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Virtual assistant guide · Updated September 2026

Time etc for Contractors and Service Businesses

Time etc is a managed virtual-assistant service, not field-service software. Its value for a contractor is delegating recurring back-office work—email, scheduling, research, customer follow-up, document preparation and similar admin—without adding a full-time office employee.

Best fit: an owner or small team already losing several hours per week to repeatable administrative work that can be documented and delegated remotely.

Current public pricing

Time etc currently lists U.S.-assistant plans at $390/month for 10 hours, $760 for 20 hours, $1,480 for 40 hours and $2,160 for 60 hours. That works out to roughly $39, $38, $37 and $36 per included hour respectively. Unused hours roll over on the 20-hour-and-up plans, and the company says plans can be changed or cancelled without a long-term contract.

Pricing can change, so use those numbers as a September 2026 snapshot rather than a permanent quote.

Partner option

Time etc

Consider Time etc when recurring admin is consuming owner or dispatcher time but the workload does not justify another full-time office hire.

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Tasks a contractor can realistically delegate

  • Inbox triage: sort routine email, flag urgent customer issues and draft standard responses.
  • Calendar coordination: schedule non-dispatch meetings, vendor calls and internal check-ins.
  • Customer follow-up: send review requests, maintenance reminders or document requests using an approved process.
  • Research: gather vendor options, permit-office links, product documentation or prospect lists for owner review.
  • Data entry: clean spreadsheets or enter non-sensitive information into the business systems you authorize.
  • Marketing support: prepare social posts, upload approved website content or organize campaign assets.

What not to delegate blindly

A remote assistant should not become an uncontrolled admin account across every business system. Use least-privilege access, documented procedures and separate credentials where the software supports them. Payment approvals, banking changes, payroll, password resets and sensitive customer information need tighter controls than routine calendar or content work.

Time etc does not replace dispatch software

A VA can help administer a workflow, but it does not replace route optimization, technician GPS, job costing, estimate templates or a customer portal. If jobs are being lost because the operating system itself is fragmented, fix the field-service stack first. If the software works but the owner still spends ten hours a week on repetitive administration, delegation becomes more compelling.

Break-even framework

At the 10-hour plan, the direct cost is currently $390 per month. If those ten delegated hours let the owner produce, sell or supervise substantially more than $390 of incremental monthly contribution, the economics can work. If the delegated work only replaces low-priority tasks that could simply be stopped, the subscription may not create value.

Decision checklist

  • Can you list at least five recurring tasks with clear instructions?
  • Are those tasks consuming enough high-value owner or manager time to justify roughly $36–$39 per included hour at current plans?
  • Can the assistant perform the work without excessive access to payments or sensitive systems?
  • Do you have a weekly review process for delegated tasks?
  • Is the real bottleneck administration—or broken field-service software?

Primary sources