What Is a Virtual Assistant? What They Do and When to Hire One

A virtual assistant is a remote professional who handles tasks for a business or an individual from outside their office, usually part-time or full-time on an ongoing basis. They work online, use your tools, and take on recurring work such as email, scheduling, bookkeeping, customer replies, and research.

This guide is written for business owners and managers thinking about hiring one. It explains what a virtual assistant does, the main types, how the arrangement works day to day, what it costs, and how to tell whether you are ready.

What is a virtual assistant?

Virtual assistant definition: a virtual assistant (VA) is a person who provides administrative, specialist, or support services to a business from a remote location. VA stands for virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant, often shortened to VA, takes on work you would otherwise give to an in-house assistant, but from a remote location. They are not on your payroll in the traditional sense. Most are self-employed contractors, or they are engaged by an agency that matches them to clients.

Three things set the role apart. The work is remote, so your assistant joins your email, calendar, and project tools online. The work is ongoing, so they build knowledge of your business over time. And it is flexible, so you can start with a few hours a week and add more as the workload grows.

In this guide, a virtual assistant means a person. "Virtual assistant" is also used for AI software such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. Those tools answer questions and set reminders. A human assistant can use judgment, handle exceptions, and own a task from start to finish.

What does a virtual assistant do? Duties and responsibilities

What can a virtual assistant do? Almost any task that can be done on a computer or phone and written down as a routine. Most businesses start with the repetitive work that eats into the week, so the duties and responsibilities below are the things a virtual assistant can do that save the most time.

• Admin and scheduling: managing your inbox, booking meetings, arranging travel, and keeping documents organized.
• Customer support: answering emails and chat messages, handling order questions, and escalating anything unusual.
• Bookkeeping and finance admin: categorizing transactions, sending invoices, and chasing late payments.
• Marketing and social media: scheduling posts, replying to comments, formatting newsletters, and compiling reports.
• Sales support: building prospect lists, following up on leads, and updating the CRM.
• Research and data entry: comparing vendors, gathering market information, and keeping spreadsheets current.

For a longer breakdown, see our list of 60 tasks to delegate to a virtual assistant, grouped by department.

Virtual assistant examples by business type

Here is how the work can look in practice. These are illustrative scenarios, not client case studies.

• A solo consultant hands over inbox triage, calendar booking, and invoice follow-up, and keeps the working day for client work.
• An online store owner has an assistant answer order questions, process returns within policy, and keep product listings up to date.
• A real estate agent has an assistant follow up with new leads, book viewings, and prepare listing paperwork.
• A healthcare practice has an assistant confirm appointments, send reminders, and chase insurance follow-up, within the practice's privacy rules.
• A small agency has an assistant compile client reports and keep the project board current.

Types of virtual assistants

Titles overlap, and the same person may be called a virtual assistant, a virtual PA, or a virtual secretary. It helps more to think in terms of the work. The table below covers the types business owners ask about most.

You can also browse all of our virtual assistant talent in one place.

How does a virtual assistant work?

Most arrangements follow the same pattern. You agree on the tasks and the hours, share access to the tools the work needs, and set up one place to send requests. Your assistant then works set hours, usually overlapping with your own, and reports progress in the way you prefer.

• Hours: part-time and full-time are both common, and many assistants work in your time zone.
• Tools: they use the software you already have, such as your email, calendar, CRM, and accounting system.
• Communication: most teams use a shared channel plus a short daily or weekly check-in.
• Access: you decide what they can open, ideally through a password manager so access is easy to remove.

Our guide on how to manage a virtual assistant lays out a 30-day onboarding plan.

Virtual assistant vs. freelancer vs. employee

A virtual assistant can be hired in three main ways, and the right one depends on how much of the hiring and management you want to take on.

If you are weighing a marketplace against a managed service, see virtual assistant vs. freelancer for the trade-offs, or our comparison of virtual assistant companies.

Benefits of a virtual assistant

• Time back: hours spent on routine admin go to sales, clients, and strategy.
• Lower cost than a local hire: no office, equipment, or benefits to provide, and a managed service bills one monthly rate.
• Flexibility: start with a few hours a week and scale up or down as the workload changes.
• Faster hiring: a service that has already vetted candidates can shorten the search from weeks to days.

Our guide to the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant covers all nine, along with the trade-offs to plan for.

How much does a virtual assistant cost?

Pricing depends on the role, the experience required, and the hiring model. Through Jobeelink, a part-time assistant starts at $700 a month and a full-time assistant at $1,400 a month. Specialist roles can cost more. Our full breakdown of virtual assistant costs covers rates by role and hiring model, and the pricing page shows current rates.

When should you hire a virtual assistant?

Do you need a virtual assistant? You probably do if several of these are true.

• You spend several hours a week on email, scheduling, or paperwork that follows a clear routine.
• You do admin in the evening because the working day is taken up with customers or clients.
• Work is slipping, such as invoices sent late or leads that never get a reply.
• You are not yet ready for a full-time local hire, or your workload is uneven.
• You can describe what a task looks like when it is done well.

What a virtual assistant should not do

A virtual assistant is best at routine, well-defined work. Keep the following with you or a qualified professional.

• Strategy and final decisions on pricing, hiring, and direction.
• Approving payments and signing contracts.
• Relationships with your most important clients, partners, and investors.
• Advice that needs a licence, such as legal, tax, or medical advice.

How to get started

1. 1List the recurring tasks you want to hand over and how often they happen.
2. 2Group them into one role, such as general admin or customer support.
3. 3Choose how to hire: directly, through a marketplace, or through a managed service.
4. 4Meet two or three candidates and test them on a real task.
5. 5Start with two or three tasks, then add more once they run without questions.

Our step-by-step guide to how to hire a virtual assistant covers screening, interview questions, and common mistakes, and how it works explains the Jobeelink process.