Calling the US from abroad · 2026
Set up a cold calling VA on your own Twilio account, step by step
Last updated September 4, 2026
The right shape for a virtual assistant who cold calls for you is simple to say and rarely written down: the Twilio account, the phone number and the dialer are in your name; the VA has a seat. They dial from a browser in Manila or Lahore on your US number, every call records into your account, and the day they leave you remove a seat and nothing else changes. This is the whole setup in nine steps, about 45 minutes of your time spread over a week, with the two Twilio waits stated.
The short answer
Upgrade Twilio, submit the Business Profile, buy a local number, connect the dialer once, invite the VA by email, pin them the number. They never see your Twilio console. One VA at 120 dials a day is about $30 of Twilio a month plus $29 for a 3-seat Pro pack that also covers you.
Why the account has to be yours
Two reasons, one old and one new. The old one: you are the liable party for every call under the TCPA and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, so the number, the recordings and the do-not-call record have to live where you can produce them. The new one: since 8 October 2025 Twilio blocks calls to +1 numbers from any account created outside the US or Canada until a Business Profile with ID and selfie is approved, with no manual override. A VA abroad who opens their own account typically cannot call your list at all. An account in your business name has neither problem.
The nine steps
1. Open or upgrade Twilio in your business name
10 minSign up at twilio.com if you have not, add a card and load a balance. A trial can only call verified numbers and plays a trial message, so upgrade before anything else. Use your business email and address, not the VA's.
2. Submit the Business Profile, then the SHAKEN/STIR trust product
15 min, then waitConsole, Trust Hub, Customer Profiles: legal business name, address, website, an authorised representative, a government ID photo and a selfie. Twilio quotes up to 48 hours. Then add the SHAKEN/STIR trust product (up to 72 hours) so calls from your numbers carry A attestation. Do this on day one; the VA can start dialing before it is approved.
3. Buy one local number per VA
2 min eachConsole, Phone Numbers, Buy a number: filter to Voice, pick the area code your list lives in. ~$1.15/month each. One number per VA keeps caller-ID reputation separate and keeps each number under a safe daily dial count. Assign each number to the Business Profile and trust product once they are approved.
4. Connect the dialer once, with credentials only you hold
3 minIn DialSheet, Settings, Twilio: paste the Account SID and Auth Token from the Console dashboard. DialSheet validates them, lists your numbers for the caller-ID picker, creates a standard API key for browser calling tokens and a calling app pointed at its voice webhook, encrypts the secrets and stores them. The VA is never given the SID, the token or a Console login.
5. Move to Pro and invite the VA as a rep
3 minThe free plan is one person to 500 calls a month; a VA passes that in a week and needs a seat of their own. Pro is $29 a month per 3-seat pack. Settings, Team: invite by email with the rep role. They set a password and land in their own leads view. Reps see their assigned leads, their calls and the script, not the pipeline or billing.
6. Pin a number, assign leads, load the script
10 minTeam, Numbers: pin the number you bought to the VA so their calls go out from it (reps without a pinned number share the org default). Assign a slice of the list to them; keep the rest in the pool. Paste the script and objection responses so it sits next to the lead while they dial, and turn on script scoring so every recording is graded against it.
7. First shift: headset, mic permission, ten test dials
20 minThe VA opens the leads page in Chrome, allows the microphone when the browser asks, and dials. Insist on a wired headset and a fixed-line connection; a mobile hotspot is the cause of almost every "Twilio sounds bad" complaint. Have them dial you and one colleague first, then ten real leads while you listen to the recordings.
8. Weekly: five recordings, three numbers, one list check
30 min a weekListen to five recordings against the script score, look at dials per hour, connect rate and connects-to-appointments in the team view, and check dials per number per day stays under about 100–150. A low connect rate with a high dial count is a list problem; fix the list before coaching the VA.
9. When they leave: remove the seat, keep everything
2 minTeam: remove the member and reassign their leads. Unpin the number for the next hire. Recordings, transcripts, notes and the number stay in your account. If they ever had Console access, rotate the Auth Token in Twilio and reconnect the dialer.
What it costs per VA
| Line | Per month |
|---|---|
| US leg: 1,239 billed minutes (605 talk + 630 voicemail pickups) × ~$0.014/min | $17 |
| Browser leg incl. ~1,688 unanswered rings × $0.004 | $12 |
| One local number | $1 |
| Twilio per VA at 120 dials/day | ~$30 |
| DialSheet Pro, one 3-seat pack (you + up to two VAs) | $29 |
Assumes 25% of dials reach voicemail (one billed minute each) and 8% reach a person for three minutes, over 21 working days. Texting is extra and needs A2P 10DLC registration on your account first; see the 10DLC guide.
Where this setup is the wrong one
- You run campaigns for several clients. Then each client should own their Twilio, or you should isolate them in subaccounts; see Twilio subaccounts for a sales team.
- Ten or more VAs on consumer lists. A predictive dialer with pacing and supervision is the right tool at that size.
- You will not open a Twilio account. The managed line is $49/month for a number, 1,500 minutes and Pro for 3 people, with no console and a 400-dial daily cap; it fits one VA, not three.
Connect Twilio once. Invite the VA. Keep everything.
Settings, Twilio, then Settings, Team. $29 a month per 3 seats, telephony at wholesale on your own account, recordings and script scores in your view.
Set up your teamQuestions people actually ask
How do I let a virtual assistant make calls on my Twilio without giving them my Twilio login?
Connect your Twilio account to a dialer once, then invite the VA into the dialer by email. The dialer authenticates to Twilio with an API key it creates on your account and hands the VA's browser a short-lived calling token; the VA logs into the dialer, not Twilio. On DialSheet the connection is Settings, Twilio: paste the Account SID and Auth Token, it validates them, lists your numbers and creates a standard API key and a calling app. Then Settings, Team: invite the VA as a rep, pin them a number, assign leads. Your Twilio password never leaves you.
Does my VA need their own Twilio account?
No, and they should not have one. A VA-owned account means the number, the recordings and the do-not-call record leave with the VA, while you remain the liable party under US law. Since 8 October 2025 there is a harder problem: a Twilio account created outside the US or Canada cannot call +1 numbers until a Business Profile with ID and selfie is approved, and Twilio support cannot waive it, so a VA abroad opening their own account will usually be blocked on the first dial. One account in your name, one seat per VA.
Do I need a Twilio subaccount for each VA?
Not for one to five VAs on one business. Subaccounts isolate billing and numbers, which matters for an agency running separate clients, and they add setup for no benefit when every VA is dialing for you. A single account with one number pinned per VA gives you separate caller IDs, separate reputation per number and one bill. Use subaccounts when you run campaigns for different clients and need their numbers and usage kept apart.
How long does the Twilio Business Profile take, and do I need it before the VA starts?
Twilio quotes up to 48 hours for the Business Profile and 72 hours for the SHAKEN/STIR trust product. A US-created account can call +1 numbers before the profile is approved, so the VA can start dialing on day one; the profile is what gets your numbers A attestation (the "verified" marker on the prospect's phone) and unlocks texting registration later. Submit it on the day you buy the number so it is approved by the VA's first week.
What does one VA cost me per month in Twilio and software?
At 120 dials a day with a quarter reaching voicemail and 8% reaching a person for three minutes, about 1,239 billed minutes a month: roughly $30 of Twilio including the browser leg and one local number. DialSheet Pro for you and the VA is $29 a month for a 3-seat pack, so about $59 all-in before the VA's wages. A third person fits in the same pack.
What do I do when the VA leaves?
Remove their seat in the dialer, reassign their leads to the pool or the next VA, and unpin the number so the next hire inherits it. Nothing else changes: the Twilio account, the number, every recording, transcript and note stay in your account. If the VA had a login to the Twilio console itself (they should not), rotate the Auth Token in the Console and reconnect the dialer.