Alternatives to hiring a back-office role
What AR, AP, billing, collections, data entry and admin hires really cost, and what to do instead.
If you’re about to hire for a back-office seat, there’s another option: hand the work to Dull. Dull is a done-for-you back-office service that does accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing, collections, data entry and office admin in your own tools, with a person reviewing every exception, for a flat monthly fee, month to month, with a fixed quote on a 15-minute call.
Each page below covers one role: what the job involves, what a hire really costs once benefits are added, how a temp, an offshore assistant, a bookkeeper and Dull compare, and when hiring is still the right call.
The roles, side by side
| Role | Median salary (BLS, May 2025) | All-in cost of a hire, per month | Dull |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts receivable clerk | $50,670 | about $6,030 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Accounts payable clerk | $50,670 | about $6,030 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Data entry clerk | $41,340 | about $4,920 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Order entry clerk | $46,170 | about $5,500 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Billing specialist | $48,500 | about $5,780 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Collections specialist | $47,030 | about $5,600 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
| Administrative assistant | $47,540 | about $5,660 | Flat fee, quoted on a call |
All-in cost is the median salary divided by 0.70, because wages are 70.0% of what private employers spend per worker (BLS, June 2026). Salaries are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. AR and AP clerks share one BLS category, bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks.
Pick the seat you’re hiring for
- An alternative to hiring an accounts receivable clerk
- An alternative to hiring an accounts payable clerk
- An alternative to hiring a data entry clerk
- An alternative to hiring an order entry clerk
- An alternative to hiring a billing specialist
- An alternative to hiring a collections specialist
- An alternative to hiring an administrative assistant
Not sure which seat to hand over first? Run the free back-office check, see pricing, or read how all five options compare.
Frequently asked questions
You can use a temp agency, an offshore virtual assistant, an outsourced bookkeeper, or a done-for-you service like Dull, which does the work in your own tools month to month, for a flat monthly fee quoted on a 15-minute call.
Take the salary and divide by 0.70. BLS finds wages are 70% of what private employers spend per worker, so a $50,670 clerk costs about $72,400 a year all in, before recruiting and training.
Accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing, collections, data entry and office admin. We don’t run payroll, file taxes or move money out of your accounts.
Usually about a week from kickoff. The median time to fill a non-executive job is 39 days, according to SHRM.