UK VA Survey – Virtual Assistant Statistics - Society of Virtual Assistants

Purchase your copy of the UK VA Survey 2023 Here

FAQ

Each year the UK VA Survey* provides the most comprehensive survey of the UK's virtual assistants, providing a snapshot of the industry and an insight into how other VAs run their businesses.

UK VA Survey - Virtual Assistant Statistics (6)

What's included in the UK VA Survey? Who is behind the UK VA Survey? Who takes part?

What's included in the UK VA Survey?

Society of Virtual Assistants' annual survey designed to take a snapshot of the UK VA industry answering business critical questions like:

How much can I charge?
What will I earn as a VA?
What are the most effective marketing strategies?
What services are most popular?
Where do I find clients?
How much should I pay my outsourcers?
Essential statistics for writing a virtual assistant business plan.
Over a decade of historical data on the VA industry in the UK.

It is delivered as a PDF, consisting of over 50 pages of information on the UK VA Industry.

Who is behind the UK VA Survey?

Starting in 2008 by UK VA industry veteran Carmen Macdougall, SVA took over running the UK VA Survey in 2010.

SVA Virtual Assistants CIC is a community interest company formed in 2020 to formalise the collaborative not for profit approach which SVA has always had of "Collaboration Not Competition" - that we achieve more as an industry when we work together. SVA was formed back in 2005 as a Scottish resource, and quickly grew to encompass the whole of the UK in 2006.

SVA created the first best practice guide for UK VAs in 2007, and the first guidelines for VA trainers in 2018. They provide free listings for VAs who can comply with best practice, and are committed to supporting the #CollaborationNotCompetition ethos which the VA industry was founded on.

Caroline Wylie ran the SVA and conducted the survey until February 2023 when she passed it on to Gwen Backhouse. The Society of Virtual Assistant is now run by Gwen Backhouse with the support of an Advisory Board and volunteers, and relies heavily on donations to fund its work.

Who takes part?

Please note:

We only survey UK based VAs.
We don’t include figures from VAs who aren’t yet trading or who don’t have active clients.
We don’t publish until we have a statistically valid sample of 10% of the industry.
The UK VA Survey is recognised as the official UK figures for virtual assistants in the UK by many wider industry bodies such as HMRC, FSB, Business Gateway etc.
This year we had over 500 UK VA businesses take part.

How can I use the UK VA Survey in my business?

Write your business plan using real figures.
Use the different job titles to tweak your SEO.
Increase your prices using industry evidence.
Use the facts/figures helpfully collated into post titles for your social media accounts.
Find out what other VAs struggle with - you are not alone!
Learn how to build successful outsource team models.
Use the figures to sell VAs to the business world or to investigate whether the industry would use your product/service.
Benchmark your business against other typical businesses using your model.
Check which business documents are essential for VAs.
Expand your marketing using the most effective methods.
Quote from it in your own blogs.
Find out whether being a VA is financially viable for you and your family.

What do other people say about the UK VA Survey?

Having access to the survey has helped me with my marketing, giving credibility to claims, which in turn has helped to win new clients. It’s also a great benchmark to check for compliance, rates and lots of other useful information.

Amy Russell, Crescent Virtual Assistant Limited

Extremely useful annual information, well presented, with information that is sometimes surprising but easily assimilated. I even look forward to participating every year!

Carole Meyrick, Catch Your Calls

It provides very useful information on an annual basis and helps me with the information I need to form strategies for my business.

Rachel Brett, ArborVA

The SVA survey is arguably the most comprehensive Virtual Assistant survey in the UK. A must for anyone starting their VA journey but also extremely useful for long serving VAs to continually monitor trends in the industry.

Michelle Smith, ValueAdd Business Solutions Ltd

SVA's UK VA Survey is an invaluable source of information for anyone in the VA business. A one-stop-shop for the latest data, along with hints, tips and general tricks of the trade. The annual survey is a must read for anyone starting out as a Virtual Assistant and established VAs alike.

Steff Booth, Girl Friday

The annual SVA VA survey is rammed full of useful information, and is an excellent tool for anyone starting their new VA business to gain insight into the industry and for those who are already established, as a tool for marketing and expanding. I would highly recommend not only investing in this each year, but also participating too.

Gwen Backhouse, Curlew Secretarial Solutions

Why do you need to charge for it?

As a not for profit, SVA's aim is always to make things affordable for VAs.

The survey is a major piece of research every year, with over 500 participants to process and a commitment not to publish until we've surveyed at least 10% of the UK VA industry. We utilise professional secure survey software, graphic designers, proof readers, PR companies, and data analysts to produce a report suitable for industry wide use. The cost each year of production ranges from £500 to £3,000 depending on how much outside help we buy in and who volunteers.

Additionally the first 10% of the industry to fill in the survey gets it free. Everyone else who completes it gets a discount. It's only fair that those who help create it get thanked for their time. Without them, we can't create the report.

Any surplus generated from the survey goes back into keeping SVA Virtual Assistants CIC a free resource.

5 Reasons Start Up VAs need the UK VA Survey

5 Reasons Established VAs need the UK VA Survey

Increase your rates: Check your pricing and use it to justify rate increases. Find out what other VAs are charging with no skullduggery.
Build your team: Find out how much outsourcers pay their VA associates and where to find them.
Check what documents are essential to your success: Check how many of your colleagues have ICO registration, T&Cs, insurance, etc.
SEO: Create new keyword searches based on how VAs describe themselves.
Find new markets: Using the most effective marketing methods and targeting the most receptive industries.