Book a scoping call
Home / Comparisons / Automation vs hiring an admin
Straight comparison

Automate it, or hire someone to do it?

This is the comparison that actually matters to most small businesses, and the answer is usually both. The question is which half of the job goes to which.

[ 01 / SIDE BY SIDE ]

The comparison, without the marketing

Every row is something we have actually been asked in a scoping call.

Part-time adminBetr Agency
Cost, year oneRoughly $35,000 to $50,000 for a part-time hire, plus super and on-costs$2,000 to $8,000 to build, then $390 to $900 a month
Works whenTheir hoursEvery hour, including 2am and public holidays
ConsistencyHuman. Good days and bad days.Identical every single time
JudgementYes, and it is the whole reason to hire someoneNone. It follows the rules you set and escalates the rest.
Handles the unexpectedYesNo, by design
Scales with volumeHire againSame cost at ten times the volume
LeavesEventually, taking undocumented process with themDocumented, versioned, and still there next year
Best atRelationships, exceptions, judgement, chasing the awkward customerRepetition, timing, accuracy, and never forgetting
[ 02 / THE HONEST BIT ]

When the other option is the right one

A comparison page that never recommends the alternative is an advertisement, not a comparison.

[ CHOOSE THEM ]

Part-time admin wins when

  • The work needs judgement or relationship management more than repetition
  • The process changes constantly and has not settled yet
  • The volume is genuinely low, in which case a person doing it for twenty minutes a week is the cheapest answer available

If two of those are true of you, do that instead. We would rather tell you now than take a deposit for something that will not pay for itself.

[ CHOOSE US ]

We win when

  • The same steps repeat, dozens of times a week, in the same order
  • The cost of forgetting is high: a missed reminder, an unchased invoice, a lost lead
  • You already have good people doing work that bores them

If two of those are true, the build usually pays for itself inside a year. You can check that yourself on the instant scope page.

[ 03 / THE BUILDS ]

What this looks like as a build

Priced on the page, and you can add them to a scope without talking to anyone.

Know which way you are leaning?

Price the build yourself first. If the number does not work, you have saved us both a call.