How it works

Not everyone wants the two way commitment of contracted staff with NI and PAYE contributions, not to mention sick pay, holiday pay and perhaps even the moral commitment to develop your staff. A loyal team is such an important part of the work environment but nowadays it can be a scary thing with the unpredictable nature of business growth. 

Churcher VA Services will feel like part of your team without the feeling of responsibility that employing staff incurs. 

In the first instance a Discovery meeting works well to find out what your pain points are; it only needs to be 30 minutes and can be a call or video. If your business is relatively straight forward at this point you'll be given a guide as to how many hours per week or month is consider enough to meet your needs. The same would apply if it was a one off project.

Depending on the size and nature of your business a second meeting might then be agreed, usually in person to get down to the nitty gritty.

To get the ball rolling a 3 month trial is suggested for all new clients and at the end of this time frame we would have a catch up and discuss what's working and what might need to be adapted.

A contract would be created and signed by both parties so all expectations are clear. 

In most cases Churcher VA Services works on a retainer basis. Hours are allocated to your business at the beginning of each month and you can be confident knowing they are banked. This is a good time to agree working days/hours; you may not need tasks completed at a set time of the day or week but it really depends on your clients/suppliers and the way you like to do business.

Invoices are raised monthly and charged by the minute - logged using the app Clockify. I do offer a flexible approach though and if you call  to chew over an idea when it isn't set working hours, I'm not going to immediately grab for the timer!

Any expenses incurred specifically for your business will be passed on to you at the end of the month eg postage, agreed travel costs etc.

In the unlikely event that hours aren't used up they will be rolled over for a one month period.

Currently Churcher VA Services doesn't have any Associate contracts in place so the work is completed by myself only. If this was to change in the future you would be informed before any changes that could affect you business came in to play.

The only time I may use Associates is if I take a holiday. If my break covers a period when I'd normally be working for you then a) I'll have given you at least 8 weeks notice that I plan to be away and b) I will offer you the choice of an Associate to cover my tasks whilst I'm away - it is your choice whether you take this option.

Should either party decide to end the working relationship it is good grace for either party to give a minimum of one month's notice.