Guides
Should a virtual assistant agency offer white label services to other firms?
Virtual assistant agency white label services work for some firms and not others. We compare three models on margin, control and risk for US owners.
What to take away
- White label work pays less per hour than direct retainers, often 30 to 50 percent less in the deals agencies describe publicly, but it arrives in blocks and needs almost no sales effort.
- The three real options are referral fees, subcontracting under another firm's brand, and full private label delivery with your own account team hidden behind their logo.
- Subcontracting fits agencies with spare assistant capacity and no marketing budget. Full private label fits agencies with a trained bench and a documented process.
- Every model shares one limit: you do not own the end client, so the relationship can move without you.
- Demand concentrates in New York and California, where agency density is highest and buyers shop for delivery partners rather than staff.
What is being compared
Three ways to serve another firm sit on the table. A referral fee is a finder's arrangement: you introduce a client, another agency delivers, you take a percentage. Subcontracting means you deliver hours under their brand while they hold the client contract. Full private label means your team runs the work, their logo sits on everything, and you never contact the end client.
Each one changes who owns the relationship, who carries liability, and how much of the billed rate reaches your bank account. The choice is not about which is best in the abstract. It is about which fits your bench, your margin floor and your appetite for invisible work.
The criteria that matter
Four tests separate these models. Rate retention is the share of the end client's billed rate that lands with you. Control covers scheduling, quality standards and who handles a complaint. Risk exposure is what happens if the end client sues or leaves. Sales cost is the effort required to win the next block of hours.
| Criterion | Referral fee | Subcontracting | Full private label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical share of billed rate | 10 to 20 percent | 50 to 70 percent | 60 to 80 percent |
| Control over delivery | None | Partial | Full |
| Contract sits with | Other agency | Other agency | Other agency |
| Your sales effort | Low, one introduction | Low to medium | Medium, ongoing |
| Brand visibility | None | None | None |
| Capacity needed | None | Some | Dedicated bench |
The percentages are illustrative ranges drawn from how agency owners describe these arrangements in public forums and pricing pages, not survey data. Your own floor depends on assistant pay in your metro. The BLS wage data that sets retainer floors is the number to check before you quote anyone.
Option by option
Referral fee. You pass a lead to a firm that delivers. Payment is a one-time or recurring percentage. There is no delivery work, no scheduling, and no assistant assigned. The upside is pure margin on an introduction. The downside is that you learn nothing about delivery and hold no client relationship.
Subcontracting. You take hours from another agency and staff them with your assistants. Their brand faces the client. You invoice them, not the client. This is the most common entry point for a young agency with capacity to fill, because the buyer already has the sales engine.
Full private label. You build a delivery arm that another firm resells. This usually means a named account manager, a service level agreement, and reporting formatted for their client. It behaves like a wholesale business. The SOC 2 evidence clients ask for often becomes a condition of the deal at this level.
Where each one wins
Referral fees win when you have more leads than capacity. A small agency turning away two inquiries a month should pass them on and collect something rather than lose them entirely.
Subcontracting wins when you have trained assistants sitting underused. If your bench runs at 60 percent utilization, wholesale hours at a lower rate still beat idle payroll. It also wins for owners who dislike sales.
Full private label wins when you already run a documented delivery process. The buyer is paying for reliability, not for your brand, so process documentation matters more than marketing. Firms in New York and California are the most frequent buyers here, because their own client demand outruns their hiring.
What none of them solve
None of these models gives you the end client. The other agency holds the contract, sets the rate, and can end the arrangement on short notice. If they lose the client, your hours vanish with no warning and no recourse.
That concentration risk is the shared limitation. A single wholesale partner can become most of your revenue before you notice. Treat any white label relationship above roughly a third of monthly revenue as a dependency worth monitoring, the same way you would track the warning signs of client churn on the direct side.
Wholesale revenue is easy to win and easy to lose. Price it as if it could end next quarter, because it can.
Two compliance points apply to all three models. Worker classification does not change because someone else brands the work; the IRS test for contractors versus employees still governs how you pay your assistants. Marketing claims made by the reselling firm are also their responsibility, but the FTC guidance on advertising is worth reading before you agree to let anyone describe your service.
Common questions
Do I need a separate contract for white label work? Yes. A wholesale agreement should cover service levels, payment terms, non-solicitation and what happens if the partner loses the end client. Our breakdown of the clause groups that prevent disputes covers the direct side and maps onto wholesale deals with minor edits.
How do I price wholesale hours? Start from your fully loaded assistant cost, add your target margin, then compare against the partner's billed rate. If the resulting share falls below half of what they charge, the deal is probably too thin unless it fills genuinely idle capacity.
Should I market white label services openly? Only if you can support the volume. Public positioning invites buyers who expect wholesale rates. Many agencies keep the offer quiet and approach firms directly instead.
Does reselling change my tax position? It can. Wholesale revenue is still service revenue, and state treatment varies. The state-by-state view of retainer taxation explains where the line sits for US agencies.
