Personal assistant
Hire a personal virtual assistant for your diary, inbox and travel
A personal virtual assistant, sometimes called a virtual PA, looks after your diary, inbox, travel plans and personal errands so they stop landing on your evenings. They work remotely, in your accounts and tools, at the Personal assistant rate, from £4.50 an hour. We find the candidate and run four screening steps.
- Four screening steps before you meet a candidate
- Hours tracked
- Earliest start within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate
The personal work an assistant takes on
For a business owner, work and life share one diary and one inbox. A personal assistant handles both, using the preferences you write down.
Diary and inbox
- Calendar management. Booking, moving and declining meetings, and keeping personal commitments clear of work ones.
- Email triage. Sorting what needs you from what does not, and drafting replies for you to approve.
- Reminders and follow ups. A nudge before a deadline, and a chase when someone goes quiet.
Travel and bookings
- Travel research and booking. Flights, trains, hotels and transfers chosen to your stated preferences and limits.
- Itineraries. One document with times, confirmations and contact details for each trip.
- Restaurants, events and appointments. Tables, tickets and slots booked and confirmed.
Personal admin
- Errand research. Comparing options, collecting quotes and booking the visit.
- Renewals and deadlines. A list of dates, such as insurance renewals, with a reminder ahead of each.
- Forms and paperwork. Completing forms from the details you supply and tracking the replies.
Where the assistant stops
A remote assistant works online, so it cannot collect a parcel or queue at a counter. It does not give legal, tax or medical advice. For a senior leader’s diary, board papers and confidential files, see the virtual executive assistant.
Tools
Your assistant works in your own calendar, email and notes or task tools. Name the ones you use on the call and we match the candidate to them.
What a personal virtual assistant costs
Personal assistant work is priced per hour by experience, in pounds, for 80 hours a month part time or 160 hours full time. The pricing page lists every role.
| Experience level | Per hour | Part time, 80 hours a month | Full time, 160 hours a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner (1 to 2 years) | £4.50 | £360 | £720 |
| Intermediate (2 to 4 years) | £6.50 | £520 | £1,040 |
| Expert (4 to 6 years) | £8.50 | £680 | £1,360 |
| Pro (6 to 8 years) | £11.50 | £920 | £1,840 |
A worked example
Illustration, not a quote. You travel often and want help with the diary, bookings and personal admin for 20 hours a week, which is 80 hours a month. At the expert level, 80 hours at £8.50 an hour comes to £680 a month. At the pro level, 80 hours at £11.50 an hour comes to £920 a month. The same hours at the beginner level cost £360.
Use the cost calculator to try your own hours.
A call to talk through the work
Is a personal virtual assistant right for you?
A personal virtual assistant suits you if
- You run a business and your personal and work diaries collide.
- You travel, book events or deal with household admin often enough to lose hours to it.
- You want one person who learns your preferences and applies them.
- You can write down your rules, even roughly.
Another role may suit you better if
- You support a senior leader with board papers and confidential files: a virtual executive assistant.
- Most of the work is business records, data entry and filing: a virtual admin assistant.
Which role to choose
| If your week is mostly | Choose |
|---|---|
| Your own diary, travel, bookings and errands | Personal virtual assistant (this page) |
| A senior leader’s diary, board and committee papers, confidential files | Virtual executive assistant |
| Inboxes, data entry, filing and records for the business | Virtual admin assistant |
If your week is a mix, choose the role that covers the largest share of the hours and say so on the call.
What you should receive from a personal assistant
General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant. A good week of personal support leaves a diary with no clashes, a short list of emails that need you, trips with every confirmation in one itinerary, and a running list of open tasks with dates. You should be able to see what was done without asking.
A preferences sheet you can copy
- Diary. Working hours, time zone, protected time, how long a gap you want between meetings.
- Inbox. What counts as urgent, who gets a reply the same day, and what waits.
- Travel. Preferred airlines or trains, seat, hotel type, distance from the meeting, and the most you will pay before you are asked.
- People. The contacts who come first.
- Approval. What the assistant may book alone, and what needs your yes.
- Stop points. Payments, deletions and anything sent in your name for the first time.
What to hand over in week one
Start with the information that carries little risk, and add access as trust builds.
| Level | Examples | How to share |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Diary times, travel preferences, restaurant likes | Write it in the preferences sheet |
| Access with limits | Your inbox and calendar | Use the tool’s delegate or sharing feature, not your password |
| Hold back until needed | Banking, identity documents, health details | Share one item at a time, when a task needs it |
How the work is measured
Count what you can see. Clashes in the diary each week. Emails answered within the window you set. Trips with a complete itinerary before departure. Open tasks with a date and an owner. For two weeks before you start, note how long you spend on this work yourself. The same note after a month is your own measure of the change.
Checks before you rely on a booking
- Names on tickets match the traveller’s identity documents.
- Times are in the right time zone, and the itinerary says which.
- The cost sits inside the limit you set.
- Cancellation terms are noted next to the confirmation.
- The calendar entry and the confirmation email agree.
Common mistakes
- Sharing your own password. Gmail’s delegate feature lets someone read, send and delete email for you, and it shows their address on what they send. A delegate cannot change your password.
- Leaving 2-step verification off your email. The NCSC advises turning it on for email, because someone with access to your inbox can reset your other passwords. Keep backup codes where only you can reach them.
- Setting no spending limit, then finding a trip is dearer than you expected.
Worked example: a travel week
Example only. The person and trip are invented to show the shape of a brief. No real client is described.
A consultant has two meetings in Leeds on Tuesday and wants to be home by evening. Her sheet says train over car, a hotel only if a meeting runs past 6pm, and a nightly ceiling for a room. The assistant sends a draft itinerary on Sunday with both meetings, the train times and the booking references. She approves it with one change, and the assistant updates the calendar and the itinerary together.
Questions to ask any personal assistant provider
- Will you use delegate or sharing features, or ask for my passwords?
- Who else can see my information, and what happens to it when we stop?
- How are bookings paid for, and whose card is used?
- Who is my contact if the assistant is away or I want a different person?
What is included
The hourly rate covers the whole service: finding the candidate, the four screening steps below, setting up the platforms and tools your assistant needs for your diary, inbox and bookings, hours tracked with tools such as Time Doctor, and our management of recruitment, payroll management and quality management. There is no separate recruitment fee.
How hiring works
We start with a free call about the work and the hours you have in mind. We shortlist candidates who have passed our screening, you interview them and you choose. The earliest start is within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate.
Four screening steps before you meet anyone
- CV screening.
- A first interview on personality and the general benchmark criteria.
- A technical interview.
- A practical task, to test the candidate in the field.
Notice and replacement
In the first 3 months you can end an unsuitable hire on one week’s notice. In the first days you can tell us it is not right and we will replace them. After the first 3 months, notice is 1 month. Replacement is included in the ongoing fee for as long as you are paying, at no extra charge. The 3 months is not a minimum term. The full terms are on how it works.
Questions about hiring a personal virtual assistant
What is the difference between a personal and an executive virtual assistant?
A personal virtual assistant looks after one person's diary, inbox, travel and errands. A virtual executive assistant supports a senior leader with the diary, travel, board and committee papers and confidential files. The tasks overlap, but the executive role carries more confidential material. If you are unsure, use the chooser above or ask on the call.
How much does a personal virtual assistant cost?
At the beginner level the Personal assistant rate is £4.50 an hour, which is £360 a month part time and £720 full time. Rates rise with experience. The pricing page shows every role and level.
How are my personal details protected when I share them with a remote assistant?
Share only what a task needs, and share it through the tool's own delegate or sharing feature rather than a password. Turn on 2-step verification for email, and ask any provider who can see your information and what happens to it when you stop. Read about data protection for how we describe it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Related roles
See the virtual executive assistant and virtual admin assistant pages, the real estate virtual assistant page for a sector example, or all virtual assistant roles. For 20 or 40 hours a week of one person’s time, see the part time and full time assistants.
Get started
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Tell us the role and the hours you have in mind, and we will reply to the email address you give.