What Does a Virtual Assistant Do? Services, Skills, Tasks & Costs Explained

If you are running a business, you would relate to that often endless juggling of tasks related to emails, schedules, marketing, customer support, etc. This also means pulling attention away from growth.

This is exactly where virtual assistants become important. By handling a wide range of daily operations remotely, VAs let a business stay focused on what matters most. Yet virtual assistants now do far more than admin work. 

Businesses rely on them for specialized services like marketing, bookkeeping, real estate support, project management, and technical operations.

In this complete VA guide, you’ll get to know exactly what virtual assistants do, how they work, and why more businesses rely on them. 

Let’s get started!

What is a Virtual Assistant?

Running a business means balancing dozens of moving parts every day, such as emails, appointments, paperwork, customers, marketing, and more. 

A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who takes some of that load off your shoulders. They work remotely, using online tools to stay fully connected, and manage everything from scheduling and inbox management to bookkeeping, social media, or even industry-specific tasks.

Businesses can hire virtual assistants through outsourcing firms, dedicated agencies, or freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. The big advantage? You get flexible, professional support tailored to exactly what you need, without the long-term cost of hiring full-time staff.

Related Reading: 7 Best Practices for Onboarding and Training Virtual Employees

Top 8 Types of Virtual Assistants in Demand (Industry Categorization)

While all virtual assistants work remotely, their roles can vary widely depending on the industry. Here are some of the most common types of VAs businesses hire today:

1. Administrative Virtual Assistant

Most business owners eventually hit a point where the little things start piling up like emails, scheduling, reports, customer questions, travel plans, and day-to-day coordination. 

That’s where a virtual administrative assistant steps in. They deal with inbox management, keep calendars organized, prepare documents, coordinate meetings, and tackle routine client communication. 

With these tasks off their plate, business owners can finally focus on the bigger priorities that actually grow the business.

2. Real Estate Virtual Assistant

For busy agents and brokers, it’s about showing properties, but it’s also about managing everything that happens behind the scenes. A real estate virtual assistant takes care of listing updates, keeps the CRM organized, follows up with leads, books showings, manages client communication, and researches market data. 

This talent also helps create social media posts and marketing materials to promote new listings. With this support, agents can stay focused on closing deals while the VA oversees the details that keep deals moving forward.

3. Medical Virtual Assistant

Medical offices deal with constant paperwork that takes time away from patient care. That’s where virtual medical assistants help. They administer appointment scheduling, update patient records, verify insurance coverage, manage billing and coding, coordinate prescriptions, send appointment reminders, and assist with telehealth sessions. 

Because everything is taken care of remotely and is HIPAA-compliant, healthcare providers can focus on treating patients while the VA keeps the office running smoothly behind the scenes.

Related Reading: Outsourced Bookkeeping for Therapists: Why It’s More Than Just a Time-Saver?

4. Legal Virtual Assistant

A virtual legal assistant supervises case file management, legal research, document drafting, contract review support, client intake, discovery prep, deposition scheduling, calendar coordination, deadline tracking, and court filings. 

Their work ensures legal teams stay organized and prepared without diverting attorney attention from legal strategy.

5. E-commerce Virtual Assistant

A virtual e-commerce assistant manages product listings, inventory tracking, supplier communication, order processing, returns management, customer service inquiries, competitor price monitoring, basic ad campaign support, product descriptions, and marketplace optimization for platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy. 

This allows store owners to focus on scaling sales.

6. Executive Virtual Assistant

A virtual executive assistant oversees complex schedule management, high-level correspondence, meeting preparation, stakeholder coordination, travel planning, project tracking, report drafting, confidential file management, and board communication. 

Such talent serves as trusted partners to executives, ensuring smooth day-to-day leadership operations and strategic alignment.

7. Marketing & Social Media Virtual Assistant

A virtual marketing assistant creates social media posts, schedules content calendars, manages ad platforms, coordinates influencer outreach, builds email marketing campaigns, analyzes engagement metrics, supports SEO tasks, assists with blog content, and tracks performance data. 

They keep marketing efforts active and consistent across multiple channels.

8. Specialized Industry Virtual Assistants

Some virtual assistants focus on niche industries such as insurance claims processing, coaching program coordination, IT system administration, nonprofit donor relations, SaaS client onboarding, event logistics, or financial reporting. 

These specialized VAs bring industry-specific expertise that allows businesses to outsource highly tailored tasks while maintaining accuracy and compliance.

Across industries, virtual assistants have become highly specialized partners. Whether you need admin help, marketing support, technical coordination, or industry-specific expertise, there’s likely a VA with exactly the skills to fill that gap. Book a free consultation to find out which type of virtual assistant is the best fit for your business needs.

What Tasks Can Virtual Assistants Manage? (Function-based classification)

Virtual assistants help businesses offload dozens of time-consuming tasks. Whether they need help with administrative tasks, marketing campaigns, or highly specialized functions, virtual assistants can take on a wide range of duties. 

Here’s a detailed look at how virtual assistants oversee the most common tasks across industries:

1. Calendar & Inbox Management

Managing calendars and email accounts is one of the most requested virtual assistant services. VAs schedule meetings, coordinate appointments, send reminders, prioritize emails, flag urgent messages, and keep communication organized. 

By handling day-to-day scheduling and inbox triage, they free business owners from constant interruptions and missed opportunities.

2. Customer Service (Including Live Chat)

Customer support doesn’t stop after business hours, and that’s where virtual assistants become crucial. VAs help manage customer inquiries through email, phone, and increasingly through live chat, where customers expect fast answers anytime. 

They respond to common questions, track orders, process refunds, escalate serious issues when needed, and keep customers feeling heard and supported. By handling this daily communication, VAs help businesses stay responsive without needing full in-house call centers or 24/7 staff.

3. Social Media Management

What does a social media virtual assistant do? They help businesses stay consistent and visible online, even when internal teams don’t have time. A social media VA takes charge of everything from planning out content calendars, drafting captions, and designing graphics to actually scheduling posts and monitoring how audiences respond. 

They keep track of what’s working, suggest adjustments based on engagement data, and make sure the brand’s voice stays consistent across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Instead of scrambling to post last minute, businesses can stay active online without needing to hire a full-time team.

4. Affiliate Management

Affiliate programs require careful partner coordination. Virtual assistants manage affiliate applications, track performance, update commissions, looks after partner inquiries, monitor compliance, and prepare payout reports. 

For growing e-commerce businesses, this role helps scale revenue through partner networks while maintaining accuracy and communication.

Handpicked Resource For Founders: Your Launch-Proof Small Business Checklist—30 Key Steps: USA + Global Edition

5. Influencer Campaign Management

VAs play a key role in managing influencer partnerships for brands. They research suitable influencers, vet audience demographics, administers initial outreach, negotiate collaboration terms, coordinate content calendars, track deliverables, collect performance data, and prepare post-campaign reports. 

By managing influencer workflows end-to-end, virtual assistants allow businesses to scale influencer marketing without overwhelming in-house teams.

6. Reputation Management

Online reputation directly impacts customer trust. Virtual assistants monitor review sites, respond to both positive and negative feedback, track brand mentions across platforms, escalate serious complaints, request customer testimonials, and coordinate with PR teams when needed. 

Continuous reputation monitoring helps businesses address small issues early and protect long-term brand credibility.

8. Contest & Giveaway Management

Contests require detailed coordination. VAs design entry forms, set contest rules, verify participant eligibility, schedule promotional posts, track entries, select winners, communicate with participants, coordinate prize fulfillment, and monitor engagement metrics. 

Well-executed giveaways boost brand visibility, drive audience engagement, and grow email subscriber lists, all tasks virtual assistants can fully manage.

9. Content Creation / Ghostwriting / Blogging

Content drives online visibility. Virtual assistants assist with writing blog posts, drafting social media captions, developing email newsletters, crafting product descriptions, proofreading drafts, sourcing royalty-free images, optimizing posts for SEO, and maintaining consistent publishing schedules. 

Some VAs even provide full ghostwriting services for eBooks, thought leadership content, or lead magnets.

10. SEO / Digital Marketing

VAs with SEO and digital marketing skills help businesses stay visible online. They run the tasks like finding the right keywords, improving website content, keeping track of rankings, managing ad campaigns, building backlinks, and monitoring website traffic. 

With their ongoing support, businesses don’t have to worry about keeping up with constant changes in search algorithms or digital trends, because the VA deals with that work behind the scenes.

Bookkeeping & Financial Management

Financial management tasks require accuracy. VAs handle invoicing, payment processing, expense tracking, vendor account management, budget updates, financial report preparation, tax document organization, and reconciliation of bank accounts using accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks. 

This keeps business finances organized without needing full-time bookkeeping staff.

Project Management

Managing projects requires coordination. Virtual assistants build project plans, assign tasks, track milestones, coordinate deliverables, prepare status updates, run weekly check-ins, and manage collaboration tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com. 

With a VA tracking every moving part, projects stay organized and meet deadlines consistently.

Travel & Event Planning

When businesses need help planning trips or events, VAs take care of all the moving pieces. They book flights and hotels, arrange transportation, handle conference registrations, prepare travel documents, and sort out visas if needed. 

On top of that, they keep track of costs, manage guest lists, coordinate with venues, and tackle any last-minute changes, so everything runs smoothly without added stress.

Research & Data Entry

Many businesses rely on VAs for research-intensive tasks. They conduct competitor research, compile prospect lists, gather market data, validate contact information, update CRM records, clean databases, and prepare research summaries. 

With strong attention to detail, virtual assistants do the data-heavy work quickly and accurately.

Formatting E-books & Online Courses

Creating digital products takes a lot more than just writing the content. Course creators and authors often get stuck on the technical side like organizing modules, formatting eBooks, building slide decks, uploading videos, setting up online platforms, and making sure everything runs smoothly for students or readers. 

This is where a virtual assistant becomes hugely valuable. They take over the entire production side, where they turn raw material into polished, professional courses or eBooks ready to sell. 

Instead of getting buried in tech setup, creators stay focused on developing great content while the VA is in charge of all these issues behind the scenes.

Resume Writing

VAs help job seekers craft polished resumes and LinkedIn profiles. They organize work history, write professional summaries, tailor resumes for target industries, format documents for ATS systems, create cover letters, and optimize online profiles for recruiters. 

Their expertise helps candidates present stronger applications.

Technical Support / IT Assistance

For businesses without full-time IT teams, virtual assistants are responsible for software setup, domain management, plugin updates, basic website maintenance, CRM configuration, data backups, troubleshooting common system issues, and coordinating with technical vendors. 

This keeps systems running smoothly without high-cost IT retainers.

Recruiting / HR Admin

Hiring takes more time than most business owners expect. 

Virtual HR assistants step in to do the entire coordination process, such as posting job ads, sorting through resumes, scheduling interviews, and managing pre-employment paperwork. Once new employees are hired, they also maintain digital employee records, track time-off balances, and help keep HR systems up to date. 

With a VA handling the admin work behind hiring and employee management, businesses can focus on building stronger teams, not paperwork. They can also assist with remote work monitoring, making it easier to keep distributed teams productive and aligned.

Medical Support Tasks (Administrative)

Running a medical practice comes with nonstop administrative work. Virtual medical assistants help by handling appointment scheduling, insurance checks, updating patient records, managing billing codes, organizing lab results, and setting up telehealth appointments. 

All of this happens behind the scenes so healthcare staff can concentrate on what matters most, i.e., seeing patients, while knowing the office stays compliant and well-organized.

Of course, these are just a few examples of what virtual assistants can do. Whether you need someone for daily admin tasks or highly specialized projects, VAs give businesses flexible, affordable ways to get expert help. Explore the additional resources below to learn how different virtual assistant services can support your business.

What Are the Skills and Tools of Top Virtual Assistants (2025)?

Not every VA brings the same level of expertise. The best virtual assistants combine strong personal skills with up-to-date technical knowledge, making them valuable long-term partners. 

Here’s a breakdown of the most important virtual assistant skills businesses should look for today:

In-Demand Technical Skills

The best virtual assistants bring hands-on experience with tools businesses actually use every day. Depending on their specialty, many VAs are skilled in:

Skill Area	Common Tools	How VAs Use Them
CRM Management	Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho	Update client records, manage sales pipelines, track leads
Project Management	Asana, Trello, Monday.com	Organize tasks, track deadlines, coordinate teams
Bookkeeping & Finance	QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks	Invoicing, expense tracking, account reconciliation
Spreadsheets	Excel, Google Sheets	Build reports, analyze data, automate calculations
Social Media Scheduling	Buffer, Hootsuite, Later	Schedule posts, monitor engagement, track growth
SEO & Analytics	SEMRush, Ahrefs, Google Analytics	Keyword research, traffic monitoring, optimize content
Content & Marketing Platforms	WordPress, Canva, ConvertKit, Mailchimp	Manage blogs, create graphics, run email campaigns

Valuable Certifications

Certifications aren’t always required, but they can give businesses extra confidence, notably when hiring for specialized tasks. Some credentials that can make a VA stand out include:

Certification	Where It Helps
QuickBooks Certified User	For handling accurate bookkeeping and financial reporting
Salesforce Administrator	For managing CRM systems and complex customer data
Google Ads / Google Analytics	For running ad campaigns and tracking digital marketing performance
Project Management (PMP, CAPM)	For overseeing multi-step projects and coordinating teams
HubSpot / SEMrush SEO Certifications	For supporting content strategies and search engine optimization

Emerging AI-Powered Tools

Many virtual assistants now use AI tools to deliver faster, more efficient results. Tools like ChatGPT help draft blog posts, emails, and social media captions quickly. Grammarly AI sharpens written content for clarity and tone. 

With Zapier AI integrations, VAs automate routine tasks across different apps, saving time on data entry and system updates. Lastly, design platforms like Canva AI allow them to create graphics and templates much faster.

By using AI with their core skills, today’s VAs help businesses get more done without sacrificing quality.

Explore Further: 5 Benefits of Hiring a Certified Zapier Expert, Types and How to Recruit One

What Are The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant? 

Hiring a virtual assistant is about protecting your time, energy, and focus as a business owner. The right VA brings a mix of virtual assistant skills and real-world experience that creates meaningful returns beyond simple cost savings. 

Here are the top 5 benefits of hiring a VA:

Regaining Time You Never Had Enough Of

Ask any business owner what they wish they had more of, and “time” is always near the top. That’s exactly what a virtual assistant gives back. 

Instead of spending hours every week replying to emails, managing your calendar, processing invoices, or handling routine customer questions, a VA quietly takes care of it behind the scenes. 

Suddenly, you’re no longer tied up in the daily grind. You have breathing room again to plan, to grow the business, or even to simply step away for a few hours without falling behind.

Cutting Costs Without Cutting Capability

Hiring full-time employees means you cover salary, benefits, equipment, office space, training, and long-term commitments. 

With virtual assistant services, you skip all that. You pay for exactly what you need, only when you need it. Whether that’s a few hours a week or full-time support, you get the expertise without taking on the overhead. 

For small businesses, this flexibility means you can finally get proper help without risking your budget.

Easy to Start, Easy to Scale

The beauty of hiring a virtual assistant is how easy it is to start small and build as you grow. You might begin with someone handling your inbox or scheduling. 

Though, as your business expands, you can bring in VAs with more specialized virtual assistant skills, whether that’s marketing, bookkeeping with QuickBooks certifications, CRM management with Salesforce qualifications, or SEO support with tools they’re already trained on. 

Instead of spending months recruiting or training new hires, you simply plug in the exact expertise you need as things evolve.

Lifting the Mental Load

Beyond finances, there’s the emotional side. 

Business owners often carry a constant mental load of handling urgent tasks, chasing deadlines, and worrying about dropped balls. Delegating to a capable VA reduces that background stress. You know client emails are being answered, projects are moving forward, and administrative details are handled, even when you step away.

Finally Getting Your Life Back

When you’re running a business, it’s easy for work to take over everything: late nights catching up on emails, weekends spent handling paperwork, and constant interruptions. 

A trusted virtual assistant helps break that cycle. The tasks still get done, but you’re not the one handling every detail anymore. That means you can log off on time, spend your evenings with family, and finally stop feeling guilty every time you step away from the business.

Global Talent, No Boundaries

Today’s tools for virtual assistants allow you to hire highly skilled professionals from anywhere in the world. 

You’re no longer limited to local talent pools. Whether you need someone fluent in multiple languages, familiar with your industry niche, or trained in specific software platforms, the right VA can bring that expertise directly into your business.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant? (Different Hiring Models)

When you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant, you essentially have two real options: managing everything yourself or partnering with a managed solution.

Option 1: Freelance Platforms

Freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr give you access to a huge pool of VAs from all over the world. 

If you’re comfortable doing the hiring yourself i.e. reviewing profiles, running interviews, and testing skills, you can often find good people at competitive rates. For one-off projects or very specific short-term tasks, this can work well.

The tradeoff? 

You’re fully responsible for making sure the person you hire actually has the skills you need. You’ll handle training, oversee daily work, deal with any problems that come up, and find a replacement if things don’t work out. For many business owners, that hands-on management becomes a job of its own.

Option 2: Professionally Managed Virtual Assistants

If you don’t have time to sort through dozens of resumes or manage freelancers directly, professionally managed VA services solve that. The provider handles recruiting, vetting, training, and matching you with someone who already has the right virtual assistant skills. 

You get a dedicated VA who works with you daily, learns how your business runs, and becomes part of your team but without you having to worry about hiring headaches, turnover, or training from scratch.

You stay focused on your business. The agency takes care of everything behind the scenes to make sure your VA stays productive, reliable, and fully aligned with how you work.

The Virtual Assistant Hiring Process

Whichever model you choose, a solid virtual assistant hiring process makes all the difference:

• Define exactly what tasks you need to delegate.
• Screen for skills using work samples or small trial projects.
• Prioritize communication skills and responsiveness.
• Use a trial period to confirm fit before scaling up.
• Build simple SOPs to ensure consistency.

By understanding where to find virtual assistants and which model fits your situation, you can build reliable, long-term support that frees up your time and helps grow your business.

Salary Expectations for Virtual Assistants (2025 Data)

If you’re wondering how much a virtual assistant makes in 2025, here’s a clear snapshot based on recent U.S. data. This will help both business owners and job seekers set realistic expectations. Though we do suggest you do your own research before you make any final decisions. 

Hourly Rates and Annual Salary

Recent U.S. sources show a fairly wide but well-defined salary range for virtual assistants. These differences reflect role complexity, skill level, client type, and location.

Source	Average Hourly Rate	Hourly Range	Annual Salary (Top Earners)
ZipRecruiter (June 2025)	$24.40	$20 to $31	~$65,500
Payscale (May 2025)	$19.29	$12 to $30	—
Indeed (May 2025)	$27.39	$16.87 to $44.46	—

Virtual Assistant Salary Breakdown (U.S. 2025)

Experience Level	Typical Hourly Rate	Estimated Annual Salary
Entry-Level VA	$12 to $20	$25,000 to $42,000
Mid-Level / General VA	$20 to $27	$42,000 to $56,000
Specialist / Highly Skilled VA	$27 to $40+	$56,000 to $80,000+

Entry-level roles often start near $15/hour, while specialized positions requiring technical expertise (bookkeeping, CRM management, SEO, or medical support) can easily exceed $30/hour.

Freelance vs. Managed Models

On freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, rates may range from $10/hour on the low end to $20/hour for experienced freelancers. These platforms offer flexibility but often require business owners to handle vetting, training, and management directly.

By contrast, hiring through agencies or dedicated virtual assistant providers often starts around $20/hour and can reach $35/hour or more for highly experienced, fully managed talent. The additional cost reflects the convenience of pre-vetted skills, managed onboarding, and long-term consistency.

U.S. vs. International Rates

While U.S.-based virtual assistants often command higher rates due to cost of living, many highly skilled international VAs operate successfully at $20–$30/hour depending on expertise. 

For specialized roles, global talent pools are increasingly competitive.

What Affects Virtual Assistant Pay?

Several factors drive virtual assistant salary differences:

• Task complexity: Routine admin work sits on the lower end; specialized tasks like bookkeeping, SEO, or CRM support demand higher rates.
• Experience and credentials: VAs with certifications (QuickBooks, Salesforce, Google Analytics) often charge more for their proven expertise.
• Hiring model: Freelancers may charge less upfront, but managed or dedicated VA services reflect pre-vetted skills and long-term stability.
• Location: U.S.-based VAs typically earn more than international counterparts, though highly skilled global VAs can compete strongly on value.

Quick Takeaway

If you’re hiring a virtual assistant in 2025, expect to pay around $20 to $30 an hour for general admin work. For more specialized skills like bookkeeping, SEO, or CRM management, the rates often move into the $30 to $40+ range. 

While managed or dedicated services may cost a bit more, you’re paying for experience, reliability, and not having to constantly replace or retrain people as your business grows.

Common Myths About The Role of A Virtual Assistant 

A lot of business owners hesitate to hire virtual assistants because of outdated assumptions. Let’s clear up a few of them:

Myth 1: “VAs are only for small businesses.”

VAs may have started as a small business solution, but that’s long changed. Plenty of mid-sized companies and even larger teams now use virtual assistants for customer support, specialized marketing, back-office operations, and more. 

Once businesses realize they can bring in skilled help without expanding their full-time payroll, they often keep adding more VAs as they grow.

Myth 2: “They only handle admin tasks.”

One of the most common virtual assistant misconceptions is that VAs just answer emails or manage calendars. In reality, many handle complex work like running social media, managing CRMs, handling bookkeeping, doing SEO research, coordinating projects, and even supporting industry-specific tasks like real estate, medical, or legal admin.

Myth 3: “It’s just cheap labor.”

The appeal is actually about getting exactly the skills you need without paying for things you don’t (it isn’t about being cheap). Skilled VAs often save businesses more by preventing mistakes, improving consistency, and letting owners focus on growth instead of chasing small tasks all day.

Myth 4: “It’s a security risk.”

Security is a real concern, but professional VA providers actually build strong safeguards: limited file access, password management tools, private VPNs, and thorough vetting long before any client data is touched. In many cases, that’s safer than what small offices have internally.

Myth 5: “Managing them remotely is too complicated.”

Once you’ve set up a few simple tools like Slack, Asana, or Google Drive, most VAs run their work independently. Business owners often find their VAs stay better organized than some in-house staff because they’re used to working this way.

Who Needs a Virtual Assistant?

Virtual assistants, today, are suited for companies of all sizes, as they use them to fill gaps without adding full-time overhead.

Startups bring on VAs to handle admin, customer service, or social media while founders focus on growing the business. Solopreneurs and small teams often rely on virtual assistants to manage daily tasks that would otherwise pull them away from revenue-generating work.

As companies scale, VAs help cover increasing back-office demands like invoicing, CRM updates, scheduling, and project coordination without needing to hire additional staff. Many businesses that use virtual assistants at this stage keep adding VAs as new needs emerge.

Marketing agencies delegate content posting, research, reporting, and outreach. Even enterprise teams often assign VAs to be in charge of overflow projects or seasonal work when hiring more in-house staff isn’t practical.

In short, if you’re asking who needs a virtual assistant, the real answer is anyone who wants skilled help, flexibility, and less operational drag without making a full-time hire.

Who Becomes a Virtual Assistant? Hire A Talent in 2025

We’ve seen how virtual assistants now attend to far more duties than basic admin work. Though not every VA comes with the same skills or experience.

The virtual assistants we hire have proven backgrounds in administration, customer support, finance, marketing, or industry-specific operations. Each candidate goes through a full skills assessment and screening process before being placed, ensuring they’re ready to contribute from day one.

More businesses are choosing this model to avoid the long hiring cycles and management headaches that come with freelancers or full-time hires.

If you’re ready to simplify operations, reduce your workload, and add experienced support to your team, contact us. We’ll match you with a dedicated virtual assistant who fits your exact business needs.

Virtual Assistant Frequently Asked Questions