When you bring someone new into your business, you probably think about their salary first. Maybe you even calculate a little extra for superannuation or annual leave. But what most business owners don’t realise is how many hidden costs appear the moment you hire someone locally.
If you’re trying to grow, every dollar counts. That’s why understanding these costs is essential before you make your next hire. The good news? There’s a better, simpler way to build remote teams and hire virtual staff; one that lets you keep more of your hard-earned money without sacrificing quality.
Let’s break down the 12 surprising costs you pay for every new hire, and how Staffadoo helps you eliminate most of them.
1. Payroll Taxes and Superannuation
Every time you hire an employee in Australia, you’re responsible for payroll tax, superannuation, and related compliance.
These expenses may not seem like much when viewed individually, but they quickly stack up.
- Superannuation: 11% of salary
- Payroll tax: around 5% (depending on your state)
- Workers compensation insurance: roughly 1.5% to 2%
- Administrative costs: hours of processing, reporting, and filing each month
A $60,000 salary can easily become $70,000 or more once these are added in.
When you hire remote staff through Staffadoo, you don’t pay any of these. Staffadoo handles payroll, taxes, insurance, and benefits, leaving you with one simple invoice every month. No extra admin. No stress.
2. Recruitment Fees and Advertising
Finding someone new isn’t free. Posting ads on job boards, using recruiters, or even paying for social media campaigns adds up.
Typical costs include:
- Job ad listings on major platforms
- Recruiter commissions (usually 10–20% of the annual salary)
- Time spent reviewing applications and conducting interviews
If you hire through a recruiter for a $70,000 position, that’s another $7,000 to $14,000 gone before the person even starts.
With Staffadoo, you skip these costs entirely. You simply tell the team what kind of person you need, and Staffadoo finds pre-vetted, degree-educated professionals ready to start. You meet candidates already proven, not random applicants. That’s how smart businesses build remote teams faster.
3. Onboarding and Training

Even when you find the right person, they don’t become productive overnight. You still need to onboard them, train them, and get them up to speed with your systems and culture.
The hidden costs here include:
- Time from senior staff for training
- Lost productivity during the first few weeks
- Materials, guides, and software access setup
Studies show onboarding a new employee can cost up to 20% of their annual salary when you add everything together.
When you hire virtual staff through Staffadoo, onboarding becomes simpler. You still train them in your way of doing things, but because they’re already experienced, you spend less time getting them operational. Staffadoo’s pre-vetted professionals are ready to adapt quickly.
4. Employee Turnover and Replacement Costs
Turnover is one of the most painful business expenses. When an employee leaves, you lose more than their skills. You lose time, productivity, and momentum.
The real costs include:
- Recruiting a replacement
- Re-onboarding a new person
- Covering shifts in the meantime
- Possible overtime for remaining staff
- The drop in customer satisfaction or team morale
Replacing an employee can cost up to 50–200% of their annual salary, depending on their role.
By building remote teams with Staffadoo, you avoid these constant cycles. Staffadoo provides reliable, degree-educated, full-time virtual staff who work only for you. You get loyalty, stability, and consistency, without the usual turnover headaches.
5. Equipment and Workspace
Local hires need desks, chairs, monitors, laptops, and office space. Even if you have a small office, every additional hire means new equipment and more space.
Typical costs:
- Computer setup: $1,500–$3,000
- Office furniture: $1,000 per employee
- Rent, electricity, cleaning, and maintenance
If you have 10 staff, that’s tens of thousands in overhead each year.
When you hire remote staff through Staffadoo, these costs vanish. Staffadoo’s professionals already have their equipment and work remotely from their own setups. You save space, utilities, and furniture costs instantly.
6. Annual Leave, Sick Leave, and Holidays

Paid time off is essential for any employee, but it also creates gaps in your productivity and extra costs for your business.
You’re paying for time not worked. And when multiple employees are away during busy periods, it can slow everything down.
- Annual leave: 4 weeks per year
- Sick leave: 10 days per year
- Public holidays: up to 12 days per year depending on the state
That’s more than six weeks per year where you’re paying wages for no work.
With Staffadoo, you don’t pay for leave, sick days, or public holidays. You get consistent output all year. It’s one of the biggest reasons why businesses across Australia are switching to hire virtual staff through Staffadoo.
7. HR and Compliance Administration
Hiring locally means dealing with layers of HR and compliance. From contracts to payroll reporting and occupational safety, there’s always paperwork waiting for you.
This includes:
- Employment contracts and record keeping
- Payroll reporting and single touch payroll
- Workplace safety compliance
- Performance management documentation
- Annual reviews and HR audits
Even small businesses end up needing HR software or consultants just to stay compliant.
Staffadoo eliminates all of that. You get reliable staff who work directly for you, but Staffadoo handles every administrative layer; payroll, taxes, and compliance; so you can stay focused on growth.
8. Downtime and Lost Productivity During Transition
Every time you bring in someone new, there’s a transition period. The old employee might leave abruptly, or the new one takes time to adjust. During that time, productivity drops and others pick up the slack.
You might not write this cost on your balance sheet, but it hurts your output. If your customer service slows or your back-office tasks pile up, it affects your reputation and profits.
When you build remote teams through Staffadoo, replacements happen faster. You can fill roles quickly with skilled virtual staff, keeping your operations running smoothly with minimal disruption.
9. Management Time and Oversight

Every manager knows the time it takes to guide, check, and motivate new hires. While this is part of leadership, it’s also a hidden expense.
Consider how much of your week goes into:
- Reviewing work
- Providing feedback
- Holding one-on-one meetings
- Managing conflicts or misunderstandings
That time could be spent on revenue-generating work instead.
When you hire remote staff through Staffadoo, you still run the workday, but you get reliable, professional team members who require less micromanagement. They’re consistent, focused, and used to structured work, meaning less oversight for you and more time to grow your business.
10. Software Licenses and Tools
Each new hire usually needs access to your business software: CRM, email, accounting tools, design software, and more. Every seat adds to your monthly bill.
While you can’t always avoid these costs, you can minimise them by hiring the right kind of staff.
With Staffadoo, you can hire virtual staff who already have expertise in the software you use. They need less training, make fewer mistakes, and work efficiently from day one. Some even bring their own toolsets, saving you from additional license purchases.
11. Legal and Termination Costs
When things don’t work out, ending an employment relationship can be complicated and expensive.
There are legal requirements for notice periods, redundancy pay, and sometimes unfair dismissal claims. Even if everything is handled correctly, you still lose money and time during the process.
When you hire remote staff through Staffadoo, that risk disappears. Staffadoo’s system makes it easy to scale up or down without legal drama or extra costs. You maintain full control, and Staffadoo manages the employment structure safely and compliantly.
12. The Cost of a Bad Hire

This is the most painful one and the hardest to quantify.
A bad hire doesn’t just cost money. It costs morale, trust, and reputation. They can drive away good clients, create chaos, and leave you cleaning up the mess.
The real cost of a bad hire can reach three times their annual salary when you factor in recruitment, lost productivity, and damage control.
When you use Staffadoo, you avoid this risk almost entirely. Staffadoo’s candidates are pre-vetted, degree-educated, and reliable. You meet professionals already proven in their field. And with the 30-day risk-free guarantee, if you’re not satisfied, you don’t pay. That’s real confidence in the people you bring into your team.
How Staffadoo Removes These Costs
- Eliminates payroll and compliance expenses
You no longer need to worry about payroll tax, superannuation, workers compensation, or insurance. Staffadoo takes care of all of it in the background so you can focus entirely on running your business. - Cuts recruitment costs completely
There are no expensive job ads, recruiter commissions, or endless interview rounds. Staffadoo manages the hiring process for you by presenting pre-vetted, degree-qualified professionals who are ready to start immediately. - Removes equipment and office overheads
Since Staffadoo’s staff work remotely using their own setups, you never need to buy extra computers, desks, or rent additional office space. These savings add up fast when you’re building a growing team. - Ends HR and compliance headaches
Staffadoo manages payroll, contracts, and employment regulations on your behalf. That means no HR software subscriptions, no compliance audits, and no confusing tax paperwork. - Reduces turnover and replacement costs
Because Staffadoo connects you with full-time professionals who work exclusively for your business, you experience better retention and long-term reliability. You avoid the cycle of hiring, onboarding, and replacing employees. - Removes legal and termination risks
You maintain full control of your team’s daily work, but Staffadoo handles the employment structure safely and compliantly. If you need to make a change, you can do it without facing legal complications or extra costs. - Simplifies everything while keeping quality high
When you hire virtual staff through Staffadoo, you eliminate unnecessary financial and administrative burdens. You get skilled, reliable people and consistent performance without the weight of traditional employment costs.
Why Staffadoo Works So Well

Staffadoo isn’t a freelancer platform or a labour-hire agency taking a cut. It’s a plug-and-play staffing solution built specifically for small and medium Australian businesses that want reliable help without the red tape.
Here’s why businesses trust it:
- Full-time, degree-educated staff who work exclusively for you
- One flat invoice — no payroll, super, or benefits costs
- Pre-vetted staff — only proven professionals
- Work your hours — your team runs on your schedule
- Risk-free guarantee — if you’re not satisfied in 30 days, you don’t pay
You can hire virtual staff for customer service, bookkeeping, administration, marketing, and more. Whether you need one person or ten, Staffadoo helps you build remote teams that grow with you without any surprises.
The Smarter Way to Scale
Every time you think about hiring locally, remember that the true cost is far higher than the salary you see. Between taxes, leave, insurance, and lost time, traditional hiring makes growth harder than it should be.
With Staffadoo, you can:
- Keep more of your profit
- Hire faster and smarter
- Maintain full control of your team
- Enjoy simple, predictable staffing
- Focus on growing your business, not managing payroll
It’s never been easier to hire remote staff you can rely on.
Try Staffadoo Risk-Free
If you’re tired of unpredictable costs and endless paperwork, now is the time to try Staffadoo.
You get:
- Reliable, degree-qualified virtual staff
- One flat monthly invoice
- No payroll tax, super, or admin
- The ability to start small and scale anytime
- A 30-day satisfaction guarantee – if you’re not happy, you don’t pay
Start building your team today and experience how easy it is to hire virtual staff who deliver results without the stress of local employment.
Try Staffadoo free for 30 days and discover how many of these hidden costs you can finally eliminate.