Hire an admin or use software? A cost comparison for Swiss brokerages
When the catch-up work piles up, many firms reach for an extra back-office hire. Here is the honest math on what that costs in Switzerland, and what the alternative does.
At some point every growing brokerage hits the same wall. The catch-up after appointments becomes too much, and someone says the obvious thing: we need another person for the office. Before you post that role, an honest calculation is worth a few minutes.
What does an admin hire really cost in Switzerland?
The gross salary is only the start. On top come employer contributions to AHV, IV, EO, and ALV, occupational pension, accident insurance, and overhead such as a workstation, software, and onboarding. Fully loaded, an admin role costs a Swiss firm roughly CHF 6,500 to 6,900 per month, depending on region and workload.
That is a good investment if the person takes on work that genuinely needs hands. It is an expensive investment if most of their time goes into the same catch-up over and over: typing notes, updating the CRM, writing follow-ups.
What would you actually use the role for?
Break down the tasks you want to hand off. For most firms the list looks like this:
- Preparing meeting notes
- Updating the CRM after appointments
- Drafting follow-up messages
- Keeping the pipeline clean
That is exactly the block that can now be automated without anyone typing. It is the same catch-up that costs you hours every week, and the same work a CRM that keeps itself up to date handles on its own.
The direct comparison
FinPortal is CHF 197 per user per month, all in. A five-person firm pays around CHF 985 a month. That is about a quarter of what a single fully loaded admin role costs.
| Admin hire (1 role) | FinPortal (5 users) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per month | CHF 6,500 to 6,900 | about CHF 985 |
| Scales with the team | no, one person | yes, per user |
| Post-meeting catch-up | manual | automatic, you only review |
| Availability | office hours | every meeting |
The point is not that you should never hire. The point is: do not hire someone to do a task that can run automatically anyway.
What is left for a person?
Exactly the valuable parts. Relationship work, difficult cases, calls that need a human touch, and growing the firm. When the recurring catch-up falls away, you and your team win time back without creating a role that is three quarters typing.
And all of it while recording, transcription, and processing stay local on the device, as Swiss data protection suggests.
Run the math for your own firm and weigh the options in insurance broker software compared. Then test it with your team. Start the 14-day pilot. Nothing is charged until day 14, and you can cancel anytime.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an admin hire really cost in Switzerland?
- A fully loaded admin role costs a Swiss brokerage roughly CHF 6,500 to 6,900 per month depending on region and workload, including social contributions and overhead.
- What does FinPortal cost in comparison?
- FinPortal is CHF 197 per user per month, all in. A five-person firm pays around CHF 985 a month, about a quarter of a single admin role.
- Does software fully replace an admin hire?
- Not every task. But the largest recurring block, the catch-up work after client meetings, is handled by the software, so your team can focus on work that genuinely needs hands.