Say you’re working on a book… You can always be at the most current place on your masterpiece on your iPad, laptop, and PC (and if you had an Android tablet, you could use it there too).

Sure makes writing a book from anywhere easier!

Although I have to admit, it was odd but comforting to see the familiar Microsoft apps on my iPad.

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

Very recently, I received an email about potential client work. I had my suspicions but thought to play them along so I responded with a request for more information and their response is below. My scam feelers went up first at the seemingly mass-sent nature of the original email. Not addressed to me personally (and the fact that the email was marked spam by my software!). Then after reading their responses I was further convinced. I’m still stringing them along but you should be cautious should an email similar to the ones below arrive in your inbox. Most often times, these unsolicited emails hope to entice you to give up all the information they request, and process the ‘payroll’ through your accounts. The poor sentence / grammar structure are also a give away. I wrote back that I required a contract and now they want to fax me one.

When an em email arrives and asks you to give all the personal information asked in the email below, its a sure sign your identity will be compromised if you do! There is no reason for a client to have that information, other than your name, tax ID and address for the 1099! Always be wary of these!

Have a great day! Kathy Ritchie, Editor, RSS Herald
*****************************
Hello Job Seeker ,
Hello Thanks for your fast response .I am looking for a good admin assistant/personal assistant in USA for our monthly and Yearly administrative extending Business across the United State of America and Beyond.I have worked in the area of Accounting and payroll for two decades. I was able to consolidate my holdings in the US prior to 2007 and then, in anticipation of the European “meltdown”, I branched out into selected markets in parts of Europe, including Ireland, Spain and Italy, which currently offer significant opportunities due to the depressed state of the Euro at this time.
I work with private and corporate investors throughout the US in the syndication of investments, both here and in Europe. .Russell Accounting and Payroll is a leading firm of chartered accountants with expertise in all areas of accountancy, including audit and accounts, tax accounting, and saving tax. Based in offices across the south-east, we work for many private clients, as well as for local businesses and organisations. Offering a comprehensive range of services, our responsive and approachable teams offer value for money and a genuine commitment to improving your overall business performance.Our Services We deliver a full range of bespoke accounting services to our clients including audit and accounts, bookkeeping and payroll, company incorporation, managing a business and both inheritance and personal tax planning. We work across the business life-cycle, from starting a business through to managing your company, planning for your future and taking care of your personal needs.

Under the direction of the manager, assist in processing weekly payroll for multi-entities in support of a 230 employee around the world population. Inspecting automated system output and standard reports, determining and correction out-of-balance conditions, and researching tier III cases for resolution. Maintaining time and attendance records and miscellaneous changes. Work independently to troubleshoot issues and conduct follow through to ensure proper controls, procedures and policies are followed We are looking for a replacement for at least the next six months.
The primary responsibilities will involve receiving and organizing files, contracts, leases and purchase agreements. I estimate that the time involved for this will vary on a weekly basis, but should be no more than about 10 hours per week, at this point.

Duties and Requirements:

Available during regular business hours
Organized and able to take instructions well Dependable, Reliable, Trustworthy a must Excellent English language skills (both spoken and written) Must have good attention to detail Must be a problem solver and not a problem maker Have great work ethic and attitude, as well as people skills pay-attention to detail, capable of multi-tasking, and works well under stress at times.

Benefits:
- Yearly performance bonus
- Paid vacation/sick/personal days
- Medical benefits

Salary:$2400 monthly and Some other commission Assignment included

This position is home-based and flexible part time job, you can be in any location you will be working from your home doing all the activities.

This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship.We have first task waiting for you to know if you are ready to work.We want to know if you own any of this office equipments list you need to start this position:

Printer:
Personal Laptop/Desktop:
Internet Access:
Scanner:
Paper Cutter:
Calculator:

Please complete this questionnaire as fully as possible. If some of the information is not applicable, please indicate this with “NA”.

First Name
Last Name
Street Address
Apartment or Unit Number
City
State
Zip
Year of HS Graduation
How Many Years Have You Lived At Your Current Address Home Tel Mobile Tel Marital Status Number of Years At Your Most Recent Job Highest Level Of Education Languages Spoken Spanish, English Do You Participate In Sports? No If Yes, Which One(s)?
Do You Have Two Professional and One Personal Reference Available?
Do You Have Reliable Internet Access?
Do You Use Any Instant Messaging Service (Yahoo, AOL, For Example)?
What Is Your Most Significant Professional Accomplishment?

For the moment, We are estimating that the monthly wage of $2400. If things work out, after a trial period, we can look at bonus arrangements, where indicated and, certainly, if the work load increases, the basic weekly rate can be adjusted.I await to hear back from you as soon as possible with the information above so we can proceeded with the next step .

Thanks
Russell Accounting and Payroll
Russell Stillwater
Payroll@russellaccountingandpayroll.com

On 2/13/12, Kathy Ritchie wrote:
> I would appreciate more information.
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> From: Rusell Accounting and Payroll
> [mailto:payroll@russellaccountingandpayroll.com]
> Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2012 1:04 PM
> To: kritchie@thebestva.com
> Subject: [SPAM] Personal Assistant Needed
>
>
>
> Hello, I’m Russell Stillwater from Rusell Accounting and Payroll ,The
> Owner of the company .We got your email from a career site and we will
> like to know if you are available for a personal assistant opportunity
> in our company . The ideal employee will have the following
> attributes: 1.) Attention to Detail 2.) Organizational Skills 3.)
> Excellent Written & Communication Skills 4.) Must be able to work in a
> fast paced work environment 5.) Must have excellent computer skills in
> Microsoft Office (Word, Excel,PowerPoint) BENEFIT $400 per week You
> will be working from home ,we are going to be passing instruction on
> how to go about each assignment via phone and email .I await to hear
> back from you if you are available for more details
>

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

Not possible… Not even remotely possible. I tried to explain that with a virtual assistant, he wouldn’t be paying my taxes, insurance, workman’s compensation…. He wouldn’t have to provide space or equipment for me…he wouldn’t have to pay for someone to schedule me, to do the required accounting for my pay, insurance, taxes, and so on… And he wouldn’t have to contend with in office distractions that inevitably occur with a group of people all working together.

Fair market rate…

The cost for in office personnel is far higher than the cost of a virtual assistant. But sometimes there will be those who just cannot understand this. There is nothing you can say to convince them that they will save time and money…

Remember, the bottom line isn’t always what it seems, especially when you’re not looking at all the pieces of the puzzle. Cheaper doesn’t always cost less.

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

Key Challenges Companies Face

Well worth watching. Visit his site today.

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

For me, several things must combine before I will terminate a contract.

• First, a sense of unease, a nagging suspicion that things are not right
• Second, abusive emails, disrespectful phone calls, unreasonable demands (biggie)
• Third, disloyalty
• Finally, when the use of a subcontractor is involved (in some cases this is MY assistant working to cover a client’s needs) and there is disrespect to that subcontractor.

I don’t like letting go of clients, I prefer to try and talk to them first. Sometimes though, it is necessary. As a fellow business owner, same as the client, I don’t have to continue working with someone who makes me uncomfortable, such as being rude, obnoxious, off
color jokes, or just plain disrespectful. I don’t have to continue working with someone who isn’t nice to my assistant.

Working in the virtual environment is difficult enough since it’s a huge measure of trust between clients and virtual assistants. If there is anything that makes either in the partnership uneasy, talk it over, get it out in the open, and then, if you can’t come
to an agreement, don’t just take it, protect yourself. We work hard enough everyday, we don’t have to be miserable too.

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

A classy man or woman, dressed in a high priced business suit, an overflowing briefcase sitting on the corner of the desk, dictating memos and delegating tasks to a very overworked administrative assistant?

How about a home-based business owner, sitting in their basement office, kids pulling at their pant legs while they are spending far too much time dealing with their correspondence and other administrative tasks?

Either of these sound familiar?

Well, these may be true but, with our ever-changing business environments and with the ease of using the Internet, more and more business professionals, especially small business owners, are altering how they conduct their daily activities.

Sure, they still have their offices, sometimes in their homes, but they also have more time to spend on generating revenue or to be with the kids than ever before.

How, you ask? Well… they outsource some or most of their non-core tasks to a professional, reliable Virtual Assistant who takes pride in helping other businesses succeed by providing them with a helping hand.

These days, almost any normal (or even not so normal) task that a small business owner usually does, can be accomplished by a Virtual Assistant

Let’s take a look at the typical daily (or so) tasks that are usually needed to be done:

1. Read and respond to incoming mail and email
2. Enter accounts payables and receivables into accounting software program
3. Prepare a quotation for a potential new client
4. Order flowers for the spouse’s birthday
5. Reserve a spot in the local industry trade show
6. Update pages on the company website
7. Update your contact database
8. Book airline tickets and make hotel reservations for an upcoming seminar
9. Attend a networking breakfast

This list gives you some idea of the many tasks that need to be done each day by most small business owners. And, this is only a portion of what is usually required to be done.

Some of these small business owners run their businesses from their homes, which means there is the added activities of dealing with “around the house” things (that everyone seems to think you have all the time in the world to do), running errands (ditto on the ‘all the time in the world’ thing), tending to the family, and accepting those calls from telephone solicitors who somehow know you are at home to answer the phone.

It’s all kind of like a math equation… the tasks ADD up, which SUBTRACTS from running your business smoothly, which EQUALS a less successful business and a more stressed out business owner.

So, let’s look at our list above again and see how many of those tasks can be accomplished by a Virtual Assistant.

Of the 10 items listed above, only two need to be handled, or at least started, by the business owner.

#3 – (Prepare Quote) This task should be developed by the business owner. Now, this doesn’t mean they have to do it all. They can put together the specifics of the quotation and then have a Virtual Assistant format and produce the final outcome.

#9 – (Networking) Again, this is something that can’t be outsourced, although, if the company is large enough, a representative can attend the meeting in the place of an owner.

#2 – (Accounting) This task is a perfect candidate for outsourcing. There are many Virtual Assistant companies that provide exceptional bookkeeping services. If you are lucky enough, you can find one that can take care of all of your accounting tasks, right down to your yearly income taxes.

#6 – (Update website) This is something that can be accomplished by an experienced web designer, and usually by way of a contract or retainer agreement for ongoing maintenance. Many Virtual Assistants are also highly creative and professional web designers as well.

#4, 5 & 8 – (Flowers, tradeshow, seminar arrangements) These are all best handled by a professional concierge service. They can take care of everything from booking a limousine to arranging hot air balloon rides to corporate event planning.

#1-9 – Except for #9 (which is best handled in person), the remaining tasks can all be handled by a Virtual Assistant (VA). Now, not all VAs provide all of these services but, more than likely, they can either recommend someone who can or get the details from you and ensure that a fellow colleague will do the work according to your needs.

As a fellow small business owner, being able to provide a full-service benefit to a client is something that most VAs take pride in. If they do need to subcontract work to someone else, they make sure that the contractor is aware of their level of professionalism and that it is the VAs reputation that is at stake, something most will go to great lengths to ensure is held in the highest regard.

Outsourcing is still a relatively new concept to most business professionals but, as more and more of them begin to realize the benefits that they can take advantage of by utilizing the off-site services of Virtual Assistants, the more successful and less stressed out or overworked our business communities will be.

© Docu-Type – You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).

Like teenagers who let all of the cold air out of the refrigerator as they stand for minutes perusing the contents, you have people in your life who sap precious minutes from your day. From the colleague who chats incessantly about their latest drama to the client who misses appointments, these people rob you of one of the most precious and limited resources you have available…time.

To reign in these time-wasters, you must first value the minutes at your disposal and make conscious choices of how and on who you will spend this limited commodity. As you increase your awareness, you’ll then want to set better boundaries with those around you who may squander, often unknowingly, your time. The minutes you gain grow into hours of investable energy to spend on your company, yourself, and even any quirky, but lovable teenagers in your life.

-*-

©2012 All the news Virtual Assistants can use.... All Rights Reserved.

Now there’s one, affordable book that takes the guess work out of starting your own successful VA business …

Becoming a Virtual Assistant who commands top dollar from clients who live hundreds or even thousands of miles seems like a perfect way to earn a living, doesn’t it? But it might also seem like an impossible dream.

There’s so much to do in a day you may wonder how any VA ever got around to actually making money.

If you are asking yourself these questions about entering the Virtual Assistance industry:

• How much money will it cost to start a business?
• Can I use the computer equipment I already have?
• Do I need to go back to school or get VA training?
• How will I balance working from home with family life?
• Should I write a business plan? And how do I write one?
• How do I get clients? And what should I charge them?
• And the questions go on and on and on …

You’re in good company.

Now there is a Virtual Assistant book that will answer all of the above questions in detail and using proven methods for succeeding as a VA. Anything you’ve ever wanted to know about how to become a VA—and earn top dollar doing it—is all here in this one, affordable resource.

But this isn’t just any how-to VA book …

Page after page you’ll feel as if you have your own personal “VA Coach” guiding you every step of the way toward making your dream of becoming a Virtual Assistant a reality. All in an easy to read format. How to Build a Successful Virtual Assistant Business is the business bible that you’ll reach for over and over again as you build, market and operate your VA practice like a pro.

Written by 2 VA industry veterans from Ontario, Canada, How to Build a Successful VA Business is over 200 pages of practical, step-by-step information and advice, including how to:

• Decide if becoming a Virtual Assistant is right for you, personally and professionally.
• Develop a business plan to secure funding and guide your long term success (templates included!).
• Figure out what to charge so that clients are happy and you still make a profit.
• Offer services that keep clients coming back for more (and sending you referrals.
• Purchase equipment and marketing materials without wasting money.
• Grow a successful VA business AND enjoy and care for your family.

To keep on top of the changes in the VA industry and the technology that is used by VAs and their clients, How to Build a Successful Virtual Assistant Business is now available in its Second Edition. It now includes even more great information to help your business become successful and stay successful!

We also offer the book in different formats. You can choose a PDF format that you can read on your computer, iPad, etc., or choose to have a print copy mailed to you so you have a hard copy to take with you anywhere.

And… not only that, there are also two versions… one is an International version with information to help you no matter where you are located. The other includes all the same information as the International version but also includes Canadian specific information to help you register your business in Canada.

More information on this valuable resource, please visit http://www.va-book.com