Your company has grown to the point where you’ll need an extra set of helping hands, so you might be considering hiring a virtual assistant. Compared to hiring a full-time employee, virtual assistants can reduce operating costs by 78%.

In 2018, over a third of small businesses outsourced a business process. Yours could be next! If you’re in the market for virtual assistant services, read this article to learn about the top options to choose from.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant is a self-employed individual who works from a remote location and offers administrative services to clients. The most in-demand virtual assistant services are social media management, email marketing, and project management. Other typical virtual assistant tasks can include maintaining schedules, making phone calls, and any other simple or repetitive tasks that can be offloaded.

You can also hire a virtual assistant that specializes in a specific offering such as graphic design, bookkeeping, content writing, or marketing services. Keep reading to see which of the following virtual assistant services may fit your needs.

Comparison of Top Virtual Assistant Services

Below, you will find a comparison of the top seven virtual assistant companies that have U.S. based employees.

1. Belay

Belay offers both typical administrative and specialized services. For administrative help, you can get virtual assistants from Belay to help you with inbox and schedule management, research and reporting, or booking travel arrangements. If you need more specialized assistance, Belay also matches remote employers in these focused areas: writing, web designing, virtual assistance, and bookkeeping.

Pros of Belay

  • All of Belay’s virtual assistants are U.S. based, so you won’t have to worry about timezone issues or language barriers.
  • Belay accepts 3% of all applicants which shows that they vet their virtual assistants before hiring them.
  • You’ll be assigned a Client Success Consultant that will track the progress of your projects so you’re kept in the loop. The Client Success Consultant will reach out to you to learn about your tasks, tools, culture, and personality requirements to ensure you are matched with the right talent. Then, they will meet with Belay’s Placement Team to discuss, vet, and select two to three top candidates through an interview process.

Cons of Belay

  • You won’t get a whole team of virtual assistants. Instead, you’ll be matched with a single virtual assistant based on your business’s needs and industry.
  • If you need basic tasks to be completed, there are better options for you to choose from.

Who Should Use Belay?

Belay’s offering provides an individual virtual assistant that is highly skilled in a focused area. As such, this service is best suited for small to mid-sized businesses looking for a specialized virtual assistant.

2. Boldly

Boldly offers a subscription-based service in which clients can get help from executive assistants, marketers, and accounting staff through a monthly subscription. Boldly handles the payroll, contracts, filing, and hiring, so clients just need to indicate the type of service they need and how many hours of work are needed from the remote assistants. Like many similar services, Boldly offers administrative services such as research, call screening, email management, and travel booking. You can also get help with your marketing and social media, project management, and bookkeeping-related tasks.

Boldly specializes in providing skilled staff members to assist clients in tax, compliance, and accounting purposes.

Pros of Boldly

  • Virtual assistants are trained on cloud-based software for easy integration - all you have to do is create a company email for them to get started.
  • The client dashboard allows you to track activity and manage your account.
  • Their staff trains a backup member, so if your dedicated virtual assistant is out sick/on vacation, your work will still be completed.
  • Virtual assistants are hired as Boldly employees and not contractors.
  • You’ll have an account manager who is always on hand to help.

Cons of Boldly

  • Each virtual assistant has two to three clients on long-term assignments so you might be limited in the work or size of assignments you can ask for.

Note: packages start at a minimum of 30 hours per month. This includes a one-hour complimentary launch meeting. You can also opt for a more comprehensive plan, in which you’ll need to reach out to Boldly for a quote.

Who Should Use Boldy?

If you have a small to mid-sized business and are looking for virtual assistants with at least a decade of experience, then Boldly is ideal for you. You can assign specialized tasks and long-term projects that last one to two years to their virtual assistants.

3. TruAssist

TruAssist provides a remote back office team that handles repetitive operational tasks for your business without requiring any upfront commitments from your end. TruAssist takes care of screening, training, payroll, benefits, and more. This service is made to offload recurring or one-time tasks that your business requires. TruAssist’s virtual assistants are a team of full-time employees that are trained and dedicated to handle your requested tasks.

TruAssist’s services fall under three main categories: administrative, bookkeeping, and purchasing. Administrative tasks include email correspondence, outgoing calls, scheduling meetings and appointments, taking meeting minutes, and more. Bookkeeping responsibilities can include basic accounting data entry, bill tracking (A/P), and issuing invoices (A/P). The purchasing category encompasses any business or office-related purchases you may need, such as searching for products, price comparisons, and purchasing of products or supplies.

Pros of TruAssist

  • A Task Manager will delegate and check the progress of your requests to ensure timely completion.
  • There's no contract so you can cancel anytime.
  • All virtual assistants are U.S. based employees. This means that there will be no time zone differences or language barriers.
  • TruAssist does not use contractors. Instead, all employees are internally hired by VirtualPostMail (VPM).
  • The quality of work done will match what you pay for. You won’t be billed at a higher rate and have your task completed by someone with less experience or skills. The expertise of the team will fit your business needs, so you know the skills fit the bill.
  • TruAssist overrides all of those ‘what-ifs’. Because VPM has a team of TruAssistants, there is always backup to fill in for any unexpected circumstances, like a team member taking a sick day or vacation. Thus, your tasks will always be completed by the deadline you set so your business flow is not interrupted.

Cons of TruAssist

  • Services are limited at this time.

Pricing

TruAssist is billed on a per-minute basis with no monthly minimums. Different types of work have different rates. For example, more specialized work, like bookkeeping, will have a different rate from administrative tasks. Expect the rate range to be similar to what you’d pay for temp workers.

Who is TruAssist Best for?

TruAssist is best for startups and small businesses looking for a full remote back office team. With a Task Manager assigned, you won’t need to supervise or spend your time checking up on the progress of the tasks you have requested. TruAssist is good for a combination of paying for only what you need and taking on monthly and long-term projects.

4. Time etc

Time etc offers administrative services that include managing schedules and inboxes, data entry, performing research, and booking accommodations and travel. They also match virtual assistants that specialize in content marketing and social media.

Pros of Time etc

  • Time etc offers a free trial.
  • You can request services through a convenient mobile app.

Cons of Time etc

  • Your virtual assistant may be assigned to multiple clients and therefore, may be working on several projects/tasks at one time.
  • Time etc’s plans start with a 10 hour minimum per month after the free trial is up.

Who Should Use Time etc?

Time etc is best for small businesses looking for a virtual assistant that will cover simple and basic tasks. This service is geared towards an ongoing relationship as opposed to fulfilling one-off task needs, so if you aren’t looking for consistent service, this might not be a fit for you.

5. WoodBows

WoodBows offers virtual assistants that are college-educated with 10+ years of experience. While you’ll pay for just one virtual assistant, you will get a team of expert virtual assistants to help you. WoodBows provides an array of different services: data entry, graphic design, web design, digital marketing, and app and software development (these two services are outsourced to a different company).

Pros of WoodBows

  • 24/7 support service.
  • You'll be assigned a dedicated account manager.
  • There's no contract, so you can cancel anytime.

Cons of WoodBows

  • Rates vary by location, so it’ll depend on where you are.
  • WoodBows plans start with a 40 hour per month minimum.

Who Should Use WoodBows?

This service is best for small business owners searching for specialized virtual assistant services. If you are looking for typical administrative work to be taken care of, you should look into other virtual assistant services.

6. RemSource

RemSource is a U.S. based virtual back office company working from the central location of Baltimore, Maryland. Their team works remotely as an integrated part of the day-to-day operations in client offices. The virtual team takes care of tasks that may be slowing down business growth or revenue-generating operations.

RemSource offers administrative services that include communications, schedule management, customer service, and other business services. They also offer assistance with specialized services, including bookkeeping, consulting, and project management.

Pros of RemSource

  • U.S. based virtual assistants
  • Live agents are available from 9-5 to provide customer support
  • Offers niche services for specialized professions (for example, doctors, real estate agents, bloggers, etc.)
  • You are assigned a primary member of the team who is the main contact that handles tasks for your account. To ensure timely responses for requests, you also have an assigned secondary team member to take over in case your primary contact is unavailable.

Cons of RemSource

  • Requires a three-month contract to get started

Who Should Use RemSource?

RemSource’s virtual assistant team is best for small business owners and solo entrepreneurs who will benefit from a full team that can work on longer-term projects.

7. Virtual Assist USA

Virtual Assist USA has a team of virtual assistants that work as employees. The packages they offer do not expire, which means you can use the package of hours you bought whenever you need it, regardless of how long you go without using the service. Virtual Assist USA’s virtual assistants work on one-time projects, short-term gap assistance, and long-term engagements.

A few of the specialized services Virtual Assist USA offers include event planning, social media marketing, copywriting, and bookkeeping.

Pros of Virtual Assist USA

  • U.S. based virtual assistants are available in every time zone.
  • All virtual assistants are full-time employees.
  • You'll be assigned a Client Experience Manager as your dedicated point of contact for questions, comments, and concerns.
  • Unused hours roll over to the following month so your package never expires.

Cons of Virtual Assist USA

  • Not a great choice if you need instantaneous responses and have high-priority projects.

Pricing

Virtual Assist USA’s basic package starts out at a minimum of 15 hours per month. You can increase to their Option 2 or Option 3 package, which includes 30 and 50 hours per month, respectively. If you want a custom option, you can also reach out to them to request a different package.

Who Should Use Virtual Assist USA?

Virtual Assist USA is best for small to mid-sized business owners with a higher budget range. If you require flexibility and have more money you can spend on virtual assistance, this could be an ideal option for you.

Find the Right Virtual Assistant For Your Business

Hiring a virtual assistant or virtual team can be a great option for your business if you are in need of helping hands but don’t want to go through the hassle of the hiring process. Virtual assistants can help with repetitive administrative tasks, or you can find assistants that are more specialized to help you in areas that you need to grow your business. Such areas can include social media management and project management.

If you think you’re ready to offload tasks, and TruAssist is your ideal option, read on. With a full remote back office team dedicated to providing quality work and a Task Manager to track and manage the progress of your requests, you will be worry-free and able to focus on the real revenue-generating aspects of your business.