FREE Virtual Assistant Tools You Need To Be Using

If you want to succeed at your business, you have to invest a lot. Time. Money. More Time. More Money. But if you’re like me, you like to watch for amazing free options. These free virtual assistant tools will make your life so much easier, without costing you an arm and a leg, I promise. 

15 FREE Virtual Assistant Tools You Need To Be Using

Some of them take a bit to get used to, but all of them will save your sanity in the long run. Better to get used to them now while you have time, right?

 

Your Resume

One of the most important items in your VA arsenal is your resume. It’s your chance to sell yourself before you ever secure an interview. I’ll go so far as to say that your resume is your sales sheet. It will GET you the interview. Your resume is something that should continually grow and change as you gain additional experience, but it really does pay to start with good bones.

You can use my free resume template, or go to a website that will quite literally help you build your resume from the ground up.

Finding a Job

If you have an awesome resume (and cover letter!), the next step is finding your perfect job. But where should you start? Sure, there are lots of legitimate paid job search sites that I love (but that’s a different post), but if you’re on a budget, it pays to start small.

Here are 5 absolutely free websites that can get you on your way to a paying gig:

• Virtual Office Temps
• ODesk
• Simply Hired
• Elance
• Fiverr

Time Keeping

When I started working as a VA, I was keeping time in a Google Spreadsheet. It wasn’t pretty, or professional. Thankfully, the company that I worked for was very sweet and never told me exactly how horrible it looked. I wish they had. With my second job, I was lucky enough to talk to my client, who mentioned that there were (GASP!) FREE sites to help with timekeeping.

I personally use and love FreshBooks, but have heard wonderful things about Toggl as well. Don’t be like me. Get yourself some free timekeeping tools and look professional from day one.

Do You Really NEED MS Office?

Did you know that you don’t have to have Microsoft Office to be a VA? You didn’t? Well now you know! Google Docs provides all of the same features as the Office suite, but it’s free, sharable (which is a good thing when you work virtually), and very easy to learn. There are lots of free tutorials floating around the web, too.

Organize Your Life

Do you have a large file to share? Or a zillion pictures that you’ve just purchased from shutterstock for a project? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not sacrifice my computer’s storage space.

Yes, I have a large hard drive, but I also have space on Dropbox. As a bonus, I get to share the content that I want to share with my clients easily and quickly without a million emails and attachments (can you tell how much I loathe attachments yet?).

Do you need to keep track of ALLTHETHINGS? Me too. I use (and love) Wunderlist. Yes, you can pay and upgrade your features, but the free version is pretty sweet, too.

Another great place to keep track of things is Evernote. It’s a bit of a bear, but you can follow this Secret Weapon training to help you get a handle on this awesome free service. Make sure you watch all the videos and get used to using the service. You’ll love it.

Graphics

Of course you have heard of Adobe (and if you haven’t, you have now!), but it’s, well, insanely expensive, especially if you’re main talent is not artistic. Still, it pays to be able to create some graphics should you ever need them for, say, your business logo?

I love the ease of Canva with it’s pre-sized options for social media and blogs. PicMonkey is also great for creating pinable images, if you’re into that.

What other free virtual assistant tools do you use?