Incorporating an Assistant Into My Work

[af9f607a]

Hi everyone!

I'm working in a field where I see potential for a VA assisting me in my work. There are some time-consuming tasks that I think I could easily train.

However, training someone to take billable tasks off my plate has little incentive for me unless I can bill for their time. 

Does anyone know of a way that I could bill for my assistant's time on an hourly contract that would be safe and transparent for my clients? Has anyone done this before?

I think about A) Adding manual time but less hours than my assistant actually works to account for a lower hourly rate. B) Asking my clients to create a separate job for my assistant (But this doesn't seem user friendly.)

Maybe this is just something the Upwork system isn't designed for.

Obviously with a fixed-price job, this is a no-brainer. But so far most of my work has been hourly.

[arooj78]

1- The best solution is to have an estimate of hours and keep the contract on the fix. 
Or

2- use other hourly apps for your VA to measure the time, calculate the rate and convert it in hours with your rate,  and add those screenshots when adding time manually in your client's bill. 

For example- You worked 6 hours at $70 per hour, and your assistant worked 9 hours at $20 per hour ( in a week ).
Your bill will be $420, and your assistant's will be - $180.
$180 as per your rate will be 2.57 hours. 
Add those 2.57 hours manually & it'll pay for the 9 hours of your assistant.

Make sense?