AskSunday.com is one of the most well-known virtual assistant companies, earning an endorsement from Tim Ferris in the wake of the massively popular 4-Hour Workweek. The company received boatloads of positive press, was named one of Time Magazine’s top 10 websites of the year in 2007, and called themselves the “most award winning personal assistant service in the world.”
About Ask Sunday
Around the time I started Virtual Assistant Assistant, Ask Sunday went through a rocky change in ownership, and you can see this black mark in their history evidenced in the early reviews on this site.
Today the company is headed up by Jagdish Rangwani from their New Jersey office. The team of assistants are located in a modern contact center facility in Ahmedabad, India. Their goal is to make life easier by providing personal assistance via the Internet and telephone for members anywhere in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Services
Since taking the helm, Jagdish has directed AskSunday to focus more on small business and startup clients rather than just busy individuals as they did early on. He wants to be your one-stop-shop for a range of tasks including:
Social media
Industry or market research
Marketing support
Administrative tasks
Data entry
Powerpoint prep
Transcription
and more…
When we spoke, he explained that many clients were also looking for support in areas like website development and graphic design, so they added personnel with those skills to accommodate the demand.
Ask Sunday VAs can help you with research for your content creation tasks, but are probably not well-suited to actually writing the articles or content from scratch.
The company is currently divided into 4 teams that serve clients and support one another: the Research Team, the Web Design Team, the Document Management Team, and the Quality Assurance Team.
The QA Team is responsible for checking all work before it gets returned to the customer.
Ask Sunday Intro Video
Plans and Pricing
Ask Sunday offers 2 levels of service: Dedicated Assistance and On Demand.
Dedicated Virtual Assistant
As the word suggest, this service will provide your own dedicated virtual assistant to readily assist you with your ongoing requirements such as web research, data entry, phone calls, and many others. Your dedicated assistant will be available from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm EST by email and phone support.
Dedicated plans range from 10 hours a month for $129 up to full-time 160 hours a month for $1199 (less than $7 an hour).
Their most popular plan is the 20 hour a month plan for $219.
VAA Exclusive:Use Promo Code VAA10PDA on sign-up to get 10% off your first month of service. (Not applicable on the $79 “AskSunday on Demand” plan.)
If you go over your hours, additional time is available at competitive hourly rates, or you can opt to renew your plan early. This service is ideal for a full or part-time virtual employee. You’ll be able to make use of their robust and secure online portal to assign tasks and manage your VA’s work.
On Demand Assistant
AskSunday on-demand assistance is just $79 a month. It includes 5 hours of agent time billed in 15 minute increments. One advantage of this set-up is your tasks are not limited to 15 minutes, as they are with some of the other VA companies.
Tasks are assigned based on expertise and availability, and agents are on-call 24/7. If you need additional time, it’s billed out at a rate of $17 an hour.
But like any service, it’s only worth it if you really use it. To ease this anxiety, Ask Sunday offers 3-hours of free dedicated assistance as a “test drive” for customers to try our their service without any commitment.
AskSunday Alternatives
The advantages of AskSunday’s virtual assistant service include their reasonable price tiers, quick response time, great customer support, easy to use interface, and a wide range of services offered.
If you want to compare directly to another India-based VA company: TaskVirtual is a full-service virtual assistant company offering dedicated, highly trained professionals for business operations, customer support, and digital tasks. They combine structured processes, experienced talent, and cost efficiency to deliver measurable results. Backed by 1,400+ clients and 38,000+ completed tasks, they are built for scale.
For the dedicated service, your top alternative will be a company like My Tasker.
For the On Demand service, I’d take a look at OkayRelax.
Have you had any experience with AskSunday.com? If so, please share it here.
Founded in 2012, Boldly serves established companies and nonprofits that require premium executive support. Boldly’s staffing model ensures clients can maintain compliance and work with trusted administrative professionals for the long term.
What sets Boldly apart is their team of W2 employees—unlike most firms who rely on contract-based virtual assistants.
By offering competitive benefits such as PTO, a matched 401(k), tech stipends, and a caring, supportive culture, Boldly has achieved rapid growth and astonishingly high retention rates among both clients and staff.
About Boldly
Boldly was born in early 2012, when Sandra Lewis and a group of experienced remote professionals began offering business clients a well-rounded range of services. Through their commitment to quality and reliability, word of mouth spread, and demand shifted from short-term projects to long-term, monthly tasks. Boldly took shape as we continued to add more and more professionals to the team who share the same values—friendly, skilled, responsible, and “can do” support all grounded in quality.
What became apparent in working closely with their first clients was that, while most tasks fell under “general admin support,” each business was unique, with very particular needs.
Today, Boldly remains committed to delivering a highly curated and personalized approach.
How is Boldly different?
Boldly’s EAs all have a minimum of 10+ years experience and are highly invested in seeing you succeed.
You’ll meet with your EA before you commit to ensure it’s a good match.
Boldly’s US team are employees enjoying the highest pay in the industry, benefits, and an involved company culture.
All of this plus a dashboard for tracking work, an ironclad satisfaction guarantee, and fanatical customer service.
Professionals with a “why”
Boldly relentlessly seeks out the most experienced EAs who go all-in to help leaders succeed. Boldly EAs are driven by long-term partnerships and the opportunity for fulfilling remote careers.
Meet first
You want an executive assistant who’s passionate about your work, and who gets you. Meet your Boldly EA before you sign up, and both decide if it’s a good fit.
Enterprise ready – multiple EAs
Whether you’re looking for a single executive assistant or need to support your entire leadership team, Boldly can help you scale personalized, premium-quality support.
Skills and experience first, AI-enhanced
All Boldly EAs are fluent in a wide range of popular AI-powered applications. They can also seamlessly integrate your favorite tools into their workflow.
Fast, fractional, and compliant
Boldly has done the hiring—all executive assistants are US-based Boldly W2 employees, so they can get started in days and work long-term with no 1099 compliance risk. Choose full-time, quarter-time or anything in between.
Security and confidentiality
Boldly works with your systems, software, and/or VPN connections. Team members are happy to sign NDAs in addition to the standard confidentiality agreements they are bound by.
Finding reliable, trustworthy, and competent help has always been one of the foremost challenges as companies grow.
Whether you’re looking for a single executive assistant or support for your entire leadership suite, Boldly’s team of ridiculously talented executive assistants can help you scale personalized, premium-quality support.
Here’s a list of the common services offered by Boldly:
Unlike many of their competitors, who will simply assign the next available person, Boldly gets to know their clients’ unique requirements and suggests a staff member they believe will be the right fit both in terms of skill sets and personality.
Your executive assistant should be passionate about your work and a strong match both personally and professionally. You’ll meet your Boldly EA before you sign up, and both decide if it’s a good fit. The magic of the relationship between a Boldly client and their staff comes from the fact that both of you have chosen each other.
Basically, the company won’t let you pay unless you feel the match is right!
Here’s how it works:
Tell Boldy about the support you need. In a short, productive meeting, we’ll listen carefully to your requirements to ensure that we suggest the right EA to match the leader they will support and your company culture.
Meet your executive assistant first. You’ll speak to the person Boldly recommends to verify that it’s a good match before you sign up, so that you have that extra level of confidence in who you’ll be working with.
Start working together. Your Boldly executive assistant will learn about your business, how you like to work, and the tools you like to use. (They can also recommend collaboration and business tools.) You’ll see everything they do in an easy-to-use dashboard.
Boldly Remote Staff Recruiting
Boldly has a simple premise. They only hire people who are passionate about doing a good job and passionate about working from home–people who go the extra mile to retain that privilege.
They strongly believe that happiness at work is essential to providing clients with consistent, long-term support that truly drives business growth and momentum. Boldly goes beyond simply hiring highly qualified staff; they focus on cultivating a loyal, vibrant company culture where celebrating five-year work anniversaries is common.
If you’re seeking a proactive staff member who can handle significant responsibilities without the need for micromanagement—and who will genuinely save you time—choosing a premium service like Boldly can deliver far greater value than what you might find elsewhere. Additionally, Boldly’s staffing model handles all compliance matters, ensuring you’re not exposed to the legal risks associated with contractor-based solutions offered by other companies.
That, and most of their team have 10-15 years of experience in their area of specialty!
Founder & CEO Sandra explained: “We recruit people that have an innate sense of service, and we find that the motivation of continuing to work virtually from home translates into team members that shine. At Boldly ‘your success is our success’ is not a cliché. It’s true and we live by it. Boldly has the capacity to grow with your business, and respond to fluctuations in your staffing needs.”
*Specialist services are available for an additional charge.
(In this article, Boldly explains why they’ve chosen not to offer rollover hours or a free trial.)
Who is the Perfect Boldly Client?
Boldly is a higher-end alternative to virtual assistant staffing agencies. Companies turn to Boldly when they need highly experienced, long-term support on a fractional or full-time basis.
The average customer signs on for around 60 hours a month, but a wide range of customizable options are available starting at 40 hours per month.One thing I found interesting was that many clients turn to Boldly after a less-than-ideal experience with a lower-cost VA service to see if a premium executive assistant can make a difference. If you’ve tried outsourcing overseas before and weren’t happy with the results, perhaps it’s time to try a higher-end service.
Boldly Client Case Study
Boldly Plans and Pricing
In terms of pricing, Boldly has package rates of $59/hr for admin services and hourly rates of $79/hr for more specialized services such as project management, web development, blog writing, and design.
And again, per Boldly Founder & CEO Sandra Lewis, the 3 areas that set Boldly apart from the competition:
Our People.
Reliability and quality are EVERYTHING.
We recruit people that have an outstanding professional background and a great attitude – executive assistants that have made the transition from a corporate career to working from home, and who bring a wealth of Fortune 500 training and experience with them.
Clients get the best of both worlds – a team member with extensive experience, available to them when they need it.
A Personal Service.
We really get to know our clients and assign a remote staff member that will be a perfect match. We stay attuned to clients needs so that we can grow with them, and are flexible enough to adjust as needed.
A Hybrid Model.
Many providers offer either a team-based service, or a dedicated service. We offer a hybrid model where clients can have a dedicated assistant and take advantage of an extended team for additional services.
Boldly Alternatives
For European (UK) assistants or US-based support, the closest competitor may be ClearDesk, Prialto, or Time Etc. All well-rated alternatives that operate on a similar model.
Time Etc may not match the level of experience or training of Boldly, but if budget is a concern, the rates are slightly lower.
If you have a specific skillset in mind, you might consider posting the job on FreeeUp to see what comes back. I like to cast a wide net and compare candidates in trial tasks and interviews to see who might be the best fit.
Your Turn
Have you worked with Worldwide101 or Boldly? If so, please take a moment to share a review of your experience below to help others with their decision.
The company was founded by Joanna Finch, and their target customers are entrepreneurs, small to medium-sized businesses, and real estate agents in the US and Canada.
They have virtual assistants based in the Philippines, India, and the US. This gives you some flexibility in budget primarily, as well as the skillsets and culture of the VAs you’ll be working with.
When you sign up for one of their plans, WoodBows assign the best-suited assistants to carry out your tasks. You also have a dedicated account manager as a point of contact.
Send a list of tasks you want to be completed over.
They assign a team of VAs to complete your work and share their contact details with you.
You can go about your business while the work is completed. You can send more tasks and work with your team of VAs during this process.
Woodbows Services
WoodBows provide a complete range of virtual assistant services. If you have business tasks that can be completed remotely, they’ll provide the VAs with the skills to get them done for you.
To give you an idea of the areas they specialize in, they group their services into the following categories:
Graphic and web design
App developing
Software development
Digital marketing
Data entry
Customer care
Content writing
General virtual assistant services
WoodBows Plans and Pricing
WoodBows have pricing plans for weekly or monthly, and part-time or full-time assistants. You can also choose between hiring an assistant based in the Philippines or the US.
VAA Exclusive! Woodbows is offering specialty pricing for VAA subscribers by clicking here!
A complete list of their pricing plans at the time of publishing are:
Philippines-Based VAs
Weekly Plans
5 hours per week for $49.90 ($9.99 per hour)
11 hours per week for $99.90 ($9.08 per hour)
Monthly Plans
80 hours per month for $799.99 ($9.99 per hour)
160 hours per month for $1,499.90 ($8.99 per hour)
US-Based VAs
Weekly Plans
5 hours per week for $149.90 ($29.99 per hour)
10 hours per week for $299.90 ($29.99 per hour)
Monthly Plans
80 hours per month for $599.99 ($29.99 per hour)
160 hours per month for $3,998.90 ($24.99 per hour)
The contrast in cost between using US and Philippines-based assistants is very evident looking at their plans.
If you’re working on a tighter budget, you can work with an overseas assistant for $9.99 per hour. If you prefer to keep your team in the US, hourly rates start at $29.99.
WoodBows are so confident you’ll be happy with their services they offer a 200% 30-day money-back guarantee. They also offer a free trial, and with no contracts, you can cancel anytime.
WoodBows have positioned themselves in an interesting place in the market offering both US and Philippines-based VAs.
The most similar service is TaskBullet, which also has both US and Philippines-based staff. Instead of weekly or monthly plans, Task Bullet sells “buckets” of hours you can use until you run out, and refill as needed.
At $1500 a month for a full-time virtual assistant in the Philippines, WoodBows is priced higher than many other competing services. The popular option for do-it-yourselfers is OnlineJobs.ph, where you can recruit candidates to your job and pay them directly (often in the range of $400-1000 a month for full-time).
Of course, this comes with the drawbacks of not having any company infrastructure or management layers in place.
If you want to compare directly to an India-based VA company: TaskVirtual is a full-service virtual assistant company offering dedicated, highly trained professionals for business operations, customer support, and digital tasks. They combine structured processes, experienced talent, and cost efficiency to deliver measurable results. Backed by 1,400+ clients and 38,000+ completed tasks, they are built for scale.
FreeUp is a marketplace connecting pre-vetted virtual assistants, freelancers, and agencies in Amazon, eCommerce, and marketing. While their core customer base is within eCommerce and marketing, they work with many businesses outside of those spaces as well.
Since launching in 2015, they’ve gained quite a bit of traction against some of the longer-established players in this space.
The company is based in Orlando, Florida, and operates 100% remote with internal team members all over the country and world. The virtual assistants, freelancers, and agencies on the platform are located all over the world–with a concentration in the Philippines and the US.
In late 2019, FreeeUp (as it was formerly known, with 3 e’s) was acquired by The Hoth. The digital marketing agency was a frequent customer on the platform and saw the potential for its continued growth.
Previously, the company was run by CEO, Nathan Hirsch, and co-founder, Connor Gillivan, who filled the role of Chief Marketing Officer. They both have an extensive background in eCommerce business having sold over $25 million on Amazon and started the company to primarily help other eCommerce business owners looking to outsource tasks.
What Makes FreeUp Different?
The marketplace puts each applicant through a rigorous interview process to assess their skills, attitude, and communication before allowing only the top 1% of applicants into the marketplace.
FreeUp’s support team is well-known for their 24/7 support.
The site is unique compared with other freelance hiring sites in that there is no browsing virtual assistants on the platform.
Instead, you submit a request and get introduced to 1 qualified candidate, usually within 1 business day. (While the default is one option, you can simply tell them how many options you want to meet and they will make sure you get enough to make the best decision.)
On the backend, the company protects its clients against turnover. In the rare case that a VA has to stop working with you, FreeUp replaces them immediately and covers replacement costs.
FreeUp Intro Video
Services
FreeUp has an easy process when connecting with new clients:
Meet with someone from FreeUp to learn more about the marketplace (optional)
Meet and interview the virtual assistant you are introduced to
Hire, pass, negotiate rate, agree to fixed price or request more option.
Start onboarding the virtual assistant once you click hire
A representative checks in after a few days to see how the relationship is working out between you and the VA.
Virtual assistants and freelancers offering their services on the FreeUp Marketplace specialize in over 100 skills sets and range from $5-100 per hour.
(You can use the marketplace for fixed price projects too.)
Here are the 4 main areas they support:
Business Operations
Ecommerce
Digital Marketing
Web Development
The 3 Levels of Freelancers on the FreeUp Marketplace
Basic
Basic level freelancers have years of experience, but they are followers. They are there to follow your systems and processes.
Onboarding is recommended for basic level freelancers.
These are almost always non-US freelancers and virtual assistants from $5.00 to $10.00 per hour.
Mid-Level
Mid-level freelancers are more specialized than the basic level of freelancers.
This group has significant experience in their skill set. For example, graphic designers, bookkeepers, writers, product listers, etc.
When you hire a mid-level freelancer, you’re not teaching them how to do the work, but they can tweak their skills to fit the needs and specifications of your business. However, they’re not consultants; they are doers.
They typically range from $10.00 to $30.00 per hour and can be located in or outside of the US.
Experts and Agencies
Expert freelancers and agencies bring their own experience and advice to the table.
They are consultants, experts, and boutique agencies on the platform that use their own systems and processes for handling the work you need completed.
Experts on the platform may spend time in the beginning performing their due diligence, researching, and coming up with a game plan that makes sense for your business and the goals you’re looking to achieve. They can project manage, handle large budgets, and give advice on the direction of your business as needed.
These expert level freelancers range from $25.00 to $75.00+ per hour.
FreeeUp Founder Interview
I had the chance to sit down with Nathan to get the inside scoop on what FreeeUp is all about and how it works.
Plans and Pricing
You can expect to pay between $5-$100 per hour depending on the level of skills and experience you require in your virtual assistant.
Employers create an account and can post jobs for free in 100+ different skill sets.
The infographic below details some of the different roles you can hire for, and the prices you’ll typically see for overseas and US/UK/Canada-based support. You can click on it to see a larger version.
If you’re curious how FreeUp makes money, it works similarly to other big freelance platforms. They take a percentage of every hour or job booked through the site — though less than sites like Fiverr or Upwork.
How FreeUp Works
FreeUp is about speed and quality. Where they really stand out against other hiring platforms is in pre-screening candidates and proactively matching them to your listings.
That means you’re not spending time sorting through 50+ different applications and trying to decide how to move forward. I appreciate that they’ve done a lot of the upfront legwork for you, and save you that overwhelm … and the indecision that often follows!
Nathan sent me this infographic (made by a FreeeUp worker) to help explain the company and its processes.
FreeUp Alternatives
FreeUp specializes in ecommerce and marketing, which separates them from other general virtual assistant companies.
On the lower end of the price scale, companies like eLuminous Technologies profess to have ecommerce expertise, and can be very effective if you already have some standard operating procedures to plug a VA into.
On the home front, you might consider Longer Days for quality US-based help with ecommerce experience, or even posting a specialist role on Upwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is FreeUp?
FreeUp is a freelance marketplace with pre-vetted remote professionals. As an employer, you can quickly find qualified virtual staff. As an employee, you can connect with flexible work from home jobs opportunities.
How does FreeUp work?
When you post a job on FreeUp, the staff will introduce you to 1-2 qualified candidates, usually within 24 hours. From there you can conduct an interview, proceed with a trial project, or move forward with the hire. Payments are processed through the FreeUp platform.
How much do virtual assistants on FreeUp cost?
Rates on FreeUp vary based on the remote worker’s location and experience level. At the low end, expect to pay $5-10 an hour for basic administrative type support. For higher level skills or workers from the US or other more developed countries, you’ll see rates in the $20-100 an hour range.
Your Turn
Have you worked with FreeUp? If so please leave a review below to help others with their decision.
CraftyEdge Solutions is a virtual assistant company based in Kolkata, India. The company started operations in 2019 to offer “one-stop personalized solutions for busy people.”
VAA Exclusive: Mention referral code MICAVAA for 25% off your first month! (Not valid with free trial)
About CraftyEdge Solutions
Although CraftyEdge Solutions is a new company in the virtual assistant space, the company’s three founding directors bring with them many years of industry experience.
Their target customers are entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes. This means, whatever size your organization and whatever industry you’re in, they want to hear from you. If you have tasks that can be completed remotely, CraftyEdge Solutions have assistants waiting to take them off your hands.
How CraftyEdge Solutions Works
I asked how incoming tasks are handled, and if customers have access to dedicated assistants.
My contact, Partha, explained that when a customer submits a task, a manager analyzes the requirements and assigns it to the best-qualified assistant.
This means everyone has access to their pool of assistants. In practice, that gives you a wider set of skills than working with one dedicated assistant. Partha added that if you start to see the same assistants’ names cropping up, and you can request to work with the same person for ongoing process tasks if you wish.
They are also willing to work to your time zone too, so wherever you are in the world you can have an assistant during your business hours.
When you sign up for one of their hourly plans you can start communicating with their assistants by email, chat, or via a Skype call.
All CraftyEdge assistants work out of their Kolkata offices and are managed in-house.
CraftyEdge Solutions Services
CraftyEdge Solutions offer a wide range of virtual assistant services. They welcome you to send their assistants any tasks that can be completed remotely and say they have a deep pool of assistants covering all the skill sets you’d require.
They group their services into the following categories:
Administrative Support – Online research, data entry, email and calendar management, social media management, etc.
Content Writing – Website content, blog articles, social media content, sales copy, etc.
QuickBooks Services – Managing your business’s financials.
IT Support – Email migration, troubleshooting, hosting migration, resolving IT issues, etc.
Web Development – Support for various languages and platforms, such as HTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress, Shopify, etc.
Graphic Design – Banners, flyers, website graphics, marketing campaigns, etc.
Transcription Services – Audio and video transcription services.
CraftyEdge Solutions Plans and Pricing
CraftyEdge Solutions currently has six different pricing plans. Those range from $50 for a 5-hour plan to a full-time assistant working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with your business hours.
They offer very competitive hourly rates, particularly on their larger plans. That full-time rate equivalent of $4.50 per hour is about as low you’ll find when hiring a VA based in India.
Here’s the complete list of their plans as of press time:
5 Hours – $50 per month ($10 per hour)
10 Hours – $90 per month ($9 per hour)
20 Hours – $160 per month ($8 per hour)
40 Hours – $280 per month ($7 per hour)
60 Hours – $360 per month ($6 per hour)
Part-Time Assistant – $500 per month ($6.25 per hour)
Full-Time Assistant – $800 per month ($5 per hour)
When you sign up for any of their hourly plans, you have 30 days to use that time.
They offer a 3-hour, 3-day free trial, so you can test their service before committing to a plan.
VAA Exclusive: Mention referral code MICAVAA for 25% off your first month! (Not valid with free trial)
Dynamic Pricing Add-Ons
If you find you need more time in one month than your current plan allows, additional hours are no problem. They’re not going to leave you stranded until your plan renews!
These extra hours are billed at a rate $1 per hour more than your current plan rate. For example, if you’re on the 10 hour plan at $9/hour, additional virtual assistant hours are charged at $10 an hour.
Why Consider CraftyEdge?
Affordable Rates
According to CraftyEdge, their rates are the most economical in the world.
Various Experts Under One Roof
Unlike freelancers where one needs to chase individuals separately to accomplish his different types of tasks, here you can get various experts with different skill sets under one roof. Being able to delegate many different skills under one roof is a big time-saver.
Account Manager Access
A client gets access to his Account Manager for his multiple requirements or any project/business that requires different skill sets.
Effective Backup Support
Per Partha, CraftyEdge arranges backup support for recurring tasks/processes from the very outset of a client relationship. This ensures uninterrupted services if a VA gets sick, takes vacation, or leaves the company.
Digital Data Security
Security is always a concern when delegating overseas. At CraftyEdge, they’ve implemented a background check process before hiring team members, and the office is equipped with 24-7 CCTV surveillance.
The IT department takes security seriously with encrypted passwords and logins, a secure data center, and 128-bit SSL encryption on the CraftyEdge website.
System access is restricted in-house by our IT Team. No one can access it from outside the office premises, reducing the risk of external data leaks.
Craftyedge Solutions Alternatives
There are several highly-rated virtual assistant companies in India worth considering. My Tasker and VA Talks are two of the most well-known companies in the space.
Your Turn
Have you worked with CraftyEdge Solutions? If so, please leave a review of your experience below to help others with their decision.
Efficise is a virtual assistant and business outsourcing firm based in Karachi, Pakistan. The company launched in 2012, with the goal of helping people all over the world enhance their efficiency and productivity.
Since then, Efficise has grown into one of the most popular task-based services on this site.
VAA Exclusive! Use referral code VAAM for 30% off your first month on all plans.
Efficise Services
Efficise virtual assistants are trained to handle a host of tasks that include standard admin stuff, web research, and other one-time virtual “gofer” jobs. Many clients turn to them for help with transcription, travel planning, social media management, data entry jobs, and more.
They allow flexibility to allow process-outsourcing and recurring tasks in ways some other virtual assistant companies can’t handle.
Efficise has made some investments in their back-end dashboard that help provide a better customer experience. For example, you can prioritize two tasks a day, basically flagging them as important and jumping the rest of the queue.
In addition, users can maintain an account profile with your own instructions and preferences, so they don’t have to be explained anew each time.
Like US-based rival Fancy Hands, Efficise uses a pool-based VA system, meaning for each task you submit, a different VA can pick it up and do the work based on their availability and expertise.
Efficise Review
Efficise Plans and Pricing
Efficise has a simple menu of pricing plans available:
5 tasks for $20 ($4 each)
15 tasks for $45 ($3 each)
30 tasks for $75 ($2.50 each)
50 tasks for $100 ($2 each)
VAA Exclusive! Use referral code VAAM for 30% off your first month on all plans.
These are tasks that can take up to 30 minutes to complete (other companies typically use a 15-minute guideline), but if you have longer tasks, you can apply multiple task credits to the job.
At those price points, Efficise is definitely one of the best bang-for-your-buck services out there, and $2-$4 per request is a pretty small price to get dozens of time-sucking tasks off your plate each month. Theoretically the $100 plan could save you up to 25 hours a month, which is huge.
Use referral code VAAM for 30% off your first month on all plans.
If a dedicated assistant would be helpful for longer projects, or recurring business-specific tasks, Efficise can help there too. Dedicated support starts at $10 an hour, and is billed by usage without any subscription commitment.
With this setup, you can outsource jobs like social media management, outbound calling, transcription, emails, data entry, and even customer service.
None of these plans come with any start-up fees, contracts or long-term commitments. You can track progress on your tasks in real time, and cancel your Efficise service whenever you want.
Efficise Alternatives
On a per-task basis, Efficise is much more cost-effective than Fancy Hands (mentioned above), which ranges from $4-6 per task — and their tasks only run 20 minutes. One company that operates a similar model is OkayRelax, which provides a dedicated assistant at $4 per task when you buy 25 tasks a month.
The drawback to going dedicated in any VA setup is that turnaround times will usually be slower than with services using the team-based approach.
Your Turn
If you have any experience with Efficise, positive or negative, please share your review below.
Delegated (formerly known as Red Butler) is a US-based virtual assistant company. They offer a range of virtual assistant services and pair clients with college-educated assistants based in the U.S.
VAA Exclusive: Use our referral link for $100 off your first 3 months!
Red Butler was a long-running executive assistant and concierge service, actually dating back to 2003. So why the rebrand?
Here’s the official line:
“In the past three years, Red Butler has grown from buying concert tickets and making reservations to reviewing business proposals, handling expense reports, and more. With Delegated, you can now delegate even more of your to-do list — so you can get back to the things that matter most.”
Delegated still serves both busy individual and family clients, along with business customers, but it sounds like they outgrew the “butler” tag and now handle a much wider range of tasks.
Looking through their list of services, whatever industry you’re in or the types of tasks you want to outsource, they want to hear from you.
Why Delegated?
VAA Exclusive: Use our referral link for $100 off your first 3 months!
Another point of differentiation is every VA is an employee of Delegated, not a contractor. They argue this move increases quality, ensures availability during business hours, and improves accountability and information security.
On top of that, Delegated also provides proprietary training and on-going education.
After filling out your details, a member of their team will contact you to arrange a call. On the call, they’ll ask some questions about your business so they can select the best-suited, dedicated assistant for you.
They’ll then introduce you to your assistant, your backup assistant, and assign you a member of their support team if you have any questions along the way.
You’ll then be given access to their workflow systems. Here you can track your tasks, see where your assistant is spending their time, and upload files and communicate with our VA directly.
Your assistant will be available from 8am-5pm your time. (Delegated also has some 24/7 team members available to handle emergency tasks.)
Services
Delegated’s virtual assistants will take on just about any business tasks that can be completed remotely.
They have a list of specific roles to give you a better idea of the areas they serve, some of which are:
Like most VA companies, they don’t limit themselves to any set tasks or roles.
In fact, they’ve also started hiring for specific industries. For example, Delegated now has Dedicated Assistants experienced in specialty industries such as finance, technology, medical, and legal.
According to my contact, “These hiring changes have provided us with a team that can not only cancel your dentist appointment but also handle legal & medical intake forms, expense reports, e-commerce administration, market research, and more.”
Whatever your requirements are, they’re likely to have an assistant with the relevant skills and experience.
Plans and Pricing
Delegated currently has four pricing plans:
Personal 12 – $420 per month for 12 hours ($35 per hour)
Family 24 – $800 per month for 24 hours ($33 per hour)
Executive 24 – $1,080 per month for 24 hours ($45 per hour)
Business 40 – $1,800 per month for 40 hours ($45 per hour)
Virtual Assistant Assistant Exclusive: Use our referral link for $100 off your first 3 months!
The interesting thing about their pricing plans is that their hourly rate actually goes up for the larger plans — typically VA companies offer discounts for larger hourly plans.
This is because their Executive and Business plans include higher skilled and additional services, such as:
Scheduling and email support
Integrated travel and international support
Executive tasks
Proactive assistance
Slack integration
All of their plans come with a money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied for any reason you can cut ties and get your money back.
Delegated Alternatives
Alternative US-based virtual assistant companies with comparable rates and services to check out are Time Etc and Belay.
If your budget is holding you back, Time Etc offers more competitive rates for US-based assistants and has a good deal of positive feedback.
TaskBullet was founded in 2013 and has quickly become a leader in the virtual assistant industry. The company is owned and operated in the United States with the staff based in the Philippines.
TaskBullet uses a unique “Bucket System” of buying hours, which means no monthly bills, contracts, or fees.
About TaskBullet
Virtual assistants either work from their home offices or from TaskBullet’s central PCI compliant facility, which is ideal for assistants to handle inbound and outbound calls.
TaskBullet project managers are also located in the Philippines and there is a U.S. based customer support staff, if ever there is a problem.
TaskBullet virtual assistants go through a rigorous hiring process. In particular, they company seeks out VAs who are quick learners and who have advanced English skills.
On top of that, they invest in training their team and treating everyone with value. After all, happy virtual assistants are more likely to stick around and make for happy clients!
How it Works
The Bucket System
TaskBullet doesn’t have monthly bills, contracts, or fees.
TaskBullet uses buckets of hours that the VA pulls from while they are actively working on your tasks. When your bucket is empty, simply purchase another bucket of hours and continue on.
You can upgrade, downgrade, or take a break, it’s up to you.
Every TaskBullet Bucket of Hours comes with a project manager to oversee your tasks. You can delegate your tasks to your project manager for quick assignment to an available and skilled VA. If you have the same reoccurring tasks you can have a dedicated VA to delegate tasks to directly.
Your project manager and your VA will be available during your business hours. They’re there when you need them.
Assigning tasks
TaskBullet uses Basecamp, a very simple and effective task management system to upload and monitor your tasks. When you sign up you will get an email from them inviting you to set up your free TaskBullet Basecamp project.
All your tasks, files and communication can take place in one convenient location.
Getting Started
Getting started with TaskBullet is very quick and easy. They can usually have you submitting tasks the same day you sign up.
They offer a Welcome Call to all new sign ups, where they show you around Basecamp and help you upload your first task. They will send you an email asking you to pick a time for one of their on-boarding specialists to call you.
Task Bullet Founder Interview
Services
The company is able to provide dedicated virtual assistants, while still being able to tap into a team with a broad range of skills.
Many TaskBullet VAs have several years of experience in their fields. You can get an assistant who’ll handle:
website management
mail marketing
social media accounts
customer service
research
and more
Since they’re your dedicated VA, you also can train them to meet your specific needs and requirements.
You have 3 points of contact:
your VA
your dedicated VA project manager
your US-based team lead
For advanced skills or roles your dedicated VA isn’t the best fit to handle, you can apply your pre-paid time to others on their team to get your work done without having to source a new company or freelancer.
It’s a service by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. As such, they have a strong understanding of what you need – affordable quality help, and what you don’t – stress, overhead, headaches.
Task Bullet service comes with no start-up fees and a 60-day money back guarantee. If you’re unhappy with your VA, the company will set up with a new one immediately. In addition, new customers receive a free consultation on how to most effectively work with their VA.
Plans and Pricing
I appreciated how they were upfront with their pricing – with none of the “contact us for a quote” stuff you see on some other sites.
The rates start $6.50/hour when you buy a 240 hour block, enough for the equivalent of 6 weeks of full-time support.
Many TaskBullet clients begin with the “Starter Bucket”, which offers 20 hours of support for $220 ($11/hr).
In the middle, the “Light” plan is $9 an hour for a bucket of 60 hours.
Customers aren’t billed on a recurring monthly basis, but rather can renew their hours, upgrade, or downgrade at any time.
That structure makes sense if you don’t have a consistent workload each week, but are confident you’ll use the time eventually. And if you do have routine tasks to assign, you’ve got an affordable flexible VA service.
Highlights:
You have 90 days to use the hours in your bucket.
There are no contracts and no monthly fees.
This is a one-time purchase for hours that you can use any time over the next 3 months.
You do not purchase additional hours until your current bucket runs out.
You can use as many or as little hours as you want per day/week/month.
Remote is a global HR solutions company that provides a range of solutions to help businesses of all sizes find and employ global talent.
Remote is headquartered in San Francisco, CA but the company is fully remote with their employees living and working all over the world Unlike any other company, Remote establishes subsidiaries in countries around the world so that companies can employ workers with full legal compliance in each of those countries. You can see the growing list of country availability here.
Remote empowers companies of all sizes to pay and manage full-time and contract workers around the world. Remote’s team takes care of international payroll, benefits, taxes, stock options, and compliance in dozens of countries. No matter where your team lives and works, our best-in-class global employment solutions provide the best experience for your workers. Their ironclad intellectual property protections and industry-leading security guarantee give you peace of mind across the globe. Best of all, Remote never charges percentages or fees: one low flat rate helps you control your budget so you can focus on growing your business.
How Remote Works
Remote now offers self-enrollment. You can sign up directly on Remote.com.
Once you submit your answers to the form, you will be prompted to sign an MSA. Someone from the Remote sales team will reach out to learn more about where you’re hiring and ensure that you get access to the proper SLAs for the countries you are hiring in.
From there, you will be given a login for the Remote platform.
You can then onboard your employees onto the platform as you hire them. This enables Remote to handle all of your employee’s HR, payroll, and so on, wherever they are based in the world.
Remote Services
Remote can handle employing remote workers globally. Remote currently owns and operates legal entities in 36 countries and is on track to be in 80 countries by the end of 2021.
The most common services are:
Handling payroll and benefits
Legal compliance
Payments to third parties
Customized administration and management benefits
Visas and immigration (on a consultant basis)
If you need help with any aspect of hiring remote employees that you don’t see on their site, I recommend reaching out to Remote. There are a number of hurdles that can come up depending on the country you’re hiring from and your individual circumstances.
Remote Plans and Pricing
Remote currently has four pricing plans as follows:
Global Employment – $299/employee/month (for UK, Ireland and Canada billed annually), $599/employee/month (for all other countries billed annually) $349/mo per employee – For this fee, Remote will handle the entire employment process from start to finish.
Contractor management – Free – You can hire and pay global contractors using their platform for free.*
Payroll and Benefits – Quote only – If you want Remote to manage your employee’s payroll and benefits you’ll have to contact them for a quote.
Global PEO will be launching later this year (2021)
Remote is currently offering some incentives for startups. If you’re operating a startup you can get 50% off, plus 2 months free. Startups get 50% off of EOR costs on their first employee and 2 months free for all other employees for 12 months
Remote Alternatives
If finding and hiring remote staff is what you need help with, check out Virtual Staff Finder. This company specializes in finding workers in the Philippines with the skill sets you’re after.
For alternative companies that handle all of the administrative and ongoing employee tasks, I recommend checking out Safeguard Global. They are also based in the U.S. and offer a similar range of services.
Your Turn
Have you worked with Remote? If so, please leave a review below to help others with their decision.
Get Friday is an outsourcing company that is based in Bangalore, India. They are best-known as the virtual assistant division of Your Man in India (YMII), the famous personal concierge company. Get Friday caters to the needs of individuals who have hectic schedules, by offering virtual assistants who can deliver high quality work on administrative tasks.
About Get Friday
If you’re curious, the name “Get Friday” is inspired by Daniel Dafoe’s classic Robinson Crusoe. In the novel, the title character has an assistant he calls Friday, who becomes his right-hand man and is critical to his survival.
Get Friday has been around since 2005, and now employs 200 energetic and professional virtual assistants who help clients around the world conquer the challenges of business and everyday life.
As one of the longest running VA companies, they’ve served more than 11,000 clients in over 40 countries.
Services
Some examples of the kind of tasks Get Friday does best would be setting appointments, making travel arrangements, and moderating websites.
Beyond that, their virtual assistants have even helped find a customer’s lost dog and plan a wedding! Where else are you going to find a wedding planner for this cheap?
Get Friday Intro Video
Plans and Pricing
Get Friday offers an array of virtual assistant service plans that start from Pay-As-You-Go at a rate of $15 an hour, all the way up to Full Time (160 hours a month) at a rate of $1120 a month or just $7 an hour.
All the plans over 40 hours a month include “rollover” time, so unused hours can be applied to next month’s service. There are no long-term contracts; you can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade your plan at any time with 30 days notice. Get Friday also will quote prices for one-time projects if you send them a description of what needs to be done.
Hiring a virtual assistant is a big decision, and Get Friday offers a 7 day free trial period to ease some of that anxiety. If you’re not happy with the service, just cancel without any obligation.
One thing I noticed when opening my Get Friday account is the sign-up process is kind of a pain. They make you do a phone verification, which is automated but something normally reserved for banks. Then you have to print, sign, and fax (or email) back a copy of the contract. I haven’t seen those kinds of sign-up requirements from any other VA company.
Your Get Friday virtual assistant is available 5 days a week, during the hours you choose. This is valuable because of the time zone difference between the US and India. Weekend and overtime hours are charged out at 1.5 times your normal hourly rate.
Get Friday Ace
In the summer of 2014, Get Friday introduced Get Friday Ace, a VA service specifically aimed at the small business market.
I think it’s a smart move since they already have the staff and infrastructure in place, and businesses are used to spending money on support services. Get Friday Ace lists web design and development, bookkeeping, marketing and SEO, and other business process tasks among their new menu of services.
Around the time I started Virtual Assistant Assistant, Ask Sunday went through a rocky change in ownership, and you can see this black mark in their history evidenced in the early reviews on this site.
The company is based in Orlando, Florida, and operates 100% remote with internal team members all over the country and world. The virtual assistants, freelancers, and agencies on the platform are located all over the world–with a concentration in the Philippines and the US.
Since then, Efficise has grown into one of the most popular task-based services on this site.
If you’re curious, the name “Get Friday” is inspired by Daniel Dafoe’s classic Robinson Crusoe. In the novel, the title character has an assistant he calls Friday, who becomes his right-hand man and is critical to his survival.
