Function planning hub

Choose the work category before you hire offshore.

Use this hub to compare admin, support, sales ops, marketing ops, finance admin, recruiting, research, reporting, and agency delivery work. Pick the function first, then turn it into one clear role.

Function paths8

Common work categories mapped to existing scorecards, services, guides, and role paths.

Best used beforeRecruiting

Choose the work, review owner, access limits, and examples before posting a role.

Proof policyNo fake directory

This is a planning hub, not a provider ranking, marketplace, or hiring guarantee.

Function paths

Start with the work that is repeatable and easy to review.

Each card shows good first work, what to keep under review, and the next OutsourcedU page to use. No empty function pages. No made-up provider rankings.

Admin support

Owner admin and virtual assistant work

Good first work: Inbox labels, scheduling, file cleanup, CRM updates, simple research, and weekly admin reports.

Watch first: Keep judgment-heavy replies, legal questions, money decisions, and client promises with the owner or manager.

Open the planning path
Customer support

Ticket triage and support operations

Good first work: Ticket tagging, first-draft replies, help desk cleanup, macro checks, refund routing, and support summaries.

Watch first: Refunds, angry customers, policy exceptions, and account-risk calls need written rules and manager review.

Open the planning path
Sales operations

CRM and pipeline support

Good first work: Lead list cleanup, CRM fields, follow-up reminders, pipeline notes, meeting prep, and simple sales reports.

Watch first: Do not hand off pricing, negotiation, custom promises, or calls where the offer is still changing.

Open the planning path
Marketing ops

Content and publishing support

Good first work: Post formatting, asset uploads, brief prep, link checks, CMS cleanup, and publishing checklists.

Watch first: Keep strategy, final claims, brand voice, and source approval with an editor or senior reviewer.

Open the planning path
Finance admin

Back-office finance support

Good first work: Receipt sorting, invoice follow-up, spreadsheet cleanup, vendor records, report prep, and month-end lists.

Watch first: Payments, payroll, bank access, tax decisions, and approval authority should stay tightly controlled.

Open the planning path
Recruiting admin

Hiring and HR coordination

Good first work: Candidate tracking, interview scheduling, scorecard prep, reference organization, and onboarding reminders.

Watch first: Final hiring calls, compensation, legal compliance, and sensitive employee decisions need a senior owner.

Open the planning path
Research and reporting

Source gathering and weekly reporting

Good first work: Source collection, list building, dashboard assembly, duplicate checks, data cleanup, and weekly summaries.

Watch first: Unsourced claims, numbers without context, and analysis nobody reviews can create more cleanup than help.

Open the planning path
Agency delivery

Client delivery operations support

Good first work: Report assembly, client handoff prep, CRM updates, content uploads, QA checklists, and status notes.

Watch first: Do not place a new hire between the client and an unfinished delivery process or unclear quality standard.

Open the planning path
Readiness check

A function is ready when the handoff is small enough to inspect.

A common mistake is asking one offshore hire to do admin, sales, finance, reporting, and support at once. Pick one lane first. Add more only after the first lane is steady.

  1. Pick one function, not five unrelated jobs.
  2. Narrow the function into one role with weekly repeat tasks.
  3. Score the role for risk, review effort, and SOP readiness.
  4. Write examples, access limits, and pause-and-ask rules before hiring.
  5. Estimate cost after the work is clear enough to explain.
  6. Review samples every week until the handoff is steady.
Build your handoff system

Ready to plan your first offshore role?

Use OutsourcedU to write the role, SOPs, onboarding steps, and weekly review before you hire more people.

Request the plan