Quick answer
To hire a virtual assistant, first list the tasks that consume your week and separate the ones that are repeatable and documentable. Write a role definition with three concrete deliverables and the tools involved, then choose between a freelance marketplace, a direct hire, or an outsourcing company that recruits, employs and supports the assistant for you. Screen for written communication, tool fluency and judgement using a paid trial task, then run a documented 30-day onboarding. A dedicated Filipino virtual assistant through an outsourcing company typically costs $1,200 to $1,900 per month full time, compared with $4,500 to $6,000 fully loaded for a US-based equivalent.
Key takeaways
- Delegate outcomes, not tasks. Three named deliverables beat a list of thirty chores.
- A paid trial task predicts performance far better than an interview.
- Freelance marketplaces are cheapest per hour and most expensive in management time and turnover.
- Budget one hour of documentation for every recurring hour you want to hand over.
- Retention is a cost strategy: replacing a VA costs roughly six weeks of productivity.
What is a virtual assistant?
- Virtual assistant
- A remote professional who handles recurring administrative, operational or customer-facing work for a business, usually full time or part time on a monthly engagement rather than per project.
The label covers a wide range. A general VA handles inbox, calendar, research and data. An executive assistant operates at chief-of-staff level. A specialist VA focuses on one domain such as bookkeeping, ecommerce operations, real estate transaction coordination or social media. Deciding which of the three you need is the first hiring decision, and getting it wrong is the most common reason a first VA engagement fails.
What should you delegate first?
Track your work for one week in 30-minute blocks, then sort each block into four buckets: only I can do this, someone could do this with training, someone could do this today, and this should not be done at all. Your first VA takes the third bucket, then the second.
| Business type | Delegate first | Typical weekly hours recovered |
|---|---|---|
| Agency or consultancy | Proposal formatting, CRM updates, meeting notes, invoicing | 8 - 12 |
| Real estate | Listing admin, lead response, transaction coordination | 12 - 20 |
| Ecommerce | Order and returns handling, supplier email, product data | 10 - 18 |
| SaaS or tech | Tier 1 support, onboarding emails, CRM hygiene | 10 - 15 |
| Professional services | Scheduling, document prep, client follow-up | 8 - 14 |
Where should you hire from?
| Channel | Typical cost | Vetting | Management burden | Continuity risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance marketplace | $5 - $12 / hour | You do all of it | High | High |
| Direct offshore hire | $900 - $1,600 / month | You do all of it | High | Medium, you carry HR risk |
| Outsourcing company | $1,200 - $1,900 / month | Provider screens and tests | Low to medium | Low, replacement covered |
| Local part-time hire | $2,800 - $4,000 / month | You do all of it | Medium | Medium |
How to write a role definition that attracts good candidates
- 1
Name three deliverables
For example: inbox at zero by 9am daily, CRM accurate within 24 hours of every call, weekly pipeline report delivered Monday morning.
- 2
List the tools
Be specific. HubSpot, Google Workspace, Slack, Notion, QuickBooks. Tool fluency is the fastest screening filter.
- 3
State the hours and time zone
Ambiguity here creates the most post-hire conflict. Name the shift and the overlap you require.
- 4
Define success at 90 days
Write the sentence you want to be able to say about this person in three months, then screen against it.
Interview questions that actually predict performance
- Walk me through the last process you documented. What did the document look like?
- Tell me about a time you noticed something was wrong before anyone asked. What did you do?
- Here is an ambiguous request from a client. Write the clarifying email you would send.
- What is your process for a day when everything is urgent?
- Which part of your last role did you automate or simplify, and how?
Follow the interview with a short paid trial: a real, low-risk task with a deadline, delivered exactly as your business would need it. Score for accuracy, communication while working, and whether they asked good questions before starting.
What does a virtual assistant cost?
| VA type | Monthly range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| General administrative VA | $1,200 - $1,600 | Inbox, calendar, data, research |
| Specialist VA (ecommerce, real estate, bookkeeping) | $1,500 - $2,200 | Domain workflows and systems |
| Executive assistant | $1,800 - $2,600 | Founder and executive leverage |
| Customer support VA | $1,400 - $2,100 | Email, chat and ticket handling |
| Sales and appointment setting VA | $1,800 - $3,000 | Outbound, qualification, booking |
The first 90 days
- 1
Weeks 1-2: absorb
Access, context, recorded walkthroughs, shadowing. Expect low output and high question volume. This is correct.
- 2
Weeks 3-6: own
The VA runs the three deliverables with daily async check-ins. Every correction becomes documentation.
- 3
Weeks 7-12: extend
Add adjacent processes, introduce a weekly metric review, and begin asking the VA to propose improvements rather than only execute.
How to keep a great virtual assistant
- Give feedback weekly, in writing, and specifically. Silence reads as dissatisfaction.
- Include them in company updates. Isolation is the leading cause of offshore attrition.
- Pay at or above market and review annually. Underpaying costs more than it saves.
- Create visible growth: a specialist track, a team-lead track, or a certification budget.
- Protect their hours. Constant after-shift requests destroy tenure faster than pay does.
Frequently asked questions
Most businesses underestimate. If you have identified ten or more hours of recurring weekly work, hire full time. Part-time engagements often fail because the VA never accumulates enough context to work independently.
A VA executes defined tasks. An executive assistant anticipates, prioritises and makes decisions on your behalf within agreed boundaries. Expect a 40 to 60 percent rate premium for genuine EA capability.
Use a marketplace for short, well-defined projects. Use an outsourcing company for an ongoing role where continuity, coverage and replacement matter.
Written standards, one recurring live call per week, async daily updates, and a shared metric. Managing remotely is a documentation discipline, not a surveillance problem.
Not when hiring through an outsourcing company. Devices, connectivity redundancy and backup power are part of the seat cost.
Talk to a Philippines outsourcing specialist
Tell us the role you need and we will send a shortlist of pre-vetted Filipino talent, a cost comparison against local hiring, and a 30-day onboarding plan.
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