What do virtual assistants do? The tasks, what stays with you, and the cost
A virtual assistant is a person who works for your business from somewhere else, doing the repeatable desk work you'd otherwise do yourself: email, calendar, data entry, invoices, customer replies. This guide is for owners deciding whether to hire one.
The short answer: they take the work that comes back every week and doesn't need you. Most owners start with the inbox, the calendar and data entry, then add bookkeeping, support or social media. They don't make your decisions, do licensed work or anything on site. A dedicated Catalyst assistant costs from around $8.80 an hour.
Last checked 7 October 2026
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant, or VA, is a remote worker who handles admin and support tasks for a business. They work part-time or full-time, in your hours, using your tools.
You can hire one three ways. As a freelancer you find on a marketplace, through an agency that places them, or through a managed provider that employs them and covers them when they're away. Software like Siri gets called a virtual assistant too, but this guide is about people.
The work a virtual assistant takes off your desk
The rule we use is simple. If it's a repeatable task done at a desk, an assistant can take it. Here's what that means in practice, grouped the way most businesses hand it over.
Inbox and calendar
Sorting the inbox, drafting replies for you to approve, booking and moving meetings, and preparing travel.
Admin and data entry
Updating your CRM and spreadsheets, formatting documents, filing, and keeping client records tidy.
Bookkeeping
Raising invoices, chasing late payers, entering bills and receipts, and reconciling in Xero or QuickBooks so your accountant gets clean books.
Customer support
Answering the support inbox and chat in your hours, following up tickets and order questions, and passing on anything that needs you.
Marketing
Scheduling social posts, building the newsletter, making graphics from your templates and uploading content to your site.
Sales support and research
Building lead lists, researching prospects and suppliers, logging calls in the CRM and sending the follow-ups.
What a week with a virtual assistant looks like
An example of a 20-hour week for a part-time assistant at a small services business. Yours follows your own list.
Monday
Clears the weekend's email, sends the week's invoices and confirms your meetings.
Tuesday to Thursday
Works the support inbox, updates the CRM after your calls and sends the follow-ups you'd have put off.
Friday
Reconciles the week's payments, sets up next week's calendar and files the end-of-day report you read on Monday.
The point of the example is the pattern. The same jobs come back every week, so you explain them once and stop doing them.
Tasks to keep in-house, and why
Decisions with your name on them
Pricing, hiring, who gets refunded. An assistant can prepare the options and the numbers; you choose.
Licensed or regulated work
Legal advice, tax sign-off, clinical decisions and anything else that needs a licence stays with the licensed person.
Work that needs someone in the room
Reception, deliveries, site visits. A virtual assistant works from a desk somewhere else.
One-off jobs
A single project suits a freelancer better. An assistant pays off on work that repeats.
Too much admin for you, not enough for a full-time hire
You're ready when the same jobs come back every week, they don't need your judgment, and you could write down how they're done.
That's often too little work for a full-time local hire and too much to keep doing yourself. A part-time assistant at 20 hours a week fits that gap, and you can move to full-time later.
Three ways to get a virtual assistant, and what each leaves to you
| Freelancer | Managed assistant | Local hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds them | You, on a marketplace | The provider shortlists, you choose | You, with job ads or a recruiter |
| Who employs them | Nobody: they invoice you | The provider | You |
| Who covers leave | Nobody | The provider | You |
| If it isn't working | You start the search again | The provider looks for a replacement | You manage it under employment law |
| Best for | Short or one-off projects | Ongoing work you want off your desk | Work that needs someone on site |
Freelancer, managed assistant or local hire: 20 hours a week priced three ways
How much does a virtual assistant cost?
With Catalyst, a dedicated assistant costs from around $8.80 an hour on a monthly plan, which puts it up to 70% below a local hire. Part-time is 20 hours a week and full-time is 160 hours a month.
For comparison, the median US pay for secretaries and administrative assistants was $23.23 an hour in May 2025, and benefits make up 30% of what private employers pay per hour worked. That puts a US admin hire at about $33 an hour all in, before a desk, a laptop or recruiting, by our arithmetic on those two figures. Sources: [1] [2]
What a virtual assistant costs in four countries, priced three ways
What to hand over first
Write down a week of tasks
Everything you did that wasn't your real job. Note roughly how long each took.
Circle the ones that repeat
Weekly invoices, the inbox, CRM updates. Repeat work is where an assistant earns their keep.
Write the steps down once
A short list of steps is enough. In Crewhall, each one becomes a routine your assistant ticks off.
Start with 20 hours a week
Most first assistants start part-time. Add hours once the first jobs run without you.
Questions owners ask about virtual assistants
Is a virtual assistant the same as Siri or a chatbot?
No. Software assistants share the name, but this guide means a person who works for your business remotely.
Do virtual assistants work for several clients at once?
Freelancers often do. A Catalyst assistant is dedicated to one client, so your work isn't queued behind someone else's.
Is a virtual assistant my employee?
Not with a managed provider. Our Terms of Business say an assistant stays with Catalyst and is never the client's employee (clause 11). A freelancer is self-employed, and a local hire is your employee. Sources: [3]
Can a virtual assistant work in my time zone?
Yes. We match each assistant to the client's working hours before they start.
How do I share passwords safely?
Keep them out of chat. Crewhall's shared logins let you give one login to one person and take it back in a click when they move on.
How quickly can a virtual assistant start?
With Catalyst, most clients are matched and onboarded within two weeks of the first call.
What's the difference between a virtual assistant and an executive assistant?
An executive assistant supports one leader's calendar, inbox and travel. A virtual assistant can do that remotely, or cover broader admin, bookkeeping or support.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Secretaries and administrative assistants (May 2025 pay), read 7 October 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, read 7 October 2026
- Catalyst Outsourcing: Terms of Business, read 7 October 2026