Free guides
Free offshore hiring guides for Australian businesses
Two practical PDFs for your first offshore hire: what to pay in Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and the eight steps from defining the role to a productive first 90 days.
Our two free guides cover what an offshore hire costs and how to make the first one work. The Offshore Salary Guide lists monthly salaries for 27 roles in Sri Lanka and the Philippines, plus each country's employer costs and our fees. The First Offshore Hire Checklist walks through eight steps, from defining the role to the first 90 days.
Offshore Salary Guide: Sri Lanka and the Philippines
6 pages. Know what to budget before you talk to anyone.
- Monthly salary ranges for 27 full-time roles, from virtual assistants to finance managers
- What each country adds: 13th-month pay in the Philippines, EPF and ETF in Sri Lanka
- Our fees on both plans, with two fully worked examples
- A local hire for comparison, and how to choose a country
Your First Offshore Hire: The Checklist
5 pages. Tick it off as you go.
- Define a full-time role that's worth hiring for
- Set a realistic budget and decide who employs and manages them
- Recruit with real work tests, and set up secure access before day one
- Onboard well in the first two weeks and run the first 90 days
A preview of the salary guide
Five of the 27 roles in the guide, in Australian dollars a month for a full-time hire, before employer costs. The full guide has every role and the total monthly cost.
| Role | Sri Lanka | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Assistant | A$700–1,000 | A$1,300–1,800 |
| Bookkeeper | A$800–1,150 | A$1,450–2,000 |
| Customer Service Representative | A$700–1,100 | A$1,300–1,900 |
| Tax Accountant | A$1,200–1,900 | A$2,000–2,900 |
| Web Developer | A$1,200–2,800 | A$1,800–3,200 |
Common questions
Are the guides really free?
Yes. Enter your name and email and you can download both PDFs straight away. We may follow up once to ask whether you'd like help with a hire, and you can say no.
Who are the guides for?
Australian business owners and managers thinking about their first full-time offshore hire, or adding to a small offshore team, in Sri Lanka or the Philippines.
How current are the salaries?
They match the ranges on our role pages as of November 2026. Salaries move with the market, so we update the guide when the role pages change.
Can I just work out the cost for one role?
Yes. Use the free employee cost calculator. It uses the same salary ranges and fees as the guide and compares the result with a local hire.
Already know the role?
Skip the reading. Tell us about the role and we'll confirm the salary range, the country that suits it and your total monthly cost.