How to Track Virtual Assistant Hours (5 Steps to Track Your VA)

Since the rise of COVID-19 and home office practice, employers worldwide are concerned about how they can track their virtual assistant’s hours. As you start working remotely, your employer may want to know your working hours to ensure you’re not billing them while playing Call of Duty on a PS5. The most innovative way to demonstrate your work hours is to provide a timesheet record.

To maintain transparency and build trust, it’s crucial to keep accurate and detailed records of your work hours. Timesheets not only provide proof of work but also help in managing your tasks more efficiently.

In this article, we have summarized the 5 steps for virtual assistant time tracking hours properly.

Step 1: Set Clear Task Goals (Daily/Weekly/Monthly)

Setting clear goals is crucial for any employer to track your work progress. First, you should start by defining clear and measurable goals for your virtual assistant. Clearly state the tasks that need to be performed daily, weekly, or even monthly. You may set the number of working hours per day, specific developments for each week, and your monthly objectives. These will also help your VA prioritize tasks and set the stage for more accurate time tracking.

Step 2: Use Tracking Setup

As said earlier, for any virtual assistant job, tracking hours is crucial for maintaining productivity, timely completion of tasks, and ensuring accurate billing. Effective time management starts with the right tools. Depending on your preference and the nature of your work, you can opt for manual tracking or software-based tracking.

Manual Tracking

Manual tracking is the simplest method of tracking, where a virtual assistant records their time on documents like spreadsheets or notebooks. In manual tracking, the VAs note down these stats, their start time, their end time, or any other time records of the task. This simple method requires a high level of discipline and honesty. 

Software Based Tracking

Software-based tracking systems have become more popular among visual assistants and employers. Numerous time-tracking tools exist nowadays. This software automates time tracking with a single click, enhances accuracy, project categorization, and reporting capabilities, and sometimes even provides insights for productive solutions. Below, we have summarized seven productivity tools for virtual assistant time trackers:

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a top-notch time-tracking software known for its user-friendly interface to track virtual assistant hours. It allows you to track time across different tasks and projects, offering flexibility across various devices. Toggl Track has free and paid plans to suit your needs and budget.

2. Clockify

Clockify is another time-tracking software known for simply tracking and reporting for virtual assistants. This platform allows unlimited tracking, making it ideal for startups. Clockify offers a free plan with basic features and paid plans for advanced reporting.

3. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is another virtual assistant time-tracking software that provides deep insights to monitor productivity. This tool assists by taking screenshots and recording activity levels. Time Doctor contains comprehensive tools with features like websites and application tracking. It offers detailed insights into productivity, like idle time tracking and so on. Time Doctor’s pricing ranges from basic plans at $5.90 to premium plans at $16.7 per month.

4. Harvest

Harvest is another well-known virtual assistant time-tracking software known for its simple and intuitive interface. It integrates with popular project management tools, making tracking time seamlessly across projects easy. Harvest also offers seamless invoicing and expense-tracking software integration, streamlining your workflow. It provides both free solutions for solo entrepreneurs and paid plans for teams and businesses.

5. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is another well-known and popular virtual assistant time-tracking software. It provides a detailed record of time spent, including screenshots, activity monitoring, and even GPS tracking for employers to monitor their VAs. Hubstaff offers various monthly and yearly plans to cater to different customer needs, with options ranging from startup plans at $4.99 per seat to enterprise plans at $25.00 per seat per month.

6. MyHours

For any employer needing to track virtual assistant hours for project-based work with detailed analytics, MyHours is a top choice. This platform prioritizes project profitability, making it ideal for freelancers and consultants. MyHours offers both a free plan with essential features and pro features starting at $8 per month, allowing users to track time and create invoices seamlessly.

7. DeskTime

DeskTime is another popular automatic time-tracking and productivity analysis software for virtual assistants. It helps track time spent on different websites and applications and offers comprehensive tools to track time and analyze productivity based on computer usage.

Step 3: Ensure Regular Submission of Timesheets

For any project to be sustainable, it is crucial to ensure the timely submission of timesheets or spreadsheets for better project completion. Whether your VA is updating daily, weekly, or biweekly, they must keep accurate records of their work. 

Ensuring regular submission of the timesheets allows the employer to track the project effectively, assess the agreement with the virtual assistant, and simplify the payroll process. It also provides an opportunity to review, analyze, and adjust working patterns.

Step 4: Regular Check-Ins

For successful project completion, it is crucial to schedule regular progress meetings with the virtual assistant. During these meetings, you can discuss their progress and any challenges they face in completing tasks.

These regular check-ins also provide an opportunity to review timesheets and make necessary adjustments to goals and expectations. Such regulated interactions foster better working relationships and ensure that the virtual assistant remains aligned with your project’s objectives.

Step 5: Cross-match the Timesheet with the Actual Output

Finally, cross-matching the timesheet with the actual output is crucial. This step verifies the accuracy of the hours reported by your VA and ensures they align with the expected deliverables. By comparing timesheets with actual work completed, you can assess your VA’s productivity and identify areas for improvement or optimization, if necessary.

Advantages of Tracking Virtual Assistant Hours

There are several advantages to using a time tracker for virtual assistant jobs:

• It enables your employer to track working hours for accurate invoicing, effective time management, and maintaining trust.
• Virtual assistants often work at an hourly rate, either part-time or full-time, which allows them to accurately log their hours.
• For VAs managing multiple clients, time-tracking tools accurately assess the time spent on each client, enhancing accountability.
• It bolsters your credibility with your employer by providing proof of work.

There are also other reasons you might need to track your working hours for your own benefit:

• If you are unsure how long a job will take to finish,
• If you are handling various tasks that require different amounts of time, this allows you to prove your varied working hours. Here are some task of virtual assistant can handle.
• If your working hours are flexible—starting work in the morning one day and in the evening the next—tracking hours helps you efficiently manage your time.

Final Thoughts

Tracking the hours of your virtual assistant doesn’t just help you measure productivity, it also allows you to reinforce accountability and assists in strategic planning. Setting the task goals, using efficient time tracking setup, ensuring regular submission, and regular check-ins of the project, and examining the timesheet with the actual output help to maintain a clear output of the project. 

Implementing these steps can ensure that your VA’s time is optimized for the best possible business outcomes.