Quotes gathered, POs raised, suppliers chased
AssistBPO's procurement assistant services give you one named person who requests quotes, compares them on a sheet you can read in a minute, raises purchase orders in your system and chases suppliers until the goods or the invoice arrive, in your hours.
- Executive & admin
- Employed, screened, managed
The assistant is an employee of the group with a trained backup; approvals and payments stay with you.
What does a procurement assistant do?
A procurement assistant handles the administrative side of buying for a business: gathering and comparing supplier quotes, raising purchase orders, keeping the approved supplier list and pricing records current, tracking deliveries and backorders, matching invoices to orders and following up on disputes and credits. The assistant prepares and chases; the owner or finance lead approves spend and signs contracts.
· Reviewed by Issabela Masters
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Procurement assistant: what we do and how it runs
A procurement assistant handles the administrative side of buying for a business: gathering and comparing supplier quotes, raising purchase orders, keeping the approved supplier list and pricing records current, tracking deliveries and backorders, matching invoices to orders and following up on disputes and credits. The assistant prepares and chases; the owner or finance lead approves spend and signs contracts.
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What it is
A procurement assistant handles the administrative side of buying for a business: gathering and comparing supplier quotes, raising purchase orders, keeping the approved supplier list and pricing records current, tracking deliveries and backorders, matching invoices to orders and following up on disputes and credits. The assistant prepares and chases; the owner or finance lead approves spend and signs contracts.
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What you get
Three quotes on one comparison sheet, usually within 2 business days
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How it runs
Purchase orders raised, matched to invoices and filed in your accounting system
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Match
A 20-minute discovery call on what you buy, how often, who approves, which suppliers you trust and where the money leaks: late deliveries, missed credits, prices that drift. Within 72 hours we propose a named procurement assistant with buying experience in your sector, plus a trained backup.
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A named assistant, a backup and a team lead
In your hours, inside your tools, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or ask for a staffing plan.
Get a staffing plan 06 / 06
Who is the procurement assistant desk for?
- Contractors and trades buying materials weekly
- Quotes from three merchants before every job, POs raised so the bookkeeper can match invoices, deliveries chased so crews are not waiting on site.
- Clinics, dental practices and labs
- Consumables, equipment service contracts and lab orders tracked in one place, reorder points watched, price creep flagged before the renewal.
- Restaurants, hotels and multi-site operators
- Supplier price lists compared across sites, standing orders adjusted, credits chased for short deliveries and damaged goods.
- Schools, nonprofits and small manufacturers
- Grant and budget rules mean every purchase needs quotes and a paper trail. The assistant builds the trail so audits are a folder, not a scramble.
What does the procurement assistant service include?
These 12 tasks are what AssistBPO's procurement assistant desk handles as standard for an operations manager.
- Quote requests sent to approved and new suppliers from your specification
- Quote comparison sheets with price, lead time, terms and a recommendation
- Purchase orders raised in QuickBooks, Xero, your ERP or your PO template
- Order acknowledgments checked against the PO for price and quantity
- Delivery dates tracked, backorders and delays chased and reported
- Goods received notes and invoices matched to POs, discrepancies flagged
- Credit notes requested for shorts, damages and pricing errors
- Approved supplier list kept current with contacts, terms and documents
- Supplier onboarding: W-9, insurance certificates, ABN and bank detail verification requests
- Contract and price-list renewal dates tracked with 60-day reminders
- Spend by supplier and category summarized monthly for your finance lead
- End-of-day report with quotes in, POs raised, deliveries due and disputes open
Deliverables and KPIs
AssistBPO reports 6 measures on the procurement assistant desk: what lands on your desk, what we count, and how often you see the number.
| Deliverable | KPI we report | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes gathered | Comparison sheet delivered within 2 business days of request | Per request |
| Purchase orders raised | PO issued within 4 business hours of your approval | Daily |
| Three-way match | PO, receipt and invoice matched before payment run | Weekly |
| Late deliveries chased | Supplier contacted on the day a date slips | Daily |
| Credits recovered | Credit notes requested and received, by value | Monthly |
| Supplier list and renewals | Documents current, renewals flagged 60 days out | Monthly |
KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement in the weekly review. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement, not on this page.
How does the procurement assistant desk work?
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Match
A 20-minute discovery call on what you buy, how often, who approves, which suppliers you trust and where the money leaks: late deliveries, missed credits, prices that drift. Within 72 hours we propose a named procurement assistant with buying experience in your sector, plus a trained backup.
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Onboard
We load your supplier list, price agreements and PO template, agree approval limits and who signs off at each level, connect the assistant to your accounting or ERP system with a scoped seat and write the quote request template in your name. Live requests start in week one; the supplier list is clean by the end of week two.
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Daily rhythm
Morning: new requests logged, quote requests sent, supplier replies chased. Midday: POs raised for approved items, acknowledgments checked. Afternoon: deliveries due today confirmed, invoices matched, disputes followed up. The end-of-day report shows every open request, PO and delivery with its next action.
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Weekly review
20 minutes with the team lead: requests turned around, POs raised, late deliveries by supplier, credits outstanding, price changes noticed and renewals coming up. Monthly, the team lead audits a sample of POs and matches for accuracy and reviews spend by category with you.
Hours, coverage and models
AssistBPO staffs the procurement assistant desk on 3 models. US, UK, Canadian and Australian business hours from the group's two offices, so supplier calls and chasers land during their trading day. AEST shifts are available on request.
- Dedicated procurement assistant, 160 hours a month, for businesses raising 50 or more POs a month
- Part-time procurement assistant, 80 hours a month, for lighter buying cycles
- Project block to clean the supplier list, renegotiate price lists or set up a PO process
See what is staffed in your zone on the coverage clock.
What are the terms on the procurement assistant desk?
The card, the contract terms and the procurement assistant desk's own numbers, in one place.
| Specification | What you get |
|---|---|
| Focus, 20 hours a week | $800 a month, 80 hours |
| Dedicated, 40 hours a week | $1,600 a month, 160 hours |
| Desk | Executive & admin desk |
| Standard schedule | Dedicated procurement assistant, 160 hours a month, for businesses raising 50 or more POs a month |
| Coverage | US, UK, Canadian and Australian business hours from the group's two offices, so supplier calls and chasers land during their trading day. |
| Tools | 9 platforms, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, Google Workspace |
| KPIs reported | 6 measures: daily, weekly, monthly |
| Setup fee | None |
| Minimum term | Month to month, no lock-in |
| Notice | 30 days, to stop or to change hours |
| If the fit is wrong | Trained backup covers the desk the same day, re-match at no charge |
| Continuity | One named assistant, one named backup, one team lead |
| Who does the work | Employed by SS Support Network LLC, never freelancers or contractors |
These are rate-card starting points. What you pay depends on the hours, the desk and the coverage window, which is what the staffing plan sets. Rates improve as you add assistants. Your staffing plan states the rate for the number of seats you need. The rate card carries the other currencies, the add-ons and the six things that move a plan off it.
How much does a procurement assistant cost?
Plans start at $400 a month for 40 hours, at $10 an hour, and rates improve as you add assistants. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day.
What moves the plan
- Hours a week and whether the desk is dedicated or shared
- Phones: live answering needs a receptionist profile and a backup
- Coverage zone: business hours, after-hours, weekends or 24/7
- Tools and access to set up
- One person or a pod with a lead
What the market publishes
Other providers' published ranges, by market, so you have something to hold this against. These are not AssistBPO prices.
| Market | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Managed remote assistants $7 to $15 an hour typical, $640 to $2,400 a month full time; a loaded in-house administrative hire $4,700 to $9,100 a month | Wishup, Cherry Assistant and VantaStaff cost guides, 2026 |
| United Kingdom | Offshore full-time administrative staff £900 to £2,000 a month against £3,000 to £5,000 for a UK-based employee; PayScale employed assistant average £15.33 an hour | PayScale UK and UK outsourcing pricing pages, 2026 |
| Australia | Offshore managed assistants A$8 to A$35 an hour; agency retainers A$800 to A$3,000 a month; onshore assistants A$39.90 to A$65 an hour | Virtual Coworker, DotVA and Smart Staffing published pricing, June to August 2026 |
| Global | About 69 percent of US businesses use some form of virtual assistant support; small and mid-size businesses are 44 percent of the market | Global Growth Insights, 2026; Future Market Insights via Call Force, 2026 |
Security and compliance
- Employed, background-checked assistants under NDA; never freelancers with access to your supplier terms
- Purchase approval and payment release stay with you; the assistant raises POs within limits and never changes supplier bank details
- Scoped seats in your accounting, ERP and supplier portals, removed when the engagement ends
- Managed devices with MFA and no local copies of price lists, contracts or invoices
- Supplier bank detail changes are verified by a call-back to a known number before anything is updated by you
Full control list on the security page and country rules for calls, texts and email on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Country rules for this service
AssistBPO makes outbound calls, texts and emails only with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing. Assistants never take card numbers. Country rules.
- US: supplier W-9 forms and certificates of insurance collected for your accountant; sales tax exemption certificates filed where you hold them
- UK: VAT invoices checked for a valid VAT number before matching; supplier due diligence notes kept where your policy requires them
- Australia and Canada: ABN and GST or HST details verified on tax invoices before the invoice enters your payment run
Frequently asked questions
How much do procurement assistant services cost?
Plans depend on hours, desks and coverage. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day. As a reference point, 2026 cost guides put managed remote assistants at $7 to $15 an hour and $640 to $2,400 a month full time, against $4,700 to $9,100 a month for a loaded in-house hire in the US (Wishup, Cherry Assistant, VantaStaff). AssistBPO prices per named assistant for a block of hours; the backup and team lead are part of the plan.
Can the assistant approve purchases or pay suppliers?
No, and we recommend keeping it that way. The assistant gathers quotes, prepares the comparison and raises the PO once you or your finance lead approve it, within limits you set in onboarding. Payments run through your accounts payable process. Separating the person who prepares from the person who approves is the simplest fraud control a small business has, and it also keeps your auditor happy.
Which systems can you raise purchase orders in?
QuickBooks Online and Xero are the most common for small businesses, and we also work in Sage, NetSuite, MYOB, Odoo, trade merchant portals and plain PO templates in Google Sheets or Excel. Access is through a user you create with purchase-order rights only. If you have no PO process yet, we set one up in your accounting system during onboarding so invoices can be matched from day one.
How do you find and vet new suppliers?
You give the specification and any must-haves such as delivery area, certifications or payment terms. The assistant shortlists candidates from your existing list, trade directories and web research, sends the same quote request to each and collects onboarding documents: W-9 or ABN, insurance certificates, trade references and bank details submitted through your form. The comparison sheet shows the shortlist side by side; the choice is yours.
What does chasing suppliers actually involve?
Every PO carries a promised date. The assistant checks acknowledgments for that date, contacts the supplier the day it slips, gets a revised date in writing and updates whoever is waiting on the goods. Short deliveries, damages and pricing errors trigger a credit request the same day, logged until the credit note arrives. The weekly review shows late deliveries by supplier so you can see who needs replacing.
Can the assistant help reduce what we spend?
Yes, in three practical ways. Every purchase above a threshold you set gets competing quotes. Price lists are compared against last quarter so drift is caught early. And renewals are flagged 60 days out so you negotiate rather than roll over. The assistant prepares the numbers and the recommendation; the negotiation and the decision stay with you unless you delegate specific categories.
How quickly can you start?
Discovery to a named proposal is 72 hours. The assistant can handle live quote requests in the first week using your existing supplier list and a temporary comparison template. Cleaning the supplier list, loading price agreements and setting up PO matching in your accounting system usually takes two weeks alongside the daily work.
Do you handle inventory and supplier logistics too?
Procurement covers the buying cycle: request, quote, order, receipt, invoice, credit. If you also need stock counts, reorder points and warehouse coordination, see the inventory tracking service, and for freight, customs paperwork and shipment tracking see supplier and logistics communication. Many clients run procurement and inventory hours through the same assistant once the volume is clear.
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Next step
Your desk, staffed. Wherever you are.
Tell us what is overloaded. A named person replies within 1 business day with a staffing plan, and we propose your assistant within 72 hours.
Or call +1-657-777-0006 during US, UK or Australian business hours, or hear our demo receptionist.
- A named assistant proposed within 72 hours
- Employed, screened and managed staff, never freelancers
- Your hours, your tools, your data