Executive assistant service plans are the structured tiers through which managed EA services provide and price their offerings. Understanding how service plans are structured, what different tiers include, and how to select the right plan for your consulting role is essential for getting value from your EA investment without overpaying for unused capacity.
How Service Plans Are Typically Structured
Most managed EA services structure their plans around one or more of the following variables:
Hours per week or month: The most common structure. Plans define how many hours of EA support you receive in each billing period.
Dedicated vs. shared model: Higher-tier plans typically guarantee a dedicated EA; lower tiers may provide semi-dedicated or pooled support.
Task categories: Some services define plans by the types of tasks included rather than (or in addition to) hours. Advanced plans may include specialized capabilities like CRM management, BD support, or event coordination.
Response time guarantees: Premium plans often include faster response time commitments: same-day or within-hours response to urgent requests, versus next-day for lower tiers.
Scope of support: Higher-tier plans typically include more comprehensive onboarding, more proactive service, and higher-touch account management.
Common Service Plan Tiers for Consulting Executives
Starter / Essential Tier
Typical hours: 10 to 15 hours per week Typical monthly cost: $1,500 to $2,500 (US-based) What’s typically included:
- Calendar management for moderate-volume schedule
- Email triage and basic drafting
- Simple travel coordination
- Meeting scheduling and logistics
- Basic research tasks
Best for: Independent consultants, boutique advisory practices with lower support needs, or as a pilot engagement to evaluate EA support before scaling up.
Consulting use case: A solo management consultant who needs help keeping their calendar organized, managing client email follow-up, and booking travel for two to three client visits per month.
Professional / Standard Tier
Typical hours: 20 to 25 hours per week Typical monthly cost: $2,500 to $4,500 (US-based) What’s typically included:
- Full calendar management including complex scheduling
- Substantive email management with drafting and triage
- Comprehensive travel coordination
- Meeting preparation and briefing documents
- BD pipeline administration
- CRM management
- Routine vendor coordination
Best for: Managing partners at boutique consulting firms, CEOs of advisory practices with moderate to significant support needs, or executives who have confirmed the value of EA support and are ready to expand scope.
Consulting use case: A managing partner at a 10-person strategy firm who needs comprehensive calendar management, regular travel coordination, client communication support, and BD pipeline tracking.
Executive / Premium Tier
Typical hours: 30 to 40 hours per week (full-time equivalent) Typical monthly cost: $4,000 to $7,500 (US-based) What’s typically included:
- Complete calendar ownership and optimization
- Full email and communication management
- Complex travel logistics
- Comprehensive meeting preparation
- Active BD support
- Stakeholder relationship coordination
- Internal team coordination on CEO’s behalf
- Proactive operational management
Best for: CEOs and managing partners of larger consulting firms, executives with high daily support volume and significant client relationship complexity.
Consulting use case: A CEO of a 30-person management consulting firm managing five active client engagements, pursuing BD activity, and leading internal firm operations. The EA functions as a true operational partner, not just a task executor.
Choosing the Right Plan for Your Consulting Role
The Audit Method
The most accurate way to select a plan is to audit your current time allocation. Spend one week tracking every task you perform, categorizing each by whether it is:
- Core CEO/Partner-level work (client strategy, leadership decisions, key relationships)
- Delegatable to an EA (scheduling, travel, email, administration)
The hours in the “delegatable” category tell you what plan tier you need. If that number is 10 to 15 hours, an Essential plan fits. If it’s 20 to 25, a Professional plan is appropriate. If it’s 30 or more, the Executive tier is right.
Starting Conservative and Scaling
If you’re uncertain about your actual needs, start with a plan one tier below what you think you need. After two months, assess whether the EA consistently hits their hour limit before you run out of tasks to delegate. If so, scale up.
This conservative entry approach avoids paying for unused capacity during the learning phase and lets you establish what delegation actually looks like before committing to the larger plan.
Evaluating Dedicated vs. Shared Models
For consulting executives, a dedicated assistant model is almost always preferable to a shared model when it comes to plan selection. The institutional knowledge that a dedicated EA develops over time is the primary source of the deepest value in an EA relationship.
If a plan offers a shared model at significantly lower cost, evaluate honestly whether the limitation is acceptable given your consulting work’s complexity and client relationship sensitivity.
Contract Terms and Flexibility
Minimum Commitment Periods
Most managed EA services require a minimum commitment period:
Month-to-month: Maximum flexibility but typically 10 to 15 percent more expensive than annual pricing.
Quarterly (3 months): Moderate commitment with moderate flexibility.
Annual (12 months): Typically 10 to 15 percent discount over monthly pricing. Appropriate when you’re confident in the service after an initial trial period.
For consulting executives evaluating a new service, starting with a monthly or quarterly commitment allows evaluation before annual commitment.
Pause and Cancellation Policies
Consulting firm revenue can be lumpy. Understand what happens if you need to pause the service during a slower period or if your support needs change significantly. Look for:
- Ability to pause and resume service with reasonable notice
- No excessive cancellation penalties after the minimum commitment period
- Clear process for changing tiers (up or down) as needs evolve
Rollover Hours Policies
If your plan includes defined hours and you use fewer than your allocation, what happens? Strong rollover policies allow unused hours to carry forward (at least for one billing period). Weaker policies let unused hours expire. This distinction affects the real cost of the service and should be factored into plan comparison.
The Upgrade Decision
When should you move to a higher tier plan? Clear signals:
- Your EA consistently runs out of their allocated hours before all delegatable tasks are handled
- You’re still personally handling tasks you’ve been meaning to delegate
- The scope of support has grown as the firm has grown
- Client communication or BD support would benefit from more EA hours
- The value generated by the current plan exceeds its cost by a comfortable margin
See EA roles in consulting for context on what additional plan hours should accomplish.
See consulting EA pricing guide for the full pricing landscape.
According to McKinsey, executives who invest in adequate support structures consistently outperform those who under-invest, partly because inadequate support creates residual administrative overhead that impairs leadership effectiveness.
Conclusion
Executive assistant service plans for consulting executives range from essential starter tiers to full-service executive arrangements, with pricing and scope designed to serve different points on the support needs spectrum.
The right plan is determined by your actual delegatable task volume, your consulting firm’s growth stage, and your priorities around dedicated vs. shared models and contract flexibility. Starting with a conservative plan and scaling based on demonstrated need is a prudent approach. Investing in the right tier once your needs are clear produces the kind of comprehensive operational support that transforms a consulting CEO’s effectiveness.
Related Reading
For further context, explore Executive Assistant Service Plans for Automotive Executives and Executive Assistant Service Plans for Construction Executives.