Cost calculator
Salary portals show pay and nothing else. This page shows the full first-year cost, what a wrong hire costs, and where every number comes from.
Founder and Managing DirectorUpdated October 2026
In short
A head of sales at a Swiss SME in the Zurich region costs CHF 235,659 in year one: base salary CHF 150,000, bonus CHF 22,500, employer contributions CHF 25,875, agency fee CHF 30,000, workplace CHF 4,800 and sales tools CHF 2,484. A fractional head of sales on a mandate costs CHF 39,468 over the same year: a weekly block of 7 hours plus an indicative 10% performance fee, excl. VAT.
Reference values for the Zurich region, 2026: bonus 15%, employer contributions 15%, agency fee 20%, workplace CHF 4,800, sales tools CHF 2,484. Mandate with a weekly block of 7 hours and an indicative 10% performance fee. All amounts excl. VAT.
| Role | Base salary | Permanent hire, year 1 | Mandate, year 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Sales | CHF 120,000 | CHF 189,984 | CHF 39,468 | CHF 150,516 |
| Sales Manager | CHF 130,000 | CHF 205,209 | CHF 39,468 | CHF 165,741 |
| Head of Sales (SME) | CHF 150,000 | CHF 235,659 | CHF 39,468 | CHF 196,191 |
The mandate replaces the leadership function, not 42 hours a week. The comparison is function against function.
Share of base salary
CHF 2,990/ month
From 8 hours a volume discount applies.
Indicative, as a share of the annual retainer. In the contract it is based on revenue actually paid.
Total cost in year oneCHF 235,659
Total cost in year oneCHF 39,468
Your saving in year one
CHF 196,191
that is 83% less
Permanent hire: CHF 134,874Mandate: CHF 20,930
Six months plus one month's notice. With a hire, the recruiting cost is lost as well.
3 to 6 months to the first working day, then ramp-up2 weeks to start, first opportunities from week 4
Hardware, sales tools and onboarding are yours to organiseYour own HeySali workspace for the term of the mandate, plus our hardware
Base salaries for the Zurich region in 2026, derived from the Michael Page Salary Guide 2026, the Careerplus sales salary study 2024 and the Federal Statistical Office's Swiss Earnings Structure Survey 2024: Senior Sales CHF 120,000, Sales Manager CHF 130,000, Head of Sales at an SME CHF 150,000. Employer contributions at 15 percent of salary and bonus: AHV/IV/EO (old-age, disability and income compensation) 5.3 percent, unemployment insurance 1.1 percent, family allowances around 1 percent, accident and sickness cover, and the employer share of the occupational pension. Agency placement at 20 percent of the annual base salary; in-house search at a flat CHF 6,000 for advertising and internal effort. Workplace at CHF 4,800 per year, sales tools at CHF 2,484 per year (HeySali Pro list price for one user, billed annually). The mandate retainer is CHF 2,990 per month for a weekly block of 7 hours, excluding VAT. From 8 hours a volume discount applies: 8 hours CHF 3,330, 9 hours CHF 3,660, 10 hours CHF 3,990. The struck-through list price scales the weekly block up to the chosen hours, rounded to ten francs. Larger commitments are available on request. The performance fee is included as an indicative 5 to 20 percent of the annual retainer; in the contract it is based on revenue actually paid. Wrong call: for the hire, seven months of salary, contributions, workplace and sales tools without bonus, plus recruitment; for the mandate, seven monthly retainers without performance fee. Even with 8.1 percent VAT, the mandate is cheaper at every setting of the calculator. Travel expenses and CRM and email licences arise in both cases and are not included. All figures are indicative and do not replace a quote.
Each item with its source, for a head of sales at an SME in the Zurich region. If you are hiring in Switzerland for the first time, Swiss social security, pension and notice rules are explained in plain English. Salary, bonus and hiring route are yours to set in the calculator.
For a head of sales at an SME in the Zurich region, the calculator assumes CHF 150,000 base plus a 15% bonus: CHF 172,500. It draws on the Michael Page Salary Guide 2026, the Careerplus sales salary study 2024 and the Federal Statistical Office's 2024 earnings survey. The profile is a sales leader with a team and P&L responsibility.
Careerplus puts the median for heads of sales at CHF 140,000 including bonus, with the upper quartile at CHF 156,000. Sales pay in Greater Zurich runs 6.7% above the study's median. For a role close to the median, set the slider to CHF 120,000 base: that comes to CHF 189,984 in year one.
Mandatory in 2026: 5.3% for AHV/IV/EO (Swiss old-age, disability and income-compensation insurance), 1.1% for unemployment insurance on pay up to CHF 148,200, and 1.025% for family allowances at SVA Zürich. That is just over 7% of pay. Pension, accident and sickness cover and admin fees come on top. The calculator uses 15% of salary and bonus: CHF 25,875.
An example from the statutory BVG minimum: between ages 45 and 54, the retirement credit is 15% of the coordinated salary, capped at CHF 64,260 in 2026. That alone is CHF 9,639 a year. Overall, the employer must pay at least as much as all its employees combined (Art. 66 BVG). If your plan insures more salary, the cost rises.
Agencies charge a share of annual salary. One published Swiss fee scale runs from 12% to 22%; for executive search, 20–30% is cited as common (sources in the FAQ). The calculator uses 20% of base salary: CHF 30,000. An in-house search is set at CHF 6,000 for ads and internal effort. Management time for interviews is excluded either way.
The calculator sets CHF 4,800 a year for desk, hardware and phone, or CHF 400 a month. For sales intelligence it uses CHF 2,484, the list price of our own product, HeySali Pro, billed annually. Under the mandate, HeySali Pro for one user is included. CRM and email licences and travel expenses arise either way, so neither side includes them.
The calculator prices a wrong hire. Vacancy and onboarding depend on your situation, so we describe them rather than put a number on them.
Allow three to six months from job ad to first day. By Swiss law, employees in their 2nd to 9th year of service give two months' notice to the end of a month (Art. 335c of the Code of Obligations); contracts can set longer. Resign on 10 March, start on 1 June at the earliest. Until then, management runs sales on the side.
Swiss law sets a one-month probation period, extendable by contract to three months at most (Art. 335b CO). In B2B sales, that is rarely enough to judge a new head of sales on results. They first have to learn your offering, customers and team. Onboarding new people with playbooks shortens this phase. The calculator does not price it.
Say you realise after six months that it is not working. Probation is over, and statutory notice in the first year of service is one month. Seven months at CHF 14,982 for salary, contributions, workplace and tools, without bonus, plus CHF 30,000 for the agency: CHF 134,874. Under the mandate, seven monthly fees: CHF 20,930.
The mandate fee excludes 8.1% Swiss VAT. With VAT, year one comes to CHF 42,665 and a wrong call to CHF 22,625. The calculator checks every possible setting with VAT included. In none of them does the mandate cost more than the hire, neither in year one nor after a wrong call.
What an empty sales seat costs in revenue depends on your pipeline. We do not put a franc figure on it, because any flat number would be invented.
All values are reference figures for the Zurich region as of September 2026. They are indicative figures, not a quote (terms, clause 1.6). You receive the definitive quote after our first conversation.
A mandate is not always the answer. In these cases, we advise you to hire.
You run your own sales team, and it needs leading every day. A weekly block of 7 to 10 hours will not cover that.
Your offering, pricing logic and pipeline are stable and the role is clearly defined. Nobody has to work out what sells any more. The job is to scale it.
Your customers expect someone at their site, at trade fairs or on the project every week. The mandate works remotely by default and comes on site for the start, key meetings and customer visits.
Customer relationships and market knowledge should sit permanently with someone on your payroll. Then you need your own head of sales.
The two are not mutually exclusive. The mandate puts process, pipeline and playbooks in place, builds up your internal successor and then hands over. What fractional sales leadership is, and when it fits, is covered on a separate page.
CHF 235,659 in year one, for an SME in the Zurich region on a CHF 150,000 base, with a 15% bonus, 15% employer contributions, a 20% agency fee, workplace and sales tools. From year two the agency fee drops away: CHF 205,659. Closer to the Careerplus median of CHF 140,000 including bonus, a CHF 120,000 base gives CHF 189,984 in year one.
Mandatory in 2026: 5.3% of pay for AHV/IV/EO (old-age, disability and income-compensation insurance) and 1.1% for unemployment insurance on pay up to CHF 148,200. Family allowances add 1.025% at SVA Zürich, plus admin fees, accident and sickness cover and the occupational pension, where the employer pays at least as much as all employees combined (Art. 66 BVG). The calculator uses 15% of salary and bonus.
Usually a percentage of gross annual salary. The published terms of Hans Leutenegger AG, a Swiss staffing firm, run from 12% to 22% plus VAT, with 20% for salaries above CHF 143,000 and up to CHF 169,000. The executive search firm Batterman cites 20–30% of first-year target salary as common for specialists and executives. The calculator uses 20%: CHF 30,000 on a CHF 150,000 base.
Allow three to six months from job ad to first day. Much of that is notice: by law two months in the 2nd to 9th year of service and three from the 10th, always to the end of a month (Art. 335c of the Swiss Code of Obligations). Contracts can set longer periods. With two months' notice, a candidate who resigns on 10 March starts on 1 June at the earliest. A mandate usually starts within two weeks.
After six months, probation is over; by contract it lasts three months at most (Art. 335b CO). In the first year of service, one month's statutory notice follows. Seven months of salary, contributions, workplace and tools without bonus, plus the agency fee, come to CHF 134,874 for a head of sales. Under the mandate, seven monthly fees: CHF 20,930 excl. VAT. The mandate can be ended monthly after three months.
As a guide, yes, with lower salaries. The Federal Statistical Office's 2024 earnings survey puts the gross median monthly wage at CHF 7,502 in the Zurich region, CHF 7,024 nationally and CHF 5,708 in Ticino. The Careerplus sales salary study 2024 has sales pay in Greater Zurich 6.7% above its median and Eastern Switzerland 5.9% below. You set the base salary in the calculator.
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