Texas at a glance
| Time zone | Central Time for most of the state; El Paso and Hudspeth counties in far West Texas use Mountain Time |
|---|---|
| Main area codes | 214, 469, 972 and 945 (Dallas), 817 and 682 (Fort Worth), 713, 281, 832 and 346 (Houston), 210 and 726 (San Antonio), 512 and 737 (Austin), 915 (El Paso), 956 (the Rio Grande Valley), 806 (Lubbock and Amarillo), 361 (Corpus Christi), 254 (Waco and Killeen), 903 and 430 (East Texas) |
| Largest cities | Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso |
| Sectors with the most small employers | professional services, health care, construction and the trades, repair and personal services, retail shops (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 profile) |
| Call-recording consent | One-party consent (Tex. Penal Code § 16.02) |
Small business in Texas
Texas small businesses span professional services and healthcare in Houston, Dallas and Austin, construction and home services across fast-growing suburbs from Frisco to Katy to New Braunfels, energy-service companies in the Permian Basin and along the Gulf, restaurants everywhere, and cross-border trade in El Paso, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. Many serve customers in Spanish as well as English.
According to the SBA Office of Advocacy's 2025 profile of Texas, the sectors with the most small employers are professional services such as law, accounting, engineering and consulting, health care, including medical, dental and therapy offices, construction and the trades, repair and personal services such as auto repair, salons and dry cleaners and retail shops.
Where Ava helps Texas businesses
- Growing-suburb trades. HVAC, plumbing, roofing and pool companies can have Ava capture job requests while crews are on the road.
- Summer no-cool calls. AC companies can have Ava flag no-cool emergencies for the on-call tech during heat waves, using your rules.
- Bilingual callers. Tell us which languages your callers use and we'll tell you honestly what Ava can handle for your setup.
Industry pages that match Texas's most common small businesses:
An example call
Lone Star AC & Heating (example) · Ava, AI receptionist
Our AC is blowing warm air in Katy and the baby's room is hot
I'm sorry. I'll mark this urgent for the on-call tech. What's the address?
Recording calls in Texas
One-party consent. Texas Penal Code § 16.02 makes intercepting a communication a felony, but it's a defense if the person is a party or has one party's prior consent, unless the purpose is unlawful. Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 123.001 follows the same idea. Texas is a one-party consent state.
Texas businesses often get calls from Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas. Those states also use one-party consent for calls, though a caller from an all-party state like California can still reach your local number.
Ava always says she's an AI. If your setup records calls, the script we draft adds a short recording notice to her greeting, and you approve the wording. Interstate calls can be tricky; see the state-by-state overview.
Time zones and after-hours coverage
Time zones in Texas: Central Time for most of the state; El Paso and Hudspeth counties in far West Texas use Mountain Time. If you operate in more than one zone, Ava's after-hours script can follow each location's local time.
How setup works from New Jersey
A short call about how your Texas business handles the phone, a script you approve, test calls, then call forwarding from your current number. See how it works.
Sources
- Justia 50-state recording survey (reviewed Sept. 2024)
- 18 U.S.C. § 2511
- SBA Office of Advocacy: Texas 2025 Small Business Profile (PDF)
- 49 CFR Part 71 (time zones)
General information, not legal advice. Checked November 3, 2026; laws change.