The way outsourced admin work is usually run

Request, scope, setup, start

These four stages cover the period up to the end of the first working week.

1. Your request reaches a service partner that provides remote assistants.
2. The partner and you agree tasks, hours, coverage window and price.
3. You prepare instructions, tools and access, with the partner's checklist if they have one.
4. The assistant begins, sending a summary at the end of each day so you can see what was done.

What to prepare before handing work over

A little preparation makes the first weeks smoother for everyone.

• A list of the tasks you want covered, in order of importance
• Written procedures or short screen recordings for each task
• The tools involved, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, HubSpot or QuickBooks
• A plan for access: delegation, separate logins or a password manager
• Clear priorities for busy days when not everything can get done
• Approval rules: what the assistant can send, change or pay without asking
• A named person on your side to answer questions

How access is usually handled

Well-run remote arrangements share a few habits. The assistant has their own login wherever the software allows one, and mailbox or calendar delegation where it does not. Shared credentials live in a password manager with access you can revoke. Two-factor authentication stays on for every account.

Permissions follow the work. If the job is drafting invoices in QuickBooks or Xero, the role should allow drafting and not approving payments. Approval of anything financial stays with you or your accountant.

When work stops, offboarding is a checklist: remove user accounts, revoke delegation, take the assistant out of the password manager and change any passwords they could see.

Keeping track once work begins

The first month is when habits form, so stay close to the work. Read the end-of-day summaries, answer questions quickly and note any correction you make so it can go into the procedures.

After that, most owners move to a weekly summary and a short check-in. That is usually enough to see what is getting done and to decide whether hours should change. If the workload grows, you can ask the service partner about adding hours or tasks. If it shrinks, ask about reducing them. Either way, changes are agreed with the partner, not assumed.