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What To Delegate To A Virtual Assistant? 36 Tasks For VAs

Maximize your time. See what to delegate to a virtual assistant and which tasks actually move the needle in a lean startup.

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What To Delegate To A Virtual Assistant? 36 Tasks For VAs
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Running a business isn't easy, even on a good day. You need to juggle customers, products, finances, marketing, and more, all while trying to maintain your sanity and keep your doors open. As a result, small business owners often feel overworked and overwhelmed. If you can relate, you're not alone. Outsourcing to a virtual assistant can help ease your stress, one of many benefits of hiring a virtual assistant. But what tasks should you delegate? This blog will help you answer that question, what to delegate to a virtual assistant, so you can get the most out of your virtual assistant and enjoy the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant.
At VA Bear, we help small business owners hire and manage virtual assistants, enabling them to achieve their goals. Whether you're looking for help with administrative tasks, social media management, or customer service, we can help you find the right virtual assistant for your needs.

Benefits of Delegating to a Virtual Assistant

What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Being a business owner means wearing multiple hats:
  • Sales
  • Marketing
  • Operations
  • Customer service
The list never ends. But here’s the truth: doing it all yourself isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a shortcut to burnout and missed growth opportunities. Delegate to a virtual assistant (VA) and reclaim the time, focus, and mental space you need to grow.
The reality? Business owners spend up to 40% of their time on admin. That’s hundreds of hours each year lost to tasks that don’t drive revenue. The good news? You don’t have to keep doing everything alone. A VA can take over time-consuming work so you can focus on what moves your business forward. A virtual assistant contributes more than just support. They improve your efficiency by handling the essential but often overlooked tasks that clog your day.
Here’s how delegating to a VA can transform your operations:

Reclaim Your Time and Increase Efficiency

These tasks eat up hours every day:
  • Emails
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Data entry
A VA takes care of them, giving you back valuable time to focus on revenue-generating activities. Instead of getting stuck in the small details, you can work on the big-picture strategies that drive your business forward.

Keep Your Business Running Smoothly

A well-organized VA ensures:
  • Deadlines are met
  • Projects stay on track
  • Nothing slips through the cracks
Using tools, they keep your workflow efficient and structured. A VA helps reduce bottlenecks, ensuring that work is completed faster and with fewer errors.

Improve Customer Experience

Speed matters when it comes to customer service. A VA ensures quick responses and follow-ups, keeping your customers engaged and satisfied. Happy customers mean better reviews, increased referrals, and stronger brand trust. A VA can also help personalize interactions, making your clients feel valued and heard.

Save Money Without Sacrificing Quality

Hiring a full-time employee entails:
  • Salaries
  • Benefits
  • Associated overhead costs
A VA provides expert support at a fraction of the cost. Plus, since most VAs work on an as-needed basis, you only pay for the time and tasks required, keeping your budget lean and efficient.

Boost Brand Presence and Marketing

A VA can manage your social media, create engaging content, schedule posts, and track analytics, all without you needing to be online 24/7. This keeps your brand active and visible, attracting more customers.
Maintaining a consistent online presence helps establish trust and authority in your industry, ultimately leading to increased leads and sales.

Flexibility and Scalability

Business needs change constantly. A VA offers flexible support, scaling up during busy seasons and scaling down when business slows. This adaptability helps keep your operations efficient without unnecessary costs.
Whether you need extra support for a big project or just a few hours of assistance each week, a VA can adjust to your needs.

Reduce Stress and Avoid Burnout

Trying to do everything yourself can be overwhelming, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. By delegating tasks to a VA, you not only lighten your workload but also reduce stress, allowing you to focus on strategic decisions rather than day-to-day operational tasks.
As a result, this can improve your work-life balance and overall job satisfaction.

Access to Specialized Skills

Not all tasks are created equal; some require specific expertise. Whether you need a VA skilled in graphic design, bookkeeping, digital marketing, or customer support, you can find a professional with the exact skill set you need. This ensures high-quality work without the need for costly training or long onboarding periods.

What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant? 36 Tasks for VAs

What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are flexible professionals who can complete a wide variety of tasks to help you get your time back. While you may assume that hiring a VA is only beneficial for managing your business’s administrative tasks, the reality is that these remote pros can help with a little bit of everything, both at work and at home.
Here’s a closer look at the tasks you can delegate to a virtual assistant to relieve your workload and improve your quality of life.

1. Time-Consuming Administration Tasks for Virtual Assistants

Just because technology has enabled executives to do their admin work doesn't mean they should. These are the “traditional” virtual assistant tasks. The ones you think of when you think of an executive assistant. A virtual assistant's capabilities aren't limited to these traditional tasks, but there's a good chance they're part of your workflow.

2. Scheduling Meetings

This is a no-brainer. Scheduling a business meeting takes about 25 minutes, thanks to the “ping-pong” back-and-forth messages you send to find a time that works for everyone. This does not include conversations about rescheduling, updating the invitation with the agenda, and ongoing schedule-related discussions.
The time lost increases with the size of the group. If you give a VA control of your calendar, you can get that time back.

3. Meeting Confirmations

Meeting confirmations are a powerful way to prevent no-shows and the wasted time they generate. Give a virtual assistant a meeting confirmation template, and they'll follow up with you to confirm the meeting or reschedule. A VA can eliminate no-shows from your life.

4. Travel Planning

Travel planning is one of the top tasks for virtual assistants, and for good reason. Planning business travel can be exhausting. Finding the right flight, price, hotel, and car takes about 12 hours per trip. That's a massive chunk of time you can reclaim, and it's an ideal virtual assistant task.
Give your VA access to your loyalty programs and document your preferences for airlines, seating, cars, hotels, and meeting contacts. Your virtual assistant can then plan everything for you. When travel goes wrong, such as when flights are delayed or canceled, your virtual assistant will handle it all in the background. Phew!

5. Expense Reports

Everyone loves expense reports, right? Wrong. Collecting receipts, scanning or copying them, and sorting them by category is tedious but easy for a virtual assistant.

6. Professional Networking

When you think of tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant, you may not think of professional networking. But the opportunity is there! 80% of executives said networking is essential, but 49% say they don't have time to do it.
A virtual assistant can track your networking, keep you up-to-date with critical contacts, monitor your LinkedIn, maintain email lists, perform research, and more. Essentially, your VA can handle all your networking and administrative work, allowing you to stay focused on your biggest and best opportunities.

7. Inbox Management

About 10% of your email is relevant to you, and you usually forward many messages to a more appropriate contact. A virtual assistant can learn your communication priorities, delete spam, forward emails, and organize your inbox folders so everything is always in the right place. Once you turn to an assistant for email management, you'll wonder why you never did it sooner.

8. Answering the Phone

As with email, a virtual assistant can screen your phone calls to ensure only the right ones reach me. They can also clean up your voicemail inbox and follow up on calls that don't need your direct attention.

9. Data Entry

Structured data that fits into standard fields is another ideal task for a virtual assistant. Data entry is time-consuming but consistent and templatable, making it a perfect task to outsource to a virtual assistant.
Examples include:
  • Real estate listings for agents
  • Resumes and job postings for recruiters
  • Contact information for sales leads
  • CRM data entry projects
  • Routine reporting tasks

10. Sales & Marketing Support Tasks For Virtual Assistants

Salespeople spend only about 38% of their time selling. The remainder is allocated to administrative tasks, including:
  • Updating records
  • Conducting research
  • Managing documentation
  • Working within their CMS

11. Administrative Work

The same admin work that virtual assistants can do for executives can be done for salespeople, like:
  • Scheduling meetings
  • Planning travel
  • Filing expenses

12. Prospecting

Salespeople often spend hours scouring LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, and other contact databases for leads that meet their target audience criteria. Outsourcing prospecting to a VA can save your sales team time and money and help them scale their efforts.
Instead of conducting extensive research on all potential leads, sales teams receive a pre-vetted list of prospects to contact. This is a much more efficient approach.

13. Email Campaigns

Email and bulk SMS marketing can be time-consuming. Templates help, but your sales reps or marketing team still have to load, personalize, send, monitor, and reply to campaigns, all work that takes them off the phones and away from core tasks.
A VA can load those lists into your email marketing platform and launch outreach campaigns. They can:
  • Sort replies
  • Update lead records
  • Schedule meetings

14. Social Media and Blog Posting

A virtual assistant can manage social media and blog calendars and schedule posts. All you have to do is queue up the content and pass it off.
Then, your assistant can:
  • Find relevant images
  • Add hashtags
  • Build and test links
  • Check off SEO boxes
  • Monitor comments, among other tasks
Essentially, they can take the content work off your shoulders, allowing you to stay strategic and proactive.

15. Basic Graphic Design & Video Editing

When you need basic graphic design and video editing services, a virtual assistant (VA) can take your pre-made templates and update them as needed. They can also help you ensure your design branding is consistent.
Many virtual assistants (VAs) efficiently utilize stock images to create quick visual assets and customize templates, maintaining professional quality while saving time.

16. Scheduling Calls

When a prospect contacts you via your website or email, a virtual assistant can schedule a meeting in 25 minutes (or less!). Your prospects will have a great experience, and your sales team can focus on the calls in progress.

17. Sales Follow Up

78% of buyers pick the first company that responds to them. Following up on inquiries is critical. A dedicated virtual assistant for sales can be a vital asset here, ensuring you get on the phone or the inbox first.

18. CRM Cleanup and Maintenance

A healthy CRM can clarify your:
  • Lead flow
  • Qualification process
  • Funnel status
  • Revenue forecasts
Set the rules, and a virtual assistant can:
  • Enter the data
  • Update contact information with the latest activities
  • Run reports

19. Research

Research can be an extensive responsibility, so it can be particularly beneficial to have the help of a virtual assistant.
Here are some common research tasks that you can assign to a VA:
  • Seek accurate information from websites and books
  • Read scholarly articles
  • Type keywords into specialized databases
  • Conduct interviews with primary sources, such as:
    • Book authors
    • Journalists
    • Experts
  • Verify the credibility of sources
  • Group findings by topic or perspective
  • Prepare research for presentations
  • Perform content analysis
  • Develop literature reviews
  • Cite sources correctly

20. Back Office Support Tasks For Virtual Assistants

Some 28% of back-office work consists of routine tasks. A virtual assistant handles many tasks to provide administrative support, freeing up staff members' time for more valuable work.

21. Bookkeeping

40% of entrepreneurs say bookkeeping is the worst part of their business. A virtual assistant is not a CPA and won't be able to prepare your taxes. A VA can enter bookkeeping data into applications like QuickBooks so that your financial records are always in order.

22. Invoicing

Timely invoicing is crucial for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Business owners spend 20 hours a month chasing unpaid bills. A virtual assistant can send digital invoices and chase scofflaws for you.

23. Payment Processing

As with invoicing, a VA can process payments and enter the data into your bookkeeping platform. Whether you hire a general virtual assistant or a bookkeeping assistant, they can help you maintain your financial flow.

24. Document Preparation

Many back-office tasks involve customizing templated documents for specific recipients. A virtual assistant can prepare:
  • Invoices
  • Proposals
  • Contracts
  • NDAs and more
Then, they can document progress, send reminders, and maintain data related to documents.

25. Purchasing

A virtual assistant can order standard office supplies and equipment, and other scheduled, routine purchases for your business.

26. E-commerce Tasks for VAs

Delegating these tasks frees up your time, allowing you to focus on what matters most: growing your e-commerce business. Less busywork means more energy for:
  • Strategy
  • Sales
  • Scaling

27. Optimizing Product Listings

Outsource the task of refining:
  • Product titles
  • Descriptions
  • Pricing
A virtual assistant can efficiently manage these details to ensure your listings are both appealing and searchable.

28. Managing Inventory

Keep your inventory in check by delegating this responsibility. A virtual assistant can monitor stock levels, manage supplier relationships, and alert you when it’s time to reorder or scale back.

29. Processing Orders

Once a customer makes a purchase, the order must be processed promptly. A virtual assistant can handle logistical steps, such as sorting, packing, and coordinating shipments, to ensure timely delivery.

30. Order Tracking

To enhance the customer experience, tracking information must be added promptly. Entrust a virtual assistant with this time-intensive task to boost customer satisfaction and build trust.

31. Conducting Competitor Analysis

Stay ahead in the market by outsourcing competitor research. A virtual assistant can help you:
  • Understand rival strategies
  • Uncover your competitive advantages
  • Identify areas for improvement
You didn’t start your e-commerce business to get stuck in admin work. Offload the busywork and make space for the big-picture thinking that drives progress.

32. Personal Tasks For Virtual Assistants

Of course, a virtual assistant isn't just a professional asset! They can also tackle many personal and family tasks for executives, making their lives easier and giving them more time for what matters most.

33. Shopping

Give a virtual assistant a shopping list, and they can purchase anything that can be ordered online and delivered to your home or office.

34. Scheduling

Your virtual assistant isn't limited to your professional calendar; they can also manage your personal scheduling. For car maintenance, home improvement jobs, or hair styling, a VA can schedule your appointments online or by phone.

35. Vacations

Vacation planning can be as tedious as planning a business trip. A virtual assistant can book everything, including meals out and activities, based on your and your family's preferences.

36. Reminders of Important Dates

Do you need to remember someone's birthday, anniversary, or other important milestones for someone in your life? A virtual assistant will not forget and can even order appropriate gifts.

How to Effectively Delegate to a Virtual Assistant

What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Before you can delegate, you need to know where your time is going.

Start With a Time Audit

For one week, track every task you complete. Use a simple spreadsheet or a time-tracking tool like Toggl or RescueTime. Identify the tasks that eat up the most hours, repetitive or administrative work, and tasks that don’t require your expertise.

Spot the Bottlenecks

Look for patterns. Are you spending too much time on email, scheduling, or data entry? These are perfect tasks for a virtual executive assistant to handle.
Common time drains include:
  • Inbox management:
    • Sorting
    • Responding
    • Flagging urgent emails
  • Calendar management:
    • Scheduling meetings
    • Reminders
  • Data entry and research
  • Customer support inquiries
  • Social media posting and engagement
If a task is repetitive and doesn't require strategic thinking, it’s a prime candidate for delegation.

Determine What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant

Now, you have a list of tasks that are good candidates for handing off to a VA. But what should you actually pass on, and what should you keep on your personal to-do list?

Use the 80/20 Rule

The Pareto Principle states that 20% of your work generates 80% of your results. The other 80%? It’s busywork. Offload those low-impact tasks to a virtual assistant service so you can focus on high-value activities.

Break Tasks Into Categories

Break tasks into the following categories:
  • Administrative:
    • Inbox
    • Calendar
    • Travel planning
  • Marketing:
    • Social media scheduling
    • Email newsletters
  • Operations:
    • Data entry
    • Research
    • CRM updates
Still unsure what to delegate? If a task doesn’t directly impact revenue, consider outsourcing it.

Building a Delegation Blueprint

Now that you know what to delegate, set up a system for success.

Define Clear Outcomes

Instead of saying, “Handle my inbox,” set specific expectations: “Prioritize emails from clients, flag urgent ones, and respond to general inquiries within 24 hours.”

Document Your Processes

Create simple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for recurring tasks.
These can be:
  • Step-by-step guides
  • Loom videos showing how you do a task
  • Templates for emails, reports, or social media posts

Use the Right Tools

Keep everything organized with project management tools like:
  • Trello: Visual task management
  • Asana: Task tracking and team collaboration
  • ClickUp: All-in-one productivity platform
With clear instructions and the right tools, your virtual assistant can execute tasks without constant check-ins.

Communicating Effectively With a Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant isn’t a mind reader. Clear communication is key.

Set Expectations Upfront

Be direct about what tasks you need the VA to complete and when.
Here are some starting points:
  • Define deadlines and priorities
  • Share brand guidelines and preferences
  • Agree on response times for emails and messages

Keep It Consistent

Use weekly check-ins or task updates via Slack, email, or a shared document to stay on top of tasks. This ensures alignment without micromanaging.

Trust Your VA to Execute

Once you’ve provided guidance, step back. Micromanagement kills efficiency. Focus on results, not how the work gets done.

Leverage Technology for Seamless Delegation

Make delegation frictionless with automation and collaboration tools.

Automate Where Possible

Use tools like Zapier to automate repetitive processes, such as:
  • Saving email attachments to Google Drive
  • Adding new leads to your CRM
  • Sending Slack notifications for calendar events

Share the Right Resources

Cloud-based tools like Google Drive and Dropbox keep files accessible and organized, allowing
for easy collaboration and management.

Track Progress

Use reporting dashboards or weekly summaries to measure productivity. Tools like Jibble or Time Doctor can track tasks and efficiency. The VA Bear platform also helps you manage and track the activities of your virtual assistant without employing any external tools.

Measuring the Impact of Delegation

How do you know if delegation is working? There are several methods for measuring the effectiveness of delegation.

Track Your Time Savings

Compare the time spent on tasks before versus after delegation. Are you spending less time on admin work? If so, delegation is saving you time.

Evaluate ROI

Consider the impact of:
  • Delegating on revenue
  • Customer response times
  • Overall efficiency

Iterate and Improve

Not everything will work perfectly the first time. Refine your delegation strategy based on what works and what doesn't.

6 Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of Delegating to a VA

What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
What to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant

1. Clearly Define Tasks

Clearly defining tasks when delegating to a virtual assistant is crucial. Before handing off a task to your VA, write out clear instructions. Define the task, including:
  • The desired outcome
  • Deadlines
  • Any specific requirements that must be met
This information will help ensure that the VA understands the task and can deliver high-quality work.

2. Provide Adequate Training

Providing adequate training to your virtual assistant (VA) is crucial to ensuring they can perform their tasks effectively. This may involve creating training materials, conducting training sessions, or providing access to online resources.
By providing training, you can ensure that the VA has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the task effectively.

3. Set Expectations

Setting expectations is essential to ensure that the task is completed to a high standard. This may involve setting specific deadlines, providing clear guidelines on how the work should be completed, and outlining any quality control measures.
Setting expectations helps ensure that the job is done to a high standard and that the VA understands what is expected of them.

4. Establish Communication Channels

Establishing communication channels is crucial to ensuring that the VA can ask questions and provide updates on progress. This may involve setting up regular check-ins, providing access to project management tools, or establishing a specific email address for communication.
By establishing effective communication channels, you can ensure that the VA has the necessary support to complete the task efficiently.

5. Provide Feedback

Providing feedback is essential to help the VA improve its work and deliver high-quality results. This may involve providing feedback on completed tasks, identifying areas for improvement, and recognizing areas of strength. By providing feedback, you can ensure that the VA continually improves and delivers high-quality work.

6. Trust Your VA

Trusting your virtual assistant (VA) is essential to ensure that they can manage your workload effectively. This may involve giving them autonomy to complete tasks, allowing them to make decisions, and showing confidence in their ability to deliver high-quality work.
By trusting your virtual assistant (VA), you can help build a strong working relationship and ensure that the job is completed to a high standard.

Hire and Manage Virtual Assistants All in One Place with VA Bear

Stop juggling multiple platforms and spreadsheets to manage your virtual assistant team. VA Bear is the all-in-one solution that lets you find, hire, manage, and pay top virtual assistants from a single dashboard.
VA Bear comes with:
  • Built-in time tracking
  • Task management
  • Integrated payroll
Say goodbye to unreliable freelancers and operational bottlenecks as you build a dependable support team that scales with your business. Transform how you work with virtual assistants through our streamlined platform featuring:
  • Job boards
  • CRM tools
  • Real-time productivity monitoring
Get started today and experience the difference of having everything you need in one place.
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Written by

Elias Slettemark

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