Balancing daily operations can get challenging for businesses and entrepreneurs. You can quickly find yourself in the thick of things. Here are some of the issues most clients complain about before they start working with us:
Lack of time and overwhelming administrative needs, and you feel like you can’t take a day off or have a vacation.
Maintaining conversations with existing clients and following up with prospective clients. Your inboxes are a mess, and conversation channels are broken.
Work/life balance. You’re an independent professional like a lawyer, a coach, an insurance, or a real estate agent and having a hard time managing your workload.
Lack of technical or marketing skills. Performing some small tasks takes you a lot of time and proves hard. And you can no longer focus on the vital parts of your business.
No internal structure. You’re lost between activities. Everything seems like a priority, and your process is broken.
Goal mapping. You get caught up in the day-to-day activities, and you are working all the time, but you still feel like your business isn’t getting where you want it to.
Spreadsheet management. You spend most of your time in Excel or Google Sheets trying to keep things well arranged and up to date, and it gives you a lot of headaches and consumes your time.
Delegating some of your tasks to a virtual assistant agency will enable your business to operate more efficiently without breaking your back.
In this article, we will discuss the best virtual assistant services you should delegate to your VA agency and how doing so can help your business. We’ve also included five best VA agencies you should consider for your outsourcing, including our own agency, Cascade Virtual.
At Cascade, we believe that offering VA services to businesses is not limited to simply ticking tasks off of a list. It’s all about understanding your business and its growth needs and designing goal maps and tasks accordingly to help you run your business seamlessly.
So, you’ll learn the best service you should outsource and why we might be the best agency for your business to hire.
Let’s start with the fundamentals.
Note: Ready to hire VA services for your business? At Cascade Virtual, we are the business growth partners you need. We offer you U.S.-based VAs with over 10 years of experience at a $35-$50 hourly rate. Our team takes care of the activities that weigh you down while you focus on the core parts of your business. Book a meeting with us!
Understanding the basics of virtual assistant services
A virtual assistant (often shortened to VA) is essentially a helper you hire online. They are professionals who provide a wide range of services to entrepreneurs, businesses, or even individuals, without being physically present in an office.
A VA’s primary role is to handle tasks that you either don’t have the time for, don’t have the skills for, or simply don’t want to do. This can be anything from replying to emails, scheduling appointments, and managing social media to specialized tasks like website design or research.
There are two types of VAs you may be interested in based on what you need. Let’s discuss them and their differences:
Generalist VAs
This is your jack-of-all-trades virtual assistant. They have a broad range of virtual assistant skills and can handle a variety of basic, routine tasks you don’t want to waste time doing.
Whether it’s data entry, answering phone calls, basic research, managing emails, or even basic content creation, a generalist VA is versatile and adaptable. These are the best VAs to hire if you need to delegate administrative services.
Specialist VAs
These VAs come with a specific set of skills. For example, there are social media specialists who’ll take charge of your online presence or eCommerce specialists who can help run your online store.
Some might be experts in graphic design, bookkeeping, or digital marketing. Also, understand that VAs in this category often cost more than generalists. If you have a particular need or a specific project in mind, a specialist VA is the way to go.
Top 11 services to delegate to virtual assistant agencies
We’ve put the different VA services into 11 categories. Let’s discuss them.
1. Administrative tasks
Administrative tasks form the core of your daily business operations. They are related to the day-to-day management and running of your business. They are fundamental operations, often performed behind the scenes, that keep an organization ticking smoothly.
For most of these tasks, a generalist VA would be sufficient. Though, having one with experience in your industry is always great. You’ll want to make sure you hire a virtual assistant with an an eye for detail and excellent communication skills.
Here are some administrative task examples you can consider delegating:
VA service examples for administrative tasks.
What the VA(s) does for you.
Calendar management
Organizing and managing schedules, blocking out appointments, sending reminders, and ensuring there are no conflicts. A keen eye for detail is essential.
Email management
Your VA will sort through the daily influx of emails. They’ll categorize them, prioritize responses, and even draft replies. It requires a VA with good communication skills.
Travel arrangements
This goes beyond just booking flights. It’s about finding the best routes and hotels within budget, arranging for transportation, and even ensuring dietary preferences are met during business meetings or conferences.
Data entry
Your VA here helps with all tasks related to sorting through data or meticulously inputting your data (most likely into a spreadsheet system) without errors. It can be anything like your contact details, invoices, inventory lists, etc.
Creating reports
Collating data, creating visual aids like charts or graphs, and presenting them in a digestible format. Depending on the complexity, you might need a VA with specific experience in report generation.
2. Services for independent professionals
Small business owners and independent professionals, whether they're lawyers, insurance agents, life coaches, or real estate agents, often juggle multiple roles at once. You’re not just an expert in your field; you’re also obliged to be an entrepreneur managing every aspect of your business.
Hiring a virtual personal assistant to aid in your work will help streamline your tasks, allow you to focus on your core services, have a better work-life balance, and take vacations for yourself. You won’t have to worry about the little tasks such as client management, document drafting, billing and invoicing, administrative support, and more.
Here are some examples of VA service independent professionals can get:
VA service examples for independent professionals.
Real estate services
Managing or taking care of property listings on the relevant platforms (Realtor, Zillow, etc); coordinating viewings, inspections, or meetings between agents and clients; handling inquiries; preparing and scheduling presentations; keeping track of potential buyers, sellers, and renters; sending out regular updates and newsletters.
Assistance for life coaches
Managing and scheduling client sessions, workshops, and consultations; handling administrative details of bringing on a new client, such as sending out welcome packets, agreements, and invoices.
Lawyer assistant
Assisting in drafting simple legal documents, letters, or motions; conducting preliminary research on case laws, statutes, and legal journals; keeping track of billable hours and generating invoices; managing and organizing documents related to discovery in litigation; transcribing recorded legal proceedings, depositions, or client meetings; ensuring that all case files, evidence, and documents are stored and organized effectively; etc.
Insurance agent assistant
Maintaining a database of clients, their policies, renewals, and claims; helping coordinate the claims process between clients and the insurance company; sending periodic policy updates, renewal reminders, and promotional email campaigns; updating and maintaining client records in CRM systems; and more.
3. Technical assistance
Technical tasks often require specialized knowledge, sometimes with qualifications or certifications. The tasks often revolve around IT and web-based platforms. So, you will need a VA with specialized knowledge and experience. Here are some examples:
Technical VA service examples.
Website maintenance
This involves checking a website for issues and mistakes, keeping it updated and relevant. It can also include content updates, reviewing SEO, and ensuring the platform’s backend is functioning correctly
SEO optimization
This can involve making an SEO audit, optimizing website content, backlink building, enhancing meta tags, and more.
Troubleshooting tech issues
Identifying, diagnosing, and resolving technical problems. These could be hardware-related, software conflicts, or network issues.
Setting up online tools or platforms
Installing and configuring software or online tools, ensuring they integrate well with other systems in use, and providing initial training or guidelines on their use.
4. Digital marketing support
Digital marketing tasks help in promoting and marketing a business or brand online. As you can tell, it’s a vast field encompassing various areas. VAs in this category often have skills in marketing and content creation as a whole.
Here are some task examples for this:
Digital marketing VA service examples.
Social media management
This is about (but not limited to) creating and posting content on social media. They also engage with audiences, monitor metrics, and more. A VA skilled in platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn is ideal for this.
Lead generation
Here, the VA helps with the basic lead generation activities such as lead research, buying domains, list-building, and data enrichment. Understand that they can’t single-handedly generate leads for your business.
Content creation
VAs here can help you create or contribute to activities that help create SEO-friendly articles, graphics, infographics, or videos. Specialized skills and experience are important here.
Affiliate management
Activities such as refining the affiliate registration page design and copy, reaching out to and engaging relevant content creators to join the affiliate programs, and more.
Email marketing campaigns
Designing newsletters, segmenting subscriber lists, writing emails, automating drip campaigns, and more.
5. Bookkeeping
Here, your VA will help keep track of your financial affairs and organize your transactions to ensure everything runs smoothly. By delegating these tasks to a trustworthy and skilled VA, You’ll have peace of mind and can focus more on growing your business.
Bookkeeping VA service examples.
Invoicing clients
Creating, sending, and tracking invoices to ensure they are paid on time. This task requires a VA who is detail-oriented and familiar with invoicing spreadsheets or software like QuickBooks or FreshBooks.
Reconciling bank statements
Comparing internal financial records with monthly bank statements to ensure they match up.
Managing expenses
Keeping track of business expenses, categorizing them correctly, and ensuring all receipts are accounted for.
Preparing financial reports
Compiling data to create comprehensive financial reports, be it profit and loss statements, balance sheets, or cash flow statements.
6. Specialized digital asset creation and management
As an online business, your digital assets are a vital component of your brand’s identity. VAs can help ensure they’re well-crafted and maintained, and it can significantly impact your business’s online presence and reputation.
Here are some examples of asset management activities you can outsource to VAs.
Digital asset management VA service examples.
Website Updates
Editing and proofreading
Crafting visuals, be it for social media, websites, or promotional materials.
Video editing
Regularly updating content, ensuring smooth user experience, and implementing changes based on feedback.
7. Translation and language services
As your business expands globally, the need for clear communication across cultures and languages becomes more and more important. That’s where specialist VAs with linguistic expertise come into play. Here is how VAs can help your business here:
VA service examples.
Translating documents
Converting content from one language to another while ensuring that the context, tone, and message remain intact.
Language tutoring
Helping individuals learn or improve proficiency in a new language. This requires a VA with not only fluency in the language but also pedagogical skills to teach it effectively.
Transcription services
Listening to audio files and converting the spoken words into written format. This can be in the same language or involve translation.
8. Research services
Whether it’s market research for a new product launch or gathering data for an academic paper, research is important, and you may not have the time to do it very well. VAs can help.
VA service examples
Data collection and analysis
Gathering raw data from various sources so you can analyze it to derive meaningful insights. This can be from customer feedback, web analytics, social media metrics, etc.
Academic research
Assisting in gathering data, literature, or references for academic papers, dissertations, or theses.
Content research
Curating information, statistics, or references for articles, blogs, or presentations. They help ensure your content is backed by credible sources and adds value to the audience.
Product research
Investigating potential suppliers, product reviews, or patents.
Market research
Identifying market trends, researching competitors, or gauging potential demand.
9. eCommerce assistance
There are lots of things VAs can do for you here. They can help ensure your store runs like a well-oiled machine and the result will be increased sales and satisfied customers for you. Here are a few activities they can take off your hands. Here are some examples:
eCommerce VA service examples.
Product listings-This goes beyond just uploading products. VAs can help you craft compelling product descriptions, optimize images, set the right prices, and ensure all details are accurate.
Order processing- As orders come in, they need to be processed promptly with minimal turnaround time and error. VAs can help you verify order details, coordinate with fulfillment centers or drop shippers, and ensure timely dispatch.
Inventory management- Keeping track of stock levels, updating inventory counts, predicting stockouts, and even coordinating with suppliers for restocks.
Customer support -Answering questions, addressing concerns, processing returns, or just guiding a customer through a purchase.
10. Call center and calling services
As your business grows, managing calls—from customers and leads—can become a challenge. Having dedicated virtual assistants or virtual call center agents can streamline communication and enhance the professional image of your business.
VA call center and calling service examples.
Inbound call handling
Managing incoming calls, be it for customer support, inquiries, or bookings.
Outbound calling
Reaching out to potential leads, conducting surveys, or following up on inquiries.
Technical support
Assisting callers with troubleshooting, software issues, or product-related queries.
Appointment setting
Making calls to set, reschedule, or cancel appointments.
Feedback and surveys
Calling customers or clients to gather feedback on products, services, or overall experience.
11. Project or event management
VAs with project and event management skills help ensure that business events or projects are executed seamlessly, on time, and within budget. Whether you’re launching a new product or organizing a conference, VAs can help you streamline the whole process and facilitate it for you.
VA service examples.
Planning and coordinating tasks
Laying out the groundwork for a project or event, setting timelines, and ensuring all tasks align with the overarching goals.
Budgeting
Estimating costs, allocating resources, and ensuring the project or event remains within budget.
Being a liaison
Interacting with suppliers, caterers, venue owners, or any other external entities involved in the event or project.
Feedback collection and reporting
Gathering post-event feedback, analyzing results, and preparing reports to assess the overall success or lack thereof.
Note: Ready to hire VA services for your business? At Cascade Virtual, we are the business growth partners you need. We offer you U.S.-based VAs with over 10 years of experience at a $35-$50 hourly rate. Our team takes care of the activities that weigh you down while you focus on the core parts of your business. Book a meeting with us!
5 best virtual assistant service companies to delegate to
Here are the top 5 virtual assistant companies you can consider to delegate your services to.
1. Cascade Virtual
The virtual assistant industry is cluttered with agencies that follow a straightforward give-and-take approach to business assistance. Many agencies operate as mere matchmakers, connecting businesses with VAs without providing the necessary support structures.
We at Cascade Virtual, however, aim to challenge this and offer you a virtual assistant service that’s more aligned with your business’s current needs and its long-term growth plans.
Here’s a simple comparison:
Most VA companies:
Wait for you to indicate a need.
Assign any available VA without considering compatibility.
The virtual assistants perform the tasks listed without proactive involvement.
At Cascade Virtual, we make it fundamental to have a deeper understanding of your business challenges. Then we thoughtfully match you with VAs who align with your values, personality, and needs.
After that, we work on organizing systems, guidelines, and standard operating procedures to ensure quality and efficiency. Here is why you might be the best virtual assistant agency for your needs.
We go the extra mile when vetting VAs to ensure you only get top of the top
Every business deserves a VA that’s not only skilled but also aligns with their culture and ethos. To ensure you get this, we’ve added extra layers to our vetting process. On top of the typical interviews, skill assessment, background, personality, and resume checks, we also check for:
Operational compatibility: We test VAs for their adaptability to different work environments, ensuring they can integrate seamlessly into various business structures.
U.S. citizenship with 5 years of experience: We only hire virtual assistants from the U.S. who have a minimum of five years of experience in a specialized service.
Reference validity: We don’t just ask for references; we reach out to their former employers to check their references and ensure they truly walk the talk.
This meticulous vetting process ensures that businesses get the cream of the crop when it comes to virtual assistants.
We just don’t assign you VAs and complete tasks. We build a relationship with you to understand what your business needs and deliver value.
Our core assistance model revolves around building relationships. We believe in stepping into your shoes to understand your concerns and aspirations. Our experience taught us that a task-based collaboration isn’t enough. Instead, businesses need an agency that:
Collaborates on goal mapping and task planning: You won’t be around all the time naming what the VA should do.
Carefully select VAs that match their business profile: You don’t want the next available guy. You want someone who delivers quality work and fits within your organization.
Implements structured systems for task management: You don’t want to micro-manage the VA, and you don’t have time for it.
Without this, VA collaborations can easily become chaotic, leading to miscommunication, confusion on priorities, and a lack of progress tracking. Cascade Virtual ensures these pitfalls are avoided, giving businesses the peace of mind they deserve.
There are four main steps in our onboarding process, and each step is designed to help us learn more about your business and its needs, lay the groundwork for quality work, and ensure a fruit partnership for you.
Here is what we do.
Understanding your needs and building a matching job description
Before any engagement, we aim to understand the challenges you’re facing. This allows us to craft a detailed job description that resonates with your needs.
Unlike competitors, we handpick a VA that’s perfect for you – considering skills, personality, and business alignment. We will ask questions about:
Your product or services,
How you spend your time working,
How much marketing you do,
How you communicate with your customers or potential customers,
What teams or tech you have in place to manage your business, etc,
Your answers to these questions help us establish how much work is involved, the specific talents you need, and how we can help. Here is an example of an email we send our clients after meeting with them to discuss their needs and building a job description.
Now, based on the skills and talent we pinpoint, we then find you a great fit from our VAs. In the hiring process, we ensure that the VA will fit into you organization. Here is an example of us doing that.
Providing you with the tools to monitor everything
Your success is our priority. We provide you with a dedicated contact from our managing team, offer a guide explaining our processes, give real-time work updates, and a personalized dashboard to track your VA’s activities. Here is what your dashboard looks like:
Goal mapping and task planning
Based on your needs and the goals you have, we build clear, actionable goals and derive tasks that cover months ahead. Here is a sneak peek into our delegating 101 document we send you for this:
The answers you give in this document help us create a set of goals for each week right away. These are the tasks we need to begin with. After that, we'll continue to check in with you and your virtual assistant until you feel more comfortable with your team.
Here is an example we did for a client:
We focus on both short-term tasks and long-term planning. This involves in-depth sessions with your team to ensure that every action aligns with your broader business vision.
Building SOPs
We create standard operating procedures for each task we identify. This eliminates guesswork, streamlines processes, and ensures that our VAs integrate swiftly into your operations. Here is a representation of the process we follow to build this:
We’re not just mere task-doers. We operate as a B2B partner responsible for handling some parts of your business. After we build the SOP, we send it over to you and you can edit and make suggestions.
We have an internal system that takes care of all the HR Hassles of managing VAs so that you don’t
Hiring a VA should simplify operations, not complicate them. While many VA agencies leave clients to manage HR aspects, at Cascade Virtual, we believe you shouldn’t have to do this.
Our internal HR system and human coordinators handle everything from monitoring work hours, ensuring timely payments to managing tax paperwork. Here is what the dashboard for this looks like:
We oversee VA work, provide regular check-ins, and actively seek feedback to refine our services continually.
This approach means that you don’t have to micromanage. Instead, you can focus on scaling your business, all while knowing your VA needs are in trusted hands.
We offer flexible contracts tailored to business needs and planned for potential shifts
We know that businesses evolve, and their needs fluctuate. So, while many VA agencies have rigid contracts where you can’t change much if you need to, we pride ourselves on offering you unmatched flexibility to ensure you always get the best assistance, whatever the situation.
Need to roll over hours? No problem. Want to pause your account temporarily? We’ve got you covered. Need your VA changed because they don’t deliver up to your standards? You got it. No extra pay or lengthy restaffing restaffing process.
Our contracts are designed to serve you, ensuring you get value for every cent spent.
We offer you VA excellence at an affordable price.
Money matters, but quality does too. So, our hourly rate and pricing model strike a balance between affordability and premium assistance delivery.
With our competitive hourly rate of $35 to $50, depending on the plan you choose, we are more cost-effective than most VA agencies out there.
$600-Innovator (Up to 3 hours a week/12 hours a month)
$1200- Entrepreneur (Up to 7 hours a week/28 hours a month)
$2400- Premier (Up to 15 hours a week/60 hours a month)
$3500-Dignitary(Up to 25 hours a week/100 hours a month)
This pricing allows us to hire the best VAs and offer you one of the best pricing plans on the market. Plus, our pay-as-you-go system ensures you only pay for hours used. No wasted costs. No budget overruns. Just pure value.
Note: Ready to hire VA services for your business? At Cascade Virtual, we are the business growth partners you need. We offer you U.S.-based VAs with over 10 years of experience at a $35-$50 hourly rate. Our team takes care of the activities that weigh you down while you focus on the core parts of your business. Book a meeting with us!
2. Time etc.
Time etc. is a VA service that provides virtual assistants for businesses and professionals. They offer experienced VAs who can do many administrative tasks.
What’s special about Time etc. is their flexibility. Customers can buy hours each month and even try their services for a free trial period. You can change your plan or stop it whenever you want. Their pricing is clear: starting at $360 a month for 10 hours, which is $36 an hour.
3. Belay
Belay is a US-based VA company that offers virtual assistants for bookkeeping, social media management, and web-specialized services. They pick their workers carefully and are known for their top-notch services. They mainly collaborate with US-based businesses
4. Zirtual
Zirtual provides US-based VAs to businesses across the world. They guarantee that all their assistants have a minimum of a college degree. They also let you change your plan or stop it anytime.
But, if you don’t use all your hours in one month, you can't save them for the next month. So, you might waste money. Their prices are clear: you pay $549 a month for 12 hours, which is over $45 an hour.
5. Boldly
Boldly is known for providing VAs from North America and Europe. Their website reads that most of their VAs boast at least seven years of experience. Boldly also takes the time to match clients with VAs that fit their needs and company culture.
But they’re one of the most expensive VA agencies out there. Their starting plan is 40 hours a month for $2200, which is $55 an hour.
Hire Cascade Virtual and let us take care of your services
Whether you’re a startup, an established business, or an independent professional like a lawyer, hiring VAs offers the benefits of flexibility and expertise.
They help streamline your operations their work opens up avenues for growth, market expansion and improves client relationships.
However, the key lies in identifying the right tasks to delegate and finding the right VA or agency that aligns with your business goals.
Either of the five companies on this list is a great option if you are simply looking to hand off some work to VAs with no long-term commitment.
But if you want a success partner and are looking for a VA company that:
Understands your particular business requirements, objectives, and vision and outlines a strategy and tasks accordingly.
Pre-selects CVs according to your predefined standards and guarantees a level of quality that's already aligned with your business.
Generates everything from comprehensive standard operating procedures to precise task lists and cares about accomplishing things correctly.
Provides a solid plan for staff replacements and stand-ins.
Delivers assistants who are not only vetted but also proven experts with a decade of experience.
Values your viewpoints and is consistently striving for improvement.
Delivers a pay-per-use model, ensuring you receive the utmost value, with the flexibility to adjust support based on your changing requirements.
Then Cascade Virtual is what you need.
With us, you’re not just hiring an assistant; you’re gaining a support system. We offer our customers a blend of human expertise, strategic orientation, operational excellence, and a personal touch.
Note: Ready to hire VA services for your business? At Cascade Virtual, we are the business growth partners you need. We offer you U.S.-based VAs with over 10 years of experience at a $35-$50 hourly rate. Our team takes care of the activities that weigh you down while you focus on the core parts of your business. Book a meeting with us!