Virtual Assistant Services: What They Cover and Who They Fit
Last updated . Every number on this page was checked October 2, 2026.
Virtual assistant services are companies that supply remote help for the tasks you hand off. A virtual assistant is a person who does tasks for a business from somewhere else, online. With a service, the company finds the people, manages them and sends you one bill. A service fits an owner who has a steady flow of tasks and doesn't want to recruit and supervise a person first.
This page is a plain reading of the rules. It isn't legal or tax advice.
What do the best virtual assistant services have in common?
Good virtual assistant services are clear about five things before you pay: who does the work, who checks it, what's covered, what it costs and how you leave. This page doesn't rank providers or name a best one, so use the five as your own test.
- Who does the work. You know if it's one assistant or a team, and where they work.
- Who checks the work. Someone reviews it before it reaches you.
- What's covered. There's a written list of the tasks it takes, and the ones it doesn't.
- What it costs. You can see the price before a sales call.
- How you leave. The contract length and the notice period are in writing.
Item 3 matters most if you haven't listed your own tasks yet.
What a service covers. This site sorts virtual assistant work into eight kinds: inbox and calendar, customer support, admin and records, research, sales support, billing support, marketing tasks and website tasks. Each service takes its own mix of those, so set its list next to yours. For the task list, see what does a virtual assistant do.
How does a virtual assistant services company work?
A virtual assistant services company keeps the assistants on its side, and you send it tasks. In this setup the company, not you, recruits the assistants and manages them. Ask how much of the day-to-day it handles. You handle the task list and the review.
Here's how one company does it. DeskTeam360, the company that runs this site, moves a task through three steps:
- You send the task. You can write it out, record a video or attach a document.
- A North American account manager reads the task and hands it to the right specialist. The account manager also sets a timeline and checks the work.
- You look at what comes back, and you ask for changes until it's right.
Those steps are carried out by a team in one office: 2 technical virtual assistants, 2 developers, 2 designers and a team leader. So a task can go to a developer or a designer when it needs one.
DeskTeam360's site lists its service areas as email and funnels, CRM and automation, social media content, video editing, website maintenance, web design and graphic design. Its services page adds AI and automation, and white label for agencies.
A service company is one of three ways to get a virtual assistant. The table sets them side by side.
| A service company | A marketplace | A direct hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds the person | The company | You, from the people listed there | You |
| Who manages the work | The company. Ask how much of the day-to-day it handles | You | You |
| Who checks the work | Ask if someone at the company reviews it before you see it | You | You |
| How it bills | The company sends you one bill. Ask if it's a monthly plan, a block of hours, or by the hour | You pay through the marketplace. Ask if the person bills by the hour or by the task | You pay the person yourself, on the terms you two set |
| Whose worker the assistant is | Ask the company who employs the assistant. You're its customer | Ask the marketplace how it's set up | Yours, as a contractor or an employee. Two tests decide which |
| What to ask first | What's covered, and who checks the work | Who else the person works for, and when they're free | What happens when the person is out |
Contractor or employee. When you bring a person on yourself, that person can be your independent contractor or your employee. For that, the IRS has one test and the Texas Workforce Commission has another. Not legal or tax advice. Ask your accountant. For what changes when a worker is one or the other, see independent contractor vs employee.
If your task list is mostly production work, you can check that list against a team on a call with DeskTeam360.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
How does outsourcing virtual assistant services work?
Outsourcing virtual assistant services means you pay an outside company for the assistant's work. The assistant stays on the company's side, and you're the customer.
You can set it up in five steps.
- List the tasks. Write down what you'd hand off this month.
- Sort them. Mark the tasks any assistant can do. Then mark the ones that need a skill, such as website work or video editing. For marketing work, see marketing virtual assistant services.
- Ask each service what it takes. Match your list to its list.
- Start small. Send a few tasks first, and review what comes back.
- Set the price next to a hire. For what it costs, see virtual assistant cost. The four first-hire options by the month put a service next to a part-time and a full-time hire.
Who a service fits. An owner with a steady flow of tasks that can be described in writing and done from anywhere.
Who it doesn't fit. Work that needs a person in your office, or someone on your phones all day. DeskTeam360's team, for one, doesn't answer an office phone.
What should you check before you sign with a service?
Before you sign with a virtual assistant service, check five things and get each answer in writing: the scope, the people, the price, the exit, and what the assistant will be able to reach in your accounts. These eight questions cover them.
- Which tasks are in scope, and which are out?
- Who will do my tasks, and will it be the same people each month?
- Who checks the work before I see it?
- How do I send a task, and how do I ask for changes?
- What's the monthly price, and what does it include?
- Am I locked into a contract, and what does it take to cancel?
- What happens when my assistant is out?
- Which of my logins and customer records will the assistant be able to open?
The last question has a federal guide behind it. The Federal Trade Commission's security guide for businesses says that if vendors and contractors don't have to use consumers' sensitive personal information as part of their services, there's no reason for them to have access to it.
A service that publishes its answers saves you the asking. DeskTeam360's site answers at least four of the eight, as one example. How you send a task and ask for changes is in the three steps above. The work is checked by a North American account manager before it reaches you. The people on your tasks are the same every month. And there are no contracts: it's month to month.
"We have been very happy with the support DeskTeam360 provides. They are quick to respond to requests and their team has the breadth of experience we need to keep things moving."
Stu Swineford (Trustpilot review)
More on virtual assistants
Bring your task list to a call. You'll see which tasks DeskTeam360's team would take.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Sources
- IRS, independent contractor (self-employed) or employee
- IRS Topic 762, independent contractor vs. employee
- Texas Workforce Commission, classifying employees and independent contractors
- Federal Trade Commission, Start with Security: A Guide for Business
- Trustpilot, DeskTeam360 reviews
- DeskTeam360, How It Works page (deskteam360.com/how-it-works)
- DeskTeam360, About page (deskteam360.com/about)
- DeskTeam360, home page (deskteam360.com)
- DeskTeam360, services page (deskteam360.com/services)
- This site's comparison worksheet, shown on the first hire cost page
All checked October 2, 2026.
This site isn't connected to the State of Texas or any government agency.
What changed
- October 2, 2026: First version of this page.