequently asked questions
What is an after-hours inquiry agent?
It's an AI agent that answers new inquiries when your office is closed. It screens out sales pitches and wrong numbers, collects your intake questions and books or queues the call for a person.
Will it give legal, tax or financial advice?
No. It's built to collect facts and schedule. Questions that call for advice get handed to a person on your team.
How does it tell a real lead from a sales pitch?
It uses screening rules we write with you during the sprint. Anything it isn't sure about goes into a queue for a person to review.
Does it work with our phone, website form and email?
It runs on the tools you already use. During the audit we confirm which channels it can cover for your firm.
What can the agent access?
Only what its one job needs, usually new inquiries and your calendar. The owner playbook lists everything it can read and send, plus what it can never touch.
How long until it's working?
Three to four weeks from audit to working agent, followed by a review on Day 28.
Who owns the agent?
You do. It's built on your accounts and tools. The optional care plan covers monitoring, tuning and reviews, and you can stop it anytime.
Do you work with firms outside Dallas?
Yes. We focus on Dallas–Fort Worth and Texas, and we also work remotely with firms across the US.