As a virtual assistant, your job is to deliver high-quality work to your clients in a timely manner. If you have multiple clients you’re serving, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of tasks throughout the day and quickly feel overwhelmed. Luckily there are a variety of tools available to help us manage our time and efficiently check off our to-do list. Using the right tools increases your productivity and streamlines processes so that you can work smarter, not harder. Today I’m sharing the 40 best tools for virtual assistants.
If you want to learn more about the virtual assistant industry, you’ll love these posts HERE.
40 Best Tools for Virtual Assistants
Social Media Management Tools
The below list of comprehensive virtual assistant tools is each designed to make your work as a VA more streamlined and efficient.
Planoly
The Notoire Media House uses Planoly to schedule our Instagram posts and stories. This scheduling tool has a mobile app and a desktop program. Planoly allows you to drag and rearrange your photos in your feed to get the desired layout you want. It’s super easy to use, and you can curate content for multiple social media accounts from your dashboard. They have a free plan if you want to poke around and see some of the additional features the tool offers.
HootSuite
HootSuite is a social media management tool that integrates with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. You can schedule posts across multiple social media platforms, monitor interactions, and manage analytics. If you’re managing multiple accounts, you can engage directly from Hootsuite. That way, you’re not constantly toggling back and forth between accounts.
SocialPilot
SocialPilot can help businesses schedule Posts for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google My Business. If you’re managing multiple accounts for multiple clients, it can be a daunting task to respond to different posts across different platforms. With SocialPilot, you can respond from the dashboard in real time, so you don’t miss an inquiry or question.
Tailwind
Tailwind is a program used to schedule Pinterest and Instagram. The best part is Tailwind has a smart-schedule feature that suggests post times when your audience is most active. That way, you’re getting the most engagement possible with every post. Tailwind is a verified Pinterest partner. Therefore, Tailwind has a pulse on new trends and best practices for using Pinterest.
Later
Later is a social media marketing platform compatible with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok. This tool has a Linkin.bio feature. When the link is clicked in your Instagram bio, it drops down multiple clickable boxes to drive traffic to your most important content and/or websites. Later is a verified partner of Pinterest and Instagram too.
Facebook Creator Studio
Facebook Creator Studio is a tool to help a social media manager plan, schedule, and analyze Instagram and Facebook accounts. Anyone with access to a Facebook page can use Facebook Creator Studio. It’s a free tool to use to schedule social media posts, analyze activity, and manage multiple accounts. However, not all tools are available to everyone with access to a page. Only the administrator of each page has full access to all the capabilities of Facebook Creator Studio.
MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is a social media tool designed to repurpose your evergreen content. This tool can auto-generate variations of older content, so you don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel every single day. MeetEdgar can also scan text to help you generate eye-catching social posts.
TweetDeck
TweetDeck is much like it sounds – specifically for the use of Twitter. So if some (or many) of your clients rely on Twitter for their social media marketing strategy, this might be a good program to look into. It was first an independent company and then acquired by Twitter Inc. in 2011. Therefore, you know its bells and whistles are in line with Twitter updates. TweetDeck gives you a bird’s-eye view of multiple accounts at once, and you can schedule Tweets through this app.
Shield
Shield is specifically for LinkedIn. This tool provides stats and analytics for LinkedIn profiles. It provides helpful insights into what content is performing well, and what’s maybe not. The shield also breaks down your audience demographics. That way, you know who you’re talking to and can cater your content to you’re consuming audience.
CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer
Though not specifically a social media tool, CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer is a tool to help you write attention-grabbing headlines. Because after all, without an enticing headline, the chances of your post even being read aren’t great. This tool helps analyze clarity, word balance, readability, and other key factors to get your post noticed. The paid version of the analyzer also helps you with search engine optimization (SEO).
Project Management and Communication Tools
ClickUp
All of the team members at the Notoire Media House use ClickUp for our task management system. This system is especially helpful for a VA who is a project manager for a company. Every single task that we’re doing for clients goes into this program, so nothing falls through the cracks.
I also love that ClickUp integrates with Google Docs and Google Drive. This way we can create client profiles for each of our clients, and allows us to have all the information in one place! This can be anything from their top-performing brands to their brand guide for graphics and more.
Slack
As a team, we use the program Slack to communicate with each other. That way, we’re not texting, emailing, and writing notes in our management system. Everything regarding communication is done through Slack, so we can track what was said and when. It also gives us more of a work-life balance because you can snooze notifications on the weekends or after hours. But still have the option to check in whenever you want.
Asana
Asana is another project management system that’s similar to ClickUp. You can choose to select different views, depending on what you’re looking for like projects, tasks, or conversations. Project managers can assign tasks to different team members and create sub-tasks within a project.
monday.com
Monday.com is a customizable team management system. Each task can be rated in regards to priority, whether it’s a low priority or something that needs to be done ASAP. Team members can also select if a specific task is being worked on, not yet started, waiting on approvals, or completed.
Trello
Trello is a collaboration tool that is all about boards. It follows a Kanban-style way of organizing. If you don’t know what the Kanban-style is, don’t worry. It’s just a way of organizing the progress of projects from start to finish. For example, Trello’s boards are in specific columns and can have subject names like “Up Next” and “In Progress.” Each project or task that’s either “up next” to work on or “in progress” to work on are under those headings.
Wrike
Wrike is a project management software that allows you to send attachments to clients and team members. In the creative space, there could be multiple copies of a file that are sent before it’s perfected and marked complete. With Wrike, the most recent file is tracked, so the person reviewing knows exactly which one to look at. Plus it allows more than one person to simultaneously review and edit a document without locking someone out.
Hubspot
Hubspot is a customer relationship management system that helps you track leads easily and efficiently. Whether you need a CRM for your virtual assistant business or a client of yours needs to use a CRM, Hubspot is a great option to track your progress. You can keep track of every interaction with a lead from a meeting to a phone call to an email. Plus it’s free, with no credit card required to get started. You get unlimited users and can store up to one million contacts.
Finance Management Tools
Honeybook
I’ve been using Honeybook since day one because it’s easy to use, has the ability to create systems, and is super affordable! There are a variety of different invoicing platforms that small business owners can utilize. However, I’ve found that Honeybook is the most user-friendly.
Honeybook is more than a way to simply send invoices. It’s a complete client management software that helps save time and creates a professional experience for your potential client from beginning to end. You can create automations, send invoices, keep track of contracts, and send emails to new clients, so they can set up discovery calls and more!
FreshBooks
Freshbooks is an accounting software that’s generally used for small to medium-sized businesses. This software allows you to keep track of your productivity right in the application. That way, you keep track of your hours and automatically put them into an invoice. Their lowest package is for up to 5 billable clients for $15 a month.
QuickBooks
Quickbooks has a dedicated plan for those who are self-employed. This software helps you track taxes throughout the year. Plus it helps you keep personal and business expenses separate by categorizing your transactions.
Bonsai
Bonsai is specifically made for freelancers, so it feels tailored to the specific needs of the solopreneur. The app is known for streamlining the process from proposal to sending your first invoice. Bonsai is available globally too with more than 180 currencies supported.
Gusto
If you expand your team, Gusto is a great tool for creating a payroll system for your employees and/or subcontractors. It’s a cloud-based, full-service payroll, HR, and benefits platform for small businesses. Gusto can also integrate with other platforms like Quickbooks to automate payroll processes.
Graphic Design Tools
Canva
We make A LOT of graphics at the Notoire Media House and use Canva to make every single one. It’s user-friendly, and anyone can make beautiful graphics with the help of their templates and easy-to-use tools. Canva has templates for a variety of social apps and commonly used marketing materials like flyers and posters so you don’t have to worry about resizing templates. The free version is helpful, but recommend getting the paid version because there are more tools available such as removing the background of screenshots and creating a brand profile for each client.
Social Squares
Social Squares is an application to get stock imagery, so you don’t have to be in front of the camera 24/7. Stock photos are great to use on websites, blog posts, newsletters, social media accounts, and other marketing materials. They have a few different paid plans that you can choose from, depending on how long you want to commit.
Unsplash
Unsplash is another stock image platform that’s completely free. Contributing photographers upload their photos to the website for anyone to use. Depending on your brand and vibe, Unsplash is another great resource to grab stock photos.
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is a photo editing tool integrated across macOS, Windows, and iOS. It’s budget-friendly being a one-time purchase versus a subscription and has many of the features you’d expect from more expensive programs.
iMovie
iMovie is a video editing app available for iOS and macOS users. It’s a useful tool for those just beginning in the business of editing photos and can do almost anything you need to make a well-made video. If you don’t have a Mac, then another similar tool for beginners is OpenShot.
Email Marketing Tools
Flodesk
We use Flodesk for all of our clients’ emails and our email newsletter too! If you’ve never created or written an email, it can seem intimidating. But Flodesk makes it easy to create beautifully branded emails to send to your email list in no time. If you’re an email wizard and love to create your own design, you can do that too. The options are truly endless.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that offers a free plan plus more extensive paid plans. This software is for those with more experience in the email marketing industry and is not-so-user-friendly as Flodesk. However, MailChimp does have robust analytics.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing solution that’s specifically made for creators by creators. With ConvertKit, you can create landing pages, subscribe forms, and link pages. You can also create sales funnels within the application to grow your business.
GSuite
The Notoire Media House uses GSuite for emails, managing domains, and having access to Google Drive. We can easily share Google Docs and Excel sheets with each other.
Calendar Tools
Google Calendar
I use Google Calendar to stay on task throughout the day. Within Google Calendar, you can select whether you want to add a task, event, or reminder to your calendar. As a small business owner, there are many recurring tasks and events. I love being able to schedule those on my calendar, so I can set them and forget them. To see more of how I utilize Google Calendar, you can read this post HERE.
Calendly
Calendly makes scheduling meetings with clients and potential clients a breeze. The app can link up with your Google Calendar so those who want to schedule a meeting with you can see what times you have available in your day. The person chooses the time slot that best works for him or her, and the calendar event is automatically scheduled onto your calendar. Calendly eliminates the need to email someone back and forth to find a time to meet, which frees up more of your day to be productive on the things that scale your business.
Doodle
Doodle is a meeting scheduling tool that works across time zones. So there’s no doing the math of what time is it in a certain time zone. Doodle can schedule up to 1,000 people per meeting. No matter what calendar you or your clients use, Doodle can help you schedule easily.
Video Chat Tools
Zoom
Zoom is a teleconferencing tool to help you connect with clients and team members virtually. The application can link up with Calendly to make scheduling teleconferences easy and seamless. Zoom has a free plan that has a 40-minute time limit with up to 100 participants.
Google Duo
Google Duo is a video calling app available on Android Phones, iPhones, tablets, and computers. It allows up to 32 callers at a time. You can even save groups within the app and name them for easy meetings. The app uses end-to-end encryption, so everything stays private. You can also leave your contact notes or voice messages.
Password Management Tool
Dashlane
Dashlane is a password management system that works well for teams. Each user can set up their own master password and that password gives you access to all of your accounts and logins for both business and personal. Team members can securely share login information with others on the team if needed for certain business applications.
Course Creation Platform
Kajabi
We use Kajabi for hosting The Notoire Media House course. If you’ve ever thought about turning your idea or knowledge on a certain topic into a product or course, this is a great platform to check out. You can also create a customizable landing page (or more than one) within this software.
Podcast Hosting Platform
Captivate
If you or your client are ever wanting to start a podcast, I highly recommend Captivate as the hosting platform. We host the Bold Business podcast through Captivate. This tool also gives you comprehensive data for each of your podcast episodes, so you know what’s resonating and what’s not with your audience.
Time Tracking Tools
Toggl Track
At the Notoire Media House, we use Toggl Track. It’s a cloud-based, time-tracking tool that we use to track every single thing we spend time on. Depending on how you structure your business, you may charge by the hour for the work that you do or you may offer packages for specific services. Some virtual assistants call this a retainer. This means that your client pays a certain amount of money each month for a specific set of services. Whichever way you decide to structure your pricing, I highly recommend using a time-tracking tool.
This is by far my most used tool as a virtual assistant. The best part is, that it’s completely free. Yep, FREE! While I love the free version, they do offer a paid version with even more features and benefits.
Clockify
Clockify is another virtual assistant software tool to track time. It’s a free app that supports unlimited users. You can manually or automatically enter time spent on each of your projects. Like Toggl, it also provides an overview of what you or your employees are spending time on and you can export your timesheet in PDF, CSV, or Excel.
