Author: Julia Valdez

Are you looking for a virtual assistant training program? Whether you’re here to get an assistant enrolled or are a freelancer looking to upskill, these are for you! We’ve handpicked them from a multitude of online courses that are available today. We think they’re excellent. And we know that the right one for your needs is going to be a game-changer for your business!

1. The SavvySystem

The SavvySystem is the virtual assistant training program from The Virtual Savvy, a blog run by a freelancer. She was a mom who wanted to work from home – like many out there today! Her program teaches others how to take the steps that led her to success. Of course, that’s without making all of the same mistakes in the process. Abbey Ashley’s signature, step-by-step blueprint helps people launch and grow their own at-home businesses. The formula promises to produce profitable businesses, from scratch. She also offers a lot of free information on the blog itself.

2. Udemy

The Udemy platform currently offers 210,000+ online video courses. They add new ones every month, and many of them focus around technical skills. These include web development, data science, Amazon AWS, and design. They also have some material around personal development and the arts, though. Udemy is a trusted name is online education. They’re well-known as the place to go to upskill your teams.

3. Coursera

The Coursera website is home to over 7,000 courses from over 300 leading universities and companies. You can get started for as low as $1 and dive into offerings from Yale, Duke, Stanford, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and more. They also boast of being able to get course-takers launched into new careers in as few as 6 months. 

You can earn qualifications in a variety of areas that are perfect for online work. These include project management, business, sales, digital marketing, data science and analytics, UX design, bookkeeping, front-end development, and so many more. This platform has so much to offer, from free short courses to degree programs.

4. Fully Booked VA

This set of resources claims to “fast-track your virtual assistant business.” They’re free, and they aim to help people start a VA business. The starter pack includes lists of services to offer, which can come in handy. What we love best is the skills inventory process. This helps VAs pinpoint the valuable skills and abilities that they have and might not know about. The rest can serve as inspiration – after all, we can always learn new skills! That’s what virtual assistant training programs are all about, after all. The self-assessment workbook is an amazing supplement to this. It can guide VAs and clients to match virtual assistants with the right tasks based on what they’re already good at. 

5. 90 Day VA

This hub boasts that with them, you can “learn the most in-demand skills to work from anywhere.” Moreover, you’ll be “on flex time without being chained to a desk or your phone all day.” That’s quite a claim! Of course, this is what being a freelancer is all about – we are just so impressed that they can teach people to get there within 90 days! 

We love that they make the key distinction between the usual remote jobs and what you need to do to really experience freedom. Hundreds of millions of businesses need help on a variety of tasks. And not all of them require you to be tied to your desk in a super quiet environment with zero interruptions… Might as well work at an office!

Real freedom comes with work you can do anywhere you can access the internet, taking breaks when you need to. This course helps you target work so you’re not scraping by on minimum wage while paying your own internet and power bills to boot! 

6. Skillshare

Skillshare is sort of like the flip side of Udemy. They are reliable, don’t get me wrong! It’s that they focus more on the creative side and lifestyle skills, but have some technical courses, too. What we love about Skillshare is how they are consciously building a global community of creatives. Once you are in, you can connect with groups within the over 600,000-strong enrolled students. 

You can get started for free and see if it works for you. If you have teams to train, Skillshare is already set up to handle groups. They even offer soft skills classes, which is rare! 

7. Virtual Excellence Academy

Enrollment for the business building program is closed for 2023, but you can join the 2024 waitlist! This virtual assistant training program aims at equipping next-level online service providers. If you or your team is ready to make a big impact on the business world, this course is for you. It works for all VAs, from beginners in the online space to freelancers who want to reach higher heights. The goal of the business building course is to give you the footing you need to establish long-term success. You choose your work to live the lifestyle you want. 

Teh Virtual; Excellence Academy has a support community, too, called The Inner Circle. This is where members can collaborate and learn together, creating connections for fin and business. 

8. LinkedIn Learning

Millions of people are currently taking advantage of LinkedIn Learning, formerly Linda.com. This platform is famous for business networking, so what better place to go to upskill? You can find a ton of in-demand skills here – they should know best what the latest and greatest are! They have accumulated over 20,000 online courses, too, from real-world professionals. The first month is free, so you can test it out, and you can cancel at any time.

9. HubSpot Academy

HubSpot began as a customer platform. From their original CRM, they grew into a marketplace for remote workers. They offered tools like time tracking software, and even built a platform for hiring remote VAs. Today, you can enroll in a free virtual assistant training program under the same umbrella. 

HubSpot Academy offers not only free but unlimited access to their courses. They cover hundreds of topics, and all you need to do is sign up. You can jump into short, practical courses or dig into deeper, more comprehensive certifications. The platform focuses on the most sought-after business skills, so you can’t go wrong here. Because of their connections in the business realm, they can point you to the hottest business topics. Like LinkedIn Learning, you get updated on the latest trends in sales, digital marketing, lead generation, customer support, and more.

As you complete certifications to earn badges, you can share these industry-recognized marks to your LinkedIn profile. When companies see them, they’ll know you’re for real because HubSpot awards globally-recognized certifications. 

10. Domestika

Domestika offers online courses for creative professionals. They are, after all, the largest online community for creatives. Although the word “creatives” usually triggers thoughts of arts and crafts, that’s not all they offer. Creatives like copywriters and marketers can benefit from a lot of content that goes into deep specifics.

For instance, you can learn about editorial design, design management, digital lettering, communication, film photography, concept art, creating comics, and so much more. Domestika also has a blog where you can learn a lot of stuff free of charge. If you sign up to be a Plus member, you can get some courses for free.

11. Fiverr Learn

As a gig marketplace, Fiverr is in a great position to know what skills are the most in-demand. This opportunity gave rise to Fiverr Learn, where you can take on-demand professional courses. The website boldly states that all these are “led by the world’s top experts.” How can you go wrong? It looks like any gig work you can do from a laptop with an internet connection, you can learn to do here.

These short courses are great for gaining knowledge and skills, even with a busy schedule. You can take a 2-hour course or sign up for 10 hours or more of learning. Because you’re learning from experts, you are sure to get proven and practical skills and processes that you can apply to your work right away.

12. Google Skillshop & Cloud Skills Boost

Google Cloud Skills Boost offers learning paths for skill-building. If you already have the skills, you can join for knowledge and skills validation. The Generative AI learning path is free of cost and includes 10 courses to teach you all the basics that you need. Everything is taught by Google Cloud experts, so you are getting it straight from the best. You can join other paths as well, which Google calls “guided journeys.” You will navigate learning activities to gain new skills for career growth. 

Paths include Duet AI in Google Workspace, Network Engineer, IT Heroes Summit, Data Analyst, Google Workspace Administrator, BI and Analytics with Looker, DevSecOps, Public Sector, and more. You can also get into profession-specific paths like Cloud Architect and Google Cloud Infrastructure for Apigee, Azure and AWS. The full catalog of Google Cloud authored content is only available after purchasing a subscription. 

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Getting certifications is not necessary. They are helpful, though, on both the freelancer and business owner sides. If you are going to learn a VA skill, you might as well be able to prove it. This makes it easier for potential clients to see what you can do. If you are a business owner and you want a hire to learn more, short courses are a great option. You can pay for the virtual assistant training programs yourself.

Alternatively, you can give incentives for them to earn certifications, like a raise when they complete a course and start applying what they’ve learned. If you request or require a skill upgrade, however, more of the burden should fall on you. If a VA suggests upskilling to help your business, you can evaluate and see if you should shoulder the costs.

 

Want to know how to go about outsourcing video editing?

In this post we’ll go through the benefits and challenges of outsourcing and what the process might look like for you.

What is Video Editing?

Editing is the process of manipulating video footage to achieve a specified goal. This involves combining clips together, adding effects and transitions, and even doing audio editing like including sound effects and music.

We apply video editing when creating videos for personal use, online content, advertising, and movies and TV shows. 

Benefits of Outsourcing Video Editing

Time-Saving

Editing takes a lot of time. One video can become an entire day’s work. Not everyone has the time to learn to edit. This is why handing the project over to a third party can save you many hours. 

Cost-efficient

Video editing is not cheap. Hiring a full-time or part-time in-house editor will cost you a pretty penny. On the other hand, outsourcing means you can hire when you need it and only pay for the minutes and hours they actually work on the project. You also don’t have to worry about paying additional worker benefits. 

Access to Software and Tools

Editors typically purchase their own video editing tool subscriptions. When you hire an editor, you are also technically renting their editing software. 

Experience and Expertise 

Freelance video editors have the experience that allows them to efficiently deliver your video while maintaining quality. Their skill sets have taken years to hone and with that comes valuable expertise to bring your vision to life. 

Wide Talent Pool

If you hire locally, you have a limited talent pool to choose from. Choosing outsourcing allows you to look at a wider selection of editors with a broader range of editing styles. 

Challenges of Outsourcing Video Editing

Communication Barriers

When hiring from other countries, there can be certain language and cultural barriers that hamper effective communication. Also, time zones may affect deadlines. 

Consistency Issues

There is no guarantee that a freelancer whom you worked with on one project will be available when you need them for another. Working with multiple different editors could lead to quality consistency issues. 

Onboarding Different People

You also have to consider the amount of time it would take to onboard new freelancers for each project. You may have to go through the hiring process multiple times. 

Revisions

The benefit of in-house editing is the fact that you have unlimited revisions and can oversee the editing process from start to finish. This is not so with outsourcing. You get a limited number of revisions and less control and oversight over the process. 

Finding Freelance Video Editors

Video plays a very important role in the world of marketing. Because most internet traffic is video traffic, advertising and marketing teams make video a key priority in their strategies. As such, the demand for competent video editors is high. 

This means that you won’t have much trouble looking for video editors online through freelance marketplaces or other job sites. 

To name a few you have sites like Upwork or FreeUp can help you with long-term hires. Fiverr and VideoHusky are great for one-off projects. Backstage focuses more on TV and film editors. 

However, with the saturation of video editors comes a new problem. How can you narrow down the list of candidates and find the best fit for you? 

Assessing Your Candidates

On your video editing outsourcing journey, there are 5 areas we believe you should focus on. 

English Proficiency

The ability to convey your ideas clearly, especially when it comes to something as creatively charged as video editing, is crucial. This becomes instrumentally more challenging if you don’t speak the same language. This is something you assess during the initial interview. You can also get a general idea of their proficiency based on how they market themselves on job websites. 

Technology Capacity

Here are some valuable questions to consider:

• Do they use software you use or want them to use? 
• Do they have their own subscription or do you have to purchase it for them? 
• Are you looking for someone with basic skills in that software or a greater proficiency? 

Rate Flexibility 

Does the person you are hiring offer different rates depending on the complexity of the job or not? 

A person with 10 years of Adobe Premiere Pro experience might sound great on paper. However, if they are charging an invariable rate, no matter the simplicity of the task, you may not be spending your dollars efficiently. 

Skills and Experience

Editing is a broad term encompassing a number of skills. It’s important to know the specific kinds of skills you want for your project before you start to look for potential candidates. 

For instance, consider sound editing in videos. Not every video editor knows how to mix sound. Some editors are specifically skilled in color grading. Some are good at editing live-action while others focus on animation. Even then, specific editors have different styles. 

You should also consider the industries and types of videos these editors have done in the past. One person might be experienced in cinematic videos, another in instructional videos, and another in animated short stories. This is something to consider because it shows you both their capabilities and their comforts. 

Previous Work and Test Project

Similar outsourcing graphic design projects, you should also request to view your video editing candidates’ portfolios. This gives you an idea of the kind of work they can do. 

Setting up a test project can also help you gauge their abilities further.

Here you can assess:

• Editing style
• Speed
• Skill-level
• How well they work with a team 
• How well they understand your vision 
• Process of edits and revisions 

Paying Your Editor

Note: These depend on the scope of the work and level of skill required.

Hourly Rate

According to Upwork, beginner editors can charge between $25 and $45 dollars. Mid-level video editors charge between $45 and $100. Expert editors for bigger projects can charge $60-$100 and over. 

Fixed Rate

Some video editors opt for pricing per minute of video. This is evident when hiring video editors on Fiverr for example. While the rates vary significantly on this site, you can expect basic to mid-level editing jobs to cost between $15-$30 per minute. This also includes a set number of revisions. 

While less common, some video editors charge per project which can cost a few hundred dollars per video. To make this deal more attractive, some offer more chances for revisions. 

Other Costs to Consider

Not every editor comes with their own software subscription. This is typically the major cost to consider on top of costs related to additional edits or revisions outside the original agreement. 

Finalizing Payment with a Contract

Making a freelance contract is essential to legalize the relationship between both parties. These contracts include the job description, payment terms, and confidentiality agreements. 

Managing Your Editor’s Workflow

You can easily define the scope of work by creating a detailed job description with a list of roles, responsibilities, goals, and objectives. Here are some of the tasks that fall under a video editor’s purview. 

Project Management

Throughout the project, you want to check in on the progress of your editor in real time. You can do this through several project management software like Trello. 

File Transfer and Proxies

Establish how you want files to be sent and stored. You want to make sure that you have backups for your files and that they’re secure. Most people use a shared Google Drive. 

Setting Work Expectations

This is part of the onboarding process. Setting expectations encompasses the work, progress updates, and communication frequency. This also includes setting expectations for work culture and work values during the partnership. 

Submitting Editing Requests

These are editing notes you may have during the editing process and differ from revisions. The editor usually sets deadlines for these requests. Your editor will likely consider a late submission of an editing request as a revision. 

Asking for Revisions and Closing Out Projects

Revisions are after-the-fact changes that you would like the editor to make. In video editing outsourcing, you have a finite amount of times you can request revisions. Once satisfied, you can thank your editor and conclude the project. 

Things to Communicate to Your Video Editor

A Script or Storyboard

You need to give your editor an outline of how your video flows. What are you trying to communicate in your video? What is the narrative structure? Is it an informative video? Is it a vlog? Are you trying to entice viewers to purchase something, or are you trying to tell a story? These are things your editor needs to know because it informs the way he cuts and manipulates footage to achieve your desired end result. 

Branding Guidelines

This is all about communicating your brand identity. This includes your tone, values, and overall brand personality. How do you want your business to be represented? Things like the warmth or coolness of the color grading and the type of music and effects used will elicit different feelings in audiences. 

An Example

Explaining your ideas and having an editor know exactly what you want is incredibly rare. This is why a lot of freelancers in the creative fields have certain guidelines for the number of revisions allowed within a payment plan. In order to lessen this, you can give your editors examples of similar videos to draw inspiration from.

A Creative Brief

This is essentially a document that summarizes the goals of a creative project. This includes the core values and messaging of a company, the target audience, deliverables, and timeline. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cost-effective to outsource video editing?

Yes, it is both cost and time effective.

Do I hire video editors part time or project based?

This all depends on your needs. If you find yourself creating a few videos on a regular basis, hiring a part time VA might suit you better. If you only do videos say once a month, then hiring on a project basis makes more sense financially. 

What is the turnaround time for outsourcing video editing projects?

The general rule of thumb is that videos take about half an hour to an hour of editing per minute of the final project. So, if you need a 10-minute video, expect it to be completed in around 10 hours.

Of course, depending on the complexity of edits, this could take shorter or longer. For instance, it can sometimes take an editing team a year to finish a movie. While you likely may not require that level of editing skill, the point is that editing takes more time than you might think. That is why the ability to edit fast is an asset that you should expect to charge extra for.  

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Investing in video is an intelligent business move, and outsourcing video editing might just be the next smart move you make. While there are a number of challenges to outsourcing, the benefits in terms of cost and time savings just about outweigh them. 

You now have more of a “close up” into and a “higher definition” of the world of video editing. We hope this article has “rendered” you more confident and the future of your business with a clear “resolution”.

On that note, I think it’s time for me to “fade out” of here.

What is a customer support virtual assistant and why would I need one?

Customer service is a must have in the world of commerce. With the growth of e-commerce sales, the need for e-support is surging too. However, not all businesses choose to do customer service in-house. That’s where customer support VAs come in. 

Because of the nature of some jobs, workers don’t even need to be working in the same building or country as the business. There are many benefits to this and some business owners outsource tasks to virtual assistants – one being customer service.

But, what are these advantages? 

Benefits of Hiring a Customer Support Virtual Assistant

Customer support staff are primarily responsible for answering customer queries, but that isn’t all. They are available to help and ensure patrons have access to the resources they need during the buyer’s journey. This means they are there to help in both pre-purchase and post-purchase stages. To excel in these roles, customer service staff can greatly benefit from soft skills training courses which enhance their communication, problem-solving, and empathy skills, ensuring better customer interactions.

Virtual customer service staff are beneficial for a few reasons.

Cost-Effective

Because e-support is becoming very popular, the physical presence of customer service staff is less necessary. By outsourcing, you can save on overhead expenses like power and rent. The rates will also likely be lower when hiring from countries with much lower costs of living. Not only that, but you also don’t have to think about worker benefits or payroll taxes if you hire overseas. 

Expertise and Experience

When you wisely outsource customer support, you are outsourcing to individuals and teams who have likely served many customers before. You can even find those who have worked in similar industries to yours. This also saves you the time and money investment involved in training and developing your own CS department. 

24/7 Support

One of the benefits of hiring workers outside of your time zone is the flexibility. You ideally would like to get to your customer inquiries and concerns as quickly as possible. VA staff can make that possible by manning the desk on business off-hours. You can even have both a virtual day team and night team. 

Scalability

You can expand or contract your customer service needs during busy and slow times of the year. Accounting for seasonality like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or other high-volume seasons, you can temporarily hire staff to manage the load. 

Types of Customer Support Services Offered by Virtual Assistants

Email and Phone Support

This involves answering a designated customer support email and manning phone lines. 

Chatbots and Automation 

Chatbots are basically automated responses to the most commonly asked questions. Companies create these preset responses by gathering queries asked in various customer support channels. Anything more complex than this can be the job of the next service on our list. 

Live Chat

This involves a CS representative chatting with a potential buyer in real time. They help them with their experience on your website or a web page. These people can direct them to the resources that they need. Live chat interactions can help you develop your FAQs and inform what your automated responses can be.

FAQ Creation

CS staff create FAQs by collating responses from multiple places like email, phone, live chat, comments, and other forms of feedback. This solution is a win-win for both parties. On the one hand, customers can find an answer to their common question quickly. On the other hand, your other customer service personnel are free to answer more complex problems not included in the FAQ section.

Helpful Videos and Other Resources

Like FAQs, there are other forms of content that we consider a kind of customer support. For instance, videos showing how a product or service works. Though not their primary duties, CS staff can also help create written content that aid customer service experiences. These and FAQs are self-help options that provide customer service while giving customers the ability to help themselves. 

Social Media 

A lot of companies leverage the value of social media to market their products and services. With social media advertising also comes the need for customer support. They can answer comments, chat with potential leads, manage CS pages, and more. 

Note: While not technically customer support, a CRM or customer relationship management tool, is also something you should consider. A good CRM system can really help you not only find customers, but also retain them. The data gathered by CRM software like HubSpot can really improve your customer service efforts.

How to Find the Right Customer Support Virtual Assistant

We recommend looking through the top freelance marketplaces like Upwork and FreeUp. These places have social proof like reviews and ratings that allow you to see past freelancer performance. 

What Skills and Qualifications Should You Look for in a Customer Support Virtual Assistant?

Communication Skills

This is naturally the most important skill when it comes to CS. This is more than just speaking the language and knowing the business. It’s about being able to understand a client’s needs and provide a clear and comprehensible answer. 

Critical Thinking / Problem-Solving Skills

Sometimes the queries that customers have are easy to answer. Other times, it’s more challenging and might not even appear in the handbook. This means customer support staff must be able to think on their feet and find a solution. They need to be resourceful and flexible to cater to the specific needs of each client.

Knowledge and Willingness to Learn

I’ve personally had instances where I ask a customer service representative about an item and they can’t give me any new information. This probably has more to do with how they’re trained than the reps themselves.

However, you should look for someone who is willing to know the ins and outs of your products and services. This way, they can give more quality and valuable responses to your customers. 

Empathy, Patience, Grace 

These skills are often overlooked, but are crucial in customer service. CS staff is responsible for providing the best experience they can to customers.

Sometimes customers have a bad day, are themselves impatient, or are difficult. However, sometimes the product or service may have genuinely caused inconvenience to them and they need a solution.

While we do not condone the mistreatment of customer service staff, we do advocate for the golden rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Someone who is kind, understanding, and gracious is the ideal representative not only for your CS department, but your business as a whole.

Cost of Hiring A Customer Support Virtual Assistant

According to Upwork, standard CS representative rates are between $10-$19 per hour. This number can be higher if you need more in-depth help with FAQs and other content. 

How to Train Your Customer Support Virtual Assistant

Onboarding 

An in-depth remote onboarding process is essential to help your hire get to know your business and its products. Here, they also get to know the roles and responsibilities of the position. You can also communicate your work culture. 

Soft Skills Training

The kind of soft skills you train for depends on the position. With customer service, this involves people-skills like the ones we mentioned earlier. This typically aligns with your company values, especially regarding customer relations. 

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Orientation

These involve the types of actions taken during certain scenarios. For instance, this can tell you what to do and how to behave when a customer has a complaint. These SOPs do vary from business to business, but they have fundamental similarities. An example would be not to raise your voice if the customer is upset.

How to Manage Your Customer Support Virtual Assistant

Communication Channels

We can’t stress enough how important it is to establish your communication channels early on. These channels are where you dole out tasks and where your hire can get a hold of you. Onboarding and orientation go far for sure. However, you should always be reachable in case a customer has a complaint not in the guidebook. 

Regular Check-Ins

Regularly scheduled meetings and checkups are crucial. These meetings are for progress reports and temperature checks. They are also places for partnership – for receiving feedback and suggestions.

Common Challenges Faced by Customer Support Virtual Assistants

Uncommon Questions and Issues

Some customers are going to have questions that may not be on the FAQs. These complex questions might seem jarring, especially if CS staff have never dealt with it before. Some may have to do with a product flaw or a website malfunction that customer service personnel can’t fix. That’s why it’s important that your team is able to problem solve and communicate with clients, not just read from a book. 

Multi-tasking

A smaller CS staff may have to handle multiple chats, emails, or queries at once. In these cases, it’s important to remain organized and thorough so you still provide excellent customer care. Also, make sure you have enough staff for the demand. Overworked staff giving subpar quality service will only spell disaster in the long run. 

Upset Customers

Sometimes customer service representatives need to learn how to diffuse a situation. However, dealing with difficult customers day in and day out is a real and unfortunate reality for some. This can take a toll on a person. That’s why checking in on your CS staff and making sure their morale is high is important. That culture of care for customers should start with a culture of care for those who work with and for you. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Customer Support Virtual Assistants available 24/7?

You can definitely put that as one of your criteria when canvassing for the right VA. Most customer service VAs are aware their services may be required round the clock. However, we do recommend that you hire at least two VAs to cover for one another. 

Is it safe to share sensitive customer information with a Virtual Assistant?

When it comes to data security, while there certainly are risks, there are also quite a few methods of mitigating them. For instance, we wouldn’t recommend allowing just anyone to have access to this information.

Recruiting through sketchy websites or failing to undertake proper vetting procedures can lead to a bad hire. We recommend hiring through esteemed freelance marketplaces or on referral from people you trust. Also, maintaining a “need-to-know” attitude towards customer data will also be beneficial. 

You have little to worry about sensitive information leaking if you follow some of these hiring practices. Learning the best hiring methods with Outsource School can help you avoid hiring risks and mishaps. 

How do I monitor the performance of a Customer Support Virtual Assistant?

You can use project management software like Asana, Microsoft Project, or Trello. This is where you can give instructions, store guides, and maintain regular communication. That way, a hire can always go back and look at what you’ve discussed whenever they face confusion. You can also hire a project manager or appoint a lead representative with more experience. This lead can train up other reps in your company culture and preferred practices.

What tools and software are commonly used by Customer Support VAs?

Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Helpdesk are the most popular ones for general customer service. Mailchimp is a common tool used for email management. Whatever tool you use, the most important thing is to hire someone who can use it well. 

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Hiring a customer support virtual assistant is a great investment for your business. If you didn’t have a CS department before, this can greatly improve your customer relationships. If you need to transition from in-house to third-party, you can save money and leverage other advantages of outsourcing. 

By investing in customer support, you’re putting the needs of your customers first. By putting the customers’ needs first, you’re really putting your business first. 

Every business needs to look into outsourcing trends as we close out 2023 and plan for 2024. Outsourcing is an ever-growing trend itself, so making the most of it is the smart move. When you know in what direction outsourcing is going, you can take the best advantage of all it has to offer.

In this post, we’ll go over what we see happening in the world of outsourcing in 2024 so you can prepare.

Continued Growth of Remote Work

Remote work was on the rise even before everyone found themselves on lockdown. When the pandemic hit, working from home simply became the norm for most people. In 2024, even as fears of the virus die down, remote work will not. By adopting this model, you can retain people who prefer to make the work from home shift permanent. 

Increasing Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

This is one of the newer outsourcing trends, but one that will likely catch on quickly. AI and automation can be the most cost-efficient option for many tasks, such as bookkeeping. This makes them very popular. As they gain more traction, developers are likely to put more time and effort into developing better solutions for businesses. If you haven’t tried either yet, you should! Automation is a great tool when leading remote teams.

Increased Cybersecurity Measures

Cybersecurity is improving steadily. Whether we outsource or not, we share a lot of sensitive information online nowadays. We need to leverage the best online security we can access to safeguard business operations. 

Rise of Niche and Specialized Outsourcing Providers

One of our favorite trends in outsourcing is all the emerging niche service providers. We used to hire freelancers from large platforms that catered to every need. Now we can find specialized sites that vet specific skillsets. In fact, the owners of Outsource School have their very own bookkeeping service called EcomBalance! This gives businesses better options because the providers can keep a closer eye on the freelancers. They are smaller, and know the niche much better.

More Flexible and Scalable Outsourcing Models

Because outsourcing has become so popular, the industry now has several models to choose from. Under location-based outsourcing, you can select partners based on how far they are from you. This includes near-shoring, offshore outsourcing, and onshore outsourcing. 

With onshore outsourcing, you are hiring from within your state or country. They are likely not going to relocate for the job, hence it’s still called outsourcing. You can, however, reduce the risks associated with language barriers and cultural differences.

Nearshore outsourcing means hiring people from nearby countries, usually to find people who work within the same or similar time zone as you are in. Some language differences may be present, but the affordability makes the challenge worthwhile.

Offshore outsourcing is hiring from more distant locations. This usually gives you even more affordable options while maintaining a high quality standard of services. 

Multisource outsourcing, or multisourcing, is the model which we use most often. This entails outsourcing from different providers in different locations around the world. This gives businesses the best chances of success since they can select more than one agency or platform and hire people from the global talent pool to build the most suitable teams. 

With onsite outsourcing, you put together an outsourced team, then arrange for them to report to your office to work alongside in-house employees. This is usually done for short-term projects or a temporary arrangement to pass on the company culture. It also works very well to get an onshore, offshore, or nearshore team up to speed on your system and processes. If you hire from across the globe, however, you might want to consider meeting virtually instead. 

Enhanced Customer Experience

We love outsourcing trends that help us improve our customers’ experience! Because so many businesses are global now, it makes a lot of sense to hire outsourced teams to take care of customers. By assembling teams from all over the world, we can cater to all needs in all time zones in real time.

Growth of Cloud-Based Outsourcing Solutions

Cloud outsourcing is another of the newer trends in outsourcing. This type of outsourcing refers to companies that contract with providers to take care of cloud computing projects. These third-party cloud service providers help businesses save on IT costs while they focus on their core competencies. Businesses can also grow more agile and gain the ability to scale by taking advantage of these outsourcing options. 

Expansion of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)

The global Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) market size has been growing steadily since 2021. The global pandemic that pushed most people to move to online work helped a lot. Just as any cloud-based task can be outsourced, many high-level tasks can be passed off to experts who work virtually.

Whether it’s within a single agency or hiring individuals scattered in different places, KPO works. This is how companies can get expert help and advice on a budget. It’s basically Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), but for more complex tasks.

Outsourcing in E-Commerce

As E-commerce grows year over year, outsourcing trends on the industry grow, too. This includes all aspects of E-commerce business, including logistics and supply chain management. These areas require careful planning and a lot of experience.

Outsourcing to a niche provider can be one of the best business decisions you make. The experts can help you do an accurate cost analysis and projections. The right logistics partner can be a great investment. Because they also benefit when your company succeeds, they will be dedicated to streamlining your logistics. 

Apart from experience, E-fulfillment companies have the systems and processes in place to take care of this complex area of E-commerce. The trend of outsourcing to such experts has grown because it’s so much easier to partner than develop your own network – especially for global orders! A partner will have an optimized transport management system, and take care of risk management, too.

Global Talent Pool Expansion

Many people, most unfortunately, lost their jobs during the global lockdowns. Those who could no longer work in offices or outdoors were left with little choice. With almost everything around them shut down, many made the switch to working online. They found online jobs to be the last remaining option for earning a living. 

Today, this is great news for business owners because the talent pool is growing larger! The larger part of the global workforce was stretched into this new mode of working. This means that overseas employers can now find more people who are experienced in working online.

Hybrid Work Models

These days, the workplace need no longer be whatever four walls your employer works out of. It is now more of an ecosystem of people who work together, from wherever they happen to be or need to be to accomplish different tasks. 

Some people want an even more flexible option than choosing between the clear-cut options of working in an office and working remotely. This is how hybrid work came about, and it’s becoming really popular. Hybrid work is very people-focused in that it allows your workforce to work in whatever way boosts their productivity the most. This usually means working some days in person and some days remote, from wherever they can get the most done.

Most people these days love the option of working from home – or a beach somewhere halfway across the world. Others would like to come back to base now and again because they feel isolated or miss the water cooler chats.

Managing a hybrid workforce may be more challenging, but the extra time and effort you put in can reap you huge rewards. The increase in productivity alone can boost revenues significantly. Also, because it’s worker satisfaction that increases productivity in the first place, you’ll be dealing with far fewer human resources issues. This can be massive in terms of cost savings as well as a better company environment overall. Happier workers are great for business! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some key drivers behind the growth of outsourcing trends?

The biggest catalyst for 2024 trends in outsourcing are the experiences of the global workforce over the past few years. The ways in which the pandemic changed the way we work is the most significant above all. This is because of how widespread it was and how deeply it impacted working folk.

How do outcome-based contracts impact outsourcing relationships?

An outcome-based contract means that a client only makes payment for services if they meet the pre-arranged objectives. This is the direct opposite of hourly work, or payment for time spent working. 

Outcome-based contracts can be very beneficial for businesses, especially in managing costs. However, if the scope of work needs to change, these fixed-price contracts can be very difficult to manage. Many outsourcing relationships have gone sour because clients have updated their requirements without making room for additional work. In other words, they wanted more but weren’t wiling to pay more. All things considered, outcome-based contracts are perfectly alright as long as both parties know exactly what’s expected and stick to it.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

We believe that all businesses should learn to adapt to outsourcing trends, at least in some part. Outsourcing is the way of the future, and getting on board with trends is always a smart business move. Knowing what to expect in 2024, we hope that you can plan to take advantage of all that outsourcing has to offer your business.

If you are unsure about outsourcing billing services, then this post is for you. We love outsourcing billing services, but before you choose to do the same, you need to weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes, it’s wise to outsource certain billing tasks, but not others. We’ll go through the main ones, and the costs of outsourcing them, to help you decide if this is a good solution for you.

What Are the Top Billing Services or Tasks to Outsource?

You might want to outsource some billing services, but not all. Below are the most common billing tasks that we think are best outsourced.

Invoice generation

Creating invoices can actually be automated for the most part. This is especially true for subscription billing. What you want to outsource here is setting up clients on your invoicing system, and checking invoices for errors. An assistant can enter the details of each client into your system for you.

This is basically data entry work, and you don’t need to spend your time on it. Just look for someone who has experience with your software and an eye for detail. Before invoices go out, have them check that each draft is free of errors. They can make any needed adjustments, too.

Payment processing

Like invoicing, payment processing can be mostly automated. Once an invoice gets paid, you can have an assistant verify the amount and the transaction. Most invoicing and outsourced accounting software tools have the option to note payment details. Just make sure that you are hiring someone who cares about accuracy.

For outgoing payments, you can still outsource manual payments, but be careful. You must know that you can trust the person you are giving access to. Make sure that you have all the possible bank account safeguards in place. 

Accounts receivable / payable management

Outsourcing billing services like this to a bookkeeping virtual assistant is a great idea. A bookkeeper knows exactly how to balance these items. They will be able to help you manage it and avoid falling behind.

You don’t want to end up ruining vendor and supplier relationships because you forgot to pay. Even worse, you might not have enough money because you didn’t follow up on payments due to you.

Data entry

A lot of billing tasks are actually data entry work, like entering client information, financial details, and keeping records. You can hire a bookkeeper to keep all of this sorted out.

A bookkeeper knows how to handle all of this data. That does not only mean what needs to go where. They know all about keeping sensitive information safe and making sure that the details are entered accurately. Accounting does not allow for mistakes!

Payment reconciliation

Payment reconciliation is another accounting task that makes outsourcing billing services sound like the best idea ever. This accounting process involves verifying account balances to make sure that all the details in different sets of records are accurate and match up. That’s not a task that most people would enjoy, or be able to manage.

Maintaining records so they stay updated, true, and consistent takes an eye for detail and a love for accuracy that not all people have. Whether you choose to do it daily, weekly, or monthly, you can use some help. The tediousness of this task can lead to mistakes, and you don’t want that. Payment reconciliation helps you avoid missing or failed payments and deposits, reporting and tax errors, and identify fraud. 

Credit control

Sometimes, allowing customers to purchase on credit can make you more popular. As you promote more sales this way, however, you must stay on top of all the payments due to you.

The credit control process helps you track the credit period, the payment terms you offer each customer, the credit standards, and your debt collection policy. It can also keep track of any cash discounts you offer to customers who opt to pay up front.

Attractive payment terms can boost profits, but only if you make sure you are getting paid. Start with hiring someone who knows how to check customers’ credit history so you know who you can reliably extend an offer to.

Billing statement preparation

If you need to provide a customer with an overview of their account activity with your business, an assistant can help. You are most likely not that keenly familiar with every client’s transaction history with your business. And you don’t need to be.

First, you will want someone who can make sure that all these transactions records are properly compiled and stored in case any customer asks for a billing statement.

Then you will have them ready at a moment’s notice. This builds customer trust and loyalty. If you like, you can even have an assistant send these statements out regularly. The same assistant can also help you manage your billing cycle.

Customer billing inquiries

One thing that can really eat up a lot of your time is answering questions. When you hire a bookkeeper or other financial account assistant, they can take over customer inquiries. Every time someone calls or emails with a question, you have an assistant at the helm. This person is properly equipped to give the right answers about their invoice, subscription, change in payment method, etc.

Expense tracking and billing

Another potentially tedious yet vital task, expense tracking is best outsourced. You need to have a record of every single expense your business has. This not only helps you with your taxes, but also gives you a clear and detailed picture of your budget. This way, you can understand what changes you should make to become more profitable.

An experienced assistant can help you decide whether to make adjustments to fixed expenses like rent and utilities, or to fluctuating costs like labor and advertising. Without this, your budget will not accurately reflect what you’re spending, ans possibly wasting.

Refund processing

No business likes to think of issuing refunds. Not only do you have to return someone’s money, but you incur added expenses. You already spent a bunch making that sale, and now you have to spend more reversing it. This hassle can make you ignore the refund process, which is a bad idea.

Customer satisfaction is so important, and refund processing is one of its more vital aspects. With an experienced assistant, you can optimize your refund process so it’s not abused, runs smoothly, and keeps customers happy.

What Are the Pros of Outsourcing Billing Services

1. Cost Savings

You save a lot in general when you hire from overseas. Because most billing tasks are online anyway, you don’t need anyone in-office to do most of the work. The possible language barrier isn’t even an issue for the most part because bookkeepers generally don’t talk to your customers. 

2. Expertise and Efficiency

When you outsource, you are hiring from a global talent pool, not just the people who live in your vicinity. This gives you the best chance of finding the perfect fit for your needs. You can more quickly and easily get the right balance of skills, availability, and even personality when you hire globally.

3. Focus on Core Competencies

Most businesses don’t need full-time help with billing tasks. This tempts most business owners to do them, or ask another team member to take care of them. That is not a good idea, though, because it takes you away from what you do best. You will not do the tasks as well as a specialist would, for one thing. In addition, you might make mistakes because you don’t enjoy the work.

4. Scalability and Flexibility

When you outsource billing tasks, you can hire someone for as many hours as you need. This can easily change month over month, or even week over week. With freelance help, you pay only for the time that they actually spend working. You can get more hours or cut back whenever.

What Are the Cons of Outsourcing Billing Services?

1. Loss of Control

You are trusting another person with your finances when you outsource billing. However, you can put safeguards in place so you don’t get burned. Data security is one major concern. Contact us for help in this area!

2. Quality and Customer Relations

You might think that you can do everything better than anyone else. Most business owners do! While you might be right, the truth is that it’s still not worth your time to do everything. Focus instead on looking for expert help and building strong teams that learn and grow with you.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

We hope that this post helped you to decide whether outsourcing billing services is a good option for you. The Outsource School founders have certainly found it to be beneficial in their businesses! We want to make sure that it’s the best choice for your business, too.

The process of outsourcing legal work is not much different than any other type of work. What you must take extra care with are the qualifications and other technical details involved. Because of the nature of legal work, you need to meticulously screen and select the right legal assistant. 

Of course, you would have to go through this intricate process even when hiring in-house. So, with outsourcing legal work, you aren’t losing anything. You can actually gain more time because several expert agencies already exist. You widen your talent pool when hiring online, and they have certifications you can easily check and trust.

In this post, we’re going to give you 15 legal tasks you can start outsourcing to an assistant. Let us know which ones helped you the most! We love getting feedback and testimonies!

1. Legal Research

Research is among the most hated tasks because it can be so tedious. Of course, there are a few people who actually love this type of work! As hard as it is to believe that, they do exist! Outsourcing legal work like this – the tasks you hate the most – can return even grater benefits because it alleviates so much stress.

Due diligence is necessary to ensure quality output in the legal field. Any lawyer worth their mettle needs help to avoid having to work 80-hour weeks because of the heavy research load. Legal research tasks include litigation and non-litigation research, statutory research, case law research, foreign law research, regulatory or compliance law research, and legislation research. Getting any of these off your plate can be a huge help.

2. Document Review

Electronic discovery, or eDiscovery, is the process of searching out and collecting electronically stored information, or ESI. This data is then sorted through to identify relevant bits to produce them as a judge might request in a law suit or investigation. The law also requires ESI in other cases, such as furnishing opposing counsel with copies of evidence. ESI can be anything from emails and databases to documents stored online or voicemails stored by phone companies. It can comprise audio messages and other social media or website content as well. 

As you can imagine, looking for and collating this data can be time-consuming. It can also be challenging because electronic documents are more dynamic – they change, unlike hard copies of documents. This means that you need other items such as metadata to get time and date stamps. This is to prove when they were produced or last edited. This also applies to document authors and recipients, as well as other file properties. It can be a lot! So, document review will get expensive and unmanageable if you do it yourself. 

3. Contract Drafting

Outsourcing legal drafting services can be very useful when you deal with a lot of them. These can include employment contracts, lease agreements, sale or purchase contracts, and the like. 

Most small and medium-sized businesses don’t have legal departments. They simply don’t need a whole separate division to handle a legal document or concern here and there. Creating one just to draft documents would be a huge waste of resources. And you don’t want just anyone drafting these important papers because you want to ensure accuracy and compliance. Outsourcing means allowing experts to take care of these needs efficiently.

 

4. Legal Processes

Did you know that even law firms outsource various legal processes? Just like research, many legal tasks can be time-consuming and therefore expensive to do in-house. As the legal industry changes, many firms make adjustments in favor of serving customers better. This means not having to charge them too much for high-quality services. Legal process outsourcing is now a major trend. 

Legal process outsourcing includes legal writing, paralegal tasks, litigation support, legal accounting, and similar work. This can get as granular as multi-jurisdictional surveys, motions, appellate briefs, trial briefs, legal memoranda, complaints, and pleadings. 

5. Deposition Summarization

Depositions can consist of all the information that an attorney gathers for a case. As such, they can be hundreds of pages thick! Even if you have only one witness and their story is only five pages long, though, you still need a summary. The court does not need to, nor would likely be willing to, go through to the whole thing during the actual trial. Deposition summaries have excerpts of the highlights to facilitate the process.

Because these summaries are critical to cases, they must be meticulously prepared. Outsourcing legal work of this level of complexity is wise. You don’t want any error clouding your meaning when your testimony is presented in court.

6. Document Retrieval

Outsourcing legal document retrieval can increase your company’s efficiency. The people who work for you probably already have enough to do. Plus, they won’t likely have any legal know-how. This can make even the simple task of document management difficult. They won’t know what one or another type of document is called. They could skim right past it without a clue.

Legal document retrieval includes obtaining public records, duplicating official copies of legal documents, storing and processing documents, and submitting requested documents to law offices.

7. Transcription Services

Because of the sensitive nature of legal work, outsourcing legal transcription is the best option. Like anything else connected to legal work, producing error-free transcripts is essential. You need someone who can accurately convert audio or video data from discovery sessions, arbitrations, court hearings, depositions, jury instructions, and the like. With all the legal language involved and high emotional volatility expected, legal transcription can be tricky.

8. Client Communication

You can outsource any kind of client communication. It always helps to have someone on board to help in this area. When it comes to legal matters, however, you want to make sure that you’re getting expert help. Because it makes no sense to hire someone for this particular type of conversation, outsourcing works best. 

9. Regulatory Compliance Checks

You are responsible for maintaining the integrity of your operations. This means making sure that you are compliant with all the applicable regulatory requirements. This will keep your business safe from the risks of money laundering and financial terrorism. This takes more than a good anti-virus program, though. When you outsource to a legal compliance firm, you get expert help to uphold the integrity of your business. This way, you can avoid the pitfalls of dealing with criminals and other shady characters. Non-compliance can bring more than hefty fines and damaged reputations. It can actually bring you to the point of closing your business and facing criminal charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is outsourcing legal tasks to online assistants secure and confidential?

If you are hiring someone on your own, you are responsible for securing every aspect of their work. If you hire an agency or offshore company, make sure that you read the fine print. They may offer security features, but you need to do your due diligence. Ultimately, you can still be held liable if you do not do all you can to ensure secure transactions and conversations.

How do I choose the right outsourcing provider for legal tasks?

Security is one major consideration. You must also look into their level of expertise and experience, as well as their niche. Not all legal areas are alike. You cannot, for instance, hire criminal law assistance to handle a case involving financial fraud. 

Can I outsource both short-term and long-term legal projects?

You can outsource legal work of any kind, as long as it can be done online. Do make sure that you are hiring someone who has the right knowledge, though. Laws differ from country to country and even state to state, so you need to be very careful to check that you are asking the right people for help.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Don’t forget that outsourcing legal work does not mean letting go of your legal responsibilities! You are still liable for the outcomes. So, we highly recommend that you maintain strict oversight of any partner you engage to do any type of work for you. Make sure that you also have a tight agreements, all properly documented. Start with the scope of work you will outsource, assurance of 24/7 access to databases, and strict  confidentiality according to the laws that bind you, not just them. 

 

Looking to outsource QA (quality assurance)? 

There are many essential business processes like QA testing that need attention. However, some of the tasks involved might be beyond you or your internal team’s capabilities. Whether this is a skill gap or a time constraint, quality assurance simply cannot get done the right way. 

Here, we will define QA and QA outsourcing, list some benefits, and provide more information to guide you on your outsourcing journey. 

What is QA Outsourcing?

Let’s start by defining these terms separately, then together. 

QA or quality assurance, refers to processes and procedures developed and maintained to ensure products or services meet a predetermined standard. Quality assurance encompasses all stages of the production process. This can be from product design, to product development, to product testing, and finally, product delivery.  

The purpose of QA is to ensure the reliability, safety and regulatory compliance of delivered products and services.

Outsourcing, involves hiring an outside company to take care of a particular task or entire process for you. The reasons for outsourcing can be numerous and we will talk more about that later. 

Therefore, we can say that QA outsourcing involves hiring a third-party to take care of parts of your quality management system. This process includes both quality assurance and quality control. 

Wait, aren’t they the same thing?

What’s the Difference Between Quality Control and Quality Assurance? 

Because they are parts of quality management, it’s easy to get them confused and use the terms interchangeably. They are both integral to the process, however they are distinct.  

Quality assurance is more about creating systems that lead to quality outputs. These systems and the resulting products must align with safety regulations. The products must also, of course, still work as intended. QA is all about creating processes that prevent defects or other quality related problems from happening. You could say part of QA is to make the job of personnel in the QC department much easier. The goal is the quality control seal of approval every time. 

On the other hand, quality control is about inspection of the final products. They make sure what they manufacture meets pre-established quality guidelines. QC helps prove the efficacy of your QA system. If something doesn’t pass a QC check, they report it. Then, those in charge of quality management as a whole will come together to evaluate. Then they decide if the issue was a problem with the QA processes they had in place, or something else. Then they make tweaks or develop new processes for improvement to eliminate the issue in the future.

Benefits of Outsourcing QA

Access to Expertise and Experience

Let’s face it, not all of us know how to effectively create a quality check process. This is especially true when it needs to both have few gaps and be compliant with all the rules and regulations. For instance, do you know about ISO 9001 – a set of quality standards set by the International Organization for Standardization? If you don’t know what that is, you’re not alone. Most business owners don’t know much about it beyond the name. And that’s ok. It’s not in your job description or your area of expertise, after all.

The great thing about outsourcing QA and all its processes is that you don’t have to learn all the technicalities of quality management. Someone else has already absorbed and applied this knowledge. They’ve also likely worked with other companies in the past. This means they might even have templates already in place for companies in your industry. You don’t need to invest in years of study or reinvent the wheel!

Flexibility and Scalability

A lot of the time, you don’t need a complete roster of QA personnel to run your quality management department. Other times, you want a solution that can grow and scale together with your business. Maybe you wished your staff or department could get bigger only during certain times of the year. This means that the team would feasibly shrink back when you no longer need all that manpower. 

Thankfully, these are all cases that outsourcing can help with. Outsourcing is a much more flexible solution. You get flexible pricing for flexible staffing of an inherently dynamic business and market. 

Time Savings 

With expertise and experience comes efficiency and effective procedures and SOPs. The experts have studied this. Their teams know what works and what fails, and they’ve learned how to turn failures into successes. They’ve done their research, performed their tests, and know how to apply standard best practices. They know how to follow regulations and guidelines, which they have studied diligently.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

What happens when you:

• Get products out faster
• Create products that are better quality
• Deliver products that are consistently good 

That’s right, you get a happy customer and happy investors and stakeholders to boot! A faster Time-to-Market (TTM) means the product gets in front of consumers’ eyes faster. Consistently excellent quality means better reviews and the makings of loyal customer relationships. 

Types of QA Outsourcing

We can divide outsourcing into three main types: onshoring, nearshoring, and offshoring. An easy way to understand this is by thinking of the word “shore” as to where your business is located.

• Onshoring – In this case, this is the type of outsourcing where you keep things national. You source outside help anywhere within your city, state, region, or country. One benefit to onshore outsourcing is that you can more easily conduct and be involved in physical inspections. 
• Nearshoring – As the name suggests, nearshoring refers to outsourcing to nearby countries. Say you live in the US. Popular nearshoring locations would be Brazil or Mexico. With nearshoring, you do get some of the benefit of proximity and lower costs. However, language barriers are more of a conscious consideration now. 
• Offshoring – Offshoring is international. If you are conducting something like software QA outsourcing, you don’t really need to be close to your team. This gives you access to cheaper costs and a larger talent pool. Again, however, you need to factor in cultural, language, and time zone differences. 

Another thing to consider when choosing outsourcing types is the potential for insourcing your business processes. Insourcing is when you choose to accomplish in-house a task or process that was previously outsourced. Consider as well that there can be distinct differences in offshoring vs outsourcing.

QA Roles That Can Be Outsourced

The QA team is responsible for developing quality processes, procedures, and checklists and ensuring businesses adhere to them. They are also in charge of testing the efficacy of these processes.

Here are some common job titles in the quality assurance field:

QA Manager/Director/Etc.

These are the heads of your teams. They usually take on the roles of project managers. The creation, implementation, and monitoring of QA strategies fall under their supervision. They are also involved in training other employees, talking directly with suppliers, and reporting to the higher ups. 

QA Engineer

These individuals play a key role in the development of QA procedures and protocols. They help develop and improve products and the testing and inspection processes they undergo. 

QA Analyst

Analysts are responsible for collecting vital data from various stages of the QA process. They use statistics and generate reports to show to QA managers and other team members. 

QA Tester

A tester is not only responsible for performing the tests, but is also involved in developing them. They work closely with QA analysts to gather data and create crucial reports. 

QA Auditor

These individuals check QA systems and investigate potential issues within. They can then also suggest what course of action to take to correct the issues.  

When to Outsource QA

There are several reasons why you might consider outsourcing sooner rather than later:

• You have budget constraints or you want to reduce costs.
• You want to improve the quality of your offerings.
• Time is valuable and you want to free some up for yourself and your team.
• You want to make better use of all of your skills and other resources, too, so you can focus on other core business objectives.
• It’s time to fill in the gaps in your existing QA procedures and processes.
• The QA team needs to grow to keep up with all the tasks.

Is QA Outsourcing Cost-Effective?

Cost-effectiveness is the major benefit of outsourcing in general, and QA is no outlier. If you counted the costs connected to hiring full-time in-house QA staff, you may likely choose to outsource QA instead. 

To put this into perspective, the salary of a single junior-level quality assurance specialist in the US is upwards of $50,000. That isn’t including all other in-house cost factors like overheads, health and dental benefits, bonuses, recruitment costs, and taxes. So, you could be looking at around $55-60,000/year more accurately. That’s for one worker. 

Now most businesses, especially small ones, don’t need that many workers. However, a proper QA team is still necessary if you want to make excellent products consistently. 

Some may unknowingly think that QA isn’t all that necessary. But a proper QA system in place will already save you money in the long term. Think of all the potential product returns and rounds of testing you could avoid by doing it properly in the first place.

By outsourcing, you would save money on an already money-saving process. For instance, outsourcing QA does not require tax payments or benefits. QA offshore outsourcing rates could have you saving tens of thousands of dollars annually. 

Where Can I Find Reliable People for QA Work?

This can depend on the type of QA outsourcing you go for. 

For instance, if you choose to hire in-country, you can search in local directories for potential QA outsourcing service providers. 

Additionally, you should determine if you’re looking for QA staff to help with products and services or for software QA outsourcing solutions. 

Popular software QA services include PixelCrayons and QASource.

Finding a good outsourcing partner also depends on your niche. For instance, Lodestone is a good option for tech companies who make all kinds of devices like phones, TVs, and more. 

It can be much easier to find the right QA team, the more specific you are with your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right QA outsourcing provider?

Finding the right fit is all about knowing your needs first. 

Here are a few tips:

• Prepare a detailed job description.
• List down what you are looking for in a partner. 
• Be diligent in your research.
• Look for portfolios or social proofs. 

What is the typical process for outsourcing QA services?

The process for, say, software QA outsourcing or outsourcing QA testing, is similar to most outsourcing processes. The basic steps are bulleted below, and you can always reach out to Outsource School for additional help in this area.

• Identify and specify needs
• Research hires
• Interview
• Select and finalize details (rate, deadlines, meeting scheds etc.)
• Regular check-in
• Delivery of product/project deadline
• Revisions (if necessary)

What are the potential risks of QA outsourcing, and how can they be mitigated?

There are a few risks of outsourcing. 

Like we mentioned, language, cultural, and time zone barriers can be big risks to working relationships and productivity. Communication with remote teams can be challenging. Data risk is also another reason for hesitancy.

Proper research into the company and people you are looking to hire can mitigate a lot of this. Look for companies with excellent reputations, good communication skills, and strong data security measures in place. 

Pick countries that work best with your time zone and business hours. Or, make sure that overseas hires are night owls who perform better working the wee hours.

Set up communication channels ASAP and onboard new hires properly to meet your expectations.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

If you’re looking to outsource QA, you’re looking at a worthwhile investment. Save time, money, and gain the respect and loyalty of your customers. So, don’t let us hold you up. Go and make this smart business move!

Outsourcing project management is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business. You may like being at the helm, but you are more needed elsewhere in your business. Your position as business owner means that you are more valuable as the one who charts the course. Project management outsourcing allows you to let someone else steer the boat. This way, you can keep making all those great plans that get you to the next and the next level.

What is Project Management?

Project management entails using certain knowledge and skills to ensure the delivery of a product. Coupled with tools and techniques, this product can become of even greater value to the people you intended to serve. No matter what that project is – department expansion, office software, physical infrastructure, social services – properly managing it matters. 

The whole point of project management is creating value for others through various services, products, and processes. These can be short-term or long-term solutions, and accomplished quickly or needing more time to execute. Managing the process is all about setting up the proper structure. This helps you make sure that the people involved can do all the tasks that are part of realizing the project to a high standard.

Even with all the automation options that are available to us these days, you will almost always need someone to take the lead. This person will be responsible for initiating phases of the project and planning the smaller details. They will also check periodically that each phase is executed on time and without compromise. This is important to the success of the project, and in tandem, the success of your business.

Assigning Project Management

Now, you can do this yourself, but we think that’s not the best use of your time or talents. You can also get a partner or department manager to do it. But taking on this new role will usually leave a gap in the role they were previously taking care of. Neither of these is good for your business. 

A third option is hiring a new person to manage your projects. Since the volume and difficulty of projects varies, we cannot recommend hiring someone in-house. You may not have enough work for them to do month over month to justify the expense. This is especially true when you have projects that require different skill sets.

Outsourcing in project management means that you look elsewhere for help. Instead of drawing from your internal resources, you hire someone from outside your company to take on the role of project manager. Still, you may not be able to give them full-time work. This is why outsourcing project management to freelancers is the option we suggest you explore. You hire them for as many hours as you need, and then you part ways clean and clear. Additionally, investing in project management training courses can help your team build the necessary skills to effectively oversee and collaborate with external project managers, ensuring successful project outcomes.

What Are the Tasks And Responsibilities of A Project Manager?

Project management outsourcing may not be the simplest thing, but we can help you do it well. Outsourcing in project management hinges on understanding the role that you are hiring to fill. You want to make sure that you have the right person for the job so you don’t waste a lot of time. 

The first step is to become familiar with the task and responsibilities involved in project management. Then you can start looking for someone to fit the bill in a more targeted way. Here they are, along with the skills a person needs to fulfill them.

Leadership

First and above all, project managers take the lead. They lead in terms of managing  timelines and budgets. They also lead in terms of managing expectations and people on the project team. Managers may not be the ones who set these targets, but they are in charge of meeting them. Everything rises and falls with the leader. So, a project manager must know how to bring all the moving parts together to ensure success at every stage of the project.

That said, we see a few vital responsibilities under this umbrella.

Timeline Management

A project manager needs to handle work schedules within the team. This isn’t just making sure people get to work on time and don’t miss too many days. Different people on a project will often have interrelated tasks to do. This means they do work that is dependent on the work that has already been done by others. If these others don’t finish their tasks on time, then the first group of people will not be able to work. That created a jam that your business will likely pay for. Project management means juggling timelines so that work flows and you aren’t paying for people to sit around waiting for other people to get going.

Budget Management

Timeline management does involve money in terms of the labor hours that you’re paying for. And, yes, people are a big part of the money spent. For example, a project manager will also have some degree of control over personnel. They are on the ground, so to speak, so they know who is needed to do what. If the current roster isn’t cutting it, they can recommend additions and replacements within the project team.

But budget management is a bigger picture than who’s on the payroll. The project budget covers all the tools that each team member uses, down to the last paperclip. It also includes the power that each piece of equipment sucks up, and the space they all occupy for the duration of the project. Computing all this and staying on top of it can be a full-time job in itself for someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing!

Motivation

All of the above plus setting proper expectations is part of this area of responsibility. Project managers care for the needs of the team. How well they engage and direct people often determines how well they perform. And this means better performance from the team as a whole, too. Proper motivation keeps everyone balanced to meet the set project goals without burning out.

Conflict management is in the mix as well. Whenever you put a bunch of people together, there’s no telling how they will all get along. Honestly, unless they’ve worked well together before, chances are there will be some friction. If the manager does not deal with it, you will soon begin to see the effects on productivity.

Outsourcing in project management might seem to present challenges in team motivation. We have found, however, that hiring people who don’t work in the same office can be even better. You can quickly spot the self-starters, who are always better to have on any team. You can also see how everyone makes that much more of an effort to connect precisely because an easy pat on the back isn’t possible. They actually have to find something concrete to compliment each other on, and this works much better as a motivating factor.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Project Management

 

Disadvantages

Outsourcing project management means that you are letting go of a greater degree of control. This can be a benefit because it means you can’t easily grab control away from the manager. It can also be among the top outsourcing risks if you are not managing the manager. Yes, you still need to lead because you are still the top leader as the owner of your company.

One setback that you need to watch out for stems from the fact that an outsider won’t automatically understand your business. This means that you’ll need to take some extra time in the beginning stages to help them acclimate. A good freelancer will always do their best to use whatever information you supply them with to learn about your brand and goals. But, you need to fill in the gaps because they can’t learn in a few days what it took employees months and years to get the hang of.

Advantages

One definite advantage of project management outsourcing is the cost. When you hire from outside the country, you usually pay much lower rates. This is because the cost of living is often cheaper elsewhere in the world. So, even if you’re a startup, you can afford proper help from professionals to ensure the success of your projects. 

The level of savings you can enjoy only doubles and even triples when you factor in skills and experience. Just because the cost of living is lower in other countries, it doesn’t mean that intelligence, educational level, etc. are lower, too. In fact, many countries in the third world boast more college graduates than the west! This means you can hire top talent with loads of experience for half the cost. 

Don’t forget the much larger talent pool you get with outsourcing. You can not only find excellent managers, but those with experience in the various niches you need for each project. And when you’re hiring freelancers, you can engage a different manager for each project. This way, if the technical level of your projects requires it, you can get perfect matches in terms of skill sets every single time.

Important Things To Know When Outsourcing Project Management

We have three non-negotiables when it comes to outsourcing project management: infrastructure, communication, and agreement.

By infrastructure, we mean the technology they have available to support their work. The minimum here is a stable internet connection and a reliable computer or other internet-enabled device. This connection and device must of course be capable of sustaining all the aspects of their work. Specifically, this can include the CMS apps you use, and the communications channels you prefer.

For communication, it can be minimal or more complex, depending on your systems. At the very least, as hinted at above, the manager must be able to use the communication channels your business has set in place. This is because they need to be able to keep you updated and promise seamless contact with every member of the team. Communication also touches on working times. They will most likely be in a different time zone, so they will need to have a level of overlap with everyone else to stay in touch.

In terms of an agreement, it again depends on what you’re comfortable with. We just want to make sure that you are doing your best to make sure you are on the same page with anyone you hire. As the business owner, you will set the expectations for the project manager. When you’re confident that you understand each other and know what’s expected, work should go smoothly.

How Do I Hire A Project Manager?

The best way to handle project management outsourcing is through online channels. You can engage a hiring agency, join virtual assistant websites, or reach out to individual freelancers. 

If you go the agency route, you can find agencies that will do everything for you, and you talk to one contact point. You can also find agencies that will simply connect you with candidates. This is more like how a freelance marketplace would work. The difference is that you have more control with an agency. They are better equipped in most cases to provide more personalized service and security. With freelance websites, you have larger talent pools, but not necessarily the highest levels of security.

The owners of Outsource School have hired several project managers for their other businesses over the years. They have mostly gone with these two options. The third option, hiring one on one, is possible, but risky. You are contracting with an individual overseas. You have no third party running verification or backing you up. So, we don’t recommend this unless you got a referral from a trusted associate.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Project management outsourcing is definitely not the same as outsourcing for other positions. This is a management role, and it comes along with greater expectations. This means that you need to be more careful when selecting a hiring partner as well as selecting the actual manager. Managers also have access to higher levels of your company, so security around them must become tighter.

If you’re thinking of hiring Latino virtual assistants, we think that’s a great idea! Hiring from Latin America offers a few distinct advantages, which we’ll discuss below. We’ll also give you 11 websites where you can find Latino talent, and why we like them. Each site has its own best features, so choose the one that meets your needs most closely.

1. Hubstaff Talent

Hubstaff is known for its time tracking software. However, the company developed a robust hiring platform over the past few years. We now know Hubstaff Talent as the free place where you can meet the world’s top remote talent. Companies can search for remote hires all over the globe without worrying about markups, hidden fees, or middlemen.

You pay people based on their chosen rates, so pricing can vary greatly. This is mostly due to factors like location and skill level. Of course, you will also expect to pay much less for data entry as compared to project management or consultations.

2. Outsourcely

Outsroucely has been around for some time, and offers talent from over 180 countries. Their goal is to connect you to talent that will benefit your business over the long term. They make it easy to start working with any of more than 400,000 remote workers. All the talent on this platform are competent and reliable in their fields. They focus more on long-term employment and stability, but you can also find some who are willing to do smaller projects or work part time. 

3. Virtual Latinos

If you want to stop spending your valuable time doing various busywork for your business, this is the solution. Virtual Latinos offers virtual professionals to help you focus on growing your business. They hand-pick talent from Latin America to serve business owners and entrepreneurs abroad. They hold the rank of 80th on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. 

These LatAm VAs can take care of your to-do list so you can get out of busyness and into productivity. You can’t have another “you” but you can hire a reliable VA. Virtual Latinos is home to fully bilingual experienced college graduates who live in your time zone and are ready to serve.

4. Near

Virtual assistants help businesses all over the world to grow faster and operate better. Near helps you hire remote VAs from Latin America risk-free and without the common times delays and additional costs. This platform works with a lot of startups, so they understand the need for affordable and reliable help. They also serve larger companies who need greater numbers of experienced talent quickly. You can start working with the VA who fits your description in about three weeks from the time you submit a request. 

Near assists companies through the process of identifying, interviewing, negotiating with, and hiring Latino virtual assistants. They only recommend professionals they already vetted, so you can feel confident. Choose from over 20,000 candidates who will bring high performance to your business to outpace the competition.

5. Upwork

Upwork is arguably the most well-known online marketplace to hire virtual assistants. This means that many businesses and freelancers flock there every day. That makes it a great place to bet on finding the best people to do the job you need done. You can join the platform at no cost to look through freelancer profiles. 

When you register, you can explore projects and book a consultation with their hiring experts. Then you can choose to post a job to attract talent or have the team search through the talent pool for you. Upwork allows you to work with the best while enjoying low transaction rates. With reduced hiring expenses, you can bring your business to the next level faster without compromising on talent. 

6. Fiverr

Fiverr believes that the right freelance service for everyone is available. They exist to draw a variety of services together so you can find the right one right away. They built the platform on the needs they saw, so Fiverr is the best of everything you need when hiring. 

Unlike most freelance marketplaces, Fiverr does not offer hourly pricing. All services are proceed per project, so you can easily stick to your budget. Because it’s project-based, you can also get quality work done more quickly. You engage a freelancer for a fixed price, and pay only when you approve the work. This platform allows you to hire someone at any time of the day or night. You can also access 24/7 support. 

7. Freelancer.com

The world’s largest freelance marketplace has got to be the right place to hire from, right? Freelancer is a forerunner in the online hiring space, and boasts the best freelancers for any job. Top talent loves working through this platform because of their long-standing reputation. Hiring here is secure because you don’t need to pay until you’re happy with the work. You can get free quotes, too, from among more than 60 million freelancers. 

Freelancer shows you work portfolios for prospective hires so you can see samples of their previous work. You can also read reviews from past clients so you can find trustworthy talent. You’ll find them fast, too, since most projects get bids in the first minute they’re posted. Two things we love are the integrated time tracker and the mobile app that lets you track work on the go. 

8. Tecla

You can find vetted, trained, and certified freelancers to hire through this less-known website. The VAs who work here are exclusively from Latin America. They are all fluent English speakers and can work hours that match your time zone. Hiring here works by tiers, where you can engage basic-level VAs for $12 per hour. If you need more autonomous help, able to handle intricate tasks, you can hire mid-level talent for $15 per hour. These virtual assistants have diverse expertise and can work independently. You can also hire specialists at $20 per hour for tasks that require high-level support. This tier offers seasoned professionals with extensive expertise for the budget-conscious.

9. There is Talent

This is one of the few VA hiring companies based in Latin America –  Columbia, specifically. Most others are registered in other countries. This means that There is Talent knows the available Latin talent at a deeper level. 

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can get customized virtual assistance and outsourcing services here. The process involves a free strategy call with the director where she gets to know your business requirements. Then you can meet with the top matches for interviews, and hire the best fit. 

Depending on your needs, you will fall into one of three monthly plans. 10 hours weekly will cost you $499 per month. 20 hours is $799 per month, and 40 hours is $1499 per month. Each plan comes with a dedicated supervisor, onboarding assistance, weekly reporting, and technical assistance. Each VA is bilingual and has a fully-equipped workstation. If for any reason the VA you hire needs to be replaced, you will get a backup quickly and easily.

10. Workana

This site also boasts the top remote talent in Latin America to grow your business with. Their aim is to help you develop your business quickly but also sustainably. You can find thousands of professionals here who speak both English and Spanish. They can work stable hours in your time zone. These features are what has made Workana the industry leader for remote hiring in Latin America. 

Workana values reliability in remote work, and has more than ten years of experience. With that, you can trust them alongside thousands of other companies who are expanding their businesses through the platform. 

11. Valatam

Valatam is short for “Virtual Assistance Latin America,” an agency providing remote bilingual talent. Their remote team members serve busy entrepreneurs and business owners from one side of the world to the other. One unique things about this company is their Impact Hub locations, which are co-working spaces their VAs can leverage. This raises the level of quality control the agency can provide when work-from-home solutions don’t cut it.

The virtual team at Valatam hail from several Latin American countries and boast various professional skills. They are all college graduates and most have previous experience working with international companies. Their aim is to provide expert, dedicated assistance so you save time and money and avoid stress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why consider hiring Latino Virtual Assistants?

Most Latino virtual assistants are well-educated and eager to work for companies in the US and Canada. They pursue these posts because of the opportunities for growth that come along with the work. So, you get top talent without needing to pay top dollar. 

Hiring Latino virtual assistants is also a nearshore hiring model, which means close physical proximity. This ensures that hires have a greater familiarity with American and Canadian cultures. You will tend to be more aligned than with freelancers from far-flung regions. This applies in terms of work ethic and values as well as business practices. As a result, you can enjoy smoother collaboration and fewer misunderstandings. You will also have more opportunities to meet with them in person because they do not live too far away.

The tech scene in Latin America is growing. This also means a skilled workforce at affordable rates. As time goes by, the hourly savings you enjoy grow even more profitable. You get streamlined operations and positive ROI from increased efficiency and higher productivity.

What language skills can I expect from Latino VAs?

Most Latino virtual assistants are bilingual. Some even speak a third language. This can be of great value to companies in regions where there are large Spanish- and English-speaking populations. Companies that serve these communities can serve them better with staff that can smoothly transition between languages. The rapport and ease that this fosters with customers is invaluable. 

What are the typical working hours for Latino VAs?

Latino VAs usually work during their day, but can be flexible as well. Being in similar and neighboring time zones, they usually have only up to a two-hour time difference from US and Canadian time zones. This makes communication easy because they will usually be working the same hours. You can reach out to them in real-time during your workday. This means no time lags that could potentially interfere with meetings and decision-making processes. They can cover day shifts without additional strain, which is a huge advantage.

What tasks can Latino Virtual Assistants handle?

Latino VAs can handle just about any type of task that you can perform over the internet. Most are highly educated, some coming out of the professional world to seek fresh opportunities. The term “virtual assistant” can carry negative connotations because of the way it has been used. However, it simply means someone who doesn’t live near you and can offer you the help that you need. Many experts in their fields actually prefer to work remote these days, and that does not diminish their skill level.

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Hiring Latino virtual assistants can be the best decision you make for your business. Latinos make excellent additions to any team because of their similar work times, bright culture, and proximity. With a reliable hiring partner, you can build a team of VAs that bring excellence but won’t break the bank.

When is outsourcing financial services a good idea? 

Perhaps you’ve been doing your books on your own for a while. Maybe you have an in-house team dedicated to your finances, but you want to move them to a different department. It’s possible you want to cut costs and be smarter with your budget. 

Any of the above are good reasons to consider letting someone else take charge of the money-tracking department. 

In this article, we will define the types of financial services you can outsource. We will also go deeper into the benefits and risks of letting a third party take care of financial duties. We will also give you some advice on how to outsource and the best practices to follow. 

What is Financial Services Outsourcing?

This is the process of hiring an outside company to handle parts or the entirety of your business’s financial needs. Financial services is an umbrella term that covers a number of roles, tasks, and responsibilities. 

Types of Financial Services Outsourced

Bookkeeping 

This involves all tasks related to maintaining the general ledger of a business. This is basically a journal of all your business transactions. 

A bookkeeper is responsible for bank reconciliation, recording transactions, categorizing them into the proper accounts, and keeping receipts. They can also manage your accounts payable (what you owe) and accounts receivable (what others owe you). Other common duties include expense tracking, paying bills, issuing invoices, and preparing papers for tax filing. They prepare essential financial statements monthly or as needed including your Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet, and Income Statement. They tend to work closely or sometimes under an accountant. 

Accounting

Accountants can typically perform all the duties a bookkeeper can. Though they are qualified to perform a variety of other duties, such as 

• Tax preparation, tax filing, and payment 
• Tax planning services
• Auditing duties 
• Creating and presenting budgets and forecasting 
• Managing a team of bookkeepers and clerics

Both accountants and bookkeepers also tend to use accounting software. This software helps automate certain processes, allows for more accuracy, and makes their lives easier. 

Financial Analysis/Strategies

Bookkeepers and accountants can give you some level of financial guidance. Sometimes, however, you need to bring in the big guns. 

A financial analyst and strategist will gather all financial information, interpret the data, and run analyses. They will view key financial metrics,  create spreadsheets, and run reports. After evaluating the data, they can come up with detailed plans to cut costs, increase profitability, and generally improve the financial standing of the business. 

An analyst will also be able to research and recommend potential investment opportunities and other ways to increase business profits.

Payroll

Need help to pay your employees and calculate taxes and withholdings? You can outsource that too! Those in charge of payroll can automate pay schedules with software. They can set up multiple payment options for your employees. Payroll accountants track time off, paid leaves, holiday bonuses, deductions, and overtime pay. They also make sure payroll tax documentation is accurate and complete for filing. 

Benefits of Outsourcing Financial Services

Cost-effective 

Keeping an in-house team has its benefits, but one of them is not cost savings. Wages and salaries are one thing, but consider other factors such as taxes, overheads, paid leave, and other employee benefits. It adds up. An outsourced team would be lighter on your wallet. 

Not to be stingy with paying workers, but you may not be spending your money very effectively. Ask yourself. Are you really getting the most of your in-house financial team? You may find yourself paying a full-time rate when you don’t actually need them to be active that much. You could get by with fractional bookkeepers who can take care of duties on a project basis. 

Expertise and Experience

Consider also that you are getting experts in the field to take care of your financials. These professionals have already developed systems and processes in place. They know how to spot mistakes right away and fix them quickly. They can bring a level of efficiency to your business. Not only that, but a lot of these individuals and teams have worked with other companies and clients before. This means they likely have experience with businesses of all sizes and know how to apply that knowledge to yours. 

Flexibility 

If finance tasks bog you or key members of your business down, consider outsourcing financial services. This frees up core staff to work on more pressing matters, like sales or advertising. Back-office tasks shouldn’t put the actual operation of your business on hold. By outsourcing financial help, you allow yourself to do what you do best and let them do the same. 

Scalability 

The great thing about outsourcing is the freedom it gives you to upscale and downgrade when needed. Is tax season coming up and you need more help? No problem, hire an accounting team to get that done for you. You can work based on hours or projects and hire them again only when you need them. 

Technology

Another factor to consider is the FinTech infrastructure. Not only can they carry the latest, state-of-the-art software, but they also know how to use it. This saves you monthly subscription fees you would likely have to pay on top of paying for those who will use it. 

Risks of Outsourcing Financial Services

Data Security Concerns

This is probably the risk that most are concerned by. Financial data is very sensitive information to hand off to anyone. 

There are a few ways this can be mitigated. For instance, hire a company that has clear data protection policies and security measures in place. 

However, you still cannot guarantee the complete safety of your data when hiring freelancers. Nor can you guarantee they have well-protected data servers or tight lips around the office! 

Lack of Control Over Processes

You won’t have much control or oversight over the course of the project. You have the authority to evaluate meeting schedules, but it can be challenging to arrange them.. This is especially true if they are from different time zones. 

Communication Issues

Remote team management can be challenging. While time zones can allow you to get work done after hours, it can also cause work delays. For instance, if you’re from New York and are hiring in the Philippines, the gap is 13 hours. 

Sometimes you also can’t guarantee they will have a consistent internet connection on their end. 

How to Outsource Financial Services

Identify Business Needs

Before starting your search, ask yourself these questions:

• What type of financial service do you need? 
• Are you partially outsourcing or are you outsourcing the entire process (BPO)? 
• Do you need a full time, part time, or fractional service?
• Do you want an individual or a team? 

Determine Budget

This is a big consideration. You might start by researching the general cost of in-house vs outsourced services. It will be challenging to get an exact amount, but at least you’ll have an idea of what you can afford.

Consider what you can set aside for trial projects, any associated hiring fees, and the services as a whole. 

Find the Right Partner

We can subdivide this step into four key steps: seeking, sifting, selecting, and starting

Step 1: Seeking

This step is all about research. You need to expect that looking for the right fit will take time. Browse popular lists online for outsourcing services and freelance marketplaces. 

Step 2: Sifting

This stage is all about narrowing down your options. This is where you start comparing price points, services offered, and product benefits. One service may offer a free trial month of bookkeeping. The other might offer better value monthly plans. Maybe you’re looking for a solution that can do catch-up bookkeeping which can seamlessly transition to a regular service. 

In this step you set up initial interviews with your select few.  Do they match your values? Would they be a good fit for your company culture? Do you think they can work well with your team? 

Step 3: Selecting 

Finally, after careful consideration you’ve decided to pick one. This step involves negotiations (rate, schedule, etc.) and where you conduct your remote onboarding process. 

Onboarding is all about getting them up to speed on your business and duties. You also set up schedules for check ins and deadlines. 

Step 4: Starting 

You’re now ready to get to work with your new outsourced worker/team! This stage is all about monitoring their performance and building good working relationships. 

Best Practices for Outsourcing Financial Services

Set Clear Expectations / Onboard Well

Create a list of duties, responsibilities, and qualifications and attach it to your job description template. This way, both of you know the needs of your business. Going through these before and during onboarding ensures that you have those needs met. 

Hire from Reputable Sources

To mitigate outsourcing risks, hire from places that are known. Consider looking at client or customer reviews online. These show you a picture of what to expect when working with these services or people. 

Be Upfront

If we’re talking finances, you need to be straight with your accountants and bookkeepers. Make sure to tell them if you have neglected your books for a while. Give them access to account records and any transaction receipts you have. They can’t help you if you aren’t honest. 

Set Up Communication Channels Early

We love to stress this point a lot because this is a significant pain point for a lot of people. As soon as possible, you want to establish what platforms to communicate with. If you prefer a particular platform, let them know. This way, they have time to learn the ins and outs of that platform. 

Cost of Outsourcing Financial Services

These costs depend on how extensive your financial needs are. Below are some rates for common positions we found based on data from Upwork. 

• Bookkeeper – $11-$25/hr
• Accountant – $12-$32/hr
• Financial Managers – $35-$50/hr

Additionally, outsourced bookkeeping services typically cost around $200-$400/mo. Though others, like our friends over at EcomBalance, will give you a custom quote after evaluating your needs. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I ensure effective communication with an outsourced financial services provider?

Establish communication channels early. This also includes clarifying when to meet for regular updates. 

What is the typical process for outsourcing financial services?

The process typically follows this pattern:  Research –> Initial Interview –> Selection –> Onboarding –> Performance Monitoring

Can outsourcing financial services help with tax planning and preparation?

Sure! An outsourced accountant can make sure you have all the documents and papers you need for tax season. They can take the not-always fun process off your plate and save you from tax stress and potential errors. 

Just make sure your accountant is fully knowledgeable about your country’s tax laws. International accountants may not be well-versed in the intricacies of local, federal, or state regulations. This is something to consider if you’re offshoring. 

How do I choose the right financial services outsourcing provider?

What Is Outsource School?

Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.

This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.

Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.

Schedule a free sales call to learn more

Free resources you might like: 

• Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
• Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
• Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
• Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists

Conclusion

Outsourcing financial services is a valid choice for businesses looking for a cost-effective solution. They can benefit from the flexibility and scalability this option offers. Though there are a few risks, we can mitigate these through careful selection and planning. Follow these best practices, and you’ll avoid a lot of hurt.