Business Tips, Leeds, RedRite

Top tips to Spring Clean your Paperwork

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In our third instalment of Spring Cleaning your business, we look at the paperwork side of things.

Not just physical but also the electronic side including emails.

 

A big thing that is becoming popular in offices, small and big, is having a virtual office only. This is the reduction of paper materials unless absolutely necessary. No more printing out of emails, no more printing out of signed documents and no more scraps of paper lying around. Not only does this de-clutter your space but it is good for the environment too. I know a few individuals who follow this, but others like me still enjoy scribbling notes in a note book.

If you want to completely remove all paper forms from your desk then consider getting either a system such as Dragon – where you dictate your notes directly on to your computer, or a graphics tablet to take notes instead.

 

Not ready to lose all the paper?

If like me you still use a few bits of paper, or still have a need to print documents off then here are some simple tips to follow to de-clutter the papers you do have.

 

Firstly, check the need for some of those papers. If you have any old client papers, such as their personal details from an order, or even an old order form GET RID. The Data Protection Act states that personal information must only be held for as long as it is needed. If you no longer need to know the address of a client from 3 years ago, you do not need that paper file.

 

If you want to keep a copy of any paper invoices, or order forms, then scan them into your laptop and save them in to a cloud storage facility (we will look at storing e-files in a minute). This way you still have a copy of transactions for your record, without the piles of paperwork associated.

 

The same for any notes you have taken associated with a client, find a couple of hours – or hire a VA – to type up all those handwritten notes and then file them electronically before recycling the papers.

 

A cheat I saw off a fellow VA once, and loved(!), was to have a notebook for each client. Or you could use a notebook per month/year etc and then type up all those notes once the note book is filled. It is a good way to keep track of all the notes, rather than lots of scraps of paper.

 

How to organise those e-files

Just because your files are on your PC does not mean they are organised. In fact, you may find it harder to find an e-file than to dig through a paper mountain. The following tips will help you get organised, and reduce time hunting around.

Most laptops are used for work and personal, a good way of separating the two is to create two accounts. A personal account and a work account, this makes it easier to avoid distractions and switch between the two uses for your laptop. It also helps organise your files a bit better.

Secondly create a folder for the following:

  • Each Client
  • Personal Admin – documents such as expenses, receipts, company registration paperwork etc
  • Important Documents – things such as copies of contract templates, client registration files, price cards, website back up files etc
  • Education – I will explain this one in a moment.

Then organise each of the files you hold in to the relevant folder. If you have a folder full of information for a client that is associated to one project then keep it together in the folder, and place that folder inside the client’s folder. It may seem like a lot of folders but this way everything is perfectly filed away and so easy to locate.

If you download a lot of images for work, create an Images folder either in the main Work document location or in each client folder (depending on the need of the image). This saves digging through your download file for something you downloaded months ago – just remember to move it as soon as you download it.

The education folder is for any files that in some way teach you something, whether they are a freebie from signing up to a newsletter, or notes from a webinar you have seen, or even a copy of a webinar you have seen. This way you have all those educational, development supporting files together.

As you organise your files, consider how important they are for you to keep. Have you accessed them in the last 6 months? Do they hold any important information, legal information? Is it the only copy, or are there several copies of the same information? This way you can cut down on the number of files you hold, and create more storage space.

On the Windows interface in File Explorer you will have a tab on the left-hand side called Quick Access. This is where you want to add a shortcut to your work folders. I have my top client’s I access on a regular basis and my Important Documents folder. When I open File Explorer I just click there and saves me having to go into documents, then in to where the files are saved… Saves so much clicking and time waiting for things to load.

 

What about Email?

The e-filing method can be used for your emails as well. Create a folder for each client/project and create a rule in your inbox that will automatically send the emails to these folders without you having to touch them. They will then keep all necessary emails together and save having to dig through your inbox if any is needed.

If you have a lot of subscriptions, go through each of them and remove yourself from any subscriptions you have not accessed within the past 6-8 weeks – if you haven’t looked at them at least once a week you are not interested and they are filling up space. Make sure your spam settings are set to high to avoid your inbox being filled with random sales emails and advertising stuff you have no interest in – any slip through just select either label as spam or unsubscribe. I helped a client with this recently and he went from receiving over 500 emails a day to 200 emails a day! He can now see what is important, and what can wait a few days. I also advised him if it was of no interest to just delete, rather than keep it hanging around his inbox (he has had to increase his inbox capacity several times, so trying to cut back now).

Get in to the habit of flagging emails that require your attention, yet you might not be able to provide when they arrive. For example, I receive my emails to my phone but I cannot always sit and read them. So, I flag them and in the evening when I sit to do admin I go back to the flagged emails and deal with them. You can also leave them unread, that way just filter by unread emails and keep them unread until dealt with. It is easier to manage your time replying to emails if you sit and do it at once rather than every few minutes during the day.

If you need a little help organising your files, and emails, then do not hesitate to get in touch. I will sit with you and assist you every step of the way to cut down on the noise that prevents you from easily accessing what you need. Just book a coffee with me today 😊

Business Paperwork, RedRite, Small Business, Leeds

Plan your paperwork and stay organised

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Plan, plan and plan some more to keep yourself organised.

So now you know what paperwork is necessary in smoothly running a business (If not visit our previous post) do you know how to plan it all in to your time? Finding the time to squeeze in extra work when you are so focused on the actual income generating aspect of your business can be difficult especially if you aim to do it yourself.

The easiest way to do things is use what you already have. Set up your business pages and email on your smart phone, then you can nosey and post where ever you are when you have 5 minutes break between jobs. However set up your notifications so that you are only bothered by them between your working hours, giving you time off on an evening and weekend to chill without the ‘chirp’ of your work disrupting.

Plan, plan and plan some more, the more work you have the more likely you are something will fall through the cracks. If you do not work on Sundays then take an hour or two to sit and type up some blog posts or social media posts, sign up to HootSuite or a similar software so that you can then schedule them to post across all your social media platforms ahead of time. As emails come in during the day highlight ones that will need responding and act on the urgent important one, then dedicate on hour on an evening where you go through the non-important emails you marked earlier. Choose a reasonable time so that your customers are seeing your emails as they come in. For example emailing out at 11pm at night means for some of your customers that email will be at the bottom of the pile when they check in the morning.

Once a week or fortnight set aside a few hours to go through your paperwork that has piled up – your invoices, new client information in hard copy, receipts etc. This way you can get it all tidied up efficiently and without the piles getting too big, if you have payment terms of 28 days then you can also chase up invoices during this time that have not been paid and you can easily work out the time frame without counting days.

If remember all these set aside times and what to do when gets confusing then use a simple planner. Highlight what is done on each day and if it is the same every week have weekly reminders set up. We use Wunderlist for everything, setting up weekly alarms for regular tasks and even alarms for the certain twitter hashtag hours we participate in so we do not have to remember them all. Do you prefer paper planners? Then set up a simple week page that can list all the tasks required on each day, and if there is a deadlines looking highlight them with bright colours so they catch your eye and you are constantly aware of them.

 

If all of this is still too time consuming and you would much rather leave it to someone else then consider hiring a virtual assistant who can take all this on for you and free up more of your time to relax with family and friends.

Call today for more information about Virtual Assistant services.

Business Paperwork, What you need, RedRite, Leeds

Paperwork – What do you really need??

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Paperwork: The bane of every company owner’s existence but a necessary evil.

 

Even with the developments in technology the one thing that has not changed over the many many years of business is the need for paperwork, whether it is hard copies or electronic, every company needs to keep track of everything going on.

Every business, not matter what size or type, needs at least some form of tracking the following:

  • Income and expenditures/Receipts –
    • Even if you are a business consultant or offer a professional support you still need to keep track of all the paper, marketing tools and software you purchase.
    • Even if you have an accountant who takes care of all your finances to send to HMRC at year end, it is also good for you to keep track of all your receipts on a monthly basis, a simple spreadsheet is more than enough.
    • Another major piece of finance paperwork that needs tracking is invoices. Knowing when they are due and if any payments have been made guarantees you keep track on any overdue invoices and you are not short changed by clients.

 

  • Marketing Campaigns –
    • Keeping track of any marketing campaigns you run, i.e Google Ad words, Facebook Ads etc, helps you identify which are successful and which are a waste of your money.
    • Keeping track of newsletters sent out also keeps track of any information you have sent out and if someone contacts you regarding that information you can easily look it up.

 

  • Social Media –
    • Keeping track of social media/blog posts means you do not end up repeating yourself and looking unorganised. For example our ‘This month in history…’ posts are saved and we keep track of all facts used so next year we are not blogging the same information and boring our readers.
    • Tracking the amount of followers gained and people engaged helps you see more clearly your company grow and spread.
    • Searching your business on social media also helps track any bad publicity you may have obtained. If you do not create a page for your business before someone else does then you have already lost control of what your audience sees.

 

  • Appointments and Planner–
    • This will help you work out exactly which months are more popular and if you have repeat customers it allows you to see how often they are returning, maybe to help offer them a loyalty offer. If you reward referrals it also helps confirm the name you are given has genuinely been a client.
    • May seem an obvious one but keeping on top of everything from client appointments, business meetings and even your social media time can help you make the most of your time and reduce the risk of double booking yourself or running out of time for something.  Why not try the Business Planner offered by Educate Business, it not only helps you plan your business but also your personal life.

 

  • Potential and Current Clients –
    • Keeping track of your clients helps your business grow. Even keeping track of potential clients means you can email them at a later date and see if there is anything you can do for them or sell them. With lives so busy these days it is easy for people to forget who they contacted for help, sending a quick ‘Hi, how are you…’ email can help them remember. If you have sent a current client something it is always best to follow up when there is no response in case your email slipped through the cracks, or again they have been too busy to remember.

 

  • Hours Worked –
    • Whether you are selling handmade items or providing a service, keeping a note of all hours worked means you can compare your income to the amount of work required, it helps to see if the financial return is worth the time invested or if things need changing. If you spend an hour networking every Monday then still record it, if you were an employee your employer would be tracking every time spent at work whether you are working or not.
    • If you have employees it also helps see how the workloads are shared and work out their wages due. It also helps you understand more clearly how many hours an average job will take so when quoting a similar job you have a better understanding of the time truly required.

 

  • Current News –
    • It may seem an unusual thing to keep track of but it prevents you from making mistakes similar to those seen in our previous blog post, ones that could cause severe damage to your business. Using a severely distressing situation as an advertising ploy will not settle well with customers and followers.

 

It can be time consuming and tedious to keep track of all this as well as running the main body of the business. A simpler method to keep track of all this is to outsource it to a capable and experienced team, such as RedRite. All we require is access to invoicing and appointment systems, customer databases and any receipts obtained, if none of the databases are in place we can easily create them for you, helping to smooth out the running of your business.

No need to stress over the piles of paperwork building up, stop digging through shoeboxes full of receipts or paying your accountant a fortune to do it for you, pass it on to someone who loves paperwork and will cost you less than an accountant or an employee who needs desk space. We love paperwork and promise to handle it with the upmost care.

Call today or Email us for help digging out of the sinking hole of paperwork you have found yourself in.

Business Plan, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

How to build a Business Plan

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It is always best to have a business plan set up if you are approaching the bank or investment, even a mentoring support program, for help and support .

The question is what to include in the business plan however.

Firstly it needs to include your business name, even if it is just a proposed name, your business address and contact details. If this a proposal for a new company you may not have these details so it is best using your personal details and further in the plan note where you would prefer to be located and possible ideas for email addresses, i.e Info@yourbusiness.co.uk or yourname@yourbusiness.com. This is also the section in which you need to identify all those that will be partners in the business with you.

Secondly is your executive summary, a short paragraph no more than about 100 words that explain the main basis of your business, services or products you intend to offer and main customer base. This is then followed by a little back ground in to why you wish to run this business, this needs to show that this business is not just a random idea, that you have thought it through and are capable of providing the type of experience your customers will expect from your type of business. Any relevant work experience and qualifications gained or in process of obtaining are needed here to back up your ability to run the business.

Section 3 looks into what your business will provide to its customers, whether this is a service, product or both. A description of the basic product/service offered and then a more in depth description advising of other products/services available including any modifications applicable to the product/service. If for whatever reason these services/products will not be available straight away then please note them in this section so those looking at your business plan can understand why.

Section 4 requires you to look at the market in which you are planning to approach, in other words your customer base. Are they individuals, businesses or both? If you choose businesses to approach then it is best to specify what type of businesses, for example RedRite is aimed prominently towards small businesses and tradesmen who require help with their paperwork without office space. A location of where you prefer your customers to reside and what will have them choosing your company over others. If you have any customers awaiting to purchase your products/services then listing those here may help to show an interest in your company already.

Section 5 looks at your marketing strategy, at how you intend to interest your customers and attract new ones. Looking into which social media sites to use, the best type of website needed and any other forms of marketing you may use. If you have already advertised your business then list them so that it can be seen where interest is currently coming from. Looking into your competitors and how their strategies compare to what you are currently doing or plan to do. A SWOT analysis may also be used here.

Section 6 involves disclose your prices and logistics information. For products sold this will include the stock price and the items they are sold for, any postage costs if items shipped to the customers. An estimated profit margin allows the reader to see how realistic your prices are and will help further on in the financial planning stages. For services, this would look more at the hourly or set rate for each service, it will also include if there are items needed in order to begin trading. Depending on the intensity of business plan needed this can also include insurance and legal costs, as well as those for staff members.

Once you have determined the main logistics of your business, you need to look at the finances of it all in more detail. To determine if your business will be profitable for you it is necessary to look into your incoming and out goings. There are many spreadsheets available online to help with this section but it is just as simple to create your own similar to the one below.

Monthly cost (£)
Estimated costs Mortgage/rent
Council tax
Gas, electricity and oil
Water rates
All personal and property
insurances
Clothing
Food and housekeeping
Telephone
Hire charges (TV, DVD etc.)
Subscriptions (clubs, magazines
etc.)
Entertainment (meals and
drinks)
Car tax, insurance, service and
maintenance
Children’s expenditure and
presents
Credit card, loan and other
personal debt repayments
National Insurance
Other
Total costs (£)
Estimated income Income from family/partner
Part time job
Working tax credit
Child benefits
Other benefits
Other
Total income (£)
 Total survival income required (£)

 

Some banks and investment firms will also want to see cash flow and cost projections, once again a simple table is all that is need for this.

The final element of a business plan requires you to prepare a short and long term plan for the business, including any expectations of expansion or change in the services provided. Having a plan B in case initial things do not work out is essential and informing the reader of this shows you have accepted there may be bumps in the road but you are prepared for them.

Still unsure how to prepare a fully acceptable and relevant business plan then get in touch and we can help you get that bit of extra funding or support your business needs.

 

Hard or electronic copy, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Hard Copy or Electronic Copy??

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There was a time when all business documents were paper copies, some even little scraps of paper with IOU’s and promises between business friends. Meetings required travel, so sometimes a simple 1 hour meeting could take hours. Now though with technology moving forward you no longer have to travel to take care of business, telephone conferences and e-mails make it far easier to communicate for meetings, data is easily e-mailed across and downloaded into processing systems, less and less physical money is exchanged. Sometimes you never even see the person you’re doing business with, you transfer money and you receive your item. Many job roles require you to have some sort of IT qualification or provide proof of your understanding regarding IT process showing exactly how far the technology world has come.

For the new generation of workers this is normal and nothing unusual about it but being one of those workers who used to sit with piles of paper with data that need hand inputting on a daily basis I find that I am always double checking the computers work and I do miss the feel of paper in my hand when transferring data. Even today I have printed out a Client Information sheet to copy type the information in to each of our systems rather than rely on the computer, I feel more in touch with my business when I can be that little bit more hands on. True when the amount of data that requires transferring is large it is easier to just use the computer processes to copy the information but I do like slipping back in to the old ways every now and again.

Flicking through screens on a computer and trying to see everything at once like you would with paper spread out on a table irritates me, I find at times I would need 3-4 screens just to see all the data especially when comparing the data on several spreadsheets. RedRite is a small business and we take care of all aspects of the business from starting up customer service, finance and marketing so we have to ‘see’ everything at once I can only image how many screens the bigger companies require their employees to ‘see’ at once.

So what kind of worker are you? A lover of hard copy paperwork and a table full of paper or electronic worker, who prefers to flick through screen after screen of data and place their trust in the computer systems?

Please let us know, we love to hear from our readers.