{"id":5475,"date":"2016-12-19T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=5475"},"modified":"2016-12-30T11:23:18","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T17:23:18","slug":"pros-and-cons-of-virtual-assistants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/pros-and-cons-of-virtual-assistants\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros and Cons of Virtual Assistants"},"content":{"rendered":"

A virtual assistant (VA) isn\u2019t a robot or an Amazon Alexa and Echo; it\u2019s an actual person who can help you with \u201cvirtually\u201d any work you might have. What are the pros and cons of having a VA, and how can it help your tax practice?<\/p>\n

First, a story. I am involved in a Vistage group chaired by a friend, Becky, someone I\u2019ve known for quite a long time. She has a VA, a woman located in another state, who helps her with a number of administrative matters. When I asked Becky how effective her VA is, she told me that she never, for a moment, believed the relationship would actually work out. In fact, she was against it at the start, thinking she needed a person in her office. However, she put her judgment aside in order to see if it was going to work.<\/p>\n

To her amazement, Becky\u2019s efficiency increased, thanks to her VA. The reason? The VA is trained to anticipate Becky\u2019s needs before she even realizes she actually needs something.<\/p>\n

Once Becky told me this story, I began to think that having a VA would be something a tax professional might want to pursue, so I began my research.<\/p>\n

Pros to Having a Virtual Assistant<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pros and cons vary for VAs, based on the scope of your practice or business, of course, but a VA can do the following:<\/p>\n