Contract amounts are an all-around more fair way to conduct business. With contracts mistakes on the part of FAS do not cost your company anything to correct, thus reducing your risk. Any efficiencies achieved by FAS are to the benefit of FAS. Further, an hourly basis opens your company up to contractors dragging their feet for more billable hours or outright lying about the billable hours. FAS avoids such a concern and any accusation with contract amounts. It is a protection for both sides.

There are a number of factors that play in to a contract amount.  Among them is the nature (difficulty level) of specific tasks to be delegated, the time estimated or tracked to complete those tasks, and the fact that FAS will only ever bring on Americans to do your administration and will pay them a reasonable rate given the accuracy and timeliness expected of them.

Yes, contracts are negotiable until executed.  Some portions are more negotiable than others.  For instance, the standard terms & conditions will not be as negotiable as the company-specific terms & conditions or specific task list.  The better the client and partner relationship the more negotiable things tend to be because of the trust built.

First, business ownership is a matter of personal fulfillment and freedom for Sid, the owner & operator. Second, VAs tend to be more limited in scope and partnership. They certainly have their place depending on the needs of your company but FAS looks to be more of an Executive Assistant service with more investment in your company. Third, most VA brokers use cheap labor and pay them poorly. FAS will only employ Americans at a reasonable rate.

Special projects can be handled three different ways depending on the scope of the project. First, if smaller special projects are expected frequently we can include a block of time in the contract amount with an hourly rate for hours required beyond that block of time each month. Second, for special projects with a clear scope that can be estimated with confidence FAS will provide a separate bid that can be executed as a contract for that project. Third, for special projects that are likely to expand unforeseeably or are too complex to accurately estimate an hourly rate can be agreed upon to form a contract for that project.

MS Excel is the preferred program for data organization, management, and analysis. Some have argued that the business world literally runs on Excel by pointing out that almost every company, from mom & pop shops to global conglomerates, use Excel heavily. And most small businesses that don’t use Excel would do well to start. Excel is structured enough to maintain standardization, but flexible enough to custom tailor to your company’s needs. There is an automation programming language built in to allow for custom programming to automate a host of tasks.

Every person and organization has limits to their scope, whether due to ability, willingness, or purpose.  FAS is clear about a few things outside of its scope.

1. FAS does not fill primarily customer-facing rolls (i.e. receptionist-type tasks). These are typically better filled by a dedicated customer-facing representative.  As needed we are happy to contact customers to fulfill other administrative requirements.
2. FAS does not design or build websites. This is a niche specialty outside the scope of FAS.  We are able to make simple informational updates to existing websites and are happy to interface with a third-party contractor to accomplish website builds or re-designs.
3. FAS does not do graphic design. This requires a special artistic streak that we can appreciate but not duplicate.  We are happy to apply logos and such provided by graphic designers to documents and programs.
4. FAS does not generate sales leads or make sales. We will specialize on your company’s processes but not necessarily your company’s industry.  Salesmanship is its own niche specialty and is often industry-specific.  We are happy to build and maintain estimating programs as special projects.
5. FAS does not prepare or file year-end income tax returns.  This is a highly specialized task that requires a CPA.  However, FAS is happy to prepare other tax returns and remittances like sales tax or quarterly estimated payments.
6. FAS does not perform collections services. This is another niche specialty that happens to be regulated as well.  We are happy to issue invoices and answer customer questions about invoices as we are able.
7. FAS does not perform on-site processes regularly. FAS is a remote service company.  With a few case-by-case exceptions, all services are to be performed remotely.  Should a special on-site need arise on occasion those can be treated as special projects and negotiated separately.