AJL Business Secretarial Services charges a standard hourly rate.  Rates are structured in plans for pay-as-you-go, project service and on-going service retainer.  Discounted rates are applied to project service plans and on-going service retainer plans. Estimates are provided for projects depending on the scope and complexity of the work.

No matter what plan you choose that works best for your administrative needs, you pay us only for the time it takes to complete the work. 

Pay-As-You-Go Plan

Clients select this plan when they need assistance on an occasional basis where only a few hours (minimum 5 hours per month) are required to work on a task or small project.

Project Service Plan

This plan is intended for special projects.
This plan is for projects that are done at particular times of the year such as seasonally, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
A discounted rate is applied to this plan.
The minimum number of hours is 10 hours per project.
In this plan only the specific tasks required to complete project are done.
Project cost is estimated according to complexity, volume of work, and estimated number of hours.

Service Retainer Plan

Clients select this plan when they want assistance on a continuous long-term basis at a discounted rate.
Service Retainer Plans are structured in 10-hour increments from 10 hours up to 40 hours per month. 
Hours are not transferrable.
Extra hours beyond the number of hours purchased in a plan will be billed at a reduced rate.
Retainer hours are paid in advance to ensure priority scheduling and to guarantee a specific number of hours each month to adequately support client’s administrative requirements.

Standard pricing for correspondence, academic and study papers, mailing labels, and faxes is as follows:

Correspondence:
$20.00 for the first page; $1.50 for each additional page.  This price is not applicable to bulk mailing.
Fax Services:
$1.50 for the first page; $0.75 for each additional page.
Mailing Labels:
$0.30 each.  Labels are formatted for print out by the client.
Thesis and Dissertation, Term Papers and Academic Essays:
Price is charged per page.  Contact Barbara to inquire.  Binding to be outsourced at cost by the client.

For a quote, please complete our client questionnaire and please return to Barbara

Terms and Conditions

1. A service contract is to be signed before any work commences.
2. A deposit of 25% to 50% the total cost is required prior to commencement of work on large projects.
3. Billing is done in 15-minute increments.
4. Payment of invoices is due within 30 days of the date of the invoice.
5. Payment in full is required before delivery of the completed project.
6. Overdue payments are subject to a 2% interest charge per month.
7. A $35.00 fee is charged for NSF cheques.
8. It is the client’s responsibility to provide notification of deadlines at least 2 weeks prior to when any work is to be completed. 
9. Rush jobs are subject to a 15% premium on the total quoted cost of the project.  This is applied to time worked after regular weekday business hours, on weekends, and statutory holidays.
10. Photocopying, postage, courier, long distance charges, stationery supplies, and mailing supplies are extra costs that will be billed for reimbursement.
11. Final proofreading of all documentation is the client’s responsibility especially with regards to correct spelling of vocational acronyms, vocational short forms, vocational phrases or any other unique vocational terms in the final draft.

Referrals

As a recurring or on-going long-term client of AJL Business Secretarial Services, you will be eligible for 1 free hour of service when you refer someone who uses and pays for our services.

Is Hiring a Virtual Assistant an Economical Solution?

When you hire a virtual assistant, you are working with an independent professional administrative contractor, not an employee.  Therefore, you are not required to pay all the associated income tax and benefits of hiring a full-time employee such as:

• Office space, rented or leased or purchased
• Workstation and Office furniture
• Computer, telecommunications and other office equipment
• Income taxes
• Workers' Compensation Insurance
• Health insurance
• Pension contributions
• Vacation pay
• Holiday pay
• Overtime pay
• Unproductive "down time"
• Break time

When you pay a full-time employee a base hourly rate of $12.00 and add on all the extra costs associated with these benefits, the end result will be higher than the hourly rate of $35.00 (see chart below) you would pay a virtual assistant.You save even more money on the hourly rate by purchasing a service retainer plan for on-going work arrangements.

How would you rather spend your valuable time?

Small Business Administration Magazine reported that many small business owners spend up to 40% of their time on administrative tasks.  While a small business owner may be doing their office work themselves, they may also feel as though their business is not as productive as they would like it to be.

Outsourcing to a virtual assistant provides you with affordable assistance that you can rely on to take care of your office work while you focus on other revenue generating priorities. This makes your business more productive and successful.

Cost Comparison:
Full-Time Administrative Assistant vs. a Virtual Assistant*

Want to SAVE over $60,000 in business expenses this year? If you answered yes, read on ...

A cost comparison for a full-time employee versus a Virtual Assistant

Difference = $60,160.00 per year

By hiring a Virtual Assistant …
You SAVE over $60,000 per year!

Although the Virtual Assistant's hourly rate is more than the employee's rate in the first place, you save the cost of benefits and overhead that would have to be applied to the new employee's wage. And, because Virtual Assistant's are usually more experienced, more efficient, and better connected than the employee, you'll need to devote far less time to the project to get the same results, only 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the new employee.

* Source: Virtual Assistant Networking Association Cost Comparison. Virtual Assistant Networking Association is the Largest Global Meeting Place Online for Aspiring and Successful Virtual Assistants

** Remember, with a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for the time on task by the minute! No more paying for socializing, hour long lunches or frequent trips to the washroom.

Your employee's 8 hour day can be crunched into 3-4 hours with a Virtual Assistant.

Simply put, you should contract with a Virtual Assistant because it's more cost-effective and Virtual Assistants go above and beyond the normal assistant's duties to impact your own productivity. No task is too big or small for a Virtual Assistant to handle. Even if you only have 1 hour of work a month for a Virtual Assistant to do, a VA can (and will) do it.

Save Your Money.
Hire AJL Business Administrative Secretarial Services today!

Contact Barbara today to help you with your administrative and bookkeeping overflow.