TIM vs. Hiring
Most owners see a $45,000 salary. They miss the $65,000+ they actually spend — before the first sick day, the first resignation, or the first month the new hire still does not know the system.
The Real Math
The salary is the number on the job posting. The true cost shows up in your bank account.
Base salary (office admin, U.S. average)
$45,000 – $55,000 / yr
Health insurance + benefits
+ $8,000 – $12,000 / yr
Payroll taxes (employer share)
+ $4,000 – $5,500 / yr
Paid time off (15 days + holidays)
+ $3,500 – $4,500 / yr
Recruiting + onboarding cost
+ $3,000 – $6,000 (one-time)
Total annual cost
$65,000 – $75,000
And that is the best case. The average tenure of an office admin in the U.S. is 2–3 years. When they leave, you spend another $20,000–$40,000 to replace them — and start the clock over.
Side by Side
Full-Time Admin
TIM
Monthly cost
$4,500 – $6,000
$18 – $97
Ready to work
4 – 8 weeks
48 hours
Functions covered
1 person, 1 role
Sales, ops, billing, reviews
Sick days
8 – 12 days/year
None
Turnover risk
Every 2 – 3 years
None
Management time
3 – 5 hrs/week
Under 1 hr/week
Scales with growth
Hire again
Same platform
What TIM Covers
TIM handles the operational layer of your business — the work that keeps projects moving, clients informed, and cash flowing.
Lead follow-up
Every inquiry gets a response. No lead falls through.
Quote & proposal management
Organized, tracked, and followed up automatically.
Project milestone tracking
Flags delays before they become problems.
Client communication
Updates go out on schedule without you in the loop.
Payment collection
Milestone billing runs automatically.
Review requests
Every completed job generates a review request.
The Annual Gap
$65,000+
True annual cost of a full-time admin
$216
TIM entry plan, per year
$64,784
Annual difference — yours to reinvest
That is one more field team member. A full marketing budget. Two years of equipment upgrades. Or margin.
Yes. A full-time office admin costs $45,000–$55,000 in base salary plus benefits, PTO, and management overhead — typically $65,000–$75,000 per year in total. TIM starts at $216 per year, handling the same administrative and operational functions without the hiring process, onboarding time, or turnover risk.
TIM handles lead follow-up, quote management, project milestone tracking, client communication, payment collection, review requests, and reporting — the core operational tasks that typically require a dedicated office administrator in a service business.
TIM is operational within 48 hours. Send your files on day one, and your dashboard is ready by day two. Hiring a full-time admin takes 4–8 weeks from job posting to first productive day, plus 2–4 weeks of onboarding.
The real cost of a full-time office manager exceeds the base salary by 30–40%. On top of a $45,000–$55,000 salary, a small business pays for health insurance, paid time off, payroll taxes, and recruiting costs. Average total annual cost: $65,000–$75,000. And if the employee leaves — the industry average tenure is 2–3 years — replacement costs another $20,000–$40,000.
Apply to work with TIM. Operational in 48 hours.