Questions we get asked before people book
FAQs
Honestly answered. If something isn't covered here, just drop us a message, we'd love to hear from you.
General Questions
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A Virtual Assistant (VA) provides remote administrative, operational, and business support. At The Happy Admin Co, we specialise in email and inbox management, document creation and formatting, data management, process documentation, and e-commerce support. We work remotely but become an integral part of how your business runs day-to-day. Think of us as the person who handles everything you wish someone else was dealing with.
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Yes. The Happy Admin Co is UK-based. We work remotely with clients across the UK and can accommodate most time zones for communication. All invoices are in GBP and we operate under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
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Freelancer platforms can be great for one-off tasks, but they're rarely the right fit for ongoing business support. The Happy Admin Co is specifically designed for ongoing, relationship-based support. We learn your business, your voice, and your preferences over time, which means the quality of support gets better the longer we work together, not the same every time. We also take a comprehensive onboarding approach, which means you're not re-briefing someone from scratch with every task.
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We primarily work with small businesses, sole traders, and creative professionals. Typically, business owners who are the primary driver of their business and are carrying most of the operational weight themselves. We also work with small teams where a dedicated VA can support multiple team members. We also work with corporate companies, assisting with compliance standards to achieve specific accreditations (e.g. ISO9001, ISO27001).
If you're unsure whether we're the right fit, a discovery call will help clarify that quickly.
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There are usually a few clear signs: you're consistently behind on admin, your inbox makes you anxious, important work keeps getting pushed back because reactive tasks take over, and you frequently find yourself doing the same things over and over with no system in place. If any of those sound familiar, a discovery call is the best way to find out whether VA support would make a meaningful difference. We'll give you an honest answer, even if that answer isn't "yes, you need us."
Services
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We manage inbox management directly. We work within your email account to triage, respond, file, and organise. For the Communicator package and above, this is a daily service. We respond to routine and standard emails fully in your voice, and we flag anything that genuinely requires your personal input. Most clients find they spend 30-45 minutes per day on email once their inbox is properly managed, compared to 3-4 hours previously.
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You don't need to have a clear brief. SOP writing starts with a conversation about the process you want to document. We ask questions, observe how you do things (often by asking you to walk us through it once), and then we write it up. We produce a clear, structured document for each process that anyone in your business can follow. You review, we refine. The Documenter package and above includes SOP writing as a core service.
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Yes - we work with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, WIX, and other major e-commerce platforms. The specific services available may vary slightly by platform, but the core offering (e.g., product listing management, back-end operations, inventory tracking, email marketing, and customer service support) applies across all of them. We'll discuss your platform during the discovery call and confirm exactly what's possible.
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We provide social media scheduling and admin support - that is, scheduling pre-approved content and managing content calendars. We don't create original social media content or act as a full social media manager, as this typically requires dedicated strategic and creative expertise. That said, we work happily alongside social media managers and can handle the scheduling and operational side if you have someone producing the content.
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We work across a wide range of tools.
For communication: Gmail, Outlook, Slack.
For scheduling: Google Calendar, Calendly, Outlook Calendar.
For project management: Asana, Trello, Notion.
For documents: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365.
For e-commerce: Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, WIX.
For data: Excel, Google Sheets.
For design: Canva, PowerPoint.
If you use something not on this list, just ask. We're adaptable and happy to learn a new platform as part of onboarding.
Packages & Pricing
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It's about protecting the quality of what we deliver. A VA relationship takes time to reach its full potential. The first few weeks involve onboarding, learning your business, and establishing ways of working. Evaluating whether it's working after two weeks is like reviewing a film based on the opening credits. By month two, things are running smoothly. By month three, most clients say they can't imagine going back. The minimum commitment means both sides are genuinely invested in making it work, not just dipping a toe in.
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Hours don't roll over from one month to the next. Retainer hours are allocated on a monthly basis. If you consistently find you have unused hours, that's usually a signal to review the package - either we've helped you streamline enough that less support is needed, or there are more tasks we could be picking up. We discuss this at your regular check-in calls.
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Yes. After the initial three-month period, packages can be adjusted with 30 days' notice. If your business is growing and you need more support, we can scale up. If your needs have changed, we can scale down. We review package fit at each monthly check-in and will proactively suggest adjustments if we think a different package would serve you better.
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All prices listed on this website are exclusive of VAT as we are currently not VAT registered.
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Retainer fees are invoiced monthly in advance on a date agreed during onboarding. Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date. We accept BACS bank transfer.
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After the initial three-month minimum period, either party can terminate the agreement with 30 days' written notice. This gives you time to transition, and gives us time to ensure everything is properly handed over and documented. We'll never leave you in a difficult position.
Process & Onboarding
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Onboarding typically takes one to two weeks from signing the agreement to starting your first tasks. This includes completing the onboarding questionnaire (which takes about an hour), a briefing session with us, system access setup, and agreeing on the initial task list. We don't rush onboarding because the quality of our work depends on the depth of our understanding of your business. A thorough start leads to a much smoother ongoing relationship.
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Our onboarding questionnaire is detailed. It covers your business background and context, your clients and how you communicate with them, your brand voice and communication preferences, the tools and systems you currently use, your specific pain points and priorities, and the tasks you'd like us to start with. It's designed so that by the time we begin, we have enough context to work autonomously on most tasks without needing to check in constantly.
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For inbox and calendar management, yes. We'll need secure access to the relevant accounts. All access is handled securely and documented in your onboarding. We recommend using a password manager for sharing credentials rather than sending passwords by email. We operate under a strict confidentiality agreement, and access is limited to what's needed for the agreed scope of work. Full details are covered in our client services agreement.
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We agree on your preferred communication method during onboarding. This might be email, Slack, a shared task management tool like Asana or Trello, or a combination. We adapt to what works for you, not what's easiest for us. For most clients, we use a shared task system for daily task management and email for more formal communications. Regular check-in calls are also included in all packages.
Working Together
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We'd rather know early than have it fester. If something isn't working - a task isn't being handled the way you expected, communication isn't right, or the scope needs adjusting - tell us. We have a monthly review process specifically for this reason. We'll address issues directly and honestly. If a fundamental mismatch becomes clear, we'll work with you to transition smoothly rather than leaving you high and dry. Our reputation is built on relationships, not transactions.
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All clients sign a Client Services Agreement before we begin, which includes comprehensive confidentiality provisions. We will never share, discuss, or use any information about your business, your clients, or your operations outside of the work we do for you. We operate under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and data handling is taken seriously. If you have specific confidentiality requirements, we're happy to accommodate them, within reason.
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When a client relationship ends, we have a structured offboarding process. All files and documents produced for you are returned or transferred to you in full. Access to your accounts and systems is revoked. Any copies of your data held by us are securely deleted. We'll provide a full handover document outlining everything we've worked on and any ongoing actions. You leave with everything you need and nothing we shouldn't have.
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Primarily we work with UK-based businesses, but we do work with international clients where time zones are manageable and the scope of work doesn't require specific UK-based knowledge. All agreements are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you're based outside the UK and interested in working with us, get in touch and we'll have a conversation about whether we'd be a good fit.