All About Paying Filipino VAs

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Paying your Filipino virtual assistant doesn’t have to be problematic. All you need to know about paying your VA in the Philippines can be summed up in 8 simple rules.

1. Don’t pre-pay for work

It might seem like pre-paying for work is the ultimate sign of trust. But don’t do it.

If someone asks for pre-payment, it’s often a scam.

Trust must be earned and should be reciprocal. Your Filipino virtual assistant needs to demonstrate their trustworthiness.

Some might argue that pre-payment is a sign of goodwill, an assurance of timely payment. If assurance is what they’re looking for, there’s an alternative. Pay your VA weekly for the first few months. Once trust is established, you can pay them monthly or every two weeks.

2. Paying weekly at first

Why pay weekly, especially with newly hired Filipino VAs?

Because some people have taken advantage of Filipino virtual assistants due to their non-confrontational nature. We’ve heard complaints of VAs working for six months without payment merely because they were afraid to discuss money with their employers.

To assure your VA that you are a legitimate employer (without pre-paying), offer to pay them weekly for the first weeks. This builds trust on both sides. If either party fails to fulfill their obligations, it’s easier for everyone to part ways.

3. Paying bi-weekly or monthly

Which is better, paying bi-weekly or monthly?
It depends on your agreement with your virtual assistant.
I prefer monthly because it’s more convenient for me. Some prefer bi-weekly.

Regardless of your choice, be clear about when your VA can expect payment.

4. Paying on time

You might think paying your virtual assistant a day late is inconsequential, but for them, it’s distressing.

Most virtual assistants are primary breadwinners and budget their expenses (utilities, rent, food, school tuition) around their payday. They start to panic when their salaries are late.

So make sure you pay on time because it’s crucial.

5. The 13th month

The 13th month is a bonus that Filipino employees typically receive around December. This extra cash is usually spent for holiday expenses, big purchases or to pay off debt. Most employers include the 13th-month bonus in their salary calculations to budget for year-end payments.

6. Normal salary amounts

There’s an ongoing debate about standard rates for virtual assistants. The answer depends on the tasks, experience, and skill level required. While we have a salary guide, it’s best to negotiate with your VA for a fair rate.

7. Easypay

EasyPay is our in-house payment system designed to address issues with third-party payment sites.

It simplifies payment tracking for employers and VAs and can be integrated with platforms like PayPal and Payoneer. It offers competitive exchange rates and lower fees.

The biggest advantage is our connection with the largest bank in the Philippines, ensuring your VA gets their salary, regardless of location.

Simplify your payments by signing up for an EasyPay account or linking your current payment system to EasyPay. It’s a free feature with your Onlinejobs.ph account.

8. Paypal, Payoneer and other options

In cases where EasyPay isn’t available in your country, there are other services like

  • PayPal,
  • Payoneer,
  • RemitHome,
  • Xoom,
  • eMoneyGram,
  • WesternUnion, and
  • Wise.com

That can provide secure and efficient ways to send money worldwide.

A lot of people use Wise.com. It’s simple, and their exchange rates are the best in the industry.

A word of warning about Paypal. It seems simple…but their fees are the highest in the industry, and they’re really good at hiding their fees. It may not make a big difference to you, but it makes a difference to the person you’re paying. It’s fine to use PayPal once or twice in a bind, but we really recommend using something else for long-term payments.

You don’t need to worry about whether or not these services are compatible with local banks and money apps. Most of them work well together.

9. Giving them a raise.

There’s no standard to giving your Filipino VAs a raise. It depends on your work agreement, how much you can afford, and how well they do their job.

In our experience, giving them a raise once a year is good practice, especially if they’ve done good work. The better the work, the higher the raise.

It motivates them to be loyal and to do better if they know they have something to look forward to.

Paying your virtual assistant doesn’t have to be a pain. With a lot of communication and a bit of common sense, your payment issues will become a thing of the past.

Julia Sta RomanaAbout Julia Jasmine M. Sta Romana

Julia has been working for OnlineJobs.ph since 2012, first as a writer and now as its social media manager and content development specialist. She also founded the Davao Virtual Assistants Association, the biggest VA association in Davao City.

She’s a full-time wife and mom and volunteers her time as an internet rights advocate.

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Comments

  1. Immanuel Caralde says

    How do i edit the things onlinejobs.ph can use when connecting to my fb account in order to increase my id proof?

    Reply

      • Andrew Remolona says

        How can I edit the permissions / info I provide when connecting my FB account? I already tried the link that appears on my profile but it did not work.

        Reply

        • says

          ID Proof is about providing lots of information to help determine your identity. If you only provide a small amount of honest information, then you’ll have a low ID trust score.

          Make sure that you have everything filled out…..facebook url, government id, picture, skill descriptions, etc. The more information that you provide, the easier it is for an employer to determine that you are who you say you are. Your ID proof score will be higher too.

          After updating your profile, the ID Proof score does not get updated right away, but will be automatically rechecked by the site in a day or so.

          Reply

  2. Rick Hyne says

    I am looking for some guidance. I am in search of a well rounded person to perform bookkeeper and cloud based record keeping functions, together with answering the phone etc.

    I searched the database and seen many with degrees as public accountants as an example. It would be nice to have an accountant, but bookkeeping is only about 30% of the work. Is is beneath people with degrees to do work a lessor qualified person could do such as record keeping?

    Reply

    • Erlie Balanay says

      Hi, Rick!
      I am an accountant and I also do bookkeeping for some employers here in onlinejobs.ph. Bookkeeping is indeed part of Accounting and most bookkeepers are accountants. A bookkeeper may not be an accountant or an accounting graduate as long as he or she is knowledgeable of basic accounting entries and recording of transactions. In the Philippines, there is no degree specifically for bookkeeping only. That is why most accountants do the bookkeeping even if they are degree holders or masteral graduates. In case you are still looking for a bookkeeper, please get in touch with me through online jobs.ph. Thank you.

      Reply

  3. Catherine says

    Am i entitled to a 13th month pay? I have been working with this company since last year as their virtual assistant. I receive my salary every end of the month. Please let me know if i am entitled to this 13th month.

    Reply

    • Vic says

      Hello Hope,

      Same with me.. I did everything I can to increase my ID Proof. Exams, IDs, Profile.. you name it. It didn’t do much until I contacted support@onlinejobs.ph. We had a couple of emails going back and forth before I reached an ID Proof of 90. Still not a 100 but better than being just 50.

      Good luck!

      Reply

  6. Dominador Eugenio says

    Hi!
    I am a Filipino with a dual Canadian citizenship living here in Canada.
    Am I eligible to work online as virtual assistant?
    Thank you.

    Dominador

    Reply

  9. Patrick del Rosario says

    Let’s not encourage hiring designers with a minimum of $400, srsly… Creatives deserve a hell of a lot more!

    Reply

  11. maria says

    How can i edit the SALARY part? The amount displayed in my profile is way too high. I tried countless times, but it is not letting me remove the salary display part.

    Reply

    • says

      ID Proof is about providing lots of information to help determine your identity. If you only provide a small amount of honest information, then you’ll have a low ID trust score.

      Make sure that you have everything filled out…..facebook url, government id, picture, skill descriptions, etc. The more information that you provide, the easier it is for an employer to determine that you are who you say you are. Your ID proof score will be higher too.

      After updating your profile, the ID Proof score does not get updated right away, but will be automatically rechecked by the site in a day or so.

      Reply

  15. Maricar says

    Hi!
    I’ve been trying to finish my DISC Test but each time I finish and click on NEXT, it says it cannot open the server. Is there something that I need to change? Is there a specific browser for this? I’ve done & placed a screenshot of the result of the IQ as well as the English test, by the way.
    Likewise, I need to change part of my profile data but can’t seem to get into it.
    Your help is very much appreciated. Thanks in advanced.

    Reply

  16. tet says

    Hi, can i link my paypal account to easypay? everytime i try to access easypay, it redirected me to payoneer.

    Reply

  21. Frances Farah G. Biason says

    Hi Ms Julia. I am a working mom and I am in Search of a part time job online to help my husband with our finances. It’s my 1st time to try registering last night. I did not have my Id with me and I could not find a good profile picture. I could not take a photo of me that time since I was not dressed properly. I also mistakable press the wrong amount of salary. I also would like to do the different tests but I couldn’t seem to find the button to start the exams. Can you help me with these?
    Thank you so much.

    Reply

    • says

      Hi Frances,

      You can still edit your profile. Just login to your account. Once you are logged in, just scroll down until you see the “Edit Profile” button. That will allow you to make changes in your profile.

      Reply

  23. Renzel says

    Hi I don’t have a national ID needed for easypay account set-up. what ID can be accepted for it. Don’t have a passport and a license too.

    Reply

  26. Algerwin Garcia says

    I be finishing our first month by this week and we have a good communication but i would like to have a contract with him about incentives, pays and bonuses but i don’t know how to draft that contract. if anyone could give me a sample contract with their clients i would greatly appreciate it so that i could draft mine. thanks

    Reply

  28. yeka2019 says

    Hi julia,

    I am in need of a VA that would help me do my keynote address/ speech.
    Can you please help or refer me to somebody capable of doing it? and if it is possible what would be the rate for one time service?

    Reply

  29. Erlie Balanay says

    Hi Yeka,
    I am interested to write a keynote address for you. Can I ask for some details?
    Who is your audience and what is the topic/theme of the keynote address? How long do intend it to be (estimated length/pages)? When do you need it? You can reach check my profile here at online jobs. Here’s my email ad, balanayerlie@gmail.com. Thank you.

    Reply

  30. emily t. magayam says

    Hi, Julia,

    After taking the exam and displaying the test results in my profile and after connecting my Facebook account also, the words ” have you taken the exam yet”? and “connect your facebook” will still show in my account?

    Reply

  32. John Signe says

    Wow, this list is so awesome and helpful, It’s given me so many more ideas of services I could offer. Thank you SO much for sharing it!

    Reply

    • mario says

      Like you, I am also an advocate of outsourcing and working with all different types of virtual assistants to provide a much better and efficient method of fulfilling tasks for our clients.

      Reply

  34. steve myers says

    I understand the 13th month as well as benefits, I lived in Cavite for 3 years, was married to a Pinay, been there 27 times over 15 years, however, I am hiring contractors for a reason; No employees. No benefits. No tax problems, no business licenses or “fees to pay”. The benefits of working from home, i.e. no clothes to buy for the office, no transport to pay, hours saved daily going to and from the office, no food to buy from vendors, 40 hr work week not 70, 5 days a week not 6, more sleep, family emergency availability, etc. have monetary value that far exceeds an additional 1 months pay. If I do the business I am thinking of doing, it is only possible because of the “normal wage” Filipinos charge for this service. I will be able to pay them that fair wage, long term, full time. But they are contractors…not employees. The only reason they would be working for me is the LOW cost that is passed on to the people that hire me to provide them with this service at a LOW rate, otherwise they will hire local and have fewer concerns. So I can hire perhaps up to 500 workers in the Philippines because their Normal Wage is a benefit to the people that hire me to provide this service cheaper than they can hire locally. It’s a win win win for everyone. BUT, again…they are contractors. If I have to add on an additional month of wage that will increase the monthly charge to the end employer of my company. NOTE I make allot less than the Philippino workers do. I make money on volume, not much on each individual worker.

    Reply

  35. Erica Grace Villanueva says

    How to report scammers here in onlinejobs? I have undergone training for 2 days as Lead Generation VA with no pay and presently doing online test as Web Researcher? How to report them if ever the other interviewer will not pay me?

    Reply

  37. Mae says

    I have a question. I am currently on my student visa here on Australia and when I am creating my profile, my address and contact details are needed. Can I put my Australian contact no. and Philippines address?

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • says

      Hi Richard,

      We don’t have a webpage that describes Payoneer and EasyPay except this one -> http://www.onlinejobs.ph/easypay
      It is only a step-by-step guide in paying a worker thru EasyPay

      There are NO transaction or withdrawing fees with Payoneer
      Normally Payoneer has a 1 percent fee on all transactions that a worker receives
      However, if you pay through the EasyPay portal, these fees are all waived

      Reply

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