Hire, temp, VA, bookkeeper or Dull: back-office options compared
Five ways to cover an empty back-office seat, compared on cost, speed and who checks the work.
When a back-office seat is empty, you have five realistic options: hire an employee, bring in a temp, use an offshore virtual assistant, pay a bookkeeper, or hand the work to a done-for-you service like Dull. They differ most on cost, how fast they start and who checks the work.
Here’s an honest comparison, with sources for every number. Dull is one of the options, and it isn’t the right one for everybody.
The five options at a glance
| Option | Monthly cost | Time to start | Who checks the work | Commitment | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hire an employee | about $4,920 to $6,030 all in | median 39 days to fill, then training | You | Employment | Steady full-time volume, or work that needs someone on site |
| Temp agency | about $5,170 to $6,970 | usually faster than hiring | You | Per assignment | Short gaps, like covering leave |
| Offshore virtual assistant | about $571 to $900, hired directly, before agency fees | days to weeks to find and train | You | Varies | Broad, changing tasks when you have time to manage |
| Outsourced bookkeeper | varies by firm and volume | varies | The bookkeeper | Usually monthly | Accurate books, reconciliations and month-end close |
| Dull | Flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call | about a week | A person reviews every exception; you get a Friday summary | Month to month | One repeatable process you want off your plate now |
Sources: hire costs use BLS median pay for May 2025, from data entry keyers ($41,340, SOC 43-9021) to bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks ($50,670, SOC 43-3031), divided by 0.70 because wages are 70.0% of employer costs (BLS, June 2026). Time to fill: SHRM, 2026. Temp cost adds a typical 50% to 65% agency markup (American Society of Employers). Virtual assistant cost is the middle half of 2026 full-time asking rates for Filipino VAs (Outsource Accelerator).
1. Hire an employee
Good: a dedicated person who learns your business, sits in your team and can take on anything you hand them. Watch out for: the full cost is the salary plus about 43% more in benefits and payroll taxes, and SHRM puts the median time to fill a non-executive job at 39 days, before any training. When they’re out or leave, the work stops.
Choose this if the work is full time, changes every day, or needs someone on site.
2. Use a temp agency
Good: fast cover with no recruiting on your side, and you can end it when the gap closes. Watch out for: you pay the worker’s wage plus the agency markup, and you still train the temp and check the work, sometimes again with each new person.
Choose this if you need cover for a few weeks, like parental leave or a busy season.
3. Use an offshore virtual assistant
Good: the lowest monthly cost of any option, and a person you can point at many kinds of task. Watch out for: you find, train and manage them, check their work yourself, and handle time zones, cover and turnover. The asking rates above are for direct hires; agencies charge more.
Choose this if you have time to manage someone and the tasks change from week to week.
4. Use an outsourced bookkeeper
Good: a professional who keeps your books accurate, reconciles accounts and closes the month. Watch out for: daily invoicing, data entry and chasing are a different job. Ask whether they’re included and what they cost.
Choose this if the problem is the accuracy of your books, not the daily volume of work.
5. Hand it to Dull
Good: one set price, live in about a week, done in your own tools, a person reviewing every exception and a report every Friday, with no contract. Watch out for: Dull covers defined, repeatable work, up to 300 standard records a month in the pilot. We don’t move money, run payroll, make phone calls to your customers or make approval decisions.
Choose this if you have one repeatable process piling up and you want it handled now, without hiring or managing anyone. See pricing.
A quick way to decide
- Is the work full time and different every day? Hire.
- Is it a gap of a few weeks? Temp.
- Is cost the main thing, and do you have time to manage someone? Virtual assistant.
- Are your books the problem? Bookkeeper.
- Is it one repeatable process you want off your plate this week? Dull.
Many businesses mix these. A bookkeeper closes the month while Dull handles the daily invoices, or a VA covers changing tasks while Dull runs order entry.
By role
For the numbers on a specific seat, see the alternatives to hiring an AR clerk, AP clerk, data entry clerk, order entry clerk, billing specialist, collections specialist, admin assistant.
Frequently asked questions
An offshore virtual assistant hired directly usually costs least per month, around $571 to $900 for full-time work in 2026. You take on finding, training, managing and checking their work.
Usually outsourcing costs less per month. A median bookkeeping clerk costs about $6,030 a month once benefits are added, while Dull is a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call. A hire covers more hours, so compare what you actually need done.
SHRM puts the median time to fill a non-executive job at 39 days, before training.
The American Society of Employers puts a typical markup at 50% to 65% over the worker’s pay, with a range of 35% to 100%.
When the work is full time, changes every day, or needs someone on site.