7 Best Outsource Virtual Assistant Companies for Accounting Firms in the UK

The best outsourced virtual assistant companies for UK accounting firms combine accounting-specific training, UK compliance knowledge (VAT, Making Tax Digital, payroll), and scalable delivery — not just general admin support. Corient, Task Virtual, and SmartPA are among the leading providers in 2026, with pricing ranging from £6 to £40 per hour depending on location and specialism.

We say this, not because practices are not able to get the work done, but because they struggle with handling the workload efficiently. When practices onboard new clients, the accounting team get overloaded with more:

• Emails
• Data entry
• Document collection
• Client follow-ups

With deadlines getting tighter and accounting staff getting stretched in admin work, practices are finding themselves unable to devote their time towards high-value advisory work. Are you facing a similar situation?

The solution lies in selecting the best outsource virtual assistant support for your practice.

The UK virtual assistant services market is rising rapidly, growing from around USD 773 million in 2024 to a projected USD 4.3 billion by 2030. It means UK accounting firms are increasingly shifting towards VAs to handle growing compliance demands like Making Tax Digital (MTD), and it’s time for you to do the same.

In this guide, we will help you to maximise your benefits from outsource virtual assistant companies by exploring:

• What a virtual assistant actually does
• The benefits of outsourcing
• The best Outsourced Virtual Assistant Companies in the UK
• And how outsourcing firms will help your practice scale efficiently

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant or a virtual accountant is a remote professional who supports your practice with administrative, operational, or specialised accounting tasks — without being an employee of your firm.

These tasks often include:

• Data entry and bookkeeping support
• Document collection and organisation
• Client communication
• Scheduling and follow-ups
• Invoice processing

Think of a virtual assistant as an extra pair of hands which will save you from the cost of hiring a full-time staff.

What Are the Advantages of Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant?

Outsourcing to a virtual assistant reduces operational costs, frees up billable hours for advisory work, and lets practices scale without adding full-time headcount — the three benefits UK accounting firms report most consistently.

Saves Time on Repetitive Tasks

It changes the way you operate your practice by lightening the load of tasks like data entry, chasing documents, and inbox management, which can take hours.

Outsourcing frees up time for:

• Client advisory
• Business growth
• Strategic work
• Access to latest tools

Highly professional virtual assistant outsourcing providers will always give you access to paid accounting software and tools without incurring the cost of buying them. Such access will improve your productivity, which can be passed on to your clients.

Reduction in Operational Costs

Hiring full-time staff involves:

• Salaries
• Benefits
• Training costs

Also, you will have to worry about employees getting sick or going on holiday, which will add to your operational costs. Virtual assistants avoid that by working as per your requirements.

Pay Only for the Services You Want

The outsource virtual assistant provider will only provide you with the services you want, such as bookkeeping or payroll work. You will have to pay for that only, nothing more.

More Productivity

It’s a fact that outsourcing boosts productivity by 20 to 30 % that’s the reason why many practices are moving towards outsource virtual assistant.

Stay Focused on Core Services

Instead of getting bogged down with admin work, your team will be able to focus on:

• Tax planning
• Compliance
• Advisory

Scale Up Without Hiring

As your client grows, so will their accounting demands and volumes to meet the increased workload; you will have to hire more accountants. This can be avoided by scaling up with assistance from virtual assistance without expanding your in-house accounting team.

93% of UK accounting and finance leaders reported skills shortages in 2026, according to Hays’ UK Salary & Recruiting Trends guide — meaning local hiring alone often isn’t a fast enough answer to rising workload. (Source: Hays UK Salary & Recruiting Trends, as cited via Intelligent Outsourcing — recommend confirming the primary Hays report link before publishing.)

What Types of Virtual Assistants Are Available?

Virtual assistants fall into five main types for accounting firms — administrative, bookkeeping, payroll, client support, and industry-specific — and choosing the wrong type is the most common reason practices end up spending more time training a VA than they save.

All virtual assistants are not the same, and here’s where many accounting practices make the error. Many made the mistake of hiring a general virtual assistant and ended up spending more time on training rather than saving it.

Therefore, it is important to get the right type of virtual assistance depending on the task.

Let’s understand these types in a practical way.

Administrative Virtual Assistance

Administrative virtual assistance handles the routine, time-consuming tasks that don’t require accounting knowledge — freeing up billable time without needing specialist training.

Such virtual assistance helps in:

• Email management (sorting, responding, flagging priorities)
• Calendar scheduling (client calls, internal meetings)
• Document handling (organising files, uploading documents)
• Basic CRM updates

In short, it frees up your time from repetitive admin work.

Bookkeeping Virtual Assistance

A bookkeeping virtual assistant handles the day-to-day transactional workflow — reconciliations, invoice processing, and expense coding — in the software your practice already uses.

A bookkeeping virtual assistant is one step above the administrative VA, and they help practices in handling basic accounting workflows.

They help in:

• Transaction entry in software like Xero or QuickBooks
• Bank reconciliation support
• Invoice processing and matching
• Expense categorisation

This makes them highly beneficial if you have:

• High transaction volume clients
• Handling accounting work of eCommerce or multi-platform businesses
• Month-end preparation

It must be said that the bookkeeping virtual assistance helps in reducing manual bookkeeping workload.

Payroll Support Virtual Assistance

Payroll virtual assistants prepare payroll data, coordinate payslips, and support submissions — and matter most for practices running multiple client payroll cycles where a single missed deadline damages client trust immediately.

Payroll is often overlooked, but it is one of the sensitive areas in accounting and is also time-consuming.

That sensitivity shows up in the data too: Moorepay’s own Annual Payroll Survey Report 2025-26 found that 68% of respondents still process payroll in-house using software rather than outsourcing it fully — meaning most of the market hasn’t made the switch yet, which is exactly the capacity gap payroll VA support can fill for practices managing this on clients’ behalf.

If you are handling monthly or weekly payroll cycles for multiple clients and handling their employee queries, then this virtual assistance will be beneficial for you.

The payroll VAs will help you in:

• Preparing payroll data
• Coordinating payslips
• Updating employee records
• Supporting payroll submissions

Payroll errors lead to immediate client dissatisfaction, and most of these errors happen due to pressure during payroll cycles. Payroll support virtual assistance helps in reducing that.

Client Support Virtual Assistance

Client support virtual assistants manage onboarding, document chasing, and query handling directly with your clients — the type most likely to affect client experience directly, for better or worse.

This virtual assistance will do the following:

• Client onboarding
• Chasing of documents (bank statements, invoices, etc.)
• Handling basic queries
• Following up on pending information

It will help you the most during:

• Busy periods like year-end, VAT deadlines
• Managing multiple client communications during year-end
• Improving response time

Using client support virtual assistance, you will be able to give faster responses to your clients, leading to faster resolution of their queries and better retention. Thus, you will be able to improve your client experience without overloading your accounting team.

Industry-Specific Virtual Assistance

Industry-specific virtual assistants are trained specifically on accounting workflows and UK compliance — the type that understands the difference between uploading an invoice and categorising it correctly for VAT and reporting.

This is where you will be most interested because this virtual assistance is designed especially for accounting environments. It understands:

• Accounting software like Xero, Sage, QuickBooks
• UK compliance requirements like VAT, MTD, and payroll rules
• Financial workflows (bookkeeping → reporting → submission)
• Deadlines and regulatory processes

It will assist you with:

• Bookkeeping and reconciliations
• Support VAT return preparation
• Handle document workflows efficiently
• Work within your existing accounting systems

Understand the difference between the general virtual assistance and the accounting one.  The general one will only upload the invoices; the accounting VA will ensure they are correctly categorised for VAT and reporting.

Who Are the 7 Best Outsource Virtual Assistant Companies for UK Accounting Firms?

Here are some of the best outsource virtual assistant companies for accounting firms, and let’s differentiate them from one another.

1. Corient Business Solutions

Corient Business Solutions is not just a virtual assistant provider; it is a full-scale accounting outsourcing service partner designed specifically for UK practices. While most virtual assistance companies focus on admin tasks, Corient combines:

• Virtual assistant support + accounting expertise (ACCA certified) + structured workflows

Corient Business Solutions delivers on:

• Accounting-Trained Virtual Assistants trained in UK accounting standards, VAT and Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance
• End-to-end bookkeeping services & compliance support through bookkeeping outsourcing services
• Payroll & tax assistance through payroll outsourcing services
• Works directly with tools such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and Dext / Hubdoc
• Scalable support during peak seasons like year-end and payroll cycles

Corient Business Solutions doesn’t just assign a VA, they provide:

• Defined workflows
• Review systems
• Quality checks
• Reporting structures

The result of it is:

• Fewer errors
• Consistent output
• Better turnaround times

2. Admin & More

It has a versatile team of virtual assistants offering:

• Administrative support
• Marketing assistance
• Minute Taking
• Client communication

Ideal for accounting practices that require assistance in general admin.

3. Time Etc

Since 2007, it has been assisting everyone with virtual assistants to businesses and all to handle their admin work, making their service ideal for those in need of help in handling:

• Email
• Scheduling
• Admin

4. SmartPA

Experienced in supporting businesses of all sizes with a wide range of services, their virtual assistants can help with:

• Diary & email management
• Transcription
• Typing
• Document production

5. Task Virtual

It’s a virtual assistant company that works with businesses to take away time-consuming tasks that keep practices and businesses occupied.

They offer virtual assistance:

• Data Entry
• Quotes and Invoices
• Bookkeeping

6. Wishup

Offers trained virtual assistants with experience in handling:

• Workflow automation
• Hiring
• Inbox clean-ups

Ideal for growing practices and businesses.

7. Supportal Services

Provides offshore virtual assistants for:

• Admin work
• Data entry
• Business operations

Best for: Cost-effective support.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Company	Best for	Core support type	Accounting-specific or general VA	Software familiarity	Pricing style	UK practice fit
Corient	Accounting firms looking to scale with end-to-end support	Bookkeeping, payroll, tax, compliance, VA support	Accounting-specific (ACCA-trained professionals)	Strong (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Dext, Hubdoc)	Pay-for-productive-hours model	Ideal for UK accounting practices
Admin & More	Small firms needing general admin support	Admin, marketing assistance, minute taking, client communication	General VA	Basic (limited accounting software exposure)	Hourly / package-based	Good for admin support, not accounting-heavy tasks
Time Etc	Businesses needing flexible admin help	Email management, scheduling, admin tasks	General VA	Limited (not accounting-focused)	Hourly pricing	Suitable for basic admin needs
SmartPA	Mid-sized firms needing PA-level support	Diary management, transcription, document production	General VA	Limited to moderate	Subscription / hourly	Strong admin support, limited accounting depth)
Task Virtual	Businesses needing multi-functional support	Data entry, invoicing, bookkeeping	Semi-accounting (basic bookkeeping)	Moderate	Flexible pricing (hourly/project-based)	Useful for mixed admin + basic accounting tasks
Wishup	Growing firms needing structured VA support	Workflow automation, inbox management, hiring support	General VA	Limited	Monthly subscription	Good for operational support
Supportal Services	Cost-conscious firms	Admin, data entry, business operations	General VA	Limited	Low-cost hourly rates	Budget-friendly but not accounting-focused

When Should You Outsource to a Virtual Assistant?

The clearest signal it’s time to outsource is when admin work is consistently displacing client-facing or advisory time — not simply when the team feels busy.

Consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant when:

• Your team is overwhelmed with admin work
• Deadlines are getting harder to manage
• You’re spending less time on clients
• You’re planning to scale your practice

How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?

A virtual assistant for a UK accounting firm typically costs £15–£40/hour for UK-based support or £6–£15/hour for offshore support, depending on experience, location, and specialism — both well below the fully loaded cost of a full-time hire.

The cost of a virtual assistant will depend on multiple factors, ranging from experience, location, and skill level.

Typical pricing of a virtual assistant will be (approximately):

• UK-based VAs: £15–£40/hour
• Offshore VAs: £6–£15/hour

Compared to hiring full-time staff, outsourcing is a more cost-effective option.

How a Manchester Accounting Firm Saved 22 Hours a Week by Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant

A Manchester-based accounting practice was struggling with:

• Client onboarding delays
• Document collection issues
• Admin overload

They decided to get an outsource virtual assistant support.

What changed:

• Document collection became automated
• Client communication improved
• Admin workload has been reduced drastically

Results:

• Saved 22 hours per week
• Improved turnaround time
• Increased client satisfaction

The Manchester-based accounting practice could focus on revenue-generating work like advisory services instead of admin tasks.

People Also Ask

Conclusion

Accounting practices in the UK cannot do without outsourcing virtual assistant support. The rising compliance demands (expanding MTD compliance), tighter deadlines on VAT and corporation tax, and impatient clients demanding quick services have made virtual assistance even more important.

They offer:

• Flexibility
• Efficiency
• Scalability

While many Outsourced Virtual Assistant Companies offer general admin support, firms like Corient provide a more powerful solution by combining:

Virtual assistant support + accounting expertise (ACCA certified) + structured workflows

Allowing you to:

• Reduce your workload
• Improve efficiency
• Scale without hiring

Because in today’s accounting environment, success isn’t about working harder, it’s about working smarter. Interested in working smartly? Use our contact form to fill your needs and see the transformation in how your accounting practice operates.