What VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES does

Virtual Assistance Services (VAS) is a UK-based, founder-operated virtual assistance practice founded in 2006 by Barbara Wheatley. The business delivers remote administrative and personal concierge support from a home office, serving small business owners, busy professionals, and a small set of niche clients including residential estate committees. Service delivery is entirely human-provided, with no underlying software platform, API, or proprietary technology beyond standard remote collaboration tools (email, DropBox, ESET Smart Security for document scanning) and a flexible multi-channel work intake process accepting email, post, fax, hard-copy, CD-Rom, MP3/4, and DropBox submissions.

The offering comprises two core service lines. Virtual Office Assistance covers invoice preparation, diary management, correspondence, research and databasing, mail shots and marketing, PowerPoint presentations, desktop publishing, document print and binding, conference and event organising, travel bookings, car hire, and restaurant reservations. Lifestyle Management covers personal concierge tasks such as bill payments, holiday research and booking, theatre and restaurant reservations, gift shopping, and arrangement of household services. Services are priced on a usage-based hourly model billed to the nearest 15 minutes with a 30-minute minimum per assignment, with weekend premiums (time-and-a-half on Saturdays, double time on Sundays and Bank Holidays), supplemented by fixed-fee project work and monthly retainer arrangements; all invoicing is monthly.

VAS operates as a sole proprietor practice with no external funding, no institutional backing, and no subsidiaries. Go-to-market is relationship-driven: a company website, the founder's LinkedIn profile, and word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients. The named customer base is small and concentrated — five disclosed accounts across estate management (Holly Lodge Estate, a seven-year anchor that the data suggests has ended), business consulting (Business Psychologists International), professional services (Transformance), creative/education (Inspired Mosaics), and business services (EJT Associates Ltd). With delivery entirely dependent on the founder, the business is a personal-services microenterprise rather than a scalable platform, and its economics are directly tied to the founder's billable capacity and client retention.

Name

VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES

Legal name

Virtual Assistance Services

Website

https://v-a-s.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Virtual Assistance Services is a UK-based, founder-operated virtual assistance practice founded in 2006 by Barbara Wheatley, delivering remote administrative support and personal lifestyle management to small businesses, busy professionals, and niche clients such as residential estate committees across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Virtual Assistant Services

NAICS

Office Administrative Services (5611), Temporary Help Services (561320)

SIC

Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual/Remote Organizing Services (HSAFAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Errand Running & Task Assistance (HSACAIAB), Virtual Home Office Workflow & Productivity Setup (HSAFALAE)

Keywords

• Virtual assistant services
• Administrative support
• Lifestyle management
• Remote office assistance
• Executive personal assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

LONDON, London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Time-Based Professional Services: Clients are charged only for time actually spent working on their behalf. Flexible billing options include hourly rates, project fees, and retainer arrangements. Minimum charge of 30 minutes per assignment, billed to the nearest 15 minutes. Premium rates apply for weekend work: double time for Sundays and Bank Holidays, time and a half for Saturdays. Services are invoiced monthly and payable upon receipt.
2. Project-Based Fees: Fixed project fees can be arranged for defined deliverables, providing cost certainty for clients with specific needs.
3. Retainer Agreements: Monthly retainer arrangements can be negotiated for clients requiring ongoing, predictable administrative support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Virtual Assistance Services is a sole-proprietor practice that delivers two service lines remotely: Virtual Office Assistance (invoicing, diary management, correspondence, research, mail shots, PowerPoint, desktop publishing, document print and bind, conference and event organising, travel, car hire, restaurant reservations) and Lifestyle Management (bill payments, holiday research and booking, restaurant/theatre reservations, gift shopping, and birthday/anniversary reminders). All work is performed personally by founder Barbara Wheatley from a home-based virtual office for UK small businesses and individual busy professionals, billed by time, project, or retainer.

Product overview

VAS is a human-provided virtual assistance service founded in 2006 by Barbara Wheatley. The company offers two primary service offerings: Virtual Office Assistance for professional administrative support and Lifestyle Management for personal concierge services. These are delivered remotely by experienced staff rather than through software or AI automation. Services are billed by time spent, with options including hourly rates, project fees, and retainers. The company emphasises efficiency, discretion, and personalised support tailored to individual client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Office Assistance Comprehensive remote administrative support covering invoicing, diary management, correspondence, research, marketing mail shots, presentations, desktop publishing, document production, event organisation, and travel and booking tasks for small businesses and busy professionals.
• Lifestyle Management Confidential personal concierge support covering bill payments, holiday research and booking, restaurant and theatre reservations, gift and flower sending, gift shopping, and birthday and anniversary reminders for individual busy professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Availability outside usual office hours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Prialto: Managed virtual assistant service providing dedicated offshore VAs with team-based support for SMBs and executives. Comparable dedicated-VA model with similar SMB/admin focus.
• Virtalent: UK virtual assistant marketplace matching clients with vetted UK-based VAs for ongoing administrative and business support. Directly comparable in service offering, geography, and SMB customer profile.
• Time Etc: UK-based virtual assistant company offering US/UK-trained VAs to entrepreneurs and small businesses on flexible monthly plans. Closest direct peer by geography, service model, and target SMB segment.
• Fancy Hands: US-based on-demand virtual assistant service offering task-based admin support billed by request or subscription. Comparable subscription + usage-based pricing model and SMB/professional target market.
• Belay Solutions: US-based virtual assistant company providing dedicated remote assistants to entrepreneurs, executives, and small businesses. Comparable dedicated-VA model, though serving a more US-centric market.
• Worldwide101: Premium VA firm offering dedicated US-based virtual assistants for executives, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Comparable premium positioning and dedicated-VA engagement model.

Regional players

• TaskRabbit: On-demand errand and task service covering personal assistance, deliveries, and lifestyle tasks in major cities. Comparable errand-running component of VAS's Lifestyle Management but typically in-person rather than remote and US-centric.

Broad incumbents

• Upwork: Global freelance marketplace where SMBs hire remote administrative assistants and virtual assistants on hourly/project terms. Comparable target use case (SMB hiring remote admin help) but operates as a marketplace rather than a dedicated-VA firm.
• Quintessentially: Global concierge and lifestyle management company with premium-tier personal services including travel, events, and errands. Comparable lifestyle management component of VAS's offering at a much larger, premium scale.
• Ten Lifestyle Group: Established London-based concierge and lifestyle management firm serving high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. Directly comparable to VAS's Lifestyle Management offering but at significantly larger scale and corporate clientele.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/executive-virtual-assistance-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES