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.
The comparison, without the marketing
Every row is something we have actually been asked in a scoping call.
| Part-time admin | Betr | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost, year one | Roughly $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 when | Their hours | Every hour, including 2am and public holidays |
| Consistency | Human. Good days and bad days. | Identical every single time |
| Judgement | Yes, and it is the whole reason to hire someone | None. It follows the rules you set and escalates the rest. |
| Handles the unexpected | Yes | No, by design |
| Scales with volume | Hire again | Same cost at ten times the volume |
| Leaves | Eventually, taking undocumented process with them | Documented, versioned, and still there next year |
| Best at | Relationships, exceptions, judgement, chasing the awkward customer | Repetition, timing, accuracy, and never forgetting |
When the other option is the right one
A comparison page that never recommends the alternative is an advertisement, not a comparison.
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.
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.
What this looks like as a build
Priced on the page, and you can add them to a scope without talking to anyone.
Automated Invoice Chasing from Job Data
A small stateless service sits between two platforms, owns the field mapping in both directions, and reconciles...
Appointment Reminders via SMS
A scheduler reads the booking source, works out who needs contacting and when, sends on the right channel, and...
Inbox Triage & Routing Workflow
A workflow engine holds the sequence, the retries and the credentials, so the logic lives in one visible place...
Know which way you are leaning?
Price the build yourself first. If the number does not work, you have saved us both a call.