Looking for an assistant who works
just as hard as you?
- you're in the right place
Why work with us
We exist to support businesses and busy individuals by making their lives easier. If you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant who is just as invested in your success as you are, you’re in the right place.
Why trust TVAC
Time zone convenience
Experienced and credible
Full insurance cover
Award winning
Invested in your success
Quality and excellence
Productive and proactive
We love what we do
Strong work ethic
FAQ's
Working With A Virtual Assistant
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant is a personal assistant who works remotely from home. Put simply, a Virtual Assistant can offer support with pretty much anything an in-house assistant would (except for making the coffee). You might even say that they would do *virtually* anything to support you.
Think of us as your virtual Mary Poppins – on hand to help with your to-do list. We can help you with aspects of your business and personal life, including managing the family calendar, organising holidays and travel, arranging maintenance and planning parties!
What can a Virtual Assistant help with?
Even if you’ve heard of a Virtual Assistant before, you might not be aware of the vast expanse of things we can help with! Some assistants specialise in a specific area such as marketing. Others offer all-round support for businesses and busy individuals.
Some common examples of tasks we support with include admin, social media, website maintenance, blog and article writing, filing and organising, graphic design, document formatting, research tasks, data entry, transcription, content creation, and much more.
We can respond to emails, messages, and enquiries for you, acting as an extension of you.
We can act as your family assistant, organising travel, holidays, repairs, receipts, and diarising events such as your children’s school dates.
We can take a lot off your plate in your everyday life. If you’re a busy parent, you could even hire a VA to help with things such as booking appointments, planning events, and even online grocery shopping!
Take a look at our services page for more examples of what we can help with.
How do i work with my VA?
When it comes to working with your VA, it is really up to you and how you prefer to work. Choose to communicate however you like – email, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, or over the phone. You may choose to use a tool like Trello or Slack, or another software. We can be flexible to accommodate your preferred method of working.
What’s important is to establish your preferred method of communication (as we believe communication is key!) – but don’t worry, we can help to get everything set up for a successful way of working together.
How can a VA help to grow my business?
When trying to grow a business, there will come a time when you need some support. Whether that’s to free up time to allow you to focus on the more important tasks, or to benefit from the experience of another professional with knowledge and skills outside of your area of expertise.
Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant is a flexible and cost-effective way of hiring, without the commitment of employing someone in-house.
By working with a VA, you pay for only the support you need, as and when you need it. There are no employer responsibilities to worry about either – no employer NI, pension contributions, holiday allowances, or monthly salaries – just one simple payment for a block of hours, or pay as you go!
This is especially helpful for businesses who are ready to scale but don’t want to commit to hiring someone in-house. There is also no training or equipment costs to worry about either – meaning you can quickly and simply onboard your VA, and get straight to work!
Just like you, we’re also business owners, so we will support the growth of your business as much as we possibly can.
What's the difference between a virtual assistant and a remote specialist?
A Virtual Assistant is often considered a generalist. They are an experienced remote assistant, offering a variety of support across a range of different industries. A Remote Specialist, on the other hand, is a highly-skilled professional who specialises in a specific field and can be considered an expert in their area.
Virtual Assistants perform a wide range of tasks, usually with a focus on general-purpose assistance and typically have backgrounds in admin, PA/EA, office management, or similar roles. Our Remote Specialists possess knowledge and expertise in their particular field. They are highly skilled professionals who work remotely to offer their expertise, and they can provide in-depth expertise and insights within their specialised field.
Do I need a Virtual Assistant or a Remote Specialist?
Determining whether you need a Virtual Assistant or a Remote Specialist depends on the nature of your tasks, the level of expertise required, and the specific goals you want to achieve.
If your tasks primarily involve general administrative work, scheduling, customer support, or research tasks, a Virtual Assistant would be suitable. If your tasks require specialised knowledge, industry-specific skills, or in-depth expertise, a Remote Specialist would be more appropriate. If the tasks are relatively routine or general in nature, a Virtual Assistant can handle them efficiently. If the tasks are complex, require problem-solving, or involve in-depth analysis, a Remote Specialist with specific expertise will be better equipped to assist you.
If your tasks are within a specialised field or industry and require deep knowledge and insights, a Remote Specialist who specialises in that domain would be beneficial. If your tasks are not tied to a specific field and do not require specialised knowledge, a Virtual Assistant can provide the necessary support.
What is the scope and duration of the tasks or projects? For short-term or one-time projects that require specialised skills, a Remote Specialist can efficiently accomplish specific objectives. If you need ongoing, day-to-day support with a variety of tasks, a Virtual Assistant can provide continuous assistance.
What is your budget?
Remote Specialists often command higher rates due to their specialised expertise. If your budget allows for it and your tasks require specialised knowledge, investing in a Remote Specialist can be valuable. If budget constraints are a concern and the tasks primarily involve general support, a Virtual Assistant can be a more cost-effective option.
By considering these factors and assessing your specific needs, you can make an informed decision about whether a Virtual Assistant or a Remote Specialist is the right choice for you.
Remember, at The Virtual Assistant Company, we are outsourcing specialists, and it is our job to match you with the best possible fit for you, your business and your needs. If you want a friendly, free, informal discussion about what might be the best option for you, feel free to book a call with one of our team, and we will work with you to help you make an informed decision.
Why TVAC
Where are you based?
We’re a family-run business based in Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean city. We work from our home office, and we also work closely with associate VA’s who we feel are a particularly great fit for our clients. All our VA’s are UK-based, and we all work remotely from home.
We work with clients locally and beyond, so no matter where you are based, we can still work together!
Find out more about us.
What are your credentials?
With a combined background in design and marketing, administration, event management and estate agency, we have the skills and expertise to support businesses across an array of industries.
Jonathan’s background includes design and marketing and estate agency. Prior to The Virtual Assistant Company, Bethan worked as an assistant for a corporate estate agency, and also in event management. Realising that all these things (and more) could be done virtually, we created The Virtual Assistant Company to provide flexible, cost-effective and on-demand support to businesses.
We have been supporting businesses virtually since 2015, having worked with businesses of all different types and sizes. As business owners ourselves, we understand what it takes to run and grow a business, and we take great pride in helping our clients to grow theirs.
We are registered members of the UK Society for Virtual Assistants and a registered Data Controller with the ICO. We also have the relevant insurance, including IP and cyber insurance. We’re also award-winning!
How do I know I can trust you with my business?
We understand that your business is your baby, and as business owners and parents ourselves, we know that handing over your baby to a complete stranger is not an easy thing!
Trust is important in outsourcing, and especially important in remote working.
That said, there is great power, growth and freedom in getting support with your business and letting an experienced Virtual Assistant help you with your to-do list.
Not only are we professionally insured, we are registered members of the ICO and the UK Society for Virtual Assistants. We are award-winning too, having been recognised for the work we’ve done.
We’ve worked with a range of happy clients since 2015, and you can see some examples of these on our success stories page.
What tasks can you help me with?
We can take care of the things that aren’t the best use of your time (or the tasks you simply don’t enjoy doing). We can help with a wide range of tasks – including helping with your to-do list, inbox management, schedule management, research, data entry, social media, blog writing, content creation, formatting documents, and much more.
To find out more about the type of tasks we can help with take a look at our services page.
Is there anything you can't support me with?
As all round VA’s. there’s not much that we can’t assist with! We take great pride in our work and we only work with clients who we believe are mutually are great fit. As one of our values is service excellence, before taking on any task or project we make sure that we have the right skills and experience to deliver results.
We refrain from taking on work that is highly specialised or requires professional accreditation for.
We don’t help with PPC, SEO or ads campaign strategy – but we can, however, can with the execution of tasks related to these things.
The same goes for web design – we can help with website maintenance, website updates, and basic WordPress web design, but custom coded web design? Not our specialty.
Basic financial admin tasks are fine, but we don’t offer payroll or accountancy services.
We can help with most things, but it’s best to get in touch with us to see if we can support you with what you’re looking for.
Billing and Payments
How does billing work?
Once you’ve decided how many hours you’d like to start with, you’ll be billed for those hours and work can begin. If you choose a regular monthly plan, any unused hours that month can be rolled over to the next month – we’ll keep track of everything for you.
You can choose to pay by direct debit or by BACS. Direct debit is best for those on a monthly plan. If you have any questions about billing, please get in touch with us.
How do I pay you?
If you choose a monthly plan, it is generally best to pay by standing order or direct debit. Direct debit is a convenient, safe and hands-off way to pay, and it means one less thing on your to-do list!
We use GoCardless – an independent third party – to handle our direct debit payments, but you’ll receive a monthly invoice from us for your records.
To pay by standing order, you’ll find our bank details on your contract and invoice.
For ad hoc support, most clients prefer to pay by BACs by the invoice due date, and you’ll find our bank details on any invoice you receive from us. If you have any questions about payments, please get in touch with us.
How do I top up my pre-paid time?
We understand it it’s often tricky to estimate exactly just how much time you’ll need from a VA. If you opt for a monthly plan and you find yourself running out of hours, you can simply top up your time by getting in touch with us and asking to top up. We’ll invoice you for the extra time you require, and we’ll add those hours to your current available time.
How much you’ll be charged depends on how many hours you choose to top up by. You can choose to top up per hour, or buy another block of prepaid time.
If you choose to buy an hour at a time, you will be charged our standard hourly rate (£28.00 per hour).
If you choose to buy another block of prepaid time, your hourly rate will be reduced in accordance with the package you go for (see our pricing plans for accurate rates).
What does day rate mean and what does it include?
From time to time, clients like to book their assistants for a specific date or dates. This could be because they require their assistant to present for certain meetings, or they would like to allocate an entire day or more to work on a particular project, for example. This option also suits clients who would like ad hoc support to get a project completed on a specific date. Our day rate is £162 based on a 6-hour working day. Choosing our day rate option will ensure that your assistant blocks out their diary to work with you only that particular day and will be available to you during the 6 working hours you agree to.
Ready to work with a Virtual Assistant?
Together we’ll decide if we’re a good fit.