Key takeaways
- Interim managers are almost always billed on a day rate, and you only pay for the days actually worked.
- According to the AIMP market study 2025, the average day rate in 2024 was €1,338 in Germany, €1,282 in Austria and €1,712 in Switzerland.
- The total cost of an assignment depends more on the role, the intensity of the engagement and its duration than on the day rate itself.
- The only fair comparison is with the total cost of a permanent hire, and a vacant position has a cost too.
Contents
Interim managers are almost always billed on a day rate. According to the AIMP market study 2025, the average day rate in 2024 was €1,338 in Germany, €1,282 in Austria and €1,712 in Switzerland – net, excluding travel expenses. What an assignment ultimately costs, however, depends less on the day rate than on the role, the intensity of the engagement and its duration. This guide shows you how to estimate the costs realistically.
01How are the costs made up?
At its core, the total cost of an interim assignment comes down to three components:
You are billed for the days actually worked. An assignment of three days a week therefore costs less than a full-time one – with the same level of responsibility.
These are added when on-site presence is required and are usually charged at cost. Hybrid models reduce this share considerably.
If the interim manager is placed through a provider, the provider's margin is included in the day rate. The averages in the AIMP study already include this margin. With a direct engagement, there is no margin.
02Typical day rates in the DACH region
The AIMP market study 2025 (Arbeitskreis Interim Management Provider) reports the following averages for 2024 across all functions and levels:
- Germany: €1,338 per day
- Austria: €1,282 per day
- Switzerland: €1,712 per day
These are averages. Assignments at C-level or as a statutory officer of the company are typically above them, specialist roles below. What matters is what you get for the day rate: responsibility, experience and the speed at which results are delivered.
03What drives the day rate?
An interim managing director appointed as a statutory officer, with the liability that entails, carries more responsibility than a specialist on a project.
A crisis, a restructuring or a vacancy under time pressure calls for experience that not everyone has.
Full-time on site, part-time or hybrid – this changes the total cost more than the day rate itself.
For example ERP experience (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Dynamics), shared services transitions or industry knowledge.
Multiple countries, entities and languages add complexity.
04Interim manager or permanent hire: comparing like with like
At first glance, the day rate looks high next to a monthly salary. The only fair comparison is with the total cost:
- A permanent hire brings employer on-costs, recruitment costs, time to get up to speed and notice periods.
- A vacant position costs money too: postponed decisions, overstretched teams, missed closing deadlines.
- An interim manager is paid only for the agreed period, is effective without a long induction and leaves on a planned date.
Interim management does not replace a permanent appointment. It bridges the gap, stabilises and prepares the handover – often in a way that makes the succession easier.
Practical tip
Do not compare the day rate with a monthly salary, but with the total cost of a permanent hire – and with what a vacant position costs you.
05How to keep costs under control
- Set out the goals and expected results of the assignment in writing before it starts.
- Adapt the intensity to the phase: more intensive at the start, scaled back later.
- Plan the split between remote and on-site work deliberately.
- Think about the handover from day one so that the assignment is not extended unnecessarily.
- Agree regular status meetings with the shareholders or management.
06What does an assignment with Schneiders Ventures cost?
Jens and Loretta Schneiders work directly, with no provider in between. After an initial conversation about your situation, the role and your goals, you receive a concrete proposal setting out the day rate, the expected intensity and the travel expense arrangements – transparent and with no hidden items.
Jens Schneiders
Interim CEO for mid-sized companies, scale-ups and corporate ventures. Transformation. Restructuring. Stabilization. Handover.