Question 1

How do I arrange holiday cover?

Accepted Answer

Going on holiday? There are a few short steps we'd ask you to follow, to ensure your client's account isn't disrupted.

It's important you let us know of your holiday plans as soon as they have been arranged and ask that you give us as much notice as you possibly can.
Please discuss the dates with your client and then let your Client Success Manager know, well ahead of time. It's important that they, and we, have as much notice as possible, so we have time to make any necessary arrangements. Please do not leave this to a few days before you go away!
You should always offer to organise holiday cover for a client, if you plan to take a holiday. This should be your client's choice to make, not something to decide for them. Please do not presume they will be OK without your support or leave a client feeling that they can't ask for cover to be put in place.
We will ask you to prepare a short handover document to support this process, containing any important information another team member will need to know.
Your CSM will select a suitable team member to provide the cover and ensure your client is happy with this choice.
We'll then share the handover document and arrange for you to have a quick chat with this person, so you can discuss the kind of support needed directly and cover off any questions.

Handovers are not billed to the client's account, however you will be reimbursed by us for your time spent on organising this for them - your CSM will explain how to bill Virtalent for this time.

Question 2

My client has asked me to do something I can't do. How should I handle this?

Accepted Answer

Please keep your work within the realm of what should reasonably be expected of a professional Virtual Assistant.

The best question to ask yourself is "am I the most suitable person to handle this task?".

If you don't feel you are:

Could another Virtalent VA could be added to the client's account to do this work? This is our preferred approach as it is more convenient for both you and the client to secure extra help this way. You can find more details on the support we generally provide clients here - just because you don't have a particular skill set, doesn't mean another Virtalent VA won't!
Alternatively, if you are 100% sure that Virtalent cannot provide this support, please help the client resource this by researching and hiring an external supplier. These tasks could include preparing legal contracts, complex graphic design projects or providing tax guidance, for example. This is always going to be a grey area, however you can find a list of tasks we avoid helping clients with here.

Do speak with your Client Success Manager if you ever need support in this area.

Question 3

If a client asks to see an example of my previous work, is this okay?

Accepted Answer

During the initial call with the client and through the matching process we wouldn't normally be asked to share an example of a VAs work.

Should a client ask you for this during the matching call this would be something that you need to decide if you are comfortable with.

If you do feel comfortable sharing your work we would advise you to be mindful and ensure that the information shared isn't sensitive or breaches client confidentiality.

Question 4

When can I expect my invoice payment to be made?

Accepted Answer

As a self-employed Virtual Assistant you issue Virtalent with an invoice and this process is automated as follows:

1st of the month: Your invoice will be produced automatically via the portal including all time and expenses incurred for the previous month e.g. any time incurred in August would appear on the invoice dated 1st September.
10th of the month: You have until the 10th of the month to look through the invoice to ensure that everything is in order - any invoice queries should be sent to the Client Success Team at support@virtalent.com.
On or around the 15th of each month: Your invoice will be paid by Virtalent directly into your bank account using the bank account details supplied in your onboarding document.

It is important to note that there is no guaranteed set date or time that the invoice will be paid.

However, please rest assured all invoices are paid as timely as possible.