Top Tools and Software A Virtual Assistant Must Know

Virtual assistance is the umbrella of multiple online skills. It is a career that caters to general expertise, requiring virtual assistants to handle different tasks and jobs. So, if you want to provide excellent virtual assistance services, you should consider mastering varieties of skill sets! 

Unlike specialized careers, virtual assistants can cover tons of skills, opening them to more opportunities in the virtual world. That is why they can also carry out various projects, events, and tasks for their clients. To nail these assignments, VAs are required to familiarize tools and platforms available online. 

Can you think of software highly utilized for virtual assistant services? Google Suite? Asana? Zoom? These are more platforms highly recognized in the VA field. However, you must not lock yourself within these apps. You should learn more and expand your skillset now.

Here are some virtual assistant tools and software you must know.

 

Communication 

Virtual assistants should have a platform they can use to communicate with their clients. It could be a quick and easy application that can help you share short and extended messages with your client. It could also alert you instantly in just a text or chat. Other than that, tools for communication would highly improve your relationship with your clients. 

WhatsApp. It is a free and user-friendly application to chat, voice call, and even video call your client and their employees. They can make group chats for better team conversation online. Other than that, WhatsApp also enables you to send documents, images, videos, and other files, for better communication. WhatsApp has mobile phones and desktop features.

Slack. Another famous short messaging app is Slack. More than 750,000 businesses use this platform as a communication channel for business aspects. It enables users to conduct group conversations, video calls, and file sharing, too! Through Slack, you and your client can communicate faster than regular emails. You can use Slack on your apps and browsers.

Flock. Besides Slack, Flock is also a popular messaging application. It allows users to boost productivity as it enables them to send voice notes, reminders, and to-do lists. Imagine how your client can send you these tasks instantly using this platform. 

Microsoft Teams. Another excellent messaging application available online is Microsoft Teams. Microsoft launched this tool to solve communication issues within businesses. So, it also supports client and VA communication. These platforms allow you to chat with one another as it also opens chances for audio and video calls. You can also schedule meetings within this platform for more organized meetings. 

 

Video Conferencing 

Clients and their virtual assistants are required to have regular meetings. Most meetings happen inside video conferencing platforms. So, as a VA, you should be able to handle these meetings on your own. It could help you if your client has another encounter with their business partners or other clients, too. 

If you know how to utilize these video conferencing tools, you will handle virtual meetings gracefully. 

Zoom. One of the most popular video conferencing today is Zoom. Not just for students, even businesses today love Zoom. It has incredible meeting features that bring out excellent group chat, virtual conferences, video webinars, and other video meetings. Through this, most clients today prefer to use Zoom in their business meetings. So, you must learn how to manipulate all platforms, primarily if you are assigned to become the Zoom host for your client. 

GoToMeeting. This video conferencing tool has the same feature and functionality as Zoom. However, it can support larger group meetings with more participants. Using this platform, you can have a smooth engagement with your client and their whole company.

Google Meet. Of course, Google Meet would never miss the spot. It is a video conferencing platform to replace Google Hangouts. It enables you with scheduled and on-the-spot calls. It also allows users to share screens, record the meeting, and share links within the chat. Google Meet has tons of features, particularly the software-generated captions for video calls. Mastering Google Meet would help you be confident and comfortable during any video meetings.

 

Time tracking 

Virtual assistants usually set the rate hourly. Through this, you should be familiar with time tracking platforms from where you can record your time. Other than that, understanding how time trackers work would give you an idea of how to summarize data and compute your salary. So, the whole time logging in and logging out would be transparent and safe for you and your client.

Hubstaff. It is a popular time tracker account that records time log in and out. Hubstaff also brings you an automatic timesheet to see the logging hours. So, you and your client would not have a hard time finalizing the time you’re spent working for them. Besides that, Hubstaff is also a great time tracker tool as you can check the amount of time they spent on specific apps and websites. 

Clockify. Another famous time tracking app is Clockify. It includes varieties of features for more organized time tracking. Some of these features include a timer, billable, add time, resume time, and complete summary of the timesheet in days, weeks, months, or years. It also has a calendar, dashboard, projects, and rates for each of the employees. If you are familiar with Clockify, then you can handle your client’s whole team, as well as their salary and rates.

 

Password Management 

Another essential part of virtual assistants is familiarity with password management software. It would help you and your clients keep the accounts safe, secure, and free from hackers. To make this possible, you could suggest password management platforms that you know. 

So, what if you don’t know any? That is why you should start digging into the details of how password management tools work.

LastPass. It is a tool that saves all your passwords within the devices you use. LastPass also enables your client to share passwords safely and securely. They can use this platform to provide you a separate password as their virtual assistant. So, if you are familiar with LastPass, you can simply suggest it to your client, giving them an easy way of handling passwords on their personal and business accounts.

Dashlane. Besides LastPass, you can also master Dashlane. It is a password management tool that assigns and shares a password with others. So, your client can generate another password for you. It also gives syncs to all devices so your client can track the devices you are using. 

 

Scheduling and appointments

As a virtual assistant, you should also know how to schedule your client’s time and day. Your client expects you to manage their schedule, appointments, and other project deadlines. Besides that, the virtual assistants also handle their client’s personal and business schedules. 

Due to these scheduling tasks, a virtual assistant like you should learn how to use calendar tools and platforms that your client usually uses. It would help them have a smooth appointment to every task without compromising essential activities. Your client’s schedule would be very organized and manageable through all these, especially during hectic days.

Google Calendar. You can simply add a schedule, tag people involved in the task, or indicate a specific job for the day. You can share these with your client to see the to-do list of the day, week, and month.

Calendly. It is an online scheduling tool that helps you send emails for meetings. It also gives daily meeting limits, time buffers, and scheduling notice for all the participants in the forum. Calendly allows you to have a more organized meeting experience due to its impressive scheduling features.

 

Project Management 

Virtual assistants get assignments in arranging to-do lists as well as plotting things on the calendar. They also need to prepare the project’s phases to complete it before the deadline. Additionally, virtual assistants are also tasked to manage all the employees, activities, and materials needed for the projects.

In this case, you, as a virtual assistant, could use project management platforms. It would help the whole company see the projects they must handle to keep track of the project progress. It would also help you assign tasks, check improvements, and beat the deadlines of the projects.

Asana. It is a free tool for businesses to handle projects. It also allows assigning task notices to a particular member. Everyone can access the project’s progress, but interestingly, Asana included protecting sensitive information. All in all, Asana provides you with organized, systematic, and orderly project phasing and progress.

Trello. Another project management portal enables users to handle, manage, share, and keep track of the projects. It also allows members to browse into the boards and see the things to prioritize. Other than that, you can also include sticky notes and side reminders for the projects. 

 

Accounting and Bookkeeping 

Some clients allow virtual assistants to handle accounting and bookkeeping tasks. They can do jobs for financing and record money transactions in the business. So, your client expects you to be capable of using accounting software. 

Even accounting and bookkeeping are not your specialty; it is still vital to know at least one platform. In this case, you can still offer your clients any accounting and bookkeeping services.

QuickBooks. It is famous accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. As a virtual assistant, you should learn how to create invoices, quotes, reports, and plot all the expenses. You can all do these tasks with QuickBooks. Other than that, it can also help you sync your client’s bank account for easier and faster transactions. 

Xero. Another accounting and bookkeeping tool is Xero. It enables you to make payments, send invoices, pay bills, and reconcile bank transactions. Through this, your client would have a more organized financing setup. 

 

File Sharing and Document Management 

Virtual assistants are also tasked to handle file organization and management. Other than that, clients even assign them to do documents and fill out some forms. Aside from that, clients also enable virtual assistants to manage admin tasks and computer paperwork.

Due to these impeccable tasks, you should learn how to send and receive files. You should not just know, but master, how to forward important documents, especially during emergencies. So, you should study now how to do file sharing and document management.

Google Drive. It is a safe, easy, and fast file-sharing platform. It also gives you extra storage that you can store some of your files. Using Google Drive, you can easily send and receive files with your client for a better working experience. In this case, both of you would better handle documents, files, presentations, and others.

Dropbox. More than 500,000 businesses today rely on Dropbox. So, you must get familiar with it, too. Dropbox enables users to enjoy cloud storage to share, store, and receive files. It also boasts one company’s productivity due to its quick and effortless file-sharing features.

 

Social Media Management

Another essential task for virtual assistants is social media management. It requires you to handle social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms from the term itself. It enables you to connect to your consumers while it exposes your client’s brand to the public. 

To help you handle your social media accounts, there are some available tools to organize your postings along with captions, hashtags, and tags.

Content Studio. It is a platform that you can make effortless management of your social media accounts. If you learn how to use it, you can simply post graphics and captions on your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all at once! You can also schedule the posts and keep track of the engagements. 

Buffer. It is also a popular tool in driving engagement on social media. As a virtual assistant, Buffer can make your life easier by posting on your client’s accounts. You simply need to publish and analyze the posts. You can upload content using Buffer in accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Pinterest, and more. Through this, you can have easier content management on your client’s social media.

 

Email Marketing 

To further improve your client’s leads, they usually let you handle email marketing. This task is tricky because you need to run the subscribers, arrange the campaigns, and even write the sales letter. It has lots of functions behind it, but if you master any email marketing platforms, t would be just a piece of cake to do email marketing to your clients.

MailerLite. It is a marketing automation tool that allows you to make workflows, campaigns, and link clicks on emails. You can begin sending sales copies and letters using MailerLit, too. Through this, your client’s brand would have better exposure to the email audiences. 

MailChimp. One of the effective email marketing platforms is MailChimp. It offers an all-in-one marketing platform in making gorgeous campaigns, contact management, and use data analysis. It allows you to become a great marketer alongside being your client’s virtual assistant.

 

Should you master ALL these tools? 

No, you are not required to master all these virtual assistant tools and memorize how they work. You can choose one among each category. If you did this, you could provide options to your clients. If they know that you have an idea in a platform they usually use, they would surely hire you right away. 

However, if you are not familiar with tour clients’ tools, tell them you are willing to learn. But then, do you think it is enough just to say to you that you are a great learner? 

Would it better to get the skills before your commitment to them? That’s how we can help you.

 

How to master VA tools and software?

Empowered Virtual Service opens EVS Academy for newbie and aspiring Filipino virtual assistants. You can learn varieties of tools and platforms as you tackle lessons for virtual assistants training. In this case, you can gain more experience and expertise, ensuring you have better virtual assistant skills to offer. 

Let your VA career start with us. Click here to learn more.