Executive Assistant Quote: What to Ask Before You Compare Prices

Why asking the right questions before comparing an executive assistant quote matters

An “executive assistant quote” is rarely a single number: it’s a bundle of scope, guaranteed hours, backup coverage, security controls, onboarding, and contractual terms. Two vendors can both state “$6,000/month” and deliver very different outcomes. Standardizing the questions you ask makes vendors price the same scope and exposes hidden costs so you can compare apples to apples.

Quick U.S. pricing overview: models, benchmark ranges, and sources

Common commercial models: in‑house FTE, dedicated remote EA (retainer/contract), managed‑service retainer (agency/platform), fractional/hourly, and offshore/nearshore VA. Benchmarks below are U.S.-focused and drawn from BLS occupational data, market salary sites, and public provider pricing (ranges reflect seniority, hours, and vertical sensitivity). See: BLS (Executive Administrative Assistants) and employer cost summaries (benefits) for source context (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes432011.htm; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). Salary medians from Salary.com and PayScale also inform ranges (https://www.salary.com, https://www.payscale.com).

Provider examples: what differentiated pricing looks like in practice

Concrete examples help translate model differences into buyer questions: • Prialto: managed plans commonly include account management and backup coverage and present pricing as a monthly retainer that bundles operations (https://www.prialto.com/pricing). • Boldly: historically sold dedicated retainer packages with defined hours and assistant seniority tiers (https://boldly.com/pricing). • Wishup: public pricing shows lower hourly/retainer tiers for offshore/nearshore assistants, with add‑ons for senior assistants and business‑hours overlap (https://www.wishup.co/pricing). • TempExperts: lists hourly and retainer staffing rates with options for temporary placement (https://tempexperts.com/pricing). Use these published structures to probe what’s included vs. extra.

How to convert salary or retainer into an effective hourly / FTE TCO (with a worked benefits example)

Normalize everything to an effective hourly or annual TCO to compare models. For salary, include employer payroll taxes and benefits. BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) shows benefits are a material share of total compensation; market practice for budgeting benefits and payroll burden is roughly 20–35% depending on benefits richness and state payroll costs (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).

Notes: employer burden varies by state (CA vs. TX unemployment insurance rates differ) and benefits richness. For state payroll tax details consult your payroll provider or state workforce agency; for federal payroll line items see IRS employer tax guidance (FICA, FUTA).

Checklist: the exact, non‑redundant questions to ask every provider before you request a quote (grouped for fast RFPs)

• Scope & hours: What specific tasks are in scope? What weekly/monthly committed hours are guaranteed? How are overage hours priced?
• Availability & overlap: What core U.S. business‑hours overlap is guaranteed (specify timezone, e.g., 9am–3pm ET)? How are urgent after‑hours requests handled and charged?
• Deliverables & KPIs: What measurable outcomes will you track (hours recovered, inbox items triaged, meeting prep completed)? How is performance reported and at what cadence?
• Onboarding & ramp: How many onboarding hours are included, what is the expected time to full productivity, and what is your onboarding checklist?
• Backup & substitution: Is backup coverage included? What’s the guaranteed substitution lead time and replacement SLA for long absences?
• Security & vetting: What background checks are performed (SSN trace, national criminal, employment verification)? Do you support MFA/SSO, and are systems encrypted in transit/at rest? Can you provide SOC 2 or ISO 27001 reports or a security questionnaire?
• Tool access & licensing: Which tools require access (email, calendar, travel, expense systems)? Are tool licenses included or billed separately and how is credentialing provisioned (least privilege, delegated access, vault)?
• Pricing & line items: What is included in the base price vs. add‑ons (platform fees, onboarding, tool pass‑throughs, travel booking fees, expense markups)? Show a sample line‑item quote.
• Legal & termination: What are cancellation, notice, and refund terms? Do you offer a trial/pilot with KPI exit criteria? Provide sample NDA and data‑access clauses.
• Compliance: Do you have controls or references for regulated industries (HIPAA, FINRA, contract confidentiality)? What contractual remedies exist for breaches?

What a proper quote should break down, line‑by‑line

• Base fee: monthly retainer or hourly rate and what hours that guarantees.
• Guaranteed vs. on‑demand hours and explicit overage rates.
• Onboarding fee and estimated onboarding hours (with a short onboarding task list).
• Platform/operations or account management fee (if managed service).
• Tool license costs or pass‑throughs (calendar systems, expense platforms, password vaults).
• Taxes/benefits assumptions (for FTE offers) or vendor payroll markup (for W‑2/PEO arrangements).
• Backup/coverage policy and whether substitutes are included or billed separately.
• Travel booking fees, per‑ticket charges, or percentage markups (if any).
• Security/compliance add‑ons (enhanced vetting, SOC 2 report availability).
• Cancellation/notice terms, pilot terms, and refund mechanics.

Apples‑to‑apples worksheet: copy‑paste table and a worked comparison

Copy the table above into a spreadsheet and replace cells with your vendor numbers. Amortize onboarding/tool costs over a 6–12 month period to avoid front‑loading the comparison.

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Map costs to outcomes: the KPIs you should measure

• Hours of executive time recovered per week (meetings removed, email time reduced).
• Number of meetings proactively scheduled/managed per week.
• Average inbox items triaged per business day and first‑response SLA for priority messages.
• Turnaround time for high‑priority tasks (same day, 2 business days).
• Completion and ownership of proactive projects (vendor coordination, logistics).

Security & compliance: specific controls and contract language to ask for

For U.S. buyers: especially in regulated industries: request concrete evidence, not marketing language. Ask vendors to document: (1) background check types (SSN trace, national/state criminal check, employment/education verification); (2) authentication controls (MFA, SSO / SCIM support); (3) data protection (TLS 1.2+ in transit, AES‑256 at rest or equivalent); (4) vendor attestations (SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 reports where available); (5) least‑privilege access and password vaulting for elevated credentials; and (6) incident response SLA and breach notification timeframe. Request a sample NDA and a data‑access clause limiting export/forwarding and specifying permitted systems.

AI: how automation augments (but does not replace) high‑trust EA work

AI can augment scheduling (suggesting optimal meeting times), triage (drafting routine replies and summarizing threads), and templates (draft travel itineraries), but judgment, relationship management, discretion, and sensitive communications still require human deputies. Use AI to increase assistant efficiency, not to replace human decisioning on confidential or judgment‑sensitive tasks.

Red flags and essential due diligence before you sign

• Headline price dramatically below market with no line‑item detail or tradeoffs explained.
• Vague deliverables or no measurable KPIs in the quote.
• No client references, or references limited to non‑U.S. clients when you require U.S. hours and norms.
• No documented security practices, lack of background checks, or refusal to sign NDAs.
• No backup coverage or unclear escalation policy for long assistant absences.
• Long minimum commitments without a pilot or clear exit terms.

Procurement timeline and decision checklist for busy buyers

A pragmatic timeline: Week 0–2: RFP/RFI (send standardized checklist/questions above to shortlisted vendors). Week 2–4: Compare apples‑to‑apples worksheet numbers and check references/security artifacts. Week 4–6: Start 30–60 day pilot with capped hours and defined KPIs. Week 6–8: Evaluate pilot vs. KPIs and decide to scale, renegotiate, or terminate. Keep decision gates simple (did they meet time‑saved or inbox triage KPIs?).

Final pre‑signing checklist

• Have you requested the same committed hours from each vendor for a fair comparison?
• Have you amortized onboarding and tooling costs into the monthly figure?
• Are backup coverage, vetting/security details, and references included in the quote?
• Is there a pilot with KPIs, termination rights, and an SLA with remedies?
• Have you converted all offers to an annual or hourly TCO and scored them vs. your outcomes weighting?

Ready for a tailored executive assistant quote?

If you want an apples‑to‑apples comparison built around the priorities above, request a tailored quote. Aurora will ask for expected hours, primary tasks, required U.S. overlap, and compliance constraints and return a line‑item quote you can compare side‑by‑side with other offers. For hiring and ROI background see How to Hire an Executive Assistant Who Actually Frees Up Your Time and The ROI of an Executive Assistant: A Better Way to Measure Return.