Switch from Belay to Assistantly

To switch from Belay to Assistantly, give BELAY the written notice your signed agreement requires, book an Assistantly discovery call, and overlap the two assistants for one to two weeks of handover. Assistantly places one dedicated, full-time operator, with most roles landing at $2,500 to $3,000 a month and finalists drawn from a pre-vetted pool. Assistantly is not an hourly bundle, a US contractor pool, or a software tool; it is a managed placement of a vetted professional from the Philippines or Latin America, backed by a replacement guarantee.

Key takeaways

• Model change: BELAY sells part-time, US-based contractor hours quoted on a call; Assistantly sells one dedicated full-time Unicorn you select from finalists whose price you see before the interview.
• Price: most full-time Assistantly roles land at $2,500 to $3,000 a month, set by the person's own rate plus benefits.
• Speed: Assistantly sources from a pre-vetted pool, so you can see finalists before you give BELAY notice.
• Safety net: every hire comes with a success team, a 90-day plan with five checkpoints, and a replacement guarantee if the hire is not the right fit.
• Method: Assistantly shows you every finalist's price and their actual work on a Day One™ simulation before you interview.

Why do businesses leave BELAY for Assistantly?

Businesses leave BELAY when part-time hourly support no longer matches daily work, when custom-quoted US rates outgrow the budget, when a contractor rotates off the account, or when the plan cannot cover the hours they need. Assistantly removes all four pressures by placing one dedicated full-time hire at offshore cost.

BELAY has a strong reputation for US-based executive assistants and bookkeepers on fractional plans. The friction is structural, not personal. Plans are quoted on a call, rates and notice terms are not published, and the hours are the product.

US labor also carries a cost floor no managed service can remove. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that benefits alone account for nearly a third of employer compensation costs for private industry workers, which is why fractional US support gets expensive once the work becomes a job.

If you have already shortlisted options, our guide to the 10 best BELAY virtual assistant alternatives for 2026 ranks them by the job each does best. This post focuses on the switch itself.

How does Assistantly's model differ from BELAY's?

Assistantly places one dedicated, full-time Unicorn from the Philippines or Latin America, shows you each finalist's price and a Day One™ simulation of your actual work before you interview, then supports the hire with a success team and a 90-day plan. BELAY assigns a US-based contractor on a part-time plan that BELAY manages on your behalf.

The selection is the biggest difference. Instead of judging a candidate on a resume and a couple of interviews, you watch each finalist do a Day One™ simulation of your actual work, with their price attached, before you book an interview.

Working style matters too. Some leaders want a daily standup; others run async. Tell Assistantly which you are on the discovery call so the finalists fit how you run.

Schedule and time zone are set at kickoff. Ask for your business hours on the discovery call so the shift is agreed before interviews start.

What does Assistantly cost compared to BELAY, and are there minimum hours or setup fees?

Most full-time Assistantly roles land at $2,500 to $3,000 a month, set by the person's own rate plus benefits, and you see every finalist's price before you interview. There is no hourly bundle to run out or roll over. BELAY quotes custom hourly or monthly packages on a call and does not publish rates or notice terms.

Assistantly manages sourcing, vetting, onboarding, performance monitoring, and compliance, so that monthly figure covers the hire rather than a bundle of hours. That is a fraction of what a comparable US hire costs, with the same bar on talent quality.

There are no hour minimums in the BELAY sense because you are hiring a full-time person, not buying hours. Confirm current plan terms, including the initial commitment and any onboarding fee, on the Assistantly pricing page before you set a start date.

For a wider view of what hourly, part-time, and full-time models really cost, see our breakdown of virtual assistant cost in 2026, including hidden costs.

Which BELAY alternatives should you benchmark before you commit to Assistantly?

Benchmark four alternatives alongside Assistantly so the decision holds up: Prialto for a US-managed team wrapped around an offshore assistant, Time etc for US-based hourly bundles, 20four7VA for flexible Philippines-based hourly plans, and Remote Raven for lean full-time offshore placements. Assistantly wins when you need one dedicated full-time operator with a managed success layer.

1. Assistantly: best when you need a dedicated full-time operator, not hours. Most roles land at $2,500 to $3,000 a month, finalists come from a pre-vetted pool, and every hire carries a 90-day plan and a replacement guarantee. Honest limit: it is built for full-time roles, so ten occasional hours a month is the wrong fit.

2. Prialto: best when you want a US-managed team around a Philippines-based assistant. Prialto sells monthly units of productive hours with engagement managers and backup coverage; confirm current unit pricing on prialto.com. Honest limit: you get a team process rather than a single hire you choose yourself.

3. Time etc: best for 10 to 60 hours a month of US-based admin. Published rates run $36 to $39 an hour, billed to the second. Honest limit: 60 hours is the largest published plan, and $2,160 for 60 hours approaches a full-time offshore salary.

4. 20four7VA: best when you want to interview Philippines-based VAs on flexible hourly plans. Pricing is tiered by skill level; confirm current rates on 20four7va.com. Honest limit: you carry more of the day-to-day management than a managed service provides.

5. Remote Raven: best for full-time Philippines-based assistants with a lighter service layer. It places dedicated full-time assistants; confirm pricing and guarantee terms on its site. Honest limit: the success and coaching layer is thinner than Assistantly's success team.

How do you cancel your BELAY contract and time the exit?

Pull your signed BELAY agreement and find the notice period, minimum term, and any non-solicitation or conversion clause; BELAY does not publish these terms on its website. Send written notice, record the last service date, and set your Assistantly start date so the two assistants overlap by at least one week.

The order matters. Book the Assistantly discovery call first, because finalists come from a pre-vetted pool rather than a fresh search. Give BELAY notice once you have seen finalists, not before.

Ask BELAY three questions in writing: the exact end date, how prepaid or unused hours are handled, and whether your contractor can join a handover call during the overlap. Keep the replies with the agreement.

If your notice period is 30 days, the math works: finalists from the pre-vetted pool, interviews and a start date agreed with your success team, and one to two weeks of overlap before BELAY's last day.

How do you transfer SOPs, tool access, and logins without losing workflows?

Build one handoff packet: a task inventory by frequency, exported SOPs, a systems list showing who has access, and a credentials plan. Share logins through a password manager, never by email, and rotate every shared credential on BELAY's last day. Your Unicorn receives fresh, individually owned accounts wherever the tool allows.

Start with the inventory. List every recurring task by daily, weekly, and monthly cadence, the tool it lives in, and the trigger that starts it. Email triage rules, calendar preferences, meeting prep, and reporting cadences are the items most often lost.

Next, export SOPs and templates from wherever the BELAY contractor kept them. If nothing is written down, record the contractor walking through each task on a screen share during the overlap week.

For credentials, follow the NIST Digital Identity Guidelines: unique accounts per person, no shared passwords, and multi-factor authentication on email, banking, and CRM. Request written confirmation from BELAY that its contractor has deleted your data after the end date.

What should the first 30 days with your Assistantly Unicorn look like?

The first 30 days follow Assistantly's 90-day plan with five checkpoints: a structured kickoff, then check-ins at 2, 30, 60 and 90 days. In week one the Unicorn works the handoff packet, by day 14 owns recurring work end to end, and by day 30 reports in writing against metrics you agreed at kickoff.

The kickoff captures your tools, meeting rhythm, decision style, and what good looks like, so the Unicorn starts from context rather than a blank page. That is the same structure Assistantly used with BAM, where each placement ran through 2, 30, 60 and 90-day check-ins.

Expect early quick wins, because Assistantly integrates its built-in AI and productivity tools before day one. The Assistantly Dashboard gives you real-time visibility into performance, so the 30-day check-in runs on data.

Your success team runs the check-ins with you and coaches the hire. Raise any gap at the 2-day check-in, not the 30-day one.

What are the risks of switching VAs, and how do you mitigate each one?

Five risks come with any VA switch: knowledge loss, credential exposure, a productivity dip, pricing surprises, and a wrong-fit hire. Mitigate them with the handoff packet, a password manager plus rotation, a one to two week overlap, a finalist price you see before interviewing, and Assistantly's replacement guarantee.

Knowledge loss is the costliest and the easiest to prevent. A written inventory plus recorded walkthroughs captures most of it. Our analysis of the cost of a bad virtual assistant hire shows how quickly undocumented work turns into rework.

The productivity dip is real but bounded. With overlap and the 2-day check-in, most of it lands in week one rather than month one.

The wrong-fit risk is where providers differ most. Assistantly's quality guarantee lasts as long as you work with us, and we compared six providers on replacement guarantee terms and the re-match behind them so you can check the fine print.

What do reviews and Glassdoor say about Assistantly, and is it the same as Assistly?

Assistantly is not Assistly. Assistly was a help desk software product that Salesforce acquired in 2011. Assistantly is a managed offshore talent company whose reviews page carries named client testimonials, including Andrew Walsh of WFG and Drew Thompson of Real Academy, and whose case studies include BAM. Check Glassdoor directly for employee sentiment.

The named results are specific. Drew Thompson found the right assistant within 72 hours. Kalli Beckwith of A3 Sports and Wellness got a marketing specialist who produced more in months than previous team members did in years.

Sharran Srivatsaa, President of Acquisition.com, used Assistantly to build teams for clients and partners.

We do not quote Glassdoor or Trustpilot scores here because they change. Read them on those sites, then compare against the named reviews and case studies.

Is Assistantly a good fit for real estate, executive support, or bookkeeping?

Yes for executive support, admin, operations, marketing, customer support, and finance-related roles, with dedicated practices for real estate teams and property management firms. Transaction coordinators, leasing coordinators, and maintenance coordinators are standard placements. For bookkeeping, confirm the specific software and certification you need on the discovery call before finalists are sourced.

Real estate is where BELAY clients most often switch, because per-transaction margins rarely justify US coordinator rates. Assistantly's real estate practice covers transaction coordination, CRM upkeep, and listing support so the team lead can coach, recruit, and list.

Executive support follows the same logic. A full-time Unicorn owns inbox, calendar, travel, and follow-ups across your whole day instead of a block of hours.

Finance roles are sourced for hard skills and soft skills together, which is the Unicorn Vibes™ standard: proactivity, initiative, and critical thinking alongside the technical work.

How did we compare these options?

We compared published pricing pages, plan structures, assistant location, and guarantee terms for BELAY, Prialto, Time etc, 20four7VA, and Remote Raven against Assistantly's own pricing, process, and case studies. Where a vendor does not publish a number, we described the model and told you to confirm on its site rather than estimating.

How do you get started with Assistantly?

Book a discovery call, share your task inventory, and expect finalists with their price and Day One™ simulation attached. Give BELAY notice once you have seen them. See Assistantly pricing and start your switch, and your success team will plan the overlap week with you.

What do people also ask?

How much does Assistantly cost compared to BELAY, and are there minimum hours or setup fees?

Most full-time Assistantly roles land at $2,500 to $3,000 a month, set by the person's rate plus benefits, with the price shown per finalist before you interview. There are no hour bundles because you hire a full-time person. BELAY quotes custom hourly or monthly packages on a call and does not publish rates. Confirm current commitment and onboarding terms on the Assistantly pricing page.

How do I cancel my BELAY contract and what notice period applies?

BELAY does not publish notice or termination terms on its website, so your signed agreement is the source of truth. Check the notice period, minimum term, and any non-solicitation clause, then send written notice with a confirmed end date. Book your Assistantly discovery call first so finalists arrive before you give notice and the two assistants can overlap.

Will I lose my workflows and tool access when switching from BELAY to Assistantly?

Not if you build a handoff packet before the switch: a task inventory by frequency, exported SOPs, a systems list with access owners, and a credentials plan. Share logins through a password manager, give your Unicorn individually owned accounts, and rotate every shared credential on BELAY's last day. Record screen-share walkthroughs during the overlap week for anything undocumented.

Where are Assistantly's assistants located and do they cover US business hours?

Assistantly Unicorns are based in the Philippines and Latin America. Shift hours and time zone are agreed at the structured kickoff, so state your business hours on the discovery call and matching will account for them along with working-style preferences like daily standups versus async.

What happens if the new Assistantly assistant is not a good fit?

Assistantly offers a replacement guarantee if the hire is not the right fit, and its quality guarantee lasts as long as you work with the company. Problems surface early through the 90-day plan with five checkpoints at kickoff, 2, 30, 60 and 90 days, and your success team handles the re-match. Raise any concern at the 2-day check-in rather than waiting.