Hate billing? Can’t stand balancing the books every month? Never quite get around to writing that brochure? There’s a virtual assistant who can take it off your hands.

“A great VA will handle everything that doesn’t need your personal attention,” says Stacy Brice, president of AssistU, which trains and certifies virtual assistants.

Doing the routine things you hate or tasks that take time from your primary work, in fact, is exactly the job description of VAs.

“Liz asked me to list things I hated to do, even personal things, not just business,” says Alexandria Brown of her first conversation with the Boston woman who became her VA. “A VA’s purpose is to leave you doing what you enjoy doing, to free you for the big stuff you should be doing to grow your business.”

Brown, whose San Francisco-area EZineQueen.com helps entrepreneurs market themselves through online newsletters, promptly off-loaded invoicing, appointment setting and confirmations, bank statement balancing, online research and more. “She even helped me find dance classes in my area.”

VAs can also help if your needs go beyond normal admin duties. Some VAs have advanced training or experience in helping Realtors, attorneys, accountants and other professionals, for example. “Whatever you could name, there is probably someone with that niche,” says Brice.

Miguel Berger, a Realtor in Albany, N.Y., uses a VA to write his company newsletter. “I get the benefit of someone exposed to other clients all over the country, so I get input on home trends without doing the research. It gives me an advantage,” he says.