Has anyone ever worked for Time Etc?

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

I just read an article about Time Etc and I'm wondering if anyone on here has any experience of working with/for them? I work part time in an office and would like to start earning extra income on my days off - this seems ideal but I was looking to get an idea of what kind of tasks people are given and in reality how much work is offered. Also, how does the payment system work - is payment weekly or monthly? Are their workers classed as self employed? I'd be looking to work as a virtual assistant but also have marketing experience that might bring work in from them.

Any info would be great, thanks .

I'd be very interested to hear more about the fee increase scheme you are considering. At present I'm in reasonably new client relationships but it would be nice to know what I've to aim for. If, as per the website, I have to be doing a certain percentage of the clients time and they have to be buying sufficient hours then that is almost totally out of my control.

If you can also benefit from providing good work on a consistent basis that would be good.

I am aware how much more you charge over our hourly rate so know that it is likely to be worth your while keeping reliable and competent assistants happy with achievable goals.

Is the info on the fee increase on the website now Carl? I had a look but can't see...

There was a bit in the FAQ section about if you do a sufficient percentage of the work for a client and they buy sufficient hours..,

It seemed mostly unattainable on the basis of the work I'm getting at the moment.

assistanthelp.timeetc.com/support/solutions/articles/11000006269-is-it-possible-to-increase-my-fee-

Thanks Carl. I don't object to the difference in what Time.etc charge versus what they pay out by the way. They will have staff and premises to pay for plus investors they need to show a profit to. However I've done some facts and figures:
80% of 30 hours = 24 hours per month.
If you take all bank hols and 4 weeks hol that works out at 7 hours per week.
If you just take 4 weeks holiday - 6 hours per week.
If you take no time off - 5.5 hours per week.

Given that when I had my interview my account manager said they would never allocate more than 5 hours per week per client per assistant I would have to say the fee increase seems HIGHLY unattainable.

I'm sure Kirst will pop back on at some point so I'd be interested to hear just how many assistants have benefited during the trial period.

The irritating thing about all this is if someone had just said no, we're not in a position to offer fee increases at the moment I would have been fine with it!

MrsV I agree about overheads. And to be honest the lack of worry around finding, betting and getting payment from clients is worth the 'loss' in income versus my private clients. But if there is the chance to earn more I'd like to know how likely I am to achieve it

It sounds like we're on the same page. Overall ice been rally happy with Time and they've always had time talk to me and deal with any issues.

#vetting

I am very surprised to read the comments in this thread, I've been working for time etc for the past 18 months and have had a fantastic experience with them.

After being with them for almost a year one of my biggest clients left so I was offered a new client who turned out to be 60-80 hours a month. Needless to say my work for time etc is now more financially viable than my old job in London as I have no outgoings so I couldn't be happier. The hardest thing about this job is sourcing clients and that's what Time Etc is good at. I have received a number of pay increases for my biggest client as he is very happy and the hours have increased. Granted I have had to ask for pay increases but I have always received them without a problem.

Whenever I have asked for new clients my account manager has got back to me within a week and offered me something, I never have to go through the automated system. I did find that I had to really put the work in at the beginning to build a rapport with my account manager and now she knows she can trust me to do a good job she feels confident giving me new/good clients. It works both ways as they have a reputation to uphold and substantial running costs so the cut they take from the client fee isn't actually that large if you weigh everything up.

All I will say to new assistants is to be patient, don't expect too much at the beginning and try your hardest to prove yourself and you will reap the rewards. Otherwise you can always try it on your own and will quickly realise how difficult it is to find/replace clients!

And I have ALWAYS been paid on time, never had to worry!

Starting to feel like this thread could do with a disclosure policy

I know MrsV. The last few posts are just ads!

I've reported all the ones from first time posters Carl. Not that I'm sad or anything

all gone! I'm still getting work with them though, it's just not my sole source. Still no response about plans for us to be able to achieve higher hourly rates.

Yes me too, I'm happy enough with them but would appreciate more clarity on the hourly rate...

Well when they charge clients 3 times what they pay assistants there's definitely room to give VA's more for length of client service / consistent quality etc. Once you've earned your stripes so to speak.

I agree but don't hold out much hope sadly after not getting a response to my request for an increase.

Can I ask where you are getting your other work from? (Apologies if you've said up thread). I've a child about to start education and I'll be looking to increase my workload when that happens. So trying to get ahead of the game!

I got a client from People Per Hour, one is a friend and another was word of mouth. I'm doing a very small amount for another friend too.

I keep meaning to try out PPH maybe this is the push I need! But am increasingly thinking word of mouth and physical networking is the way forward.

To get any kind of decent rate I should add!

I get my full usual hourly rate from my word of mouth client. TimeEtc is my lowest rate. Everyone else falls in between. The downside of local Clients is they might want you to go in and see them and I like working in my pyjamas