Virtual assistants provide the kind of strategic administrative support that scales your operations and reclaims your valuable time. They were first introduced in 2009 by Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Work Week.” He demonstrated how outsourcing repetitive tasks to offshore contractors at lower rates can free up time for higher-value work and leisure activities, such as travel and adventure.
TLDR
- Virtual assistants are remote professionals who handle administrative and operational tasks
- They help businesses reduce costs and offload routine work without hiring full-time staff.
- They're most valuable when working on repeatable, process-driven tasks, enabling teams and leaders to reclaim their time to focus on higher-impact, strategic work.
The idea became popular, leading to a surge in virtual assistant businesses and freelancers.
It makes sense. The average entrepreneur spends more than a third of their workweek on small administrative tasks that divert their attention from their core focus.
There are various ways to hire virtual assistants, whether onshore or offshore. This guide helps you navigate the options and find the best solution for your business.
Table of Contents:
- What Is a Virtual Assistant?
- AI tools vs. hiring a virtual assistant
- When Do You Need a Virtual Assistant?
- What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?
- How Much Does Hiring a Virtual Assistant Cost?
- How to Hire a Virtual Assistant
- How Do You Manage a Virtual Assistant?
- Hire Virtual Assistants to Provide Productivity and Efficiency
- Virtual Assistant FAQs
A virtual assistant (VA) provides remote administrative support to executives, managers, and teams and is sometimes referred to as a virtual executive assistant—although the two roles are not always interchangeable. The word "virtual" can be misleading because it suggests something intangible or unreal. Still, virtual assistants are real people who offer genuine support to executives from distant locations.
Virtual assistant services evolved from traditional business process outsourcing, offering the advantages of outsourcing while providing a white-glove experience closer to having a full-time in-house employee.
Advances in high-speed internet and remote work systems accessible from anywhere. Modern communication tools like chat channels and video conferencing make it easy for executives to hire full-time or fractional virtual assistants without needing physical office space or employment-related overhead.
AI tools can draft emails, summarize meetings, and even schedule a call in seconds, so it's fair to ask whether you still need a virtual assistant at all. The honest answer is that AI and virtual assistants solve different problems, and the best setups usually use both together.
AI is great at fast, repeatable tasks with clear rules, like transcribing a call or sorting an inbox by keyword. A virtual assistant is better at anything that needs judgment: reading between the lines on a vague request, catching a scheduling conflict before it becomes a problem, or knowing which emails actually need your attention today. AI doesn't get to know your business the way a person does, and it can't push back when something looks off.
Most virtual assistants already use AI tools themselves to work faster, so hiring one doesn't mean choosing between the two. It means getting a person who knows when to use AI and when not to.
Want to learn more about how a VA can help your business? We'd be happy to talk you through it!
It's time to consider hiring a virtual assistant if you're not hitting your business goals because you're spending too much time on daily tasks, leaving less time for strategic planning. Many business owners and entrepreneurs tend to do everything themselves, thinking they are saving money. While this approach is understandable, it often leads to responsibilities being overlooked, increases burnout, and diverts focus from what truly matters.
Eventually, as the business grows, it stalls because they can't keep up with the executive functions of their business or department. To combat this, a proper virtual assistant organization ensures tasks are properly handed off and tracked.
All of these signs suggest that you're not dedicating enough time to advancing your business. Customers, employees, and family members aren't receiving the attention they deserve. When you reach the point where you're not invoicing or receiving payments, you're in trouble. That might be a sign it's time to hire a virtual assistant.
Still on the fence? These are the 11 proven benefits businesses see after making the switch.
The types of work that a virtual assistant performs include:
Let's look at the specific tasks virtual assistants can perform in each category.
Explore 26 virtual assistant tasks and duties you can outsource
Executives often spend 16 hours each week on routine tasks that take away from activities that drive their businesses forward. This accounts for 40% of their week, focused on administrative work.
Where does all this time go?
Examples of the time executives spend on admin tasks include:
Additionally, there's the cost of context switching—the time it takes to switch from the email you're writing to reporting, then back to your calendar, into a meeting, and back to email. You can't immediately pick up new tasks. Every time, you lose a few minutes and some focus.
So, what do virtual assistants do? They help you minimize the need for frequent context switching. They handle the front-office tasks that take up a large part of your time. These are the traditional tasks you hire a virtual assistant for.
General admin tasks include:
For instance, when you're traveling, your virtual assistant can set up meetings with key contacts in the area. They can also stay on top of your preferences (or those of your contacts) for meeting spots and times.
Professionals who use virtual assistants for these tasks include:
A virtual executive assistant is especially valuable here, handling the day-to-day admin that keeps your calendar and inbox under control.
Using a virtual assistant for sales and marketing is an excellent example of how VAs can benefit specific teams! Both teams often get bogged down with tedious tasks that can hinder their success.
Salespeople spend just 30% of their time actually selling, while the rest is spent on non-sales tasks. (Source: Salesforce)
This indicates that, regardless of the company, your sales teams likely spend less than half of their time selling. This is far from ideal.
Where does the time go?
According to Pace, a sales leader's time allocation in a typical week looks like this:
A sales virtual assistant can alleviate much of this workload for a sales leader, allowing them to spend more time with customers and prospects.
Virtual assistant tasks unique to sales include:
Marketing teams often feel overwhelmed by routine administrative tasks, including managing vendor communications, maintaining social media calendars, sending emails, organizing data, and generating reports. A HubSpot survey finds that they spend an average of 16 hours per week on day-to-day administrative work.
A virtual marketing assistant can help:
If your sales or marketing teams have routine, repeatable tasks that are eating up their time, a virtual assistant might be just the solution they need.
Back-office tasks are the essential, time-consuming tasks that take place behind the scenes to support your business's infrastructure and systems.
For example, executives spend:
Back-office work is important but often overlooked. Hiring a VA focused on delivering the right documents to customers, maintaining accurate books, and following up on overdue invoices can significantly improve profits.
Back-office operations impact cash flow, compliance, hiring capacity, customer onboarding, and other key areas. Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of this work, it's all too easy to lag.
Back-office tasks that a virtual assistant performs include:
CRM management could also be considered a back—office operation, especially regarding forecasting, supply chain management, and inventory control.
Executives spend up to 25% of their work time on personal activities, and the rise of remote work has further blurred the line between personal and professional tasks.
Examples of personal tasks a virtual assistant can tackle include:
Businesses use virtual assistants for specialized skills needed occasionally or ongoing, often beyond traditional administrative tasks, requiring thorough training. Hire a virtual assistant focused on your specialized work.
Examples of specialized virtual assistant skills include:
Some virtual assistants may have experience in one or more of these areas, but they will also have to develop a nuanced understanding of your business and message.
Learn more: 26 tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant
The short answer to how much a virtual assistant will cost is, "It depends."
The cost of hiring a virtual assistant will depend on:
There are three main ways to hire a virtual assistant:
You can hire a freelance virtual assistant through platforms like Upwork or job boards such as Indeed.com or Fiverr. Upwork's virtual assistants typically start at $10 per hour, whereas assistants on other job boards usually start at around $20 per hour. Generally, hiring a freelancer is the most cost-effective option.
Of course, there are some risks associated with this approach. You don't bring them onto your team, so you have a lot less control.
Contract virtual assistant agencies have vetted assistants, many seeking long-term roles, with bulk and monthly pricing. Rates differ by location—U.S. agencies charge $30-$100+ per hour, offshore assistants start at about $20.
Most agencies act as matchmakers with limited support for relationship building and quality control. Not all specialize in virtual assistants; some offer additional services like accounting, web, and graphic design.
Managed virtual assistant service providers hire, train, and optimize the performance of virtual assistants for you. The assistants are employees of the service providers.
Prices typically range from $20 to $30 per hour and include more than just an assistant's time. Managed virtual assistance services can include access to an account manager, backup support, a personalized approach, access to best practices and training, and comprehensive documentation. These services are designed to handle the management aspect, so you don't have to.
Think of it this way. Typically, a managed virtual assistant service provides you with access to an entire support team. A freelancer or agency only gives you a single point of support.
Account managers work with you to document processes and train virtual assistants on client systems before the engagement starts. This ensures the assistants are prepared to contribute right from the beginning. The account manager then provides client feedback and coaches the assistant to support their work.
To summarize, the cost of a virtual assistant starts at:
Learn more: The ROI of a virtual assistant
Hiring the right virtual assistant for your business is closely tied to the cost and business model that best suits you. Each has its risks and benefits.
You can hire a virtual assistant via a job board or marketplace, spending less money but requiring more time managing them.
If you're looking for a local virtual assistant—someone you can meet in person who can handle local tasks such as deliveries and errands—you might find a freelancer in your area.
The disadvantages of directly hiring freelance virtual assistants are time and risk.
You must also know the exact skills and experience you're looking for and create a job description for a virtual assistant to attract suitable candidates. Defining job requirements can be challenging when looking for your first assistant.
This route often works well if you just need a part-time virtual assistant for a few hours a week.
Hiring a virtual assistant through a contract agency saves you time on recruiting and vetting candidates. Additionally, you typically pay the agency in US dollars, avoiding compliance issues if the virtual assistants are offshore.
The disadvantages of hiring a virtual assistant through an agency are:
With a managed virtual assistant service, you hire a team—an account manager, a virtual assistant, backup managers, and assistants—starting at about $25 per hour. You aren't hiring an individual assistant.
The main benefit of this model is that it takes all recruiting, vetting, hiring, training, and performance management off your plate, along with most of the risks associated with hiring freelancers and contractors.
This model works well for both small business leaders and enterprise teams, but it may not be suitable for everyone.
The disadvantages of managed virtual assistant services are:
Managed virtual assistant service providers bear most of the risk in hiring virtual assistants. The service provider employs assistants, pays them, and provides benefits and opportunities for growth.
This model also attracts businesses concerned about how providers treat offshore assistants, including their working conditions.
Additional Resources: What you need to know about virtual assistant security
Remote virtual assistants are categorized into two broad types: managed and unmanaged services.
With unmanaged virtual assistants, you need to know what you want the assistant to do and how you want it done. Defining what you want is often a challenge for business executives whose processes are largely in their heads. They tend to have difficulty delegating those processes to others.
The lift required by other responsibilities, such as payroll, HR paperwork, performance reviews, and giving and receiving feedback, will depend on the hiring model.
Contract agencies often handle some of that, but with freelancers, those responsibilities will be on you. You must also consider the IT security risks associated with the virtual assistant's computer and network. Managing a virtual assistant requires clear communication, well-defined tasks, and tools that track their work.
The main benefit of a managed virtual assistant service is that the management portion is off your plate.
The service provider:
For individuals who prefer not to manage another employee or invest time in training and onboarding a virtual assistant, this model is ideal. It also offers scalability—adding more assistants as needed is easy, usually by using pre-trained backups.
The IT security issue previously mentioned is also addressed—the managed service provider conducts background checks and provides secure computers, networks, and facilities.
Managed VA services usually operate on a monthly retainer for a set number of hours, making them unsuitable for occasional projects like quarterly reports or creative work needing fresh design, writing, or intense graphic design.
If your business growth is limited by the time you can dedicate to it, you should consider hiring a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants can be a cost-effective way to accomplish this. They can boost productivity by giving you and your team more time and efficiency, allowing greater focus on growth. (Not to mention the many other benefits of hiring a VA.)
With around 25,000 virtual assistant services available, choosing the right assistant and service model can be overwhelming!
Use this guide to narrow down the options by defining the kind of work you want to offload, the relationship you want to have with your assistant, the amount of management you want to take on, and, of course, the price you want to pay.
Ready to hire a virtual assistant you don't have to manage?
The best way to hire a reliable virtual assistant is to go through a VA service that vets candidates, checks references, and trains your assistant for you before they start. Look for providers who offer backup support and a dedicated account manager, not just a single point of contact. This also provides additional layers of security, management, and continuity.
A managed virtual assistant service is the best way to outsource calendar, email, and travel management because it combines trained assistants, standardized processes, and dedicated oversight. This ensures consistent coverage, secure systems, and reliable execution—without the risk, churn, or micromanagement that comes with hiring an individual freelancer.
For professional administrative virtual assistant support, most businesses should expect to pay between $1,500 and $4,000 per month, depending on coverage and whether the service is managed or freelance. Managed VA services typically cost more than independent freelancers but offer greater reliability, security, and continuity of support.
While AI tools are excellent for accelerating basic workflows, a virtual assistant brings human context, adaptability, and critical thinking to your daily operations. A trained professional can seamlessly integrate these AI technologies into their daily tasks to maximize your overall efficiency. Ultimately, this provides a more comprehensive and personalized support system that software alone simply cannot replicate.
Managed virtual assistant providers mitigate data risks by conducting thorough background checks and operating out of highly secure, centralized facilities. They also equip their teams with enterprise-grade network protections, VPNs, and secure company devices. Additionally, the mandated use of password management tools ensures your sensitive business information remains completely confidential at all times.
An onshore virtual assistant is located in the same country as your business and is ideal if you require assistance with local, in-person errands. However, they typically command much higher hourly rates than international talent.
Offshore virtual assistants operate globally, offering highly competitive pricing while seamlessly handling administrative, sales, or back-office operations through modern remote collaboration tools.
If you hire an independent freelancer, you must dedicate significant personal time to document your internal processes and train them on your specific software stack. A managed service provider bypasses this time-consuming hurdle almost entirely. An account manager will document your operations and pre-train the assistant on your exact workflows so they are ready to contribute from day one.