Welcome to Efficient E-ssistant! This is my first blog post for my new Virtual Assistant business, and I’m excited that you’ve found my website and are reading this post. If you’d like to learn a bit more about me, you can do that on my “About Me” page here. Before I explain how hiring a Virtual Assistant can save a company money, I’d like to define Virtual Assistant (VA). Investopedia.com defines a Virtual Assistant “. . . as an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client’s office.” There are several reasons why a company might decide to hire a VA. My personal experience is that it will save a business employer related payroll expenses, it can often be less expensive than using a temp agency, and it allows a company to only pay for hours of actual productivity.
When a business hires a VA, it will be doing so as a contractor, which means that the VA is not on the company payroll. By not having to include a VA on the payroll, the company will not be responsible for taxes such as Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment, and any applicable local taxes for employers. Companies also won’t have to include a VA’s pay when calculating their workers’ compensation. Needless to say, all of this can add up to substantial savings.
If a company needs to hire someone temporarily, a VA could be more cost effective than hiring a temporary worker through an agency. While using a temp agency might seem like a good option, their fees can be significant. When a business hires a temporary worker through an agency, it pays the agency who then pays the temporary worker. If a company is paying an agency $20.00 an hour, the agency uses a portion of this $20.00 for the temp’s payroll taxes and keeps part of this hourly rate as their fee. The agency fees vary from company to company, but the bottom line is that you’re paying the agency for every hour their temporary employee is at your place of business, and you’re still paying payroll taxes.
Another way a company would save money by hiring a VA is by considering actual productivity. I have worked in various office settings for more than three decades and know from first-hand experience that a multitude of events can interfere with an employee’s productivity. I’m not talking about an employee that spends more time at the water cooler than at his or her desk. I’m referring to the printer that needs to be unjammed or an unexpected and very talkative salesperson who isn’t taking “no thank you” as an answer. Of course, these things are part of the job, but it’s not productive time. When a business hires a VA, it is only paying for productive time. I use a program called Toggl, so if my printer gets jammed while I’m working on a company’s project, a quick click of the mouse stops the timer while I’m fixing the printer. The company doesn’t pay for this time because the jammed printer is my issue, not theirs.
I hope this post has helped encourage business owners to consider hiring a Virtual Assistant. From employer payroll tax savings to only paying for actual productivity, a VA can become an essential part of a successful business. Click here to view my List of Services page to see how I can help you and your company.
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