Hiring Archives - Virtual Latinos

6Jun '21

What Is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant provides online support services to businesses and entrepreneurs while working from a remote location. While administrative duties are the most common to outsource to virtual assistants, virtual assistant services encompass a broad range of tasks. Business owners have employed at-home secretaries since the early 1980s, but the advent of the internet a decade later caused this form of employment to soar. These professionals became known as the first virtual assistants.

Virtual assistants continue to serve as one of the most valuable tools for small business owners and entrepreneurs around the world who want to streamline their operations, improve their bottom line, and improve their success rate with prospective customers. Some people mistakenly assume that virtual assistant services are only useful for large businesses, but a small business can also utilize virtual staff members, whether for general administrative duties or specific tasks like digital marketing or management of social media accounts. A virtual assistant can fulfill all of the same responsibilities as an in-person assistant while saving you time, money, and effort.

Types of Virtual Assistants

Here are some of the most common types of virtual assistants, along with their typical work tasks:

General Administrative Assistants

General virtual administrative assistants are responsible for managing emails and phone calls, scheduling appointments, organizing your to-do list, updating your calendar, organizing important business documents, entering data into your company system, preparing reports, and any other tasks an in-person executive assistant would perform.

Digital Marketers

Virtual digital marketers focus on increasing brand recognition and awareness, conducting research into your company to determine the most valuable keywords, optimizing your content to increase your SEO rankings, setting up automated processes to improve customer experience, and generating and overseeing campaigns via paid ads, content marketing, email marketing, social media management, and other types of marketing.

Social Media Marketers

Virtual social media marketers create social media accounts, write content to share on social media platforms, schedule these posts to appear at specific times of the day that are most likely to engage customers, promote your brand, manage interactions with customers, monitor competitors, and analyze performance metrics and analytics to determine which content or website shows the most successful results in engaging and converting customers.

Other Types of Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants can also help small business owners by acting as sales and customer service representatives, executive assistants, business consultants, project and operations managers, advertising specialists, email managers, web designers, graphic designers, branding experts, writers, bloggers, translators, video editors, and much more.

Benefits of Hiring Virtual Staff

Save Time

Hiring a pre-vetted virtual assistant saves you the time it takes to post job advertisements, complete resume screening, organize and conduct interviews, and train staff members. Because virtual assistants are skilled professionals, you do not need to perform lengthy, expensive training to get them started or involve a middleman in the process. After they are hired, you can focus on the high-priority tasks of running your business rather than wasting your valuable time on mundane tasks like scheduling appointments or monitoring your website’s SEO.

Save Money

Outsourcing tasks to a virtual professional at an hourly rate or independent contractor saves you the operation costs, training costs, and many of the other expenses required to maintain a full-time employee. Because a VA works from home, you are not responsible for providing office equipment and other tools they need to perform their tasks. If you’re hiring someone who is already an expert in their field, you’ll be saving the cost of training them. Unlike a salaried employee, you only pay a VA for the time they actually perform work for you. Finally, you avoid additional expenses associated with hiring a full-time employee, such as health care, paid leave, disability, and payroll taxes.

Avoid Hassle

Hiring in-person employees is an incredibly time-consuming and complicated process, made even more challenging if you end up with the wrong employee and are forced to start the hiring process all over again. When you hire a virtual assistant, you know they have the experience, training, and skill to effectively perform the tasks you assign to them. If you have issues with your VA, there is no need to involve Human Resources – you simply report your problem to the virtual assistant services company, and they will either resolve it or provide a new assistant.

Grow Your Business

A virtual assistant can help you streamline business operations, maximize revenue, and facilitate growth. By allowing you to delegate tasks like answering emails or monitoring marketing campaigns to virtual assistants, you can focus your attention on the aspects of your business that only you can handle, such as overseeing financial matters and building relationships with new clients. This not only provides an immediate return on investment but also helps you prepare for the future by building a solid foundation to support the long-term, efficient operation of your business.

How Do I Hire a Virtual Assistant?

Step 1: Determine If You Need Help

If any of the following situations apply to you, you should consider hiring a virtual assistant:

You work longer hours than you would like but you still often feel as if you are not getting enough done.
You feel stressed out and overwhelmed with the size of your workload.
You find yourself dedicating a large portion of your time to administrative work or other monotonous tasks that could be delegated to someone else.
You believe you could use your time more productively and experience less stress by focusing on the most high-priority tasks.
You want to avoid the time commitment, cost, and hassle of recruiting, hiring, and training an in-person employee.
You know that you need help, but your budget constraints mean you cannot afford to add another full-time employee to your staff.

Step 2: Select Tasks for Your Virtual Assistant

Professional virtual assistants can perform a wide range of tasks, so it is important that you select specific tasks that allow them to provide the most value for your business. Deciding on which tasks you will delegate in advance is essential for ensuring you choose the right person to fill this role, especially if you work in a field requiring specialized knowledge. Virtual assistants most often help with:

Administrative tasks. Scheduling meetings, organizing files, communicating with clients
Marketing tasks. SEO strategies, email marketing, social media marketing
Budgeting tasks. Bookkeeping, writing invoices, creating financial reports
Personal tasks. Organizing to-do lists, booking travel arrangements, making purchases
Content creation. Conducting research, writing content, uploading it online

If you are unsure about which responsibilities to delegate, spend a minimum of three workdays keeping a detailed inventory of every task you complete as part of your regular business duties. Then make a list that includes the following sections:

Tasks you do not want to perform
Tasks you do not have time to perform
Tasks you do not have the skills or knowledge to perform
Tasks that could be performed better or more efficiently by someone else
Repetitive tasks that consume a large portion of your time

Ideally, you should hire a virtual assistant to handle the above work so you can focus on fulfilling the responsibilities that only you can do. Prioritize these tasks to decide which ones can be accomplished by a virtual administrative assistant and which ones may require a VA with specialized knowledge or training.

If you run a law firm, health care facility, real estate company, or property management office, Virtual Latinos has virtual assistants with extensive experience in providing general support, sales assistance, customer service and support, marketing, and other tasks specific to that particular industry.

Step 3: Establish Your Budget

The next step is to establish your budget. Calculating the value of the tasks you want to delegate to a virtual assistant allows you to estimate how much you can expect to spend to hire a virtual assistant, as well as how much you can save in the long term with this service.

Several factors can influence the cost of your VA, primarily the type of service you need, the number of years of experience you would like your VA to have, the country they are located in, and the number of hours you want to hire them for. More experienced virtual assistants with specialized knowledge will generally charge more than professionals who are newer to the industry or offer only general services. Typically, virtual assistant services cost $3-$75 per hour.

We suggest creating a benchmark value and hiring a virtual assistant for any recurring tasks that can be outsourced for less than this amount. Generally, most tasks that can be completed for less than $30 an hour are best suited for virtual assistants.

Step 4: Find Virtual Assistants

Now you are ready to find a virtual assistant. Virtual Latinos offers a comprehensive comparison chart that provides vital information on the differences between our virtual assistant services, and your other main options – a U.S.-based, in-person assistant, a U.S.-based virtual assistant, and a virtual assistant from the Philippines. This comparison chart reviews the following details:

The amount of time it takes to hire an assistant
Recruitment fees
Whether they offer pre-vetted talent
Average price per hour of services
Whether they offer a quality guarantee
The flexibility of their VAs’ schedules
Whether their VAs are certified professionals
Their availability in your time zone
The turnover rate of the company
The success rate of the virtual assistants

Step 5: Create a Job Posting

Create a job posting on a reputable virtual assistant services website that describes what you are looking for. You must clearly explain the role you want them to fill, define the tasks you need them to perform, and outline your expectations for them as an employee.

Step 6: Interview Virtual Assistants

The last step is to interview these candidates individually to determine who best fits your needs, has the qualities you are looking for, and can accommodate your budget.

How We Help You Hire a Virtual Assistant

Our Clients’ Recruitment Process

To find a virtual assistant from Virtual Latinos, you will complete the following recruitment process:

Register your business in our website, and select a monthly hours package that covers your needs.
Fill out a short questionnaire to provide information about yourself, your company, and the services or products you offer. Explain the job or tasks you need help with and share what virtual assistant skills you are looking for, such as location, hourly rate, experience, or specific skills.
Our team reviews these requirements to find the perfect assistant for you. We select the most promising three or four virtual assistants for you so you can avoid a lengthy selection process, then introduce you to them so you can choose the right fit for your business.
Interview the pre-selected candidates, select your virtual assistant, and sign our agreement.
Your virtual assistant will begin working with you based on the hourly package you chose and receive payment on a bi-weekly basis after completing their tasks. You will manage your assistant, but our team will supervise their performance while providing ongoing support. We guarantee the quality of our virtual assistants, but if you decide you want to replace them with someone else, we offer replacements at no additional cost.

Behind the Scenes: Virtual Latinos Recruitment Process

Our Assistant Application process directs candidates along a funnel to narrow down the absolute best virtual assistants for our company. We attract top performers throughout Latin America, perform an initial qualification round to determine their suitability for our company, carefully review every application, interview each candidate, and invite those who qualify to perform a test task to ensure they can successfully complete what will be expected of them. At the end of this process, only 7.5% of the candidates from the original pool are accepted into our community.

Why Hire From Virtual Latinos?

At Virtual Latinos, every one of our staff members has extensive work experience, demonstrates written and verbal proficiency in English and Spanish, and was hand-picked from a large pool of applicants to ensure you always receive the highest quality services. 90% of our professional virtual assistants have earned college degrees in their field, and they all work in your time zone, meaning you never have to worry about a delay affecting your customers and damaging your business. We offer all-inclusive virtual assistant services without charging access fees, setup fees, or other additional expenses required by many other virtual assistant companies.

Tips for Managing Your Virtual Assistant

Make the training process as easy, simple, and transparent as possible.
Establish a written agreement outlining job responsibilities and expectations.
Use a project management system to assign specific tasks and track progress without needing to keep up with endless emails and messages.
Maintain communication to build trust and establish a positive working relationship.
Schedule regular meetings to ensure you are on the same page and provide an opportunity for your VA to ask questions or request additional clarification.
Utilize tools to track performance and productivity.
Promptly address issues with constructive criticism.
Familiarize yourself with cultural differences so you can most effectively communicate with your VA.

Top Tools for Outsourcing and Managing Virtual Staff

Communication

Our clients primarily use Telegram for instant messaging and Zoom for video calls.

Document Sharing

The best document sharing tools are DropBox, Mega, and Google Drive.

Project Management

Our team uses Infinity, TeamWork, ActiveCollab, and Trello for project management.

SEO and Analytics

Our favorite SEO and analytics tools are Google Analytics, AccuRanker, SE Ranking, Capturly, Oviond, and BrandMentions.

For a complete list of our favorites, visit our webpage on recommended tools and software.

Improve Your Business Today by Hiring a Virtual Assistant

If you are ready to elevate your business to the next level, contact Virtual Latinos today to hire a virtual assistant. We are consistently regarded as one of the best virtual assistant companies in the nation and our expert staff has helped thousands of clients with businesses of all sizes and industries. Hiring a virtual assistant gives you the ultimate freedom and flexibility to most effectively manage your business by delegating responsibilities to skilled, experienced, and dedicated professionals in Latin America.

At Virtual Latinos, our professional virtual assistants work throughout Latin America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. A virtual assistant can save you time, money, and hassle, allowing you to prioritize your efforts toward growing your business. To learn more about how you can hire a virtual assistant to transform your business, contact Virtual Latinos today.

5 Security Best Practices When Managing Remote Teams

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

28May '21

What Is Cybersecurity and Why Is It So Important for Remote Work?

There is so much use of technology in our lives right now from email to smartphones and tablets, entertainment, shopping, transportation, and even medicine in the form of electronic charting and medical records. All of this makes cybersecurity more important than ever before. Cybersecurity refers to the process of keeping information confidential while protecting networks, devices, and data from unauthorized use or criminal access.

With the overwhelming amount of daily technology used for those of us who own a small business or remote working, as well as those who just simply store personal information on their phones, computers, tablets, etc., the risks of having poor cybersecurity puts everyone in some level of danger. These risks include things such as having your entire system erased, files altered, identity stolen, and unlawful access to your financial accounts. The cost of a cybersecurity breach is huge and can cause stress beyond just general annoyance. This is especially true when your small business is at stake. Cybersecurity efforts should not be taken lightly and luckily, there are ways to prevent cyber-attacks from occurring.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely avoid having these things happen to you, however, being aware of the most common threats and how to protect yourself from the dangers associated with them is a good start towards risk prevention.

What Are the Most Common Network Security Threats?

The most common network security threats are those that are often overlooked. Take a look at these 3 most common security threats that are out there and be aware that there are always others emerging:

Computer VirusesComputer viruses are the most common cybersecurity threats and can affect everyday internet users. This type of threat is called a virus because it is a piece of software that does damage by spreading from one computer to another. Be cautious of unknown e-mail senders and suspicious email attachments that often contain the virus. Computer viruses can send spam, steal data from your computer, negatively affect your security settings, and even delete everything from your hard drive.
Adware and SpywareAdware tracks and collects data without your consent. Everything you search for, your browsing habits, and purchase transactions can be monitored and used to flood you with pop-up ads. Adware is often hidden deep within user agreement documents and can go unnoticed until it interferes with your internet connection speed. Spyware is similar to adware and is just as dangerous, if not more. Once installed on your computer, it is able to track and record your personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and email addresses. Thus, posing the potential for identity theft.
PhishingPhishing is another way a hacker can obtain our personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and usernames to steal your identity. Phishing attacks often appear legitimate at first, as they come across via instant messages or emails. Once you are tricked into opening the attachment, the malware is installed on your device, and security is breached.

Four Best Practices for a Secure Remote Team Management

Set Up VPN Access to Remote WorkersA VPN is a virtual private network that allows small business owners to empower their employees to work virtually in a secure manner. VPNs provide the remote worker with access to the company’s resources by connecting their computers to a secure network. It is important to encrypt your company’s data and prevent an outsider from intercepting it.
Establish Good Password Management for Yourself and Your Virtual TeamIt is important to use a different password for every account you have. Make sure it is at least 10 characters and is a combination of numbers, letters, and special characters. Use a password manager and avoid using your personal information such as your birthdate or anniversary. These types of passwords are easily guessed. It is also not good practice to use common dictionary words. Change your password often and be careful not to write it down where it can be found by someone other than yourself. Make sure your whole remote workforce knows how to create safe passwords and encourage them to change them regularly.
Update Your Security Software RegularlyUpdate your security software daily, if possible. Whenever a new update is available, it is often because new malware has been detected and the update will protect your devices against it. Encourage your team to also check regularly for updates on their own devices.One of the best and easiest ways to ensure your cybersecurity software stays up to date is to use the automatic updates for the operating system you use. Using reputable web browsers such as Firefox and Chrome means security updates will be performed regularly and will be ongoing.Updating software regularly can fix and repair computer bugs and more importantly, fix or identify security holes that could put you at risk. Lastly, it is important to keep your browser plug-ins up to date as well. Common browser plug-ins include Flash, Java, Acrobat, and QuickTime. Always make sure your operating system is running the latest version of the software for optimum protection.
Avoid Using Public Wi-FiUsing public Wi-Fi is risky behavior. There are definitely some privacy and security risks when you jump on the free services found in airports, restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops. Most times, your online activities are not encrypted, even when a password is used to access their Wi-Fi.This leaves your information and data vulnerable to predators who are looking to hack your accounts. In some cases, you may even be logged into a “fake Wi-Fi” created by a scammer to steal your personal information. Look out for things such as “free wi-fi” hotspots that predators wait for you to join and then come between you and your computer’s broadband request.With virtual teams, it’s important to stress Wi-Fi security, as many remote workers may utilize Wi-Fi outside of the home. Your whole remote workforce should understand the risks and what to look for.

Conclusion CTA

As you can see, cybersecurity is dangerous, and the risks affect almost everyone in one way or another. Here at Virtual Latinos, we take cybersecurity very seriously and are committed to only the safest hiring processes when looking for a virtual assistant to represent our company and yours. If you are a small business owner and are looking to hire a virtual assistant, contact us today, and let’s discuss the process of finding a virtual assistant from Latin America that is trustworthy and professional.

Consider Hiring a Virtual Assistant from Ecuador

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

28Apr '21

All About Ecuador

Ecuador is by far the greatest when it comes to being an environmentally diverse country. This beautiful country is situated in the northwestern part of South America and holds a rich, storied history. The first scientific expedition that took place to determine the circumference of the earth was based in Ecuador, in an expedition led by a Frenchman named Charles-Marie de la Condamine. Ecuador also possesses a rich cultural heritage, as evidenced by its relationship with the Inca Empire.

Exports of Ecuador

Early on, Ecuador was identified as a major exporter of Panama hats. These hats are well known as the hats that were worn on the Panama Canal by work crews. They were made of straw and were a popular purchase by traveling gold seekers. Ecuador was also a major exporter of agricultural products such as cocoa, certain types of flowers, petroleum, and bananas.

The Population of Ecuador

The current population of Ecuador is 17,847,533. This makes up 0.23% of the total world population. We rank as the 67th largest country by total population.

History of Ecuador

Throughout Ecuador’s history, it has been faced with different challenges, including political and economic problems. There have been periods of long-lasting military rule, economic ups and downs, and unequal distribution of wealth.

Ecuador of Today

However, today Ecuador is still a hot spot among world travelers. Its tourist industry is extremely important to the financial success of the country. Two major cities bring in travelers from all over the world. The first of these is Quito – the capital city, located in the gorgeous Andean Highlands in the northern part of the country. The other famous city is Guayaquil, which is a vibrant port city that attracts visitors partly due to its location on the west bank of the Guayas River.

Ecuadorian Values

As Ecuadorians, we value ourselves as good, righteous, and civilized people, and we refer to ourselves as Ecuatorianos (-as). The cultures of the native people of Ecuador go deep and vary across the country. The similarities fall within the spoken language and societies.

Ecuadorians take pride in their food customs and celebrations. We use fresh ingredients to prepare soups and dinners consisting of fish, grains, and local vegetables. Alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine are used to celebrate special occasions.

Ecuadorian Work Ethic

Have you ever visited Ecuador? The vibrant and beautiful country is a very diverse area. Ecuadorians are quite lively, and have an incredibly strong work ethic. Their strong community values make them excellent workers, at an affordable wage. They value others, are very honest, detail-oriented, and give everything 100% of their efforts. Their professionalism is bar none; Ecuadorians make exceptional workers.

In addition to their professionalism and skills, hiring a remote worker from Ecuador helps more than your business. Hiring a virtual assistant or remote worker from Ecuador can be life changing for an individual or family. The economy in Ecuador is not as giving as that in the United States. There are many low income areas, and many families struggle to make ends meet. Hiring an Ecuadorian means you will not only meet your business needs at a very affordable price, but also provide a remote opportunity for workers who need it. This gives Ecuadorian workers an opportunity to earn a higher salary, while enjoying a flexible, remote work environment.

Virtual Assistant Highlight: Jen

Meet Jen – a dedicated Virtual Assistant in Ecuador. Her favorite part of being a successful VA is that she can work independently, which allows her to manage her time to include spending time with her family and being physically active. When asked to describe her most rewarding experience since working as a VA, she states, “The amazing family that I’ve come to be part of is the most rewarding experience I have since I started working here at Virtual Latinos. Everyone is always helping each other, and even though we are working from our homes, it feels like we’re actually there when we talk and chat.”

Jen’s experience with working with Virtual Latinos has been a positive one as well. She feels deeply respected and welcomes their constructive feedback as a way to gain more experience and improve herself.

A Review From Jaime

“Hello, I am Jaime Nacach, founder of Virtual Latinos. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jen, one of our most dedicated VAs from Ecuador. It only took a minute to realize that I was dealing with a diamond in the rough. Jen is brilliant and an amazing addition to our team. She began her career without a lot of business experience, but her eagerness to learn new things and challenge herself to do things that may have once been out of her comfort zone makes her a valuable VA. She is warm and personable in nature which is contagious among everyone she meets and works with. Jen is just one of our many gems within Virtual Latinos. If you allow Virtual Latinos to help you find a VA, we can promise you will be connected with someone just as lovely as Jen. Reach out today and see for yourself.”

Benefits of Hiring a VA From Latin America

Let Virtual Latinos help you find the perfect VA from Latin America. Virtual Latinos can help provide support at an affordable rate to small businesses. There are many benefits to working with a Virtual Assistant from Ecuador:

Hiring a Virtual Assistant will save you money
Hiring a VA will save you time
Virtual Latinos have experts in many fields
Hiring a Virtual Personal Assistant can help promote the growth of your business
Hiring a Virtual Assistant will keep your clients happy
Virtual Latinos can connect you with both English- & Spanish-speaking VAs

Work With Virtual Latinos

If you are considering hiring a virtual assistant from Latin America for your personal use or small business, let Virtual Latinos connect you with an experienced, professional assistant. Our database consists of the most talented, hardworking, motivated freelancers who are looking to expand their client base. Reach out today to grow your business with a virtual assistant from Latin America.

Tax Season 2021: Why You Need a Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant More Than Ever

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

23Mar '21

Tax Season 2021: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help You Prepare

The 2021 tax season is in full swing, meaning that we’re all gathering documents, meeting with tax advisors, reviewing the best tax software, and trying not to panic. Though tax season can be stressful for anyone, it can be especially daunting for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Many people open businesses with a great idea and a plan, but without so much background knowledge on business tax law or accounting. Even if you do know how your business’s taxes run, it can be a scramble to assemble the right documents, find all of your receipts, and get everything entered by April 15th.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still a present threat, it can be hard to find the help you need with your documents, and it’s likely that your business had a rare situation or two that will need to be reflected on this year’s taxes. Now, more than ever, it is time to consider looking for help with tax prep. Though many normal sources of assistance are booked up or unavailable, bookkeeping virtual assistants are ready to help with your 2020 taxes.

Common Tax Preparation Roadblocks

For businesses, there are strict rules about what needs to be done during tax season. All deductions and expenses need to be accounted for, and the tax documents themselves can be confusing. Whether it’s your first tax season as a small business owner or your 30th, try to avoid these common tax season roadblocks:

Forgetting to budget time to assemble documents. Personal taxes may only take a few hours to complete, but business taxes are much more intricate. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is waiting until the last minute to begin your taxes. Assemble all of your paperwork as early as you have it, as this process often takes longer than you think.
Waiting to call a CPA. A Certified Public Attorney, or CPA, is one of the main sources of help during tax season. Because CPAs help with taxes, their schedules are often busy from the beginning of February until Tax Day. If you wait to call one, their services may be more expensive or unavailable altogether, and you will have to tackle your taxes alone.
Assuming your CPA will do everything. Many people think that hiring a CPA is all they have to do for tax season, but this is absolutely not the case. A CPA cannot search through your files to find appropriate documents. If you do not have the necessary documents and receipts ready for your appointment, your CPA will be unable to help you. Remember, assembling these documents takes longer than you think, so give yourself sufficient time before your appointment to collect them.

Avoiding these simple mistakes is only part of the battle of tax season. Now is the time to look for help with your taxes.

How Can a Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant Help?

Virtual assistance services can help you with a wide range of tasks and issues. Our trained bookkeeping personal assistants have experience and knowledge in taxes and online bookkeeping. They can be a great help during tax season. Here are some of the tasks that a bookkeeping virtual assistant can help you with during tax season:

Organizing accounts. Your bookkeeping virtual assistant can make sure all of your financial accounts are in order and ready for your accountant.
Pulling and organizing documents. Your virtual assistant can go through your online files to pull the pertinent tax documents and make sure they are ready for your CPA. If you have an online system for receipt records, your VA can assemble those as well.
Working with a CPA directly. If you’d like, you can have your virtual assistant be the main point of contact with your accountant. Our bookkeeping virtual assistants have extensive experience with tax season and can easily work with a certified accountant to finish your taxes. In these situations, you would only be contacted if there is an issue or missing information, making your tax season stress-free.

Bookkeeping virtual assistants can only be as efficient as allowed. If you have not retained the correct documents or do not have an efficient filing system for information and monthly expenses, they are limited in how they can help. If you are intimidated by finances or don’t have accounting software for bookkeeping, consider hiring a bookkeeping virtual assistant for year-round services. Some of the services a year-round bookkeeper can provide are:

Send and receive client invoices and organize them appropriately
Follow up with accounts that are not balanced and get appropriate payment
Create and send client receipts
Maintain receipts, including copies of client receipts for your records
Categorize expenses for easy access during tax season

If you don’t have a bookkeeper on hand, it’s in your best interest to hire a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant may or may not have previous experience in bookkeeping. At Virtual Latinos, some virtual assistants are experienced at bookkeeping, which includes the use of accounting software like Quickbooks Online. Although some of our virtual assistants don’t have specific bookkeeping experience, they are usually able to quickly learn the skill of bookkeeping. The process typically involves our clients either: a) Teach it to the virtual assistants themselves, or b) Clients give them access to online resources so the Virtual assistants learn on their own.

A virtual bookkeeping assistant can create invaluable financial filing and storage systems for your company that will benefit you year-round. Virtual assistants are significantly more cost-effective than an in-house bookkeeper and can provide other administrative assistant services as well.

Why Hire Virtual Latinos?

Virtual Latinos is one of the best virtual assistant companies in the world. Our assistants are all highly trained and vetted, and many are college-educated and ready to work. Most virtual assistant companies operate out of Asia or Australia. Though these companies provide low prices, it is nearly impossible to work efficiently with someone who is on the other side of the world. The time difference makes things incredibly frustrating. With Virtual Latinos, you get the best of both worlds. We provide quality assistants who can meet your needs at affordable prices, all in a time zone that operates with your schedule. When it comes to virtual assistant companies, no one can better serve the businesses of North America than Virtual Latinos.

Contact Virtual Latinos

Whether you are looking for a year-round bookkeeper or a virtual bookkeeping assistant to help you this tax season, Virtual Latinos has a match for you. Contact us today to get started.

Why a Healthcare Virtual Assistant is Key to Patient Happiness

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

29Jan '21

After the type of year that 2020 has been, it is clear that most of us could use a little help sometimes. Nobody knows this more than our frontline healthcare workers, who have sacrificed social and family lives to care for their patients during this pandemic. The healthcare industry is fast-paced and competitive and leaves everyone involved with many tasks to complete. However, there are not enough hours in a day to do everything you need to do as a healthcare worker. From patient care to billing, emails to social media, trying to do it all can be overwhelming. The more pressure that is put on healthcare workers, the more opportunities for common mistakes and the less time spent on patients. However, mistakes can be lethal in the healthcare industry, and there is no room for error.

Hiring a Virtual Latinos virtual assistant can be a lifesaver, both literally and figuratively, in the healthcare field. With assistants based everywhere from Venezuela to Argentina, hiring someone right for you is easy. Though patient care is always the top priority, small details easily slip through the cracks when you have mountains of paperwork to fill out and emails to send. Having someone pick up the slack can help immensely with the overall workload and stress and free you up for better care and time with your family. Consider hiring a medical virtual assistant to aid you in non-confidential menial tasks and give you extra time to focus on your patients.

What Can a Virtual Assistant Do in Healthcare?

In general, virtual assistants can help with a myriad of office tasks, from running social media accounts to answering client emails. Despite HIPAA laws, many daily tasks can still be delegated to a virtual assistant while remaining confidential. Especially during a pandemic, many jobs can be safely and securely done remotely, without sacrificing the integrity or operation of your healthcare business. A virtual assistant in healthcare can:

Patient onboarding
Schedule appointments and calendar management
Interpreting and live translation
Transcribe physician notes
Organize files and notes
Respond to email requests
Organize insurance claims and requests
Create and post your practice’s social media and online content

By keeping these “busy work” tasks out of your way, a virtual healthcare assistant allows you to forget about day-to-day items and focus on patient care.

How Do Virtual Assistants Help Patients?

Hiring online virtual assistant services may seem unrelated to a patient’s experience when, in reality, it has everything to do with patient care. No matter how you choose to use your virtual assistant, he or she is directly related to the amount of attention your patients receive. If you choose to task your virtual assistant with scheduling or emails, your clients may be working directly with your assistant with basic questions or concerns. The most profound impact a virtual assistant can have on a patient, however, comes from freeing doctors and nurses to spend more time on patient care. According to a study done by ICFAI, staff performance, communication, and face-to-face physician time greatly affect most patients’ level of satisfaction with their healthcare experience. Having busywork covered by a virtual assistant means that:

Patient communication is faster and more personalized.
Staff is freed to give more attention to HIPAA confidential tasks.
More time may be spent on patient care and questions.

Because all these aspects have been proven to greatly impact patient satisfaction, focusing on them rather than busywork should result in peace of mind for patients.

How To Hire Virtual Assistants

When looking to hire virtual assistants for a healthcare-related position, it’s important to find a company or team member you trust. Virtual Latinos is an established, trusted company with completely vetted assistants. We are ideal for healthcare businesses in many ways, but the foremost being that all our virtual assistants are fully bilingual. We can help patients of both English- and Spanish-speaking households, a necessity in our increasingly diverse world. We offer both agency-placed assistants and a full directory of trusted Latin American-based virtual assistants. With the ability to choose from any country you wish, from Peru to Uruguay, you can always be sure that your virtual assistant is in your time zone and available to work when you need them. Free up your time to do what matters: take care of your patients.

Ready to get started? Register with Virtual Latinos today, and let us get to work on your to-do list for you.

The Perks of Choosing a Long-term Virtual Team vs. Freelancers

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

4Dec '20

Determining your staffing needs is a critical step in establishing a business. After all, one person is generally insufficient to address the many needs of a growing company. Including assistants to handle routine work and basic customer interactions is a great way to save money, freeing up the time and resources necessary to continue to expand. However, there are multiple options available to proceed in this direction. Some business owners end up working with independent contractors. These are freelance, project-based assistants who are paid for each individual assignment. Alternatively, other business owners choose to hire long-term virtual assistants. These are remotely located employees who provide continuous service. With that in mind, you might be wondering which option makes the most sense for you and your business.

The truth is that while both will ultimately be able to accomplish the same basic tasks, choosing to operate with a long-term virtual team offers unique benefits over hiring freelancers for specific project work. If you’re seeking to become a leader within your industry someday, then you’ll need dedicated, long-lasting relationships to get there. However, the advantages don’t stop there.

Affordability of Virtual Assistants vs. Independent Contractors

Both options are more cost-effective alternatives to in-house employees; however, working with virtual assistants is ultimately the more affordable option. With freelancers, prices are subject to negotiation with each assignment. As they work independently, they can opt to raise their rates at any time. When choosing to hire a virtual assistant through a long-term virtual team, you agree to a set pay scale based on hours of work.

Working with Virtual Latinos grants you access to even more affordable virtual assistants. Our assistants are in various South and Central American countries, which run on different living standards than the United States. For example, an equivalent amount of money is worth much more in Ecuador than in the US. This means that the same pay scale can be incredibly budget-friendly to employers, while still providing a sizable income to the assistants working remotely from Ecuador.

Effective Communication and Individualized Attention

A single company might employ many freelancers over the years, each with unique backgrounds, styles, work ethics, and skills. This makes it incredibly difficult to work on long-term projects and communicate effectively. When working with a virtual team, you have the peace of mind granted by the nature of your relationship. Given their experience in working with you, team members will be much more familiar with your brand, making them able to provide a more authentic representation of your company in their work when creating content or communicating with clients. A dedicated virtual assistant can oversee initial research, present a detailed report, help develop a digital marketing strategy, and implement said strategy online. This consistency is key to preventing any mishaps or misunderstandings that could negatively impact your company.

The development of this working relationship also means that you have better control over any content generated on your behalf. The ease of communication allows for smooth back and forth interactions. This means that you can quickly access content before it’s published and make any changes or suggestions as you see fit. Virtual assistants aim to accommodate your needs and prioritize your assignments, instead of simply adding you to the bottom of a long list of freelance projects.

The Importance of Having a Professional Hierarchy to Streamline the Process

When you hire a freelancer, you are working directly with that individual, and any further issues or concerns are discussed with that same person. This can lead to uncomfortable situations when your needs aren’t being met, and the freelancer is resistant or unwilling to agree. Working with top virtual assistant companies such as Virtual Latinos provides the necessary structure to remove any ambiguity. Project managers can ensure that the appropriate information and feedback are passed down to the virtual assistant working on your project. If you have concerns about the project at any time, they can either speak to the assistant and resolve the issue or delegate the task to an assistant better suited for the job.

In either scenario, you are guaranteed a level of professionalism, quality, and timeliness that freelancers cannot provide.

Get Reliable, High-Quality Work With Virtual Latinos

While it’s certainly possible to have good results with freelancers, the issue is consistency. Vetting freelancers is a resource-intensive, time-consuming process, and even when you think you’ve found the ideal independent contractor for the job, you might still be displeased with the results and left with no further recourse. When working with Virtual Latinos, you have the peace of mind of knowing that regardless of which individual assistant you end up hiring, you’ll have a fully bilingual employee with extensive professional experience, quality education, and detailed insight into any industry. Whether your assistant is working from Peru or Costa Rica, they’ll be available during your business’ hours of operation, ready to take on any task you have in mind.

If you’re ready to start the process of hiring a virtual assistant and growing your company, reach out to Virtual Latinos today. You can contact us by email, phone, or fill out our online form. A dedicated representative will be in touch with you shortly.

How to Improve Your Online Presence by Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

27Nov '20

We live in an extremely fast-paced society, where companies and businesses are expected to respond to current events and user-generated content within minutes. Online posts are often greatly delayed, giving the impression that those responsible for said content are entirely disconnected from their target base. However, monitoring various social media platforms and creating dynamic, engaging content is an extremely resource-intensive task, especially for small businesses with other priorities.

Hiring a virtual assistant from Virtual Latinos can be the perfect solution. They offer high-quality work and unique skills necessary to successfully maintain a vibrant online presence, which in turn frees up you and any other staff members to focus on the bigger picture. Working with our virtual assistants is also extremely affordable, allowing you to enjoy the benefits without overextending your budget.

Why Is a Strong Online Presence Important for Business Owners?

In an increasingly global society, establishing an online presence is an essential part of running a successful business. The high volume of online traffic means that promotional efforts online are often far more effective than in-person strategies. Online platforms also present you with a unique opportunity to build relationships with your clients. Over the past several years, brands that have made themselves more personable online have seen tremendous success in increasing their customer bases. By responding to trending topics and interacting with user-generated content, they appear more human and, as such, more trustworthy to potential consumers, improving people’s perception of your brand in a powerful way.

However, you must handle your online presence with care. Marketing mishaps online can often have long-lasting repercussions. If you’re going to make yourself available on the Internet, people will expect you to be fully available. Failing to be responsive, attentive, and consistent in creating additional content can easily lead to a lack of confidence from users, making them less likely to work with your brand in the future.

What Kinds of Tasks Can a Virtual Assistant Handle?

The primary purpose of adding a dedicated virtual assistant to your team is to improve your business by allocating your resources more efficiently. While the virtual assistant takes care of your online platforms, you can focus on expanding your business, developing new products, and building new partnerships. This arrangement works because virtual assistants are armed with the tools to accomplish what you need from them without constant monitoring or hand-holding. Top virtual assistant services encompass a wide variety of tasks to help make your life easier. These include:

Creating social media accounts and profiles
Researching the interests and preferences of your target audience
Generating regularly scheduled content
Addressing user-generated questions or comments
Revising existing content to ensure it remains relevant
Monitoring external content that references your brand
Tracking the results of your online efforts and help you adjust your social media strategy accordingly

Where to Find Affordable Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants are an incredible resource, but not all virtual assistants are the same. At Virtual Latinos, we pride ourselves on providing our clients with the premier team of assistants available. Our staff has personally vetted every member of the team via a detailed system that looks at each individual’s education, work experience, and digital marketing skills. In addition to being highly qualified, the fact that our virtual assistants work remotely from Latin America offers unique benefits. All our assistants are fully bilingual, meaning that they can handle all the usual demands of your business while giving you increased access to any feedback from your Spanish-speaking customers.

Hailing from Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, and several other Latin American countries, our assistants can earn a comfortable income in their local currency while remaining extremely affordable to US employers. They are 40% to 75% less expensive to hire than virtual assistants in the US. Depending on your needs, you can hire a virtual assistant for as little as $5 per hour. This arrangement is so beneficial to both parties that becoming a virtual assistant with Virtual Latinos is a highly sought-after position. Furthermore, despite the distance, virtual assistants from Virtual Latinos work in the same time-zones as US employers, so they will always be available when you need them most.

If you’re prepared to make a splash on the digital stage and revitalize your online presence, look no further than hiring a virtual assistant from Virtual Latinos. Our assistants will work diligently alongside you to help develop a winning social media strategy to promote your brand successfully. Invest in yourself by investing in a virtual assistant and contact Virtual Latinos today to get started.

Here’s Why You Should Consider Hiring a Virtual Assistant to Grow Your Cleaning Services Company

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

13Nov '20

If you run a cleaning business, you have probably noticed that as your business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with some of the details and menial tasks involved. You may be overwhelmed by tedious work that you don’t have the time for, work that’s necessary to keep things running smoothly. You have likely realized that you need more help, but hiring local help for these duties can be expensive and impractical. If you haven’t considered it before, it may be time to think about hiring a small business virtual assistant. These experienced professionals are a cost-effective choice that you can hire to perform part-time services to reduce the workload on your full-time staff. This increases your employee productivity, and in turn, improves your bottom line.

How Do You Know if You Need a Virtual Assistant?

When you are trying to decide if you should hire a virtual assistant, it is vital to look at the duties your assistant could take on to make your job easier and give your staff more time to focus on their priorities.

Look at the Duties a Virtual Assistant Can Perform

Answering phone calls and providing quality customer service, including special service requests, rescheduling, sales, quote callbacks, and handling complaints
Advertising your business on social media
Focusing on high-priority tasks
Answering customer questions on your website chatbox
Managing your accounts receivable, invoices, payments, emails, and following up with clients who are behind on payments
Managing your payroll
Checking with customers on their satisfaction and encouraging them to leave positive reviews, and in the case of poor reviews, working with the client to see how you can improve their experience
Sending customer surveys to gain additional feedback
Implementing new software programs and assisting with training staff on these systems
Assisting with your hiring process by listing open positions, collecting applications, and scheduling interviews
Scheduling customers next cleaning appointment
Ordering new cleaning supplies
Tracking cleaning supplies inventory
Scheduling cleaning staff
And more!

How Do You Train a Virtual Assistant to Meet Your Needs?

Every business is different, and it is vital to have a plan for preparing your virtual assistant for the tasks you expect them to perform so that they can help your business become more efficient and bring in more revenue.

Training Tips for Your Virtual Assistant

The first step in ensuring that your virtual assistant will handle the jobs you expect of them is to list the tasks you want them to perform. Create a task list and prioritize the more important items, so they know which items should be completed first. It may benefit you to choose the daily tasks that take up the most of your time that you could spend on more meaningful endeavors. Be sure to pace your training program so that your assistant doesn’t feel overwhelmed right off the bat.
Train your virtual assistant on the specifics of the way you like your phone answered, and prepare them with a list of commonly asked questions and the responses you wish them to provide to clients. It is easier to have this information in a well-organized folder than asking them to memorize responses right away.
Be sure that your virtual assistant knows what you expect of them in terms of phone call response time and how quickly you expect them to respond to emails, text messages, and other communications. Be careful not to set unrealistic expectations—your virtual assistant is human, so don’t expect more than you would from any other employee.
Take time in the first few weeks of working with your virtual assistant to get to know them and build a trusting employer/employee relationship. Have weekly meetings to check in and see how things are going with them. Monitor them from a distance so that they don’t feel that you are micromanaging, and be understanding if they make a few mistakes at first.

Call on Virtual Latinos to Help You

Once you see the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant for your cleaning business, doing so will help your business to grow. Virtual Latinos is one of the top virtual assistant services that can connect you with college-educated, bilingual virtual assistants from countries like Uruguay, Argentina, and Mexico. Our company has built a reputation for trustworthy, cost-effective virtual assistants that improve customer service, employee productivity, and help businesses grow. Call us today at (619) 317-1198 or visit our website to find out how we can help your cleaning business.

Physicians! Increase Your Bookings and Show-up Rates by Hiring a Latino Virtual Assistant

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

6Nov '20

Your priority as a physician is helping your patients get well, but you can only help them when they show up for appointments. On top of that, you have payroll and overhead costs to meet to keep your practice running. If you are not staying fully booked, there will be less money coming in to ensure the success of your office. There is a great, cost-effective solution, however, that can help improve your bookings and make sure your patients are there for their appointments. Latino virtual assistants from countries like Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Nicaragua are ready to help you succeed. These professionals are college-educated and bilingual, a huge plus in the United States, where nearly 17% of the population is of Latino descent. As you set out to find a virtual assistant, keep these details of how they can help in mind.

How Do Virtual Assistants Bring in More Patients?

There are various ways that Latino virtual assistants can help manage your medical practice and increase productivity effectively. Still, the most important benefit that they can bring to your office is increased bookings and show-up rates. Consider the ways that they can affect your patient schedule.

Satisfying Patients so They Come Back Again

Patient experience. If patients are not happy with their first visit to your office, chances are they will not return the next time they need medical attention. To make the doctor’s office visit more pleasant, virtual assistants can ease patients’ worries about seeing the doctor. Many people are anxious about medical appointments, and long periods in the waiting room only add to their fears and frustrations. Virtual assistants help streamline the scheduling and patient load from outside the office so that your waiting room is not full of people, and all necessary paperwork is taken care of before the appointment. When the clerical work is out of the way, and the schedule is not too busy, patients get more one-on-one time with the doctor and feel more at ease.

Increasing doctor-patient communication. When you only have time for a brief visit with your patients, it is difficult to gain a grasp of their unique circumstances and needs. This often makes patients feel that they are not getting the best care available. A virtual assistant can improve this experience for both doctor and patient by gathering information and documents beforehand, which allows you more time to get to know your patients and their specifics. When patients feel that you truly care about them, they are more likely to return to your office.

What Other Tasks Can Virtual Assistants Do?

When you are looking for the best virtual assistant, keep in mind that there are many ways they can benefit your daily operations. Many physicians find that they save a great deal of money by hiring virtual assistants to perform clerical work because they are typically part-time and offer affordable hourly rates. Look at some of the other tasks that a Latino virtual assistant can perform for your medical practice.

Online research
Live Interpreting & Translation
Data Entry & CRM/EMR management
Posting on social media
Organizing files and photos
Managing email accounts
Health Insurance Claims, Billing & Coordination
Patient tracking
Editing, writing blog posts
Creating presentations
Organizing spreadsheets

Virtual assistants have a wide range of skills and are often ready to jump in and help in any capacity. These are just a few of the many office tasks that they can handle when you are looking for an extra hand without hiring another in-house staff member. Best of all, virtual assistants are always on task. Since these assistants work remotely, they tend to be very focused while they are on the job. Without the distractions of the office environment, they are adept at getting a great deal of work done in the hours they put in.

Virtual Latinos Can Help

If you are wondering how to find a virtual assistant, Virtual Latinos is here for you. Visit our website or reach out to us at (619) 317-1198. From answering phone calls and scheduling daily tasks to manage data and billing, there are many ways our assistants can help your practice grow. Our virtual assistants are educated and experienced professionals who can increase your office productivity, get more bookings, and ensure that patients show up for their appointments. Call us today to find out what we can do for you.

Virtual Assistants: The Key to Customer Service Success

Virtual Latinos

Hiring

31Oct '20

The daily routine of running a business can be very overwhelming. When you don’t have the proper support to allow you to run things efficiently, you lose track of items in your inbox, end up late for meetings, and see your level of customer service fall below your standards. If you find that you are facing these issues, it is time to consider hiring a virtual assistant. You will see a difference right away in your productivity, but more importantly, your customers will be more satisfied.

How Can a Virtual Assistant Help You Improve Customer Service?

When you want to hire a virtual assistant to improve your customer service, it is essential to consider the skill set you are looking for in your virtual support professional. Virtual assistants are experienced professionals who can take care of tasks ranging from handling the phones to paralegal assistance and project management. Here are a few benefits our clients find when they hire a virtual assistant.

External Communication Point

If you run into problems at the office or things become backed up to the point that you miss calls, a virtual assistant gives your customers another point of contact. Even if they are only able to leave a message, they will be happy to have gotten an answer.

Paperwork Organization

When you are forging new client relationships, there is always a great deal of documentation and paperwork such as contracts and proposals to track. A virtual assistant can distribute all your paperwork and gather it promptly to keep things running efficiently.

Invoicing

A virtual assistant can stay on top of your invoicing and reconciliations so that you can reach out to clients promptly and resolve any issues.

Client Relations

Virtual assistants can reach out to your clients when you are stuck in a meeting or running late, can reschedule appointments, even meet with your clients’ assistants to compare notes and ensure that you are on the same track with meetings and project plans. Your virtual assistant can also keep your client details up to date in your customer relationship management software (CRM).

Additional Point of Contact

When you hire a latino virtual assistant, you give your clientele another way to reach out with questions and concerns when you are busy. They can offer assistance with topics they are familiar with or get the client in contact with you if it is necessary. They are also able to keep track of your social media and email accounts so that urgent issues are addressed promptly.

Is a Virtual Assistant Necessary When Other Staff Can Do the Work?

Employers often don’t realize that their employees’ productivity is stifled because they feel overworked. As a business grows, many staff members take on additional hours to get their work done, but they have trouble focusing on their tasks because the overtime becomes overwhelming. The issue at hand is that most times, employees will not tell their employer that they feel overworked, so the cycle continues. Hiring a virtual assistant is a great way to stay ahead of the game, keep your employees happy, and help everyone be more productive. On top of that, you are more likely to keep your valued staff when they feel like their workload is less, and that is vital to keeping your business consistent and your customers happy.

What Is the First Step When You Hire a Virtual Assistant?

When you decide on a virtual assistant that you wish to hire, you should send them a letter that lays out what you expect from them and what their duties will be. They should sign off on the letter as an agreement to the conditions of their employment with your company. You can tailor the letter to your specific needs, but here are a few details you should be sure to include:

Note that they must be in a quiet place, free from distractions if they will be answering phone calls for your business.
Know the bandwidth necessary to access your internal systems, and inform them that they must have the internet strength to accommodate your systems.
Inform them that you must be able to contact them during the agreed time frame that they will be working each day.
Inform your new employee that work attendance is mandatory during their scheduled hours, and that missing work may result in a warning call.
Discuss the possibility that your virtual assistant’s power may go out, or they could lose internet access, and how this will be handled should it occur.

If you seek a virtual assistant to improve your company productivity, be sure to reach out to Virtual Latinos today at (610) 317-1198. Our virtual assistants from countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala can be a great addition to your team.