Vasumo is home to a team of professionally trained virtual assistants who want to help you regain “Focus on Your Business.” The company was founded in 2014 and maintains sales offices in New York and Toronto, though all assistants are home-based workers.
Vasumo is an all-round solution for a slew of tasks that ranges from scheduling meetings, paying bills, blogging, website maintenance, travel deals and much more. VA Sumo believes in the art of delegation and have been helping customers handle their tasks efficiently to realize their bigger goals.
Table of Contents
About Vasumo
Vasumo.com executive assistants are located throughout the USA and Canada. They’re all college graduates and together they strive to offer a work-life balance for customers. At Vasumo, building a fruitful relationship with clients is an important part of their business policy. Hence, satisfaction for customers gains paramount importance.
[leadplayer_vid id=”54EB66BDE7657″]
Vasumo follows a strict method of recruitment, where every single virtual assistant is hired by an extensive round of discussions and tests. The VA’s also undergo a training process, where they are put under several different tests to mettle out their best and help overcome personal and professional barriers to deliver according to the wants and needs of the customer.
Note: No relation to AppSumo or BuzzSumo.
Something Fishy?
When I first came across VA Sumo, I noticed their website looked identical to Zirtual‘s. I thought maybe it was a company Zirtual had acquired or they were testing a different domain name in different markets.
But when I asked Maren, Zirtual’s Founder and CEO, about it, she said it was the first she’d ever heard of them.
Now there are plenty of websites that use common themes, so that in itself isn’t a huge deal, but something didn’t seem quite right to see two nearly identical service offerings with perfectly matching sites.
Compare their homepages (at press time):
See what I mean?
They even use similar trust badging in the “companies we’ve worked with” section just below the main hero image, only with one subtle difference. On Zirtual’s site, they say “Zirtual Assistants are busy helping companies all over the world…”, where on the VA Sumo site, it simply says “Virtual assistants help companies all over the world.”
It’s a true statement, but I interpret it as NOT their VAs.
How it Works
Like most other VA companies, Vasumo requires you to sign up. The process usually takes up to 24 hours, for your registration to be confirmed, but they do indicate that you can delegate your first task in 95 seconds.
Following that, one receives a call or an email that provides access to the dashboard from where you can send in requests for tasks to be done. Apart from delegating tasks, one can also use the dashboard to send messages or share files.
Customers can access their dashboard on the go from their smartphone.
Services
Vasumo caters to major service types that comprises of administrative, writing and data entry, marketing, research, website development, graphic designing, video/audio editing, social media management and other personal assistance services.
Plans and Pricing
Vasumo offers three levels of service: Economy Class, Business Class, and First Class.
The lowest price tier is $299 per month for 25 hours of dedicated North American-based assistance ($11.96 per hour).
The Business Class level is roughly $10 per hour and gives you 10 hours a week of support. And finally, the best hourly rate ($9.07/hr) is available with the $499 monthly First Class package.
Although these rates have increased since I first came across VA Sumo several months ago, they still seem almost “too good to be true” for dedicated US and Canadian-based help. That’s not much above minimum wage in many areas.
Last year I asked them about the surprisingly low prices via the live chat feature on the site, and they insisted that all their workers were US and Canada based.
Vasumo also has an option for free trial wherein you can send in a free task to be executed. Might as well give ’em a shot and see what happens!
Vasumo Alternatives
For US-based virtual assistants, aside from Zirtual (mentioned above), it might be worth checking out Boldly and eaHELP. Both companies are extremely well-rated on this site, but that history of positive feedback comes at a price; they’re both far more expensive than the published rates here at VAsumo.
They also employ home-based VAs. For an in-office virtual assistant experience in North America, take a look at Longer Days or Virtual Assist USA.
Have you ever worked with Vasumo? If so, please share a brief review of your experience below to help others make an informed decision.
Totally recommend! We have tried over 5 other companies before Vasumo. We hired a VA with Vasumo 2 month ago and it has been a phenomenal experience!!
For a low monthly fee you get a comparably skilled employee of a professional marketing agency where you would pay 10x the monthly plan.
No doubt it has helped us tremendously in our coaching business. VA is now working on marketing a course. They are indeed highest skilled VAs out there. Customer service and overall experience has been great as well. So 5 starts they get from us!
Love love love Vasumo! If you need want an honest review of it here it goes.
Level of training and experience of VAs is beyond anything you can dream of. They cover everything your business needs.
Price is CHEAP. I mean I have no clue how they do it but my assistant does everything for me, even the most advanced tasks in marketing and design.
Customer service is amazing though I contacted them 2 times to upgrade the plan and to pause for a month.
If you need a solid assistant and help in your business, this is the company to get it from. I would never look anywhere else and constantly rave about Vasumo on Facebook. It is just a godsend.
I have been with them for over 2 years. Yes 2 years and I run an agency that has tasks all over the place. Everything is constantly done just as I instruct and on time.
Finally got time to leave a review and I sent one to them directly but reading some of these comments here I think they belong to another company. 0 issues with Vasumo for me and including 2 of my friends using them for several months already. I will get them to chime in here as well.
Go Vasumo!
Vasumo is simply one of the worst admin services with whom I have ever worked.
They don’t take phone calls. Everything must be explained by email. On top of that, instructions like “click this link to see the list of tasks on Evernote” – they said were too complex.
When asked why they don’t take phone calls for explanations – they said it disturbs the calm of their office. When the recommendation was given that they offer that service, they said “no one ever asked for this.” As a customer, it just feels insulting to be told a clearly self-serving lie. Is it really so hard to say, “thanks for the feedback?”
We had to re-explain tasks by email until they were at the level a child could do them. Be prepared to spend more of your valuable time typing up tasks and re-explaining them – so that their job is easier – not yours.
When expressing our disappointment on discovering all of this – no refund or even partial refund was offered. They forced us to pay the entire month.
I found their style condescending, combative, and simply self-serving over client serving.
We have hired better assistants off of Upwork.com and from local community list-servs.
As a business that has hired part-time people for years, this company was the worst of them all.
Fantastic service! I can give these guys 10 stars any day.
– Very skilled assistants from US
– Under $10 an hour, there is no way I can find amazing professionals at this rate anywhere online
– I have one dedicated assistant who helps me with everything – I don’t have to deal with people on Fiverr or UpWork
– Fast and great communication
I just read 2 last reviews and to me it seems they either they were the reason for their poor experience by not communicating with their assistant or they expected their assistant to run their business for $9/hr. I, personally, and another 2 of my friends who use Vasumo daily, have 0 problems or issues with the service.
I am recommending Vasumo to my business friends every day as they are truly the best company I have dealt online in a while. Thanks Erica and Natalie for all the help!
Quick, professional, honest and reliable. Thanks for everything Vasumo!
Definitely would not recommend. They only time they are responsive is when you threaten to cancel, and even then, they put the blame on the client.
I’ve used Vasumo during two different time periods. The first trial was when they were offering a social media option – and it was a good value. However, I signed up a second time for the economy plan – and it was a HUGE failure. They refused to account for their time usage – saying the hours were used up, and the work levels did not match. Items were not completed as requested – even when I provided video training. And if that’s not bad enough, their responsiveness was awful – beware, it’s not worth the savings!
Hello Melissa and thank you for the time you took to write a review. As we are always looking for ways to improve we value your feedback so much!
I can see that most of what you wrote is highly exaggerated. Let me explain in hopes it will help other understand the full picture.
Vasumo provides hours report each Monday to every client on request, we also remind you when you hours are running low as a courtesy to avoid service interruptions, in addition you can ask your VA at any time to provide hours report.
To say that we refuse to provide hours report is not true. Our VAs have Start and Stop button and all we track is total hours used. Which you were provided with. We do not advertise that per task breakdowns are provided. We are building a better tracking system as we speak and it will be available very soon.
From looking at your project and your communication with your VA, I see that everything was done on time and in full. There was no issues communicated from your part as well you never reached out to our customer service team with any issues.
I see that you provided a video to your VA (a video link to software website), which later you said not to follow since you had trouble with the software yourself. Also I see that you provided wrong login information to the website and your VA couldn’t do anything further. You never responded to the request to update the login info.
Responsiveness: We have it clear in FAQs as well as Terms Of Service that tasks are completed within 24 hours. From your logs I see that your VA responded to your requests within minutes/hours. All delays, when caused, were due but you not providing instructions, login info.
You asked your VA to pull 212 social media posts into an Excel file along with a link. It was done for you the next morning. Just like we promise.
In regards to work levels. We have highest trained VAs in the industry and we invest heavily into their training. We had not a single complaint on the work quality or skills levels of our VA. Again we are talking about you getting an expert in almost 10 fields for $9 per hour.
Melissa, your VA created the exact same graphics you asked him when you signed up few months prior. How can work level be any different, if it is the same graphic completed in the same way?
Anyways, we thank you for being a client and we hope you all the best in your future endeavours. Thank you for the feedback! And we are waiting with open arms if you wish to try us again.
Reach out to the support team for your FREE month of service as our thank you for being a client.
Erica
Client Happiness Team
I sent in a trial task to test, and in parallel, sent the same trial task to another company. VAsumo could not even complete a portion of it without exact detailed step by step instructions, and before I knew it, my 30 minute trial was up. Nevertheless, I decided to give them a shot, while in parallel testing other VA organizations. I was assigned a VA the next day. This person was good at first, but when I gave him a list of different items within a task set, this person would only complete one part of it. As a busy person, I cannot keep staying on top of different tasks, I need the job done, and move on. Additionally, this person could never tell me how many hours they went through, and suddenly I ran out of hours mid-month, so I had to upgrade. Tasks that take another VA 15 minutes would take this person almost 1 hour. Also, I sent this person a bunch of tasks with deadlines, and he never got around to them, and had to reassign them to someone else. The research projects I gave were clearly done via a simple Google search – and not clearly thought out. They had no phone communication, so you could not call to explain a task, or even Skype. I cancelled their service at the end of the month cycle. You pay for what you get.
Hello Mike! Thanks for your feedback. Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your experience 100% like our other clients. To make things all kosher between us again we want to grant you a FREE month to you as a thank you for being a customer.
However in hopes to clear the situation for others let me address the issues above. Since it is a highly exaggerated review. And honestly, Mike. ! star…Really? After all that your VA went through with your tasks. All those sleepless nights.
Ok let’s get down to it.
We provide total hours used each Monday to every client. VAs track only total hours used and remind the client when hours are running low, so hence you were reminded that hours are up and it was up to you to make a decision either to renew the plan or wait until the hours renew next month.
You have been aware of this and communicated with your VA accordingly. Here is the transcript:
Mike: Also, can you please send me a report each Monday of how many hours are left, as well as how many hours were used for each task?
VA: Great to hear that! Yep each Monday I will report total hours used. I don’t have information per task, since we don’t track it. Just total hours left in the plan.
Mike: That’s fine – Also, if a task is taking too long, or you feel like it is taking too long (like the Properties one), or will take too long, can we establish some type of protocol?
Let’s say, if a task is taking longer than 3 hours, unless otherwise stated, to stop, provide a status update, and let me know.
VA: Got it Mike, will do!
Not sure what was not clear about hours tracking here. You clearly knew how hours are tracked and reported, yet you upgraded your plan.
Tracking: Time is tracked per second. So if the task takes your VA1 hour 20 minutes and 39 seconds to do, that exactly how much is tracked towards your monthly hours. You assigned your VA a task that took 2 days to do, which he accomplished in the record time, working overtime to finish it as soon as possible. 240 entries into a spreadsheet from the database – 9 columns.
You asked your VA to find you 40 additional contacts, which was completed the same day. Here is the record of your communication:
VA: Here we are. Contact – Updated.xlsx
Mike: You rock! This list is great! Thank you!
Nowhere in the communication I can see any issues due to your VA’s performance nor any comments from your part that something is not right. You haven’t reached out to support for any assistance either, except for the time you asked for a discount on the upgrade.
Tasks: Mike, you asked to research Holiday Party Ideas without any further instructions. Here is the list your VA sent the same day:
Make Your Own Pizza Party: Buy pre-made dough, and have plenty of toppings on-hand—everything from pineapple to Portobello mushrooms—so your guests can really go to town.
Pumpkin Carving Party: Carving pumpkins is more fun in groups. Serve your guests pumpkin themed treats to complete the theme.
Black and White Ball: Mimic Truman Capote’s famous black and white ball which took place in 1966, and have your guests only wear black and white.
1920s Speakeasy: Great Gatsby themed parties are always a hit, and with good reason. Who doesn’t want to rock their best 1920s-inspired attire, while sipping retro cocktails?
1980s Dance Party: Because everyone loves leg warmers and dancing to Madonna all night long.
Mexican Fiesta: Mariachi music and a do-it-yourself Margarita bar? Success!
Casino Night: Set up craps and blackjack and have casino themed food and drinks on hand too.
Ugly Sweater Party: We all have an ugly sweater that our Aunt Martha gave us. Have all of your nearest and dearest show up to a party wearing theirs.
Come As You Were: Have your guests come dressed as they would have in high school.
Karaoke Party: A karaoke machine is the party gift that keeps on giving. Make sure to have plenty of drinks on hand so your guests are prepared to sing “Hit Me Baby One More Time” in front of the group.
Pirate Bash: Because do you really need an excuse to dress up like a pirate?
Wine and Cheese Party: You really can’t go wrong with a classic wine and cheese party. Turn it into a potluck and have your guests bring their favorite wine and their favorite cheese.
Hawaiian Luau: Nothing says let’s party quite like Tiki cocktails. Make sure to have a signature drink on hand for the night like a Mai Tai, and grass skirts for everyone.
Stache Bash: Mustaches are a bona fide fashion trend these days. Set up a stache station for your guests with different varieties, and make sure to take a lot of photos.
Oscars Party: Throw an Oscars watching party, asking everyone to dress up like they’re walking the red carpet.
Truth or Dare?: There is no such thing as being too old to have a truth or dare party.
Roaring 1930s Gangster Party: Have your guests dress up as gangsters and supply Prohibition-style cocktails.
You have never commented on this task after delivery.
Most of the tasks you submitted to your VA were not completed since you ran out of hours with your daily recurring tasks that were completed daily as instructed.
Mike, we want to thank you for being a client and thank you for trying Vasumo! Our platform is not for everyone. Those who stay with us, stay for years and are extremely happy with the results and performance.
We offer unmatched highly skilled VA trained in over 200 tasks ranging from video and audio editing, graphic design, websites, wordpress, research, customer service, social media, marketing, SEO, PPC and so much more for $9 per hour. We stand behind our VAs and our work quality and again don’t forget to reach out to get your FREE month. Completely on us to regain back your trust and prove that our VAs are the best in the industry.
Erica
Client Happiness Team
I was looking to leave a review for Vasumo. I can honestly say I am overly impressed with the company so far and would like to recommend it to everyone. The skill level of their VAs in amazing. They did website design for me, video editing, graphic design and my VA is managing my email and social media postings daily. It is great to have him in my team and the team a Vasumo goes above and beyond to make my experience great! It is such a pleasing difference and I will never return to asian assistants or Upwork.
Hi Max and thank you so much for your feedback! We really appreciate it and hope to have you as a client for many months to come!
It is great when a client come in with clear expectation of what he needs help with and what a VA can do for them.
Means a lot to us that we helped you reach new heights in business and took the load off your shoulders.
Erica.
Client Happiness Team