Compare · checked October 2026
Should you hire a quoting admin or use Stubie?
When the enquiries pile up, the usual answer is to hire someone to type quotes and chase payments. Here's how that compares with handing the desk to Stubie, including what Stubie doesn't do.
| Compared on | A full-time quoting admin | Stubie |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | About R 7 500 – R 10 000 in salary, plus UIF, leave cover, a desk and a laptop | R 6 999 all-inclusive, or R 5 500 with a once-off setup |
| Getting started | Advertise, interview, onboard, then weeks of learning your prices | Price list built from your past quotes; most desks live within two weeks |
| Hours | Office hours, minus leave, sick days and lunch | Drafts quotes the moment enquiries arrive, evenings and weekends included |
| Pricing consistency | Depends on memory and the spreadsheet | Same price list, breaks and set-up fees applied every time |
| When it can't price something | Asks you, or guesses | Never guesses: the line waits for your price, and the list remembers it |
| Payment follow-up | When there's a gap in the day | A reference per order and follow-ups until the money reflects |
| Answering the phone, filing, the post | Yes | No. Stubie only does the quoting desk |
Salary range from Indeed South Africa and Payscale averages for administrative assistants, checked October 2026. Stubie prices from the pricing page.
Where an admin wins
A good admin answers the phone, sorts the post, calms down an upset customer and notices when something feels off. Stubie does none of that. If most of your admin’s day is that kind of work, keep them.
Where Stubie wins
If most of the job is reading enquiries, working out prices and typing quotes, then checking bank statements for payments, that is the work Stubie takes over. It is there at 21:00 when the enquiry lands, it prices the same job the same way every time, and it never forgets to follow up on a deposit.
Most businesses end up with both
Plenty of businesses keep their person and give them Stubie. The quotes draft themselves, the admin approves them, and the hours that went into typing go into customers. See the desk in the live demo.
Questions
Is Stubie meant to replace a person?
It takes over the typing and the chasing; the judgement stays with you. Many owners keep their admin and move them onto work only a person can do: customers on the phone, production planning, collections that need a conversation.
Who approves the quotes if I don't have an admin?
You do, from your phone: enquiry and price on one screen and two taps to send. Most quotes only need a glance.
Where do the salary figures come from?
Indeed South Africa's average for administrative assistants (about R 7 457 a month) and Payscale's South African average (about R 118 855 a year). Actual pay varies by city and experience; add statutory contributions and the cost of a workstation.
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