What client service automation costs a benefits agency, and what reactive account management costs now

How does DoBetter price a client service build?

Every DoBetter build is a fixed fee, scoped after discovery. It works in four steps:

1. A free intro call. It takes 30 minutes.
2. A $1,500 paid discovery. Half is credited to your first month, and it’s a full refund if I can’t help.
3. A fixed fee build.
4. Optional monthly support.

Nothing is billed by the hour. I’m Chris Cordon, a 17 year benefits producer, and I run discovery myself. I built a benefits chatbot named Finn that still runs on my last agency’s website. I haven’t built a client portal for a client yet, and discovery is where I’d tell you exactly how I’d build yours.

What makes a client service build cost more or less?

The biggest driver of a client service build is how much the software has to know. A benefits Q&A assistant that answers for five groups on one carrier is a smaller job than one that answers for fifty groups across health plans, dental, vision, and life.

Other things that move the price:

How clean the email history is.

The assistant answers from your agency’s past emails. Years of scattered inboxes take more sorting than one shared inbox.

Who uses it.

A portal for HR contacts is simpler than one every employee logs into.

How many systems connect.

Email alone is simpler than email plus your agency management system and a renewal calendar.

How many topics get templates.

Inbox triage for the top five emailed topics is a smaller build than twenty.

How many services you want.

Starting with one is cheaper than starting with all five.

What does reactive account management cost?

Reactive account management costs the proactive calls that never get made. ID cards are “by a country mile” the number one thing account managers are emailed about. That’s true even when employees already got instructions for the digital copy and a date for the hard copies.

“They are a well oiled machine when they’re being proactive.” Every hour spent on the same five emails is an hour not spent calling a client to ask if they need help. I don’t have an hours figure for it, and I won’t make one up. Discovery measures it at your agency.

What does a late renewal cost?

A late renewal costs effective dates. I had a customer with a March 1 effective date. Everything was set in late January and early February, until he hired three more people he wanted to be eligible. We moved the effective date to April 1. Those employees took so long to decide that we moved it again, to May 1.

“We should have got ahead of it by about 90 days, but instead it was about 30.” Three new employees meant three new families we could help. It was a good problem to have, and it was still a problem. Renewal reminders are built to buy those 60 extra days.

What do wrong answers at open enrollment cost?

Wrong answers at open enrollment cost a second round of work. When HR gives the wrong answer, the agency has to double back and correct it, usually while it’s still chasing stragglers. That risks calling the carrier for an extension. A benefits chatbot that answers from the plan designs is priced against that second round.

Quick answers

Is there a refund?

Yes. If discovery shows I can’t help, the $1,500 comes back.

Can I start small?

Yes. Inbox triage for the top five emailed topics is where I’d start.

Is there a monthly fee?

Only if you want ongoing support. The build itself is a fixed fee.

Do you charge per employee or per group?

No. The fee is set by the scope of the build.

Why isn’t the build price on the site?

Because it depends on your groups, your inboxes, and your systems, which discovery sorts out.