Q & A
Thinking about hiring a virtual assistant for your business? You probably have questions, that's exactly what this section is for.
I am Victoria, founder of VA-VA and still a virtual assistant helping business owners reclaim their time by handling the tasks that keep piling up.
Below you will see honest answers to questions I hear most often, from how I work, to what kinds of tasks a VA can take off your plate. If you don't see your questions here, feel free to reach out directly, I'm always happy to chat.
Q1.
A.
How do you ensure confidentiality with client information?
Your privacy is something we take seriously from day one. As or VA's work from home, they work from their own PC and not on a shared network. We never share data with third parties. We have secure encrypted tools to handle files and sensitive information. We are happy to discuss any specific confidentiality requirements you may have including NDA (non disclosure agreements)
Q2.
A.
What tasks are not included in your service?
We currently do not offer a full time telephone answering service. Should you need to book us this can be done on an Ad-hoc basis. This is a service we feel at VA-VA that is better outsourced to a specialist in this field.
Q3.
A
How do prioritise urgent work when working for multiple clients?
The foundation to this is agreeing response times and what counts as urgent to each client from the outset. Without this conversation, everything feels urgent and nothing would be prioritised well.
Most experienced VA's work with a tiered system distinguishing between time-sensitive tasks, scheduled work and ongoing tasks. Regularly speaking with your client and staying visible enables the client to have a clear vision of where they stand.
A very small example would be to prioritise tasks that need to be completed during standard working hours to what tasks can be completed say after 5pm.
Q4.
A.
Can you chase unpaid invoices professionally?
Absolutely. It is one of the core tasks my VA's do. It is imperative to remain professional when chasing money and politeness is key. Always much easier to do when it is not your personal pocket. It can be awkward, time consuming and emotionally draining for any business owner.
A VA can handle the full follow up process, sending polite reminders at agreed intervals, follow up calls, keeping a full log of contact attempts, escalating the tone progressivly if invoices remain unpaid. We can also set up proceedures to reduce late payments using auto reminders through tools like Quickbooks and Xero.
Q5.
A.
Do you operate a retainer system or just Ad-Hoc?
At VA-VA we can do both. It is whatever suits your business the most. If you need your VA to be available at a specific time on certain days, we can certainly arrange this for you.
Q6.
A.
How do you charge? Hourly or Packages? Is there a minimum commitment?
VA-VA Virtual Assistants are happy to work around your needs. As a general rule, we charge by the hour. However If you would prefer a pre arranged package for clarity we are happy to do this too.
Some of our clients like to set an upper limit so they can keep control of their costs. If it looks like the work may require more hours we always let the client know so they can make informed decisions
.
If you need just a one off task, we work on a one-hour charge as a minimum so there is no commitment from you. We however do commit to you so if we ever need to finish a contract, we give you a months notice to allow you to find a suitable replacement.
Q7.
A
Does that include VAT?
What are your payment terms?
VA-VA is not VAT registered.
Payment terms - Payments are due monthly upon receipt of invoice. If you would prefer a task by task basis instead, that's absolutely fine, just let me know and we can arrange this to suit where possible.
I understand that every business works differently, so if neither option quite fits your needs, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Q8.
A.
Can you work on creating presentations ?