When most people think of hiring a virtual assistant, they imagine a single freelancer juggling tasks from a laptop halfway across the world. While that setup can work for some, the reality is that a true virtual assistant service offers something more powerful.
It’s a flexible, scalable support system designed to fit right into your workflow.
Instead of hiring one person and hoping they can do it all, you're tapping into a service that blends structure and adaptability. You get access to trained assistants, built-in management, documented processes, and best practices. And you get it all without the overhead of hiring in-house or the headaches of managing a contractor.
The best part is there’s no one-size-fits-all model. Whether you're a fast-moving startup or a growing enterprise, there are a variety of ways to set up your virtual assistant support to match the way your team works and what they need. Let’s break down your options.
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What Is a VA?
Think of a virtual assistant or VA as your remote administrative sidekick. They’re not a chatbot, and they don’t have to be a random freelancer. VAs are real people, remote pros who take the daily drudgery off your plate so you can focus on the strategic work that moves your business forward.
A VA serves as a smart, flexible extension of your team. They step in to handle the routine, but essential tasks that pile up faster than you realize. Depending on your business, these virtual assistant tasks may include:
- Scheduling
- Inbox management
- Travel planning
- Data entry
- CRM management
- Routine, templated processes
A VA is a remote administrative assistant who supports executives, managers, and teams. They offer the flexibility of outsourcing with the reliable service you’d expect from a full-time employee.
The real value is in the model. You gain access to proven best practices, a built-in support structure, and the ability to scale as your needs grow, all without the hassle of hiring or training yourself.
Curious to dig deeper? Check out more on how VAs work and why they’re such a productivity game‑changer.
What Is a Managed VA Service?
A managed VA service raises the bar on virtual assistance, way beyond the one-person freelancer model. Instead of hiring and managing a single remote worker, you’re tapping into a full-service operation where the provider handles:
- Hiring
- Documentation
- Training
- Supervision
- Quality control
- Security
You don’t have to babysit schedules or worry about training or compliance. It’s more like having a mini admin department on call, designed to keep things running smoothly, whatever pops up. That means less overhead, less risk, and a whole lot more peace of mind.
Plus, many services (like Prialto) hire virtual assistants as full-time employees. This means Prialto provides our team with a salary, PTO, and benefits so they’re more likely to stick around long-term.
How You Can Set Up Your VA Experience
One of the biggest perks of a managed VA service is that you don’t have to choose between structure and flexibility, you get both. At Prialto, we plug into your workflow in a way that feels tailored to your needs, not the other way around.
You get the benefit of a highly structured support system (think: trained assistants, documented processes, built-in backups). But we build that structure around how you and your team actually work.
The internal training, management, and oversight all stay on our side, so you don’t have to worry about micromanaging anything. All you have to do is show up and delegate.
1. The Fractional 1 to 1
This is the setup we’re best known for, and it’s been our flagship model since day one. In a fractional 1 to 1 structure, one assistant supports one executive or a small, focused team on a part-time basis. You get dedicated support without the overhead of hiring someone full-time.
It’s estimated that hiring a virtual assistant over a full-time employee can save up to 78% in operating costs per year. Think of it like having a part-time executive assistant with a dedicated support system behind them.
It’s a smart option for leaders who need reliable help managing:
- Calendars
- Inboxes
- Travel
- Expenses
- Other admin tasks
Services like Prialto offer backup support, an engagement manager, and internal management on a fractional structure. And your coverage is spread throughout the day, week, and month so they’re available when you need them.
When does the fractional 1 to 1 model make sense?
Some leaders may not have enough work (or budget) to justify full time support, but they do need the help.
Let’s say you’re a VP at a growing company who’s drowning in meeting requests and travel logistics. You don’t need someone sitting outside your office, but you do need someone who can take the admin load off your plate, keep your day on track, and anticipate what’s coming next.
That’s where this model shines.
Key benefits:
- Cost-efficient: Pay only for the support you need, no full-time salary or benefits.
- Scalable: Add more hours or team members as your needs grow.
- Dedicated support: Build a relationship with one assistant who learns your preferences, priorities, and work style.
- Managed oversight: The managed service handles training, security, and performance monitoring.
- Reliable backup: If your assistant is out, we’ve got you covered with a fully documented process and backup support.
Read more: Should You Hire a Full Time Dedicated or Fractional Virtual Assistant?
2. The Fractional Multi to Team
If you need broader coverage or want to spread support across multiple roles, the fractional multi to team model might be the right fit. Instead of one assistant supporting one leader, this structure gives you access to multiple assistants, each focused on specific tasks or areas of your business.
It’s like building your own remote admin team, without the hiring, training, or managing.
This setup is ideal when:
- A team needs support in different functions, like one assistant handling scheduling while another tackles CRM updates or research.
- An executive needs help across a few key areas, say, calendar and inbox management from one assistant and expense reporting and travel booking from another.
This model is great for providing a skilled hand for a variety of tasks. For example, a sales team might assign one assistant to handle meeting scheduling and follow-up, another to handle lead research and meeting prep, and a third to entirely focus on responding to incoming website chats and social media messages. Or, a founder might have one VA focused on executive admin (email, calendar, travel), and another handling operations tasks like invoices, document management, or vendor outreach.
Key benefits:
- Diverse expertise: Tap into assistants with different strengths, matched to specific tasks.
- Clear accountability: Tasks are assigned based on ownership—not who happens to have bandwidth.
- Concurrent task performance: Multiple assistants can work in parallel, so nothing’s left waiting in line.
- Flexible coverage: Support can scale up or down depending on project needs or team priorities.
- Built-in structure: You get the benefits of a team, without having to manage one.
3. The Full-Time 1 to 1
Sometimes, fractional support isn’t enough. If you're an executive with a high volume of daily tasks, complex workflows, or fast-moving priorities, a full-time 1 to 1 setup might be the best fit.
In this model, a fully dedicated assistant works with you and your team full-time, just like an in-house EA, but with all the benefits of a managed service. Your assistant is deeply embedded in your day-to-day operations and fully aligned with how you work, your preferences, and your goals.
This option is especially helpful for executives or teams who would otherwise consider hiring someone in-house but want to avoid the overhead, HR complexity, and time it takes to manage that person. With a Prialto full-time VA, we handle all of that for you, training, management, documentation, and backup, so you can focus on moving your business forward.
A full-time 1 to 1 model is ideal for:
- C-suite leaders juggling constant meetings, travel, and high-priority decision-making.
- Teams operating in fast-paced environments who need a go-to admin point person.
- Businesses looking to replace or avoid hiring an in-house EA, without compromising on quality or availability.
Key benefits:
- Deep business knowledge: Your VA becomes fluent in your workflows, tools, and team dynamics.
- Proactive support: Anticipates needs, solves problems before they reach your desk.
- Consistent availability: Someone is always there to respond, schedule, follow up, or shift priorities in real time.
- Seamless integration: Functions as a true member of your team, fully aligned with your business rhythms.
- Lower overhead: All the perks of a full-time hire, without the full-time cost or internal management burden.
4. The Full-Time 1 to 3
Sometimes, the smartest move is to share the wealth. The full-time 1 to 3 model pairs one dedicated assistant with up to three business leaders. Each executive receives consistent, high-quality support without the need for multiple full-time hires.
It’s an ideal setup for executive teams who need help with similar workflows, like calendar management, travel coordination, expense reports, or meeting prep. Your VA becomes the go-to admin resource for the group, balancing responsibilities across all three leaders while staying fully embedded in your organization.
Here’s what that might look like:
A leadership trio, say, the COO, CFO, and Head of Sales, might all need inbox management, scheduling, and expense support. Instead of hiring three separate assistants, the 1 to 3 model gives them one full-time VA who learns each leader’s unique preferences and priorities while creating internal consistency across the board.
Key benefits:
- Shared familiarity: One VA gets to know the needs, preferences, and pace of all three execs.
- Internal consistency: Communications, scheduling, and processes stay aligned across the team.
- Efficiency: Reduces duplication of work and improves coordination between leaders.
- Proactive support: The VA can identify overlaps, streamline travel, and flag conflicts before they happen.
- Cost-effective coverage: Full-time availability for a fraction of the cost of three full-time hires.
This model can also scale! Two full-time assistants can manage tasks for six executives, and on and on. Internal documentation, shared backup support, and a single Prialto management structure ensure internal consistency.
5. The Custom Cohort
For large teams or enterprise organizations, a custom enterprise cohort offers the highest level of support and scalability. This structure involves a group of assistants, often 10 or more, who are fully embedded across a company, providing administrative support across functions and departments.
As the cohort grows, so does the level of tailored service. Once your cohort includes 10+ assistants, Prialto assigns a dedicated internal management team to oversee operations and ensure consistent training across all assistants. This means the team leader and assistant managers (who are responsible for training and managing assistants) are dedicated to your account and your needs.
The result is a fully integrated support engine that scales with your business and adapts to the way your teams work.
Take Woodruff Sawyer, a leading insurance brokerage and consulting firm in the US. With 19 Prialto assistants embedded across teams, from sales to operations to marketing, they rely on a custom cohort to streamline admin work at scale.
Every assistant is trained on the company's internal systems, ensuring high-quality, consistent support across the board. Their custom cohort includes Prialto-led onboarding, training documentation, and a dedicated management layer that keeps everything humming.
Key benefits:
- Bespoke process management: We document and continuously improve internal workflows specific to your business.
- Custom training & documentation: Onboarding and support are fully aligned with your tools, systems, and team structure.
- Consistency at scale: Every assistant follows the same playbook, ensuring consistent service across departments.
- Flexible and adaptable: Add or reallocate assistants across teams as priorities shift.
- Deeper backup coverage: More assistants plus dedicated managers means greater continuity and resilience.
- Strategic oversight: With a Prialto management layer in place, you get insights and reporting to help your admin team evolve alongside your company.
6. The Hybrid
Not every team fits neatly into one model, and that’s where the hybrid approach shines. This structure allows organizations to combine full-time and fractional assistants to meet a wide range of administrative needs with flexibility and precision.
Instead of choosing one structure across the board, a hybrid setup gives you the freedom to build the right mix based on the complexity and volume of work in each area.
For example:
Imagine a growing company with multiple operational needs:
- A full-time assistant is dedicated to managing the company’s Salesforce instance, ensuring accurate data entry, reporting, and CRM hygiene.
- A fractional assistant handles expense processing for the leadership team, working a few hours each day to keep reimbursements flowing.
- Another full-time assistant manages payroll and benefits administration, staying on top of deadlines and compliance.
This kind of tailored setup ensures that every function gets the right level of support, without overhiring or stretching resources too thin.
Key benefits:
- Flexibility: Build a structure that reflects your organization’s unique workflows and team dynamics.
- Scalability: Add or adjust support as your needs evolve, whether that means more hours, new roles, or additional tools.
- Targeted expertise: Assign the right level of support to each task, whether it needs deep focus or light-touch help.
- Resource efficiency: Get full-time support where it matters, and fractional help where it’s enough.
The Prialto Difference
At Prialto, we deliver a fully managed experience that feels like an extension of your team. Whether you’re working with one assistant or a full cohort, our unique structure is designed to give you consistent, high-quality support without the stress of hiring, training, or managing on your own.
Here’s how it works:
- Your assistant: Every VA is handpicked, trained, and supported internally to match your workflow and tools. They learn your preferences and grow with you over time.
- Backup support: Life happens, so we build redundancy into every account. If your assistant is out, someone else is ready to step in without skipping a beat.
- Engagement Managers: These are your go-to people. They work closely with you to optimize your assistant’s performance, gather feedback, and suggest new ways to offload work.
- Implementation Managers: They’re there at the beginning to help onboard you smoothly and get everything up and running.
- Internal management team: Behind the scenes, your assistant receives support from team leads, QA staff, and ongoing training, ensuring that your support stays sharp and aligned with best practices.
Ready to see how much time you could save? Talk to our team today.