Four ways to handle the admin, side by side.
Updated November 12, 2026
Doing it yourself, a virtual assistant, an answering service or StaffBox. Each one is right for some businesses. Here's what each handles, when it works, and what it costs.
| Do it yourself | Virtual assistant | Answering service | StaffBox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | You or your team | A remote person | A team of people on the phone | AI set up for your business, looked after by our Toronto team |
| What it handles | Everything, when you get to it | Whatever you hand over: email, scheduling, data entry, research | Phone calls: answering, messages, some bookings | Email, messages, bookings, follow-ups, invoice reminders, the books and a daily brief |
| Phone calls | Yes | Sometimes | Yes, the main job | No, it works on written work and follow-up |
| Hours | When you're free | Their working hours | Business hours or 24/7, by plan | Around the clock with the office computer; online, it drafts when you ask |
| You stay in charge by | Doing it | Instructions and check-ins | A call script | Approving drafts in your daily brief; nothing goes out without your OK unless you set a rule |
| Set-up | None | Hiring and training | A script and call forwarding | Set up for you, online or in person across the GTA |
| Published price examples | No cash cost; your time | Time Etc: $390 for 10 hours (currency not stated). Wishup: from CAD $12 an hour for offshore assistants | Posh: CAD $130 a month for 50 minutes. Ruby: $250 a month for 50 minutes (currency not stated) | Free for 14 days, then from CAD $250 a month, plus HST |
| Best for | Very small volume | Varied tasks that need a person's judgment | Businesses that live on the phone | Businesses whose enquiries and follow-ups pile up in writing |
Prices are the providers' own published prices on November 12, 2026, and change over time. Plans measure different things (hours, minutes, months), so compare the unit as well as the price. StaffBox isn't affiliated with any provider named here.
How to choose
- If the phone is your business, start with an answering service. StaffBox doesn't answer calls.
- If you need a person for varied, one-off tasks, a virtual assistant is flexible, and you pay for the hours they work.
- If the same written jobs repeat every day (replies, confirmations, reminders, quotes that go quiet, invoices to chase), that's what StaffBox is built for. It works through them overnight and hands you a daily brief each morning.
- You can combine them. Plenty of businesses keep an answering service or an assistant and use StaffBox for the written work around them.
Thinking about hiring instead? See how much a receptionist costs in Ontario, or how AI receptionists compare with answering services.
See it on your own admin.
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Get started for free todayBook a callSources, checked November 12, 2026: Time Etc pricing, Wishup Ontario, Posh Canada pricing, Ruby pricing. StaffBox prices: staffbox.ca pricing.