# How to Measure ROI on Your Virtual Assistant

> Founders hire VAs to reclaim time — but "feels helpful" is not a metric. Track three numbers monthly to know if the engagement is paying off. ## 1. Hours reclaimed (founder time) Before hiring, estimate hours you spend weekly on delegatable work: - Inbox and scheduling - Support…

Canonical URL: https://www.orcarw.com/blog/how-to-measure-va-roi
Published: 2026-07-19
Category: Delegation
Author: Orca Team

Founders hire VAs to reclaim time — but "feels helpful" is not a metric. Track three numbers monthly to know if the engagement is paying off.

## 1. Hours reclaimed (founder time)

Before hiring, estimate hours you spend weekly on delegatable work:
- Inbox and scheduling
- Support tickets
- Admin and data entry

After 30 days, log your own hours on those lanes again. **ROI signal:** you dropped 10+ hours/week while output quality held.

## 2. Revenue protected or generated

Indirect but real:
- Faster support response → lower churn
- Inbox triage → fewer missed sales leads
- Research VA → deals or partnerships you would have skipped

Even one recovered lead or retained customer often covers a month of VA cost.

## 3. Error and rework rate

Track:
- Tasks sent back for redo
- Customer complaints on VA-handled threads
- Missed deadlines without proactive notice

**Healthy:** rework under 10% of tasks after week four. **Unhealthy:** you're re-doing most deliverables — usually unclear SOPs, not a bad hire.

## Simple ROI formula

```
Monthly VA cost = hours/week × rate × 4.3
Founder hour value = your target rate or opportunity cost
ROI ≈ (hours reclaimed × founder hour value) − monthly VA cost
```

Example: 12 hrs/week reclaimed × $150/hr founder value = $7,740/mo value − $1,200/mo VA = strong positive ROI.

## When to expand hours

Signals to add scope or hours:
- VA finishes weekly work early
- You're still doing overlapping tasks yourself
- New process is documented and stable for 2+ weeks

## When to adjust

- Rework stays high → improve SOPs before replacing the VA
- Hours reclaimed flat → scope may be wrong; revisit task list
- No response-time improvement on support → revisit tools and macros

**Related:** [Manage remotely](/blog/how-to-manage-a-virtual-assistant-remotely) · [Part-time vs full-time](/blog/part-time-vs-full-time-virtual-assistant) · [Browse VAs](/virtual-assistants)