60 tasks to hand off to a virtual assistant

By Veronica Loyal · Updated 13 September 2026 · 7 min read

Most business owners know they should delegate. The hard part is working out what to hand over first, because when you do everything yourself, it all feels like it needs you.

It usually does not. Below are 60 tasks I see owners holding onto that someone else could run well. They are grouped by what handing them off gives back to you, whether that is your mornings, your evenings or the revenue sitting in unanswered enquiries. Skim the headings, find the group that sounds like your week, and start there.

Inbox and calendar: frees up your mornings

This is where most owners lose the first part of the day. It is also the fastest group to hand off, because the rules are simple once they are written down.

• Triage the inbox daily and flag only what genuinely needs you
• Draft replies to routine questions for you to approve or send
• Unsubscribe from newsletters and notifications you never read
• Set up folders, labels and filters so email sorts itself
• Send you a short daily summary of what needs your attention
• Schedule meetings and handle the back-and-forth over times
• Send confirmations and reminders before appointments
• Prepare agendas and background notes before calls
• Block focus time in your calendar and protect it from new bookings

Clients and sales follow-up: frees up revenue you are leaving behind

Follow-up is often nobody's job, which is exactly why leads and past clients go quiet. Handing it to one person, with a CRM to track it, fixes that.

• Reply to new enquiries the same day, using your approved wording
• Chase quotes and proposals that have gone quiet
• Log every lead and conversation in your CRM
• Book discovery calls and consultations
• Send onboarding emails, forms and welcome documents to new clients
• Ask happy clients for a review once the work is done
• Check in with past clients at regular intervals
• Keep referral partners updated with news and useful material
• Prepare proposals and quotes from your templates for you to sign off

Social media and content: frees up your evenings

If content only goes out when you have a spare evening, the audience never builds. This group turns posting into a planned monthly job instead.

• Build a month-ahead content calendar
• Design posts and graphics from your brand templates
• Schedule and publish posts across your platforms
• Write captions from your notes or voice memos
• Edit short-form video and reels, with captions
• Reply to comments and messages, passing anything sensitive to you
• Turn one long piece of content into several short posts
• Draft and send your email newsletter
• Pull a monthly report on what performed and what did not

Website: frees up the fixes you keep putting off

Small website jobs pile up because each one feels too minor to schedule. Together they decide whether the site keeps bringing in enquiries.

• Update service pages, prices and opening times when they change
• Add new blog posts, case studies and photos of recent work
• Fix broken links and outdated information
• Build landing pages for offers and campaigns
• Test contact forms and booking links every month
• Keep plugins, themes and apps up to date
• Check page titles and descriptions on every new page
• Keep your Google Business Profile in line with the website

CRM and automation: frees up the repeat work for good

Delegating a task saves time once. Automating it saves time every week after. This group is where an assistant with systems skills pays for themselves.

• Clean up duplicate and incomplete contacts
• Set up pipeline stages that match how you actually sell
• Build automated follow-up for new leads
• Set up follow-up for no-shows and missed calls
• Create review request automations for finished jobs
• Connect your forms to the CRM so every enquiry lands in one place
• Link your tools together with Zapier or Make
• Tag and segment contacts so emails reach the right people
• Write simple guides so your team knows how the system works

Finance admin: frees up your month-end

You stay in charge of the money. The admin around it, the chasing, matching and filing, does not need to be yours.

• Create and send invoices
• Chase overdue payments politely and on a schedule
• Match receipts to transactions ready for your bookkeeper
• Track subscriptions and flag the ones you no longer use
• Organize documents your accountant asks for
• File contracts and signed agreements where you can find them
• Track supplier and vendor orders
• Keep a renewal calendar for insurance, licences and domains

Research and operations: frees up your thinking time

These are the jobs that sit on a to-do list for months. None of them is hard. They just take focus you would rather spend elsewhere.

• Research suppliers, tools and prices before you buy
• Build and clean lead or prospect lists
• Look into competitors' offers and positioning
• Write and update SOPs for recurring processes
• Run the task board and chase deadlines
• Organize shared drives and set a file naming system
• Plan travel and event logistics
• Prepare documents, slide decks and reports

How to hand off your first 5 tasks

Do not try to hand over all 60 at once. Pick five and do it properly. Good first tasks are repetitive, follow clear rules, take up real time, and will not cause damage if the first attempt needs a tweak. For most owners that means the inbox, the calendar and lead follow-up.

1. Pick five and write down what done looks like. "Inbox triaged" is vague. "Every email filed, routine questions answered, and a summary of the rest sent by 10am" is clear.
2. Record yourself doing each task once. A short screen recording while you talk it through beats a long written brief, and your assistant can turn it into an SOP.
3. Give access, not passwords. Add your assistant as a user with the permissions they need. Every account stays in your name, and access can be changed any time.
4. Review closely for the first week or two. Check the work, give specific feedback, and let the process improve. Then step back to spot checks.
5. Set a weekly check-in. A short, regular slot to agree priorities and catch questions stops small issues from becoming big ones.

What not to delegate

Delegation works best when you are clear about what stays with you. Keep these:

• Final decisions on pricing, hiring and strategy. An assistant can research and prepare, but the call is yours.
• Relationships only you can hold. Your most important clients and partners may expect to hear from you directly.
• Anything that needs your licence or professional judgement. Advice, signatures and regulated statements such as rates and terms stay with you or your compliance team.
• Moving money and approving payments. Your assistant can prepare invoices and flag bills. You approve and pay.
• Tasks you cannot yet describe. If you do not know what good looks like, work that out first. Otherwise you are handing over confusion.
• The work you are best at and enjoy. The point of delegating is to spend more time there, not less.

How I can help

If this list made you realise how much of your week is going on work someone else could do, that is exactly what I take on. My virtual assistant support for small businesses covers the inbox, calendar, client follow-up, social, website updates and the CRM systems behind them, all with one person. Plans are month to month, and you can start with a paid trial week at $109 to hand off your first five tasks and see how it feels.