The Best Companies For Remote Executive Assistants

Most executives can’t justify a full-time executive assistant — that’s why many are turning to a remote executive assistant. Why?

1. Cost-savings — Executives only pay for the time they need while still having that trusted assistant who can do everything from complex scheduling to inbox management and beyond.
2. Time-savings — Having a skilled executive assistant for just two hours a day can make a huge difference in the work and productivity of leaders.

Remote executive assistants are becoming more common, so you have a number of companies to choose from. We’ve put together a list of the best — including which companies hire their executive assistants as W2 employees (instead of contractors), which has legal implications for you in terms of staffing compliance.

The Best Companies For Remote Executive Assistants:

• Base HQ
• Boldly
• Delegate Solutions
• Persona
• ProAssisting
• Squared Away

As you’ll see below, some executive assistant companies will match you with a 1099 contractor. For project-based work, this can be a great solution. However, turnover might be higher at these agencies, and using contractors for extended time periods may put you at risk for legal compliance issues.

See also: The Best Companies For US-Based Virtual Assistants

Base HQ

Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Base HQ has a larger pool of available executive assistants and has been placing EAs with clients since 2014.

• Services: Base HQ is both an all-in-one “workspace platform” for executive assistants and a placement service to match EAs with executives. Their EAs are 1099 contractors, fully remote, and offered to clients through flexible subscriptions. Because the workspace platform is a big component, clients will find EAs who use it to streamline communication, reduce decision load, create easy-to-read schedules, manage task lists, manage contact lists, and executive preferences in one place.
• Process: Clients who contact Base HQ are matched with an EA based on what they need. Every executive assistant comes trained on the Base platform. They use a matching process that prioritizes “options over interviews” in order to get clients up and running quickly.
• Why They Stand Out: Base HQ touts itself as a company built by executive assistants for executive assistants, with a software solution that makes communication, scheduling, and organizing simpler, all on a secure platform. When clients get an EA through them, they also get access to sleek software that reduces complicated communication and project management to easily managed levels. This makes complex projects much easier to stay on top of and gives the client a birds-eye-view of what’s happening while still keeping their focus on strategic work.
• Pricing: An assistant starts at $1,320 per month for 5-10 hours a week for basic executive assistant support, with larger plans available based on increased hours and more services.

You can learn more about Base HQ here.

Boldly

We are a premium remote executive assistant company with employees in the US and UK. With one of the highest team member and client retention rates in the industry, executives and companies turn to us when they need highly experienced, long-term support on a fractional basis. Boldly has been rated as a Top Inclusive Workplace, Great Place to Work, Fortune’s Best Company, and more!

• Services: Boldly provides ridiculously talented, premium executive assistants on a flexible monthly plan. This removes the hassle of recruiting and the costs of hiring. Our staff have a wide range of work experience—with many Fortune-500 trained.
• Process: We take a highly curated, personalized approach. After sharing your requirements, we’ll set up a short, productive meeting with your dedicated account manager to ensure they suggest the right staff member that will match both you and your business. You will get a chance to review your candidate’s profile and meet the staff first to make sure it’s a good fit before you sign up.
• Why Boldly Stands Out: We’re an excellent option for demanding executives who can spend a bit more for quality, longevity, legal compliance, and flexibility. Our hiring process is so stringent less than 1% of the 65,000+ annual applicants receive an offer. Plus, you can count on your dedicated assistant to be part of your team for the long haul because our team members are W2 employees with benefits, support, and a thriving culture. Additionally, we offer a buy-out program should you want to hire your assistant full-time down the line.
• Pricing: Boldly’s pricing starts at $2,200 for a 40-hour-per-month plan with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can choose and adjust our monthly plans based on changing needs. Boldly offers flexible staffing, so you can subscribe to one or multiple dedicated staff (like a fractional executive assistant), for the number of hours you need them each month, without a contract.

Learn more about our services at Boldly here.

Delegate Solutions

Founded in 2017 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delegate Solutions was initially started to support entrepreneurs. Team members are 100% remote W2 employees with benefits.

• Services: Delegate Solutions uses a pooled solution instead of a dedicated one-on-one assistant approach, meaning that more than one assistant will help clients. Assistants will help with business automation, scheduling, travel planning, research, inbox management, project management, expense tracking and reporting, social media, and personal requests. Delegate Solutions does not offer creative, sales, marketing-related outbound calling, or bookkeeping services.
• Process: After contacting them to determine what options will fit your needs, you’ll have access to the full team of EAs based on their time and project needs. Assistants are available and responsive on weekdays from 9-5 pm ET.
• Why They Stand Out: Delegate Solutions is women-founded and women-led. Instead of assigning you with an assistant, they take a goal-focused approach where assistants develop strategies that are in line with the goals you have defined. If you are looking to expand your delegation skills and aren’t set on a traditional assistant, Delegate Solutions may be a good option.
• Pricing: Pricing is available upon request and is based on a monthly retainer.

You can learn more about Delegate Solutions here.

Persona

Persona, based in Santa Monica, California, has a wide number of assistants based overseas. Assistants are only available on a full-time basis.

• Services: The services Persona’s EAs offer are varied, but they specialize in assistants who are strong in writing, communication, problem-solving, and reliability. They also offer EAs geared towards helping startups, general administrative tasks, operations, marketing, accounting, bookkeeping, and more.
• Process: Clients contact Persona and describe their needs. If Persona thinks you’d be a good fit, they’ll schedule an onboarding call with you and find out more details about what you’re looking for. From there, they’ll schedule a kick-off date for you and an assistant that has been carefully matched from a personality perspective.
• Why They Stand Out: Because Persona’s assistants are not US-based, they can be a cheaper alternative. Persona prides itself on a rigorous vetting process that includes ability tests and writing samples. The founders have executive-level experience that includes expertise in behavioral and psychological science. This is reflected in a category of vetted “generalist” EAs who have a broad skill set that includes difficult-to-determine soft skills such as organization and reliability.
• Pricing: Pricing is available upon request. Services are offered on a monthly basis, with no long-term contracts or commitments.

You can learn more about Persona here.

ProAssisting

ProAssisting is a remote executive assistant company that was founded in 2009 and is based in Canandaigua, New York.

• Services: Their EAs are required to have significant executive assistant experience, putting slightly more weight on their soft skills (interpersonal, EQ, self-awareness) over technical skills (computer, technical troubleshooting). An assistant is given no more than three clients to work with at a time and can help in assisting with project management, personal management to reduce stress, staff support, managing calls and both client and staff communication, scheduling, reports and presentations, and more.
• Process: ProAssisting offers a dedicated EA service, meaning clients work with the same assistant all the time. They have clients fill out a questionnaire before an onboarding call with their new assistant. This lays out all of the client’s preferences from food allergies to frequent flyer numbers. Clients can schedule regular calls as needed to touch base with their assistants.
• Why They Stand Out: ProAssisting is a smaller company and is unique in that it puts the hospitality and service factor front and center. A low client-to-assistant ratio is part of this “concierge” approach, with no more than three clients per assistant. They also pass on 80% of the client’s monthly retainer directly to the assistant, who is an independent contractor.
• Pricing: Clients can adjust or cancel on a month-by-month basis. Pricing starts at $3,000 per month for one-third use of resources (i.e. using one of the three spots an individual assistant has available), and increases based on an increased fraction of time.

You can learn more about ProAssisting here.

Squared Away

Founded in 2017 and based in Hertford, North Carolina, Squared Away offers only US-based assistants. In 2021, the company moved from offering 1099 contractors to their clients and now provides W2 employees.

• Services: Squared Away offers dedicated assistants so you’ll work with the same assistant all the time. They offer a broad range of services for their clients, including scheduling and travel planning, startup and VC support, help to optimize your time through inbox and to-do list management, bookkeeping, and other financial services, personal planning, and general admin tasks.
• Process: Upon contacting Squared Away, clients are matched with an assistant within one week of signing up. Through a careful matching process, they will work with you to make sure the match is a good one.
• Why They Stand Out: Squared Away puts a special focus on employing military spouses as their EAs, offering a broad range of services and pricing packages for clients with nearly every need and budget. They also emphasize taking care of their assistants in order to prevent burnout from overwork or difficult clients. Assistants are given no more than five clients, though between 1 to 3 is their preferred ratio.
• Pricing: Pricing starts at $200 per month for five hours, with packages up to $3,000 per month for 75 hours. They also offer custom plans upon consultation. Assistants are placed in tiers that reflect their experience and time within the company, and pricing also reflects which tier your assistant is in.

You can learn more about Squared Away here.

Why Choose Boldly For A Premium Executive Assistant?

Many of the companies above offer 1099 contractors, assistants based outside of the United States, or have a limited reach (making it difficult to scale high-quality support if you want to bring on multiple assistants).

Companies choose Boldly when they need assistants they can trust to represent their leaders — and are looking to invest in long-term, successful partnerships between executives and their assistants.

In short, the reputation and service Boldly provides are premium.

If you’re looking to bring on one or more ridiculously talented executive assistants for your leadership team, we’d love to chat!