Virtual assistants are heaven-sent. Not only do they help us with our daily tasks, but they also lift the weight of the daily grind for most parts. Newbies who want to get help from the virtual angels are usually clueless about their pricing strategy. But really, how do you know when a virtual assistant’s service rate is too high or too low?

The term “expensive” will always be different for everyone that is why its pricing strategy also varies a lot. For example, $5 per hour virtual assistant rate might seem very cheap for clients operating in western countries. However, this rate can be reasonable enough for an hourly rate for clients operating in Asian countries depending on the task. Freelancers from Europe and America can also demand a much higher rate and just became a widely-accepted notion in the virtual space, which, in a sense, might sound unfair.

Considering some important factors, you can achieve a better understanding of how freelancers come up with their services rate.

Hourly Rate

Time is money for businesses and that goes the same for virtual assistants. Freelancers are usually charged per hour depending on the scope of their job. This is amenable enough for data entry jobs and other basic tasks that expect outputs within a limited amount of time.

A virtual assistant pricing strategy may jump from $2 to $100 considering their previous experiences and demonstrated skills. The average price per hour falls at $10 – $40 for executive assistant jobs and a little bit higher for other meticulous tasks like marketing, finance, and digital media.

To get started, we advise you to create a list of qualifications for your desired virtual assistant. Right then, you can have a standard of the ideal candidate and how much their services would cost based on your outline.

Virtual assistant pricing strategy

The competition in the virtual ecosystem is tight as ever. Rookies tend to accept a lower pricing strategy to jump-start their VA career. On the other hand, experts who have done a lot of work before have already established a grasp of the gig economy and won’t settle for a lesser rate when they know their worth.

Contrary to an hourly rate, most virtual assistants prefer a monthly retainer for financial stability. Like their in-house counterparts, they also have to pay bills every month, too. With that in mind, they need to guarantee a certain amount of monthly remuneration they get from clients to get by.

Here are three factors to consider in formulating a reasonable virtual assistant services rate:

• Experience. Just like in an office-based setup, candidates with more experience and expertise are entitled to ask the price they think they deserve based on their skill set and track record. While some experienced talents are willing to lower their rates, we do not encourage clients to take advantage of passionate virtual workers to avoid exploitation in the virtual workplace.
• Deadlines. Their services rate can also vary depending on the urgency of the project. If it needs to be done ASAP, the VA has the right to charge a little bit of a raise — be it to compensate for the side projects she’s willing to set aside to prioritize yours or just for the hassle of dropping everything to accomplish your project at the right time.
• Job Complexity. Regardless of their expertise in the field, you should always consider the complexity of your project, especially if it will require frequent changes or let’s say you are anticipating outside factors that can affect the process of completing the work. It’s important to be open with your candidate how complex the job can be to set the proper expectation when you work together.

In case you need the help of a virtual assistant for short-term projects, the pay can also be negotiated on a per-project basis. As long as the work gets done, settle the payment right away and you’ll have no more responsibilities after getting the output.

Signing on a win-win rate

The unsung question whenever someone is thinking of hiring a virtual assistant is whether they can afford it or not. The answer is YOU CAN. You have a myriad of options to deal with and several factors to weigh in before finding the best virtual assistant who offers an affordable rate. A myriad of virtual assistant platforms exists to comply with your needs.

We at HOPLA, although not a freelancer platform, provides the same services at the same pricing. As virtual assistants being one of the bedrocks of which HOPLA started its craft, we are experts in crafting the best pricing strategy for you or your company. We pride ourselves by maintaining a pool of global talents that are more than willing to be part of your team instead of being just an extension to your active projects. More than that, we create a fun virtual environment which gives importance to career and personal development throughout talents’ stay with us.

Not only do we meticulously choose our talents through a series of tests and screenings, we also ensure the ability of our workers to work remotely without compromising quality output and impressive results. We believe that distributed outsourcing will make a difference in the remote working industry by demolishing the unequal treatment to talents based on location. We are committed to helping businesses achieve their full potential by partnering them to the virtual talent that best matches their needs.

Book an appointment now and have a grasp of the talented virtual assistants we have in store for you.