What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
Last updated . Every number on this page was checked October 2, 2026.
A virtual assistant does tasks for your business from somewhere else, over the internet. The work falls into a few kinds: inbox and calendar, admin and records, customer support, sales support, billing support, research, and marketing and website tasks. Which of these one assistant can do depends on that person's skills and on what you hand over. The table below answers "what does a virtual assistant do" by kind of work.
This page is a plain reading of the rules. It isn't legal or tax advice.
What can a virtual assistant do?
A virtual assistant can do many of the tasks that happen on a computer or a phone, as long as you can explain the task in writing or on a short video. The table lists them by kind of work, with what the assistant needs from you first. The rows are in no special order.
| Kind of work | Tasks you can hand off | What you give them first |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox and calendar | Sorting email, drafting replies for your OK, booking and moving meetings, sending reminders | Access to the inbox and calendar, and your rules for what's urgent |
| Admin and records | Data entry, keeping files and spreadsheets in order, typing up notes, filling in forms | The files, and one finished example to copy |
| Customer support | Answering common questions by email or chat from answers you wrote, logging requests | Your written answers to the common questions |
| Sales support | Updating the CRM, sending follow-up emails from your templates, building contact lists by rules you set | Your email templates, and your rules for who goes on a list |
| Billing support | Sending invoices, following up on late ones, matching receipts to records | Your invoice template, and when to follow up |
| Research | Looking up vendors, prices and contacts, and writing a short summary | The question, and what a useful answer looks like |
| Marketing tasks | Queuing posts you've approved, laying out an email from your template, updating a tracking sheet | The approved content and a posting calendar |
| Website tasks | Uploading a blog post, fixing a typo or a broken link, checking that forms work | A login with only the access the task needs |
One assistant may not cover every row. Ask each person which rows they've done before, and ask to see an example.
What does a virtual administrative assistant do?
A virtual administrative assistant does the office side of the work from a remote desk. That's the first two rows of the table: inbox and calendar, and admin and records.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the office job in plain terms. It says secretaries and administrative assistants do routine clerical and organizational tasks: they arrange files, prepare documents, schedule appointments and support other staff. It also says some administrative assistants work out of their own homes as virtual assistants.
In a normal week that can mean these jobs:
- Clearing your inbox down to the messages only you can answer
- Keeping your calendar, and booking or moving meetings
- Entering data and keeping records up to date
- Getting documents ready, such as notes, forms and simple reports
BLS's own list of typical duties also has answering phones, editing documents, keeping databases and filing systems, and basic bookkeeping.
A virtual administrative assistant can't do work that needs a person in the room. Greeting visitors and handling paper mail at your office are two examples.
What is on a virtual assistant services list?
A virtual assistant services list is the menu a provider publishes of the kinds of work it takes on. Read a list for three things: the kinds of work, what's left out, and who checks the work.
One published list serves as an example. DeskTeam360, the company that runs this site, names these kinds of work on its own site: video editing, email and funnels, social media content, CRM and automation, website maintenance, AI and automation, web design and development, and graphic design. That list comes from a production team with developers, designers and technical virtual assistants. A North American account manager assigns the work and checks it.
Its site also says what's outside its work, such as strategy and coaching, ad copy and sales copy, managing ad spend, and replies to comments and messages. It doesn't do payroll.
For how a service works and how to pick one, see virtual assistant services.
Before you hire anyone, you can get DeskTeam360's Ultimate Task Delegation Template. It comes with a video walkthrough.
Get the Task Delegation Template
The button opens DeskTeam360's Task Delegation Template page.
Which marketing and website tasks can you hand off?
The marketing and website tasks you can hand off are the ones that follow set steps, such as uploading a blog post or checking that forms and links work. Work that takes a trained skill, such as design, video editing or a funnel build, depends on the person. For which marketing tasks fit one assistant and which need a specialist or a team, see marketing virtual assistant services.
Which tasks should stay with you or go to a specialist?
Keep the tasks that are decisions, and send skilled or licensed work to a specialist. A virtual assistant carries out tasks. The calls on price, people and direction are yours.
Stays with you:
- What you sell and what you charge
- Who you hire and who you let go
- Your key client relationships
- The final OK on work that goes to a client
Goes to a licensed professional:
- Legal questions go to a lawyer
- Tax and payroll questions go to an accountant
- Whether your assistant is a contractor or an employee is one of those questions. Two tests decide it, the IRS's and the Texas Workforce Commission's. For what changes with each, see independent contractor vs employee
Goes to a specialist:
- Design, web development, video editing and writing, when the work takes a trained skill
- A one-time project with a clear end. For project help next to ongoing help, see Freelancer vs Virtual Assistant
To see four kinds of first hire side by side by the month, go to the first-hire cost page.
More on virtual assistants
The template is DeskTeam360's Ultimate Task Delegation Template. It comes with a video walkthrough.
Get the Task Delegation Template
The button opens DeskTeam360's Task Delegation Template page.
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- IRS, independent contractor (self-employed) or employee
- IRS Topic 762, independent contractor vs. employee
- Texas Workforce Commission, classifying employees and independent contractors
- DeskTeam360, home page footer and services page (deskteam360.com and deskteam360.com/services)
- DeskTeam360, About page and home page (deskteam360.com/about and deskteam360.com)
- DeskTeam360, How It Works page (deskteam360.com/how-it-works)
- DeskTeam360, questionnaire answer on the Task Delegation Template
- Jeremy Kenerson, owner statement that DeskTeam360 doesn't do payroll, dated September 25, 2026
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.