A part time front desk or scheduling role costs a franchise owner roughly $2,900 a month to fill locally, once you add payroll taxes, workers comp, and turnover risk on top of wages. A comparable VA, on the same hours, runs $900 to $1,700 a month depending on where the VA is based. That gap matters most when you’re deciding how to staff a role you don’t have covered yet, whether that’s a new position or work that’s currently falling on you. Here’s how to run the numbers for your own franchise, wherever it operates.
The real cost of an in-house hire
The wage on the job posting is never the full cost. For a part time front desk, scheduling, or recruiting coordinator role, here’s what actually shows up on the books, nationally:
- Wages. $16 to $24 an hour for a competent admin hire, based on national receptionist and admin assistant pay data. Expect the higher end in major metro markets and the lower end in smaller markets.
- Payroll taxes. Employer side Social Security, Medicare, and federal and state unemployment insurance add roughly 8 to 10 percent on top of wages, in every state.
- Workers comp. Rates are set state by state and by job classification, not a flat number. A clerical or scheduling role sits in the lowest risk tier, typically under 1 percent of payroll nationally, though it runs higher in some states and a small employer’s minimum premium can push the real cost up. Check your state’s rate rather than assuming a number.
- Equipment and space. A desk, a computer, a phone line, software seats. Call it $50 to $150 a month amortized.
- Turnover. Replacing an admin hire costs 6 to 9 months of their salary once you count the job posting, the interviews, the training time, and the productivity gap while the seat sits empty. Front desk and scheduling roles turn over often across every market.
- Coverage. Someone has to answer the phone when your one employee is sick, on vacation, or gives two weeks notice.
At $20 an hour for 25 hours a week, roughly the national median for this kind of role, filling it locally runs a franchise owner about $2,896 a month once taxes, comp, equipment, and turnover risk are priced in. That’s before you’ve paid a dime toward the actual output you needed.
What a VA costs by comparison
VA pricing models break down into hourly, package, and dedicated. The short version: there’s no payroll tax, no workers comp, no equipment budget, and no turnover cost sitting on your side of the ledger when you work with a VA. Coverage and backup are usually built into the agency relationship. What you do pay varies a lot by where the VA is based.
VA rates by country
VA pricing isn’t one number. It’s a range that shifts by region, and the regions trade off cost against time zone overlap and task fit. Here’s where things stand for general admin work in 2026, worldwide:
| Country/Region | Hourly Rate | Full-Time Monthly Est. |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | $5–15/hr | $800–$2,400 |
| India | $5–15/hr | $800–$2,400 |
| South Africa | $6–19/hr | $960–$3,000 |
| Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil) | $10–25/hr | $1,600–$4,000 |
| Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, and similar) | $15–30/hr | $2,400–$4,800 |
| United States | $19–35/hr | $3,000–$5,600 |
A few things worth knowing before you pick a region:
- Philippines and India sit in the same price band for general admin, but India skews toward technical and back-office work like data entry, research, and bookkeeping support. The Philippines is stronger for phone and customer-facing roles.
- Latin America and Eastern Europe cost more, but both offer closer time zone overlap with US business hours. That matters if the VA needs to be live during your working day, no matter which time zone your franchise operates in.
- South Africa is a newer option in this market, strong English fluency, good UK and US time zone overlap, priced between the Asian offshore tier and the Latin America and Eastern Europe tier.
- A US-based VA is also on the table, and worth it when the role needs someone on the phone with customers, franchisor contacts, or vendors during business hours, and native English and local knowledge matter more than the hourly rate.
- These are generalist rates. Specialized skills like bookkeeping, marketing, or executive support add 20 to 60 percent on top of these ranges, in every region.
A side by side example
Here’s the same 25 hour a week role, priced two ways, using national averages on both sides:
| Filled locally (25 hrs/week, $20/hr) | Filled with an offshore VA (25 hrs/week, $8–15/hr) | |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay | $2,165 | $866–$1,625 |
| Payroll tax + workers comp (~9.5%) | $206 | $0 |
| Equipment and software seats | $75 | $0–$50 |
| Turnover cost, amortized | $450 | $0 |
| Monthly total | ~$2,896 | $866–$1,675 |
That’s a cost difference of roughly $1,200 to $2,000 a month for the same 25 hours a week, or $14,600 to $24,300 a year. A Latin America or Eastern Europe VA narrows that gap to roughly $600 to $1,200 a month in exchange for closer time zone overlap. These figures will shift some based on your specific state’s payroll tax and workers comp rate, but the shape of the comparison holds nationally.
What’s easy to miss beyond the hourly rate
The dollar comparison above is the easy part. A few things show up later and get missed, regardless of which state your franchise is in:
- No idle payroll. A slow month still means a full paycheck for an employee. A VA package or hourly arrangement scales down with the business instead.
- No hiring cycle. Bringing on a VA through an agency usually takes days, not the four to eight weeks a good admin hire takes in most markets.
- No management overhead on HR basics. Time off requests, benefits questions, and performance reviews all sit with the agency, not you.
Frequently asked questions
Does a virtual assistant cost less than an employee for the same role?
Usually, for administrative and phone based work, in every US state. The difference comes from avoiding payroll taxes, workers comp, equipment costs, and turnover risk, not just from a lower hourly rate.
How much can a franchise owner expect to save with a VA?
On a matched 25 hour a week role, most franchise owners see a difference of $1,200 to $2,000 a month with a Philippines or India based VA. Latin America and Eastern Europe VAs run closer to the local cost, roughly $600 to $1,200 a month less, but offer closer time zone overlap. The exact number shifts with your state’s payroll tax and workers comp rate.
Which country should a franchise owner choose for a VA?
It depends on the task. Philippines and India offer the lowest cost for general admin work. Latin America and Eastern Europe cost more but work closer to US business hours. South Africa sits in between on both price and time zone fit. A US-based VA makes sense when the role is customer-facing or needs local knowledge.
Does workers comp cost the same in every state?
No. Workers comp is set state by state and by job classification. A clerical or scheduling role is low risk everywhere, but the exact rate varies. Check your own state’s rate before finalizing the math for your franchise.
Does hiring a VA affect a franchise’s payroll or headcount requirements?
Usually not, since most VAs are contracted through an agency rather than hired as a W-2 employee. Confirm this against your specific franchise agreement, since some brands have their own rules on outsourced labor.
If you want help thinking through how to staff a role like this for your own franchise, reach out here and I’ll walk through it with you.
