About Us
Virtual Assistant Services is based in Hull, East Yorkshire and was founded in February 2007 by Samantha Waslin.
Sam has had a long and productive career in office administration spanning more than 20 years, working as a Secretary, PA, Office Administrator and Office Manager in various industries including the legal profession (over 8 years), the NHS (5 years) and Local Authorities (5 years). During her career Sam has become proficient in all manner of software including (but not limited to) MS Word, Excel and Outlook.
At the beginning of 2007 Sam decided the time was right to take the plunge and she started Virtual Assistant Services offering secretarial services to businesses and individuals who need help with day-to-day administrative tasks, for example word processing and transcription.
Virtual Assistant Services has since proved itself to be an invaluable asset to its clients.
Benefits To Your Company & Cost Comparison
- Do you need 100% professional, reliable, efficient and speedy assistance with your business administration?
- Do you need to free up your valuable time to concentration on your core business?
- Do you have work that is required urgently and do not have the resources to get it done?
- Do you have limited or no office space?
- Do you only want to pay for work undertaken on an ad hoc basis?
If you answer “YES” to any of these questions, Virtual Assistant Services can help. You can save time, money and space by utilising the services of a Virtual Assistant. For example:
- You do not have to waste time training or re-training new or temporary staff;
- You do not have to pay employment taxes or other employee benefits, such as sick pay, holiday pay, maternity/paternity pay, pensions, etc.
- You do not have to waste valuable resources on advertising for staff;
- You do not need to provide office space or equipment.
Cost Comparison
| Secretarial Employee | Virtual Assistant | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Annual Cost 39 hours p/week x 52 weeks | £33,766.20 | Total Annual Cost 19½ hours p/week x 52 weeks | £18,252.00 |
| Average hourly base rate | £9 per hour | Average hourly rate | £18 per hour |
BenefitsIncluding employer’s National Insurance contributions, sick pay, holiday pay, maternity/paternity pay, pension scheme, etc.PLUS 35% extra (on average) | £3.15 per hour | BenefitsNone | £0 |
OverheadsIncluding office space/rent, utilities, equipment and maintenance, supplies, furniture, cover for holidays, sickness, maternity leave, paternity leave, down-time, etc.PLUS 50% extra (on average | £4.50 per hour | OverheadsNone | £0 |
| Total Average Hourly Rate | £16.65 | Total Average Hourly Rate | £18.00 |
A typical working week (whether full or part-time) can on average be halved by utilising the services of a Virtual Assistant as opposed to employing a permanent or temporary member of staff.
For example, a Virtual Assistant does not charge for the time inevitably spent by in-house staff on:
- staff meetings, training, etc.;
- tea/coffee/lunch breaks;
- office politics/socialising;
- down-time – you only pay a Virtual Assistant for the time actually spent working on a project whereas staff members have to be paid even if there is no work.
