Start with the hours and work you need
“Inbox management” is too broad to be a complete offer. You need to know when someone is working, which messages they handle, and what still falls to you. If evenings are your busy period, a cheap daytime-only plan may not solve your problem.
Use this checklist with every provider. These are items to confirm, not promises that all services include them.
| Item | Ask for this detail |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Days, time zone, shift hours, breaks, and holiday or absence cover. |
| Duties | Replies, approved offers, follow-ups, handovers, and tasks you still handle. |
| Onboarding | How the team learns your tone, prices, boundaries, and approval rules. |
| Supervision | Who checks quality, handles problems, and arranges replacements. |
| Reporting | Report frequency, covered hours, sales-credit rules, complaints, and adjustments. |
| Extra charges | Setup, software, more accounts, extra shifts, and cancellation costs. |
If a service says “24/7,” ask whether that means continuous staffing, shared coverage, or on-call support. Do not read it as a promise of instant replies unless a response-time commitment is actually included.
Check the fee base before comparing percentages
A quote should say exactly which money is used to calculate the fee. Is it the whole account’s payout, selected message sales, or sales credited to covered shifts? Are tips and renewals included? What happens when a sale is refunded later?
Ask the provider to show a sample invoice using your own numbers. You should be able to reproduce the total without guessing. If the bill combines a base fee and commission, make sure the example includes both.
Why the lower percentage can cost more
Fictional example in USD: imagine two quotes for exactly the same duties and hours, using the same $1,000 weekly fee base.
- Quote A: 20% plus a $150 weekly management fee. Total: $200 + $150 = $350.
- Quote B: 30%, with supervision included and no other charges in this example. Total: $300.
The lower headline percentage costs $50 more here. At a $2,000 fee base, Quote A would cost $550 and Quote B would cost $600. At $1,500, both would cost $450. The better price changes with the revenue base.
These are comparison examples, not actual provider offers or typical market prices. In a real decision, compare quality and scope too. A cheap plan that leaves important shifts uncovered may not meet your needs.
A simple quote request you can send
Please quote for these days and hours: [add your schedule and time zone]. I need help with [add your tasks]. Please list the full fee, the revenue used to calculate it, any extra charges, who supervises the work, how absences are covered, and how I can end the service. Please include one worked weekly invoice.
Start with those details before sharing sensitive account information. When discussing access, ask how it will follow the platform’s current rules, who will receive it, and how it can be removed when work ends.
Also set rules for what the team must not do: unapproved discounts, promises you cannot deliver, sharing private information, or misleading fans about who is replying. Your written scope should protect trust, not only chase sales.
Review what you receive, not just what you pay
Agree on a review point before starting. Keep a record of your normal workload and recent results so you have something to compare. Check whether the promised hours were covered, replies followed your boundaries, issues were escalated, and the report matches the invoice.
A sales increase alone does not prove the team caused it. New content, a promotion, or extra traffic can change the numbers too. Look at the work delivered alongside the results and the time you got back.
Choose a service you can describe in one clear sentence: this work, during these hours, for this total fee, with these rules.
Does a chatting service include marketing?
Only if the quote says so. Chatting support and full account management are different scopes. Use our agency fees comparison if you also need promotion, content planning, or broader management.
Should I choose the cheapest quote?
Choose the least expensive quote that meets your actual requirements and whose work you can check. A higher price is not proof of better quality, and a lower price is not proof of poor quality.