Saving money in your business with a virtual assistant

We all know that hiring a virtual assistant helps you save on overhead costs. You don’t have to have someone physically in the building, and you don’t have to pay employee benefits, pensions, or even full-time hours. But there is also a variety of costs that you may not be considering that can save your organization a lot of extra money – and this comes in the form of your hardware and software costs. These often-hidden costs can really add up over time, but utilizing a virtual assistant can all but eliminate these sneaky expenditures.  

Hardware 

We all know how long it can take to get a new employee set up to work. The good news when you hire a virtual assistant is that they are ready to start in the first hour they are on the job. Why? Because there is no need to purchase additional hardware for them. They have their own computer, phone, and any other desk setup that they will need to complete their tasks for your organization. And, you won’t need to worry about additional IT support for a virtual assistant. As a result of not having any hardware, there is also no requirement to have IT support available for them.   

Skills and Training 

A good virtual assistant will have invested their own time and money in keeping their skills and training for any requirements related to software up to date. This means that when they start, they are ready to go and able to support you and your organization. The onboarding process will be a lot smoother, and you won’t have to worry about additional training and education to help them succeed in their role.  

Software 

Without a doubt, the biggest area of cost savings for anyone who utilizes a virtual assistant is in software. It may not seem like it, but all the software required to run a successful business can become incredibly expensive; more than most business owners realize.  

With a virtual assistant there is no need to invest in expensive software or purchase additional software licenses. They will have their own software, their own licenses and will be responsible for keeping their own programs up to date.  And if you do have software they don’t have, the expenditure won’t be as great as they’ve got all the basics covered. 

What are some of these main programs that a virtual assistant will already own so that you don’t have to spend extra money?  

·       Microsoft Office: This is the big one! There’s no need to dig up another costly Microsoft Office license; your virtual assistant will already have their own license and the appropriate applications to support you.  

·       Adobe: Whether it’s Adobe Acrobat to create, edit and modify PDFs, or the Adobe creative suite, your virtual assistant will be ready to handle any contract changes, PDF edits, and creative work.  

·       Canva: This tool is revolutionizing the creative design space, and your virtual assistant will be able to accommodate most basic design requests. This is also an extremely useful tool to help implement consistency in your branding across all your communications, and for no additional cost to you. 

·       Artificial Intelligence Copy Generators: While AI copy generators will never fully replace a human mind, these tools, just as Copy.ai or Jasper will enhance the ability for your virtual assistant to create compelling documents such as marketing collateral and white paper without requiring the industry specific vernacular. 

·       Organization Software: This could include licenses for Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Monday.com or any other project management and organization software. Having their own time management and task management software it’s one less license you need to cough up yet still stay on task with administrative duties.  

Overall, hiring a virtual assistant can save you money in many ways and we hope that this blog today has put a spotlight on some of the extra savings in hardware and software you may not have been considering when hiring a virtual assistant.  

Whether you need a consultation or are ready to hire, give us a call! At Rosapel, we have access to and utilize an extensive suite of software and applications designed to simplify your life, enhance your business, and maintain the level of professionalism that you require. We have been making business owners look and operate as the true professional CEO’s they are. Need it done? We’re the one! 

Spring Cleaning Bonus Tip 

It has been a long winter, and we are finally welcoming some warmer weather and things are starting to thaw and bloom. It also means that we are a quarter of the way through 2023. So, not only is this a great time for Spring Cleaning your house, but it’s also time to make sure to review your first quarter as you enter quarter two. The key to staying on top of your business is to ensure that you are keeping up with your administrative tasks. Whether you have a virtual assistant or you are doing it on your own, now is the perfect time to close off the first quarter. A few things you can do are: 

·      Enter and update new and existing contacts. 

·      File and organize all business expenses. 

·     Review invoices to ensure you have paid your expenses and that you have been paid for your services.  

Not only is it a good idea to get your business in order, but it’s also a great time to clean your closet. Things have changed these last few years, and I bet you have a lot of business attire that you have not touched in a while. Look at everything you didn’t wear the last 6 months and consider donating it to your favourite local charity that accepts business attire so you can help the next budding entrepreneur take a stylish step in the right direction.