Difference Between a Virtual Assistant and an Answering Service?

A virtual assistant and answering service are really different types of service however they can be complementary. When you're trying to decide which type of service to employ, you really need to consider what type of company you are and how you plan to interact with your customers.

For example, a virtual assistant really refers to a real person, whether he / she is in the same city, state or even country or not. The term virtual really means that the person is not physically located in the same place as you. So, a virtual assistant truly is "virtual", but can he / she do many of the things that a person in the same physical location can do, except, of course, make coffee and greet clients at the door.

These assistants make and receive calls, schedule appointments, "file" documents, do research and many more tasks.

The filing portion of the business is quite unique. All of our documents are truly digital... proposals, invoices, spreadsheets, powerpoint, bills, etc. Our assistants file these on Google Docs. This process is such a timesaver because everyone in the company can share the documents and they're all easy to find. And, the beauty of Google Docs is that it is free.

Virtual assistants are also great resources for research work. Because the Internet is so ubiquitous, it is the often the first place that people go to find information. This is perfect work for a virtual assistant because they can reach the Internet from practically anywhere.

An answering service is basically just that. The service will answer and route your calls to you wherever. The service will also take a message if they are so instructed. But, from a productivity perspective an answering service is pretty limited. Yes, you can have them "find" you hours by calling a specific phone number, but your options are obviously very limited.