A virtual assistant quote template should make that decision visible. It should also distinguish preparing a message from having authority to send it. Access to an inbox or calendar does not settle the permitted action.
The original fictional QA01 example proposes ten hours at an assumed $30 per hour for October 19–23, 2026. Its $300 amount and task allocation are planning inputs, not actual time worked, a booked service, or guaranteed task throughput.
Quote the block and its task categories together
| Planning category | Proposed hours | Scope boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox classification | 4 | Classify supplied items within confirmed access and handling rules |
| Calendar-draft coordination | 3 | Prepare options and draft coordination messages |
| Research summary | 3 | Prepare a summary against the supplied question and sources |
| Total block | 10 | 4 + 3 + 3 hours |
The assumed price is 10 × $30 = $300. Record the period, currency, quote revision, and price basis in the native quote. Taxes and licenses remain TO CONFIRM; no complete final charge is established from the example alone.
Bonsai's virtual assistant proposal separates task categories, an hours model, onboarding, support, and review. Those are useful scope fields to consider. Its sample retainer, response promise, fees, and conditions do not define this original ten-hour quote. Bonsai, Virtual Assistant Proposal.
The allocations are proposed budgets. Four hours of inbox work does not guarantee a particular number of messages will be classified. Record the actual priority, inputs, and completion criteria rather than presenting each allocation as completed work.
Separate a draft task from permission to act
Add an authorization matrix before work begins:
| Task | Proposed draft/preparation boundary | Actual authorization to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox work | Classification and draft responses within supplied scope | Access level, handling rules, permitted items |
| Calendar coordination | Draft timing options and messages | Whether any actual booking/change is permitted |
| Research | Summary of the supplied question | Source access and information boundaries |
| Sending, cancellation, payment, deletion | Outside the example's granted scope | Separate actual authorization and process required |
The example does not authorize sending messages, canceling meetings, paying bills, deleting items, or accessing sensitive accounts. A successful login is not a permission record. Keep the task authorization beside the access requirement so technical access cannot be mistaken for authority.
Leave working windows, time zone, reply expectations, unused-hours treatment, and any licensing requirement unresolved until supplied. A ten-hour block does not by itself promise round-the-clock availability or a particular response deadline.
Give the extra request two explicit paths
The new research request needs an additional proposed two hours. Adding it to the original allocations gives 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 12 hours. It cannot fit an unchanged ten-hour plan.
| Option | What must change | Proposed price state |
|---|---|---|
| Add time | Owner accepts two extra hours at the supplied same $30/hour rate | +$60; revised proposed 12-hour amount $360 |
| Keep ten-hour cap | Owner decides what to reduce, defer, or replace | Original proposed $300; revised priorities required |
For the extra-time path, record request ID, linked quote revision, extra task, two-hour assumption, rate, price effect, actual approver, and decision. 12 × $30 = $360 is proposed only if those extra hours are accepted on that basis. Do not silently exceed the cap.
For the fixed-cap path, ask the owner to identify the tradeoff. One possible arithmetic illustration would reduce the original inbox allocation from four hours to two and allocate the freed two hours to the new research. That yields 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10, but it is not an agreed priority or proof the inbox work will fit. Keep the actual reprioritization decision blank until supplied.
A useful request could say: “QA01 currently allocates all ten hours. Please confirm either the additional two hours at the supplied rate or which original task allocation should be reduced or deferred. No extra time or changed priority is assumed approved.” This is draft wording, not a sent client message.
Keep the actual time log blank until work happens
Maintain a separate actual-hours record with task ID, date, work description, actual time, authorization/change reference where relevant, and remaining agreed hours. Do not populate it with the proposed 4/3/3 allocation.
The quote answers what is proposed. The allocation answers how the time may be used. The authorization matrix answers which actions are allowed. The actual time log answers what occurred. Keeping those outputs distinct prevents a budget from becoming a fabricated work report.
Copy this prompt for a complete time-block quote
Create one complete, self-contained US-English HTML companion for “QA01 • virtual assistant time-block quote”. Return the full HTML document, with inline CSS and any JavaScript needed for the local interactions. Use the original scenario, named records, numbers and expected cases below.
Design the page for this task: use clearly labeled input or source records, a readable result or worked example, and an adjacent explanation of the evidence. Use a restrained visual hierarchy, left-aligned text, readable tables or stacked records, and a responsive layout at 720px and 360px. Provide meaningful labeled controls for Review add-time path; Review fixed-cap path; Recalculate comparison; Load 10-hour tradeoff illustration; Reset QA01; Prepare text; Select text. Use keyboard-accessible native controls and visible focus. Keep the complete content readable without an external dependency.
The following brief supplies the substantive content and constraints. Native-format requests describe the material to represent or copy manually; this HTML must not pretend to create DOCX, XLSX, PDF, PPTX, H5P or another native file, run Python/Flask/Django/Snowflake/Power BI, connect a live service, send messages, or perform an authorized real-world action. Where the task requires a native source, actual observation or separate approval, retain that requirement and leave unsupplied evidence blank.
Create an original virtual assistant quote in US English using
my native PDF/Word/workbook format: [enter]. Actual client, provider, currency, period and quote revision: [enter]. Rates, taxes/licenses, working windows/time zone: [enter]. Reply expectations and unused-hours treatment: [enter]. Permitted tasks, account access and action authorizations: [enter]. Actual change approver and decision process: [enter]. Leave missing inputs TO CONFIRM; do not invent an SLA or terms.
Use fictional Draft QA01: October 19-23, 2026; proposed 10 hours
at assumed $30/hour = $300. Planning allocations: inbox
classification 4 hours, calendar-draft coordination 3, research
summary 3. These are proposed budgets, not actual hours or task
completion guarantees. Taxes and licenses remain unconfirmed.
Return a complete quote, task-hour allocation, authorization matrix,
change-decision record and separate blank actual time log. The assistant may prepare drafts/options within confirmed scope;
do not authorize sending, canceling, paying, deleting or accessing
sensitive accounts without actual separate authority. Account
access does not imply permission to act.
New research request: proposed extra 2 hours. Total becomes 12 hours. Show two paths: accepted extra 2 at supplied same $30/hour adds $60,
revised proposed amount $360; or owner reprioritizes within 10 hours
at proposed $300. Do not silently exceed the cap or select an actual
tradeoff. Optional arithmetic illustration: inbox 2 + calendar 3 +
original research 3 + new research 2 = 10, not agreed priorities.
Keep actual approval/action/time fields blank. Identify exact quote
revision, request, task, hours, rate and decision evidence on changes. No actual services, productivity result, contact, booking, payment
or private client data. Return editable native-format text and
blank reusable records; do not send or access any account.
COMPLETE AUTHORED SCENARIO AND EXPECTED CASES
The following is the supplied reading/teaching/calculation record to represent in the companion. Preserve its particular content, examples, source references and unknowns. Wording about a future native implementation refers to that native task, not permission to omit this HTML companion.
# Virtual Assistant Quote Template: Show What Happens When the Hours Run Out
Your quote offers ten hours of support. The planned tasks already use all ten, and the client adds a two-hour research request. “Sure, I can help” leaves an important decision unstated: buy more time or move another task out of the block?
A virtual assistant quote template should make that decision visible. It should also distinguish preparing a message from having authority to send it. Access to an inbox or calendar does not settle the permitted action.
The original fictional **QA01** example proposes ten hours at an assumed $30 per hour for October 19–23, 2026. Its $300 amount and task allocation are planning inputs, not actual time worked, a booked service, or guaranteed task throughput.
## Quote the block and its task categories together
| Planning category | Proposed hours | Scope boundary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inbox classification | 4 | Classify supplied items within confirmed access and handling rules |
| Calendar-draft coordination | 3 | Prepare options and draft coordination messages |
| Research summary | 3 | Prepare a summary against the supplied question and sources |
| Total block | **10** | 4 + 3 + 3 hours |
The assumed price is **10 × $30 = $300**. Record the period, currency, quote revision, and price basis in the native quote. Taxes and licenses remain TO CONFIRM; no complete final charge is established from the example alone.
Bonsai's virtual assistant proposal separates task categories, an hours model, onboarding, support, and review. Those are useful scope fields to consider. Its sample retainer, response promise, fees, and conditions do not define this original ten-hour quote. [Bonsai, Virtual Assistant Proposal](https://www.hellobonsai.com/proposal-template/virtual-assistant).
The allocations are proposed budgets. Four hours of inbox work does not guarantee a particular number of messages will be classified. Record the actual priority, inputs, and completion criteria rather than presenting each allocation as completed work.
## Separate a draft task from permission to act
Add an authorization matrix before work begins:
| Task | Proposed draft/preparation boundary | Actual authorization to confirm |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inbox work | Classification and draft responses within supplied scope | Access level, handling rules, permitted items |
| Calendar coordination | Draft timing options and messages | Whether any actual booking/change is permitted |
| Research | Summary of the supplied question | Source access and information boundaries |
| Sending, cancellation, payment, deletion | Outside the example's granted scope | Separate actual authorization and process required |
The example does not authorize sending messages, canceling meetings, paying bills, deleting items, or accessing sensitive accounts. A successful login is not a permission record. Keep the task authorization beside the access requirement so technical access cannot be mistaken for authority.
Leave working windows, time zone, reply expectations, unused-hours treatment, and any licensing requirement unresolved until supplied. A ten-hour block does not by itself promise round-the-clock availability or a particular response deadline.
## Give the extra request two explicit paths
The new research request needs an additional proposed two hours. Adding it to the original allocations gives **4 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 12 hours**. It cannot fit an unchanged ten-hour plan.
| Option | What must change | Proposed price state |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Add time | Owner accepts two extra hours at the supplied same $30/hour rate | +$60; revised proposed 12-hour amount $360 |
| Keep ten-hour cap | Owner decides what to reduce, defer, or replace | Original proposed $300; revised priorities required |
For the extra-time path, record request ID, linked quote revision, extra task, two-hour assumption, rate, price effect, actual approver, and decision. **12 × $30 = $360** is proposed only if those extra hours are accepted on that basis. Do not silently exceed the cap.
For the fixed-cap path, ask the owner to identify the tradeoff. One possible arithmetic illustration would reduce the original inbox allocation from four hours to two and allocate the freed two hours to the new research. That yields 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10, but it is not an agreed priority or proof the inbox work will fit. Keep the actual reprioritization decision blank until supplied.
A useful request could say: “QA01 currently allocates all ten hours. Please confirm either the additional two hours at the supplied rate or which original task allocation should be reduced or deferred. No extra time or changed priority is assumed approved.” This is draft wording, not a sent client message.
## Keep the actual time log blank until work happens
Maintain a separate actual-hours record with task ID, date, work description, actual time, authorization/change reference where relevant, and remaining agreed hours. Do not populate it with the proposed 4/3/3 allocation.
The quote answers what is proposed. The allocation answers how the time may be used. The authorization matrix answers which actions are allowed. The actual time log answers what occurred. Keeping those outputs distinct prevents a budget from becoming a fabricated work report.
Implement the local companion rather than returning a text-only plan. Preserve every numerical fixture and the distinction between illustrative expectations and actual evidence. Any native-runtime or classroom tests mentioned above remain tests to perform in the proper environment; do not mark them passed. Keep edits and practice responses in this open page only, without claiming persistent storage. Provide invalid/missing-input feedback and reset behavior that agree with this specific brief. Do not claim accessibility certification, learning gains, real approvals or test results that were not observed.
Read the resulting quote from the client's perspective: can they see which decision is needed before the extra request proceeds, and which actions still require authorization? Retain that decision in the native record before changing the hours or work priority.
Review the capacity decision
A sanitized HTML companion can compare the ten-hour allocation with the proposed twelve-hour request, showing the extra-time and reprioritization paths beside the authorization matrix.
Keep the actual quote, permission records, accepted changes, and time log in the native business workflow.