DigiWorks

What is a Virtual Assistant and What Do They Do?

Feb 6, 2023 • 15 min read

A virtual assistant is a person who works remotely for you, helping you complete routine tasks such as bookkeeping, sales forecasting, and customer support. They’re often referred to as administrative assistants or executive assistants because they can complete a variety of tasks for business owners including social media management, liaising with potential clients, managing email accounts, taking care of personal errands, content writing, and many more repetitive or mundane tasks. Having a VA take care of all these time intensive assistant tasks frees up time for business owners to focus on the bigger picture and do what they love.

Virtual assistants are typically hired through freelance marketplaces, social media platforms, job boards to hiring platforms like DigiWorks. You’ll pay anywhere from $5-$20 per hour depending on the task. Some virtual assistant companies offer packages that include training and ongoing support.

Hiring remote employees is a good idea if you want to increase productivity without increasing costs.

You’ll learn:

  • What does a virtual assistant do?
  • Benefits of a Virtual Assistant
  • More Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Do

Ready to build your remote team?

Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.

What does a virtual assistant do?

A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who helps businesses run themselves. They are there to answer questions, schedule appointments, handle customer support, and perform administrative tasks. VAs are often used for small businesses because they offer low costs compared to hiring full-time employees.

There are many different types of VAs depending on what type of task they perform. Some VAs specialize in one thing like scheduling meetings or answering emails while others can do it all. There are even VAs that focus on specific industries such as real estate agents and lawyers.

VAs can make life easier for busy people and allow companies to scale up without having to hire additional employees. The main requirement for a VA is high speed internet connection.

Administrative work

is one of the most common things to delegate to a VA – your general admin. Administrative work includes things like transcription, taking meeting notes, keeping electronic files in order, answering phones and so much more. In today’s world, it involves coordinating meetings, scheduling appointments, writing reports, and doing data entry. These skills are extremely useful no matter what industry you’re working in. And since administrative work is often done remotely, it’s easier to find than ever before.

Bookkeeping

A virtual bookkeeper is someone who keeps track of your financial records. They do everything from paying bills to balancing your checkbook. If you’re looking for help keeping up with your books, it might be worth hiring one.

There are several different types of bookkeepers out there, including accountants, payroll specialists, and even tax preparers. But most people use bookkeepers to handle basic record keeping tasks like tracking expenses, reconciling accounts, and filing taxes.

The best way to find a good bookkeeper is to ask around. Word of mouth is always the best recommendation, especially since there are plenty of online resources to help you choose the perfect person for the job. These include sites like Indeed, SimplyHired, and DigiWorks. You’ll want to make sure you interview multiple candidates and look into their experience, qualifications, and references.

Once you’ve found a candidate that seems like a good fit, you’ll need to set up an appointment to meet face-to-face. This gives both parties a chance to see how well they work together and makes sure you feel comfortable with the final decision.

You’ll probably want to bring along some paperwork to show your bookkeeper what you’d like him or her to track. Some common items to keep track of include income, expenses, and assets. Be prepared to answer questions during the meeting, too. Make sure you understand exactly what the bookkeeper needs to do and why he or she is being hired.

When you’re ready to start working with a bookkeeper, you’ll need to sign a contract. This agreement spells out expectations, responsibilities, and payment terms. Once you’ve signed off on the contract, you’ll need to give the bookkeeper access to your financial information. Depending on the type of bookkeeper you hire, you may need to provide paper copies of checks, credit card receipts, banking information, and other documents.

If you decide to go ahead with the process, don’t forget to take advantage of tax deductions. Many companies offer special deals for bookkeepers, allowing them to file certain forms electronically. For example, TurboTax offers free electronic filing for bookkeepers.

Customer service

This is one of those terms we use without really thinking about what it means. But it’s actually one of the most important types of tasks for a business— especially for companies that are trying to build customer loyalty. VAs can respond to customer queries quickly, make follow-up calls and respond to online reviews to make sure you’re always on top of your customer satisfaction goals!

A recent study found that customers are willing to pay up to $20 extra per month for better customer service. And according to research firm Forrester, there are now over 11 million people working in customer service roles across the globe.

So how do you know whether your company is providing good customer service? Here are some things to look out for:

1. Customer satisfaction surveys

These are great tools for gauging your clients’ level of satisfaction with your product or service. You can ask the directly, or you can conduct online polls or focus groups.

2. Call center performance

If you’re looking to improve customer service, consider outsourcing your call centers to India or another low-cost location. This way, you’ll be able to increase productivity while reducing costs.

3. Inbound marketing

Data entry

Data entry is one of the most mundane tasks and is super time consuming. But it doesn’t have to be. Your personal assistant can take care of all your data entry needs!

Social media production

A social media virtual assistant works closely with brands to promote their products and services on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. They are responsible for creating content such as images, videos, blog posts, ads, and other digital marketing materials. This includes posting information about a brand’s events, promoting sales, responding to customer questions and complaints, and managing advertising campaigns.

Social media VAs typically work full time for companies to maintain an active social media presence, although some freelancers offer freelance services online. Some social media managers also work part-time while pursuing another career.

Content management

The term “content marketing” encompasses many different types of content, ranging from blog posts to videos to eBooks. But what does it really mean? And how do you go about doing it well? Your administrative assistant can do everything from writing content for your blogs, website, and social media to helping with cold email campaigns.

Research

Research is a critical part of every business plan. But it’s hard to know where to start. You could spend months researching one topic—and still end up with nothing useful. Or you could research just one aspect of your business, such as marketing or sales. And even though you might learn something about those topics, you won’t necessarily gain insight into how your business fits together as a whole.

A virtual office assistant can help you find what others are doing in your industry. They can tell you what works and what doesn’t. They can give you ideas for improving your product or service. And they can do all this without spending tons of money. In fact, most VAs charge less than $20 per hour.

Your VA will save you hours. If you hire a VA, you don’t have to waste time looking for information yourself. Instead, you can focus on running your business.

Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular among small businesses looking to cut costs while increasing efficiency. In fact, according to one study, companies that use virtual assistants see savings of $3,500 per month on average. This includes lower salaries for employees, less office space needed, fewer benefits packages, and even better customer service.

A virtual assistant works around your schedule, which gives you more freedom to focus on growing your business without having to worry about scheduling meetings or answering emails. They’re also great for those who don’t want to hire full time employees because they’ll often take care of everything from bookkeeping to social media marketing.

Here are three ways you can start saving money today with a virtual assistant:

1. Save Money on Office Space

When it comes to hiring a virtual assistant, there are a few things you need to consider. First, you need enough space for your assistant to do their job efficiently. You also need to make sure your workspace is set up well for your assistant to do the tasks you assign them. For example, if you ask your assistant to research keywords related to your business, you need to have a computer setup where they can easily access information online.

2. Cut Costs on Employee Salaries

One of the biggest expenses most businesses face is paying employees. When it comes to a virtual assistant, however, you won’t have to pay much in terms of salary. Many virtual assistants charge hourly rates ranging anywhere from $10-$25/hour depending on experience. If you choose to go with a freelance assistant, you’ll likely find yourself working with someone who charges $20-$30/hour.

More Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Do

If you don’t want your valuable time being spent on time intensive tasks we’ve listed even more things you can delegate to your VA to show what a wide variety of options you have when you hire a Virtual Assistant.

Calendar Management

Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular among small businesses. They can help entrepreneurs manage their schedules, including making phone calls and scheduling meetings. This way, owners don’t have to spend hours each day managing their calendars. Instead, they can focus on growing their business.

A virtual assistant can also protect time and keep track of pending tasks. For example, if you’re running late for a meeting, you can add it to your calendar invite. Then, when you arrive, you can simply check off the task and move on to the next one. If you forget to do something important, you can always go back into your calendar invite and complete it later.

Virtual assistants can also coordinate and schedule events such as calls and meetings. By creating a calendar invite, you can inform your significant other of your plans. In addition, you can include a location and time, which makes it easier for him or her to plan accordingly.

If you want to make sure that someone else knows where you’ll be and what activities you’ll be doing, you can send out a calendar invite. When you receive the invitation, you can either accept or decline it. You can even choose whether you’d like to let the person know in advance or just show up.

Email and Contact Management and Communications

The way we communicate today is changing rapidly. Email is still king, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sort out what matters and what doesn’t. As a result, there are now many different ways to manage emails. For example, you might use Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, or even a webmail client like Microsoft Office 365. You could also set up a contact manager such as Salesforce or WorkflowMax. Or maybe you prefer something simpler like Google Contacts or Facebook Messenger.

Managing your contacts takes time and effort. And if you don’t do it properly, you risk missing important messages and losing touch with people. So why not let someone else take care of it while you focus on what really matters? A virtual assistant can make sure that you never miss a thing.

Phone Tasks

Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular among businesses. But what exactly does one do? In short, it helps you manage your daily tasks. You might use a virtual assistant to schedule meetings, send emails or make phone calls. And while they won’t replace human employees, they’ll help you save time and energy.

Travel

Virtual assistants can help you save money while traveling. They can research flights, hotel rooms, and transportation. Your virtual assistant can book things for you, saving you hours of work. They can arrange for events, such as booking restaurants and concerts. Virtual assistants can help you travel better. They can cancel subscriptions, send emails and make reservations. They can even help you find parking spaces.

Business Development

The term “business development” gets thrown around quite often, but what does it actually mean? If you’re looking to grow your business, there are many different ways to go about doing so. You could start working on increasing your sales numbers, or maybe you want to focus on expanding into new markets. Whatever your goals are, there are plenty of things you can do to make sure your business grows. One thing that might come up frequently is the idea of having someone manage your business development efforts for you. This person could be called a virtual assistant, or sometimes referred to as a business development manager. In either case, this individual is tasked with helping you build relationships with potential clients, partners, and vendors.

What exactly does a business development professional do? Well, depending on how big your business is, they’ll probably work closely with marketing teams, salespeople, and human resources professionals. They’ll likely organize events, write proposals, conduct research, and much more. Some people even use VAs to handle customer support tasks like answering emails and taking calls. Regardless of whether you choose to hire a full time business development pro or just outsource some of your work, it’s important to know what they can do for you. Here are five main areas where a business development pro can help.

1. Create a Database of Prospects

A good business development pro knows how to find prospective customers. To begin, they’ll need to set up a list of keywords that describe the type of businesses they’re targeting. Once they’ve got those terms down, they’ll need to determine which ones are most relevant to their target audience. Then, they’ll need to identify companies that fall under each keyword.

Once they’ve done that, they’ll need to figure out how best to reach out to each prospect. Depending on the size of your business, you might have a dedicated team of account managers, or you might simply send out cold emails Either way, once you’ve identified which contacts are worth reaching out to, you’ll need to craft a personalized email that includes information about why you think the prospect would benefit from your product or service.

2. Design Presentations

When you’re trying to pitch a client or partner, you’ll need to put together a compelling presentation. A good business development pro knows that visual aids can really help sell your ideas. So, they’ll need to gather images of products and services, along with data charts and graphs that illustrate trends.

Operations

The term “virtual assistant” covers a wide range of roles including customer support, marketing, sales, and administrative tasks. These workers help companies operate efficiently and effectively.

A virtual assistant helps businesses run smoothly. They’re great employees who can take on many different tasks. Virtual assistants can do everything from scheduling social media posts to sending emails. Some even offer project management skills.

  • They can manage clients’ schedules, set reminders, and track expenses.
  • These professionals can also perform research and data entry.
  • Many virtual assistants work remotely, freeing up office space.
  • This type of employee saves both time and money.

It is really important to know your needs before hiring someone!

The last tip we have for you is to assess your needs and make a quick list of what exactly you need from your new virtual assistant. Do you want someone to handle administrative tasks like scheduling meetings, managing your calendar, sending emails, and organizing files? Are you looking for someone to take notes during a meeting or transcribe audio recordings? Is there something you just don’t feel comfortable doing yourself?

And what kind of skills are most important for the job? Do you want a full time employee? Someone with excellent organizational skills? High level communication skills? Are there any specialized tasks you need done?

Once you have this info, you’re ready to get started!

Ready to build your remote team?

Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.

Conclusion

Virtual assistants have been around for ages and over the years have proven to be extremely useful for businesses of all sizes It can be a big decision to take on a new team member, especially one that works completely remotely but the benefits of a VA are amazing and if you’re ready to get started or still unsure and need a little more info or guidance in getting started, give DigiWorks a try!

Good luck on your VA journey!

Related Articles

About DigiWorks

DigiWorks is an easy-to use platform that helps small businesses and start ups hire amazing remote talent from around the world. DigiWorks offers a way for you to hire, manage and pay people from all countries. If you find an amazing virtual assistant from Philippines, a content writer from Nigeria, or operations manager from South Africa – manage and pay your entire team from one platform with no hassle.