workflow Archives | Page 2 of 2 | Number Nerd Bookkeeping Solutions

October 10, 2017

Why Effective Workflows are the Backbone of your Business

How many times have you been interrupted during your workday, only to forget what you were doing when you tried to get back on task? If you’re like most business owners, the answer is, “Too many to count.”

Our days are constantly hijacked by emergencies (both real and–often–contrived). We hop on social media when we shouldn’t, and the kids or co-workers vie for our attention. In essence, stuff happens. And without a clear and concise workflow in place, getting back on track without forgetting a step is next to impossible.

Without clear workflows, staying on track is a challenge with the interruptions you face daily. Click To Tweet

Many years ago, I worked in a pharmacy. Customers would stop by the counter to drop off prescriptions, some of which were literally a matter of life or death. We had an exact workflow to walk through to fill the prescription correctly. From entering the data into our computers to pulling and measuring the right medication to checking off that we were delivering the right prescription to the right customer at the cash register, if we missed a step there was a very real chance that we’d harm someone.

The stakes aren’t quite as high in business as they are in health care, but they’re still there. Without workflows, you’re chancing that you’ll forget a critical step in your client work or that a safety feature in your product might get forgotten.

Workflows aren’t the to-do list you keep in Trello or in your planner. According to Wikipedia, where I was able to find the most comprehensive definition, a workflow is “an orchestrated and repeatable pattern…enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes…”

The key here is “repeatable.” Because chances are, you repeat the same tasks over and over again with and for different clients–no matter what your industry.

Workflows are repeatable patterns in your business, the guide for tasks you do over and over again. Click To Tweet

As a bookkeeper, I go through the same steps every day, week or month to take care of my clients. Sure, each step is customized to each client because each business is a bit different. But at the end of the day, the workflow is still the same.

Sometimes, my day is hijacked by something outside my control while I’m in the middle of my client work. But with my workflows in place, I know exactly where I’ve left off so I can jump back into the project without having to backtrack and without the risk of forgetting a step.

If you’re new to using workflows in your business, you’ll want to get started right at the beginning–establishing a clear flow of work for your day or week. Grab my sample weekly workflow template below to start now!

June 20, 2017

Manage Projects with Teamwork

I love tools that allow my team to stay organized and productive. Over the past few years, I’ve experimented with a number of project management apps, including Trello and SmartSheets, but time and time again, I keep coming back to Teamwork. Teamwork has become my all-time favorite tool for collaboration, project management, and task lists. It allows me to create a hierarchy of projects, milestones, task lists and sub-tasks for both my internal team and my clients.

Teamwork’s intuitive user interface and user-friendly navigation lets me see the status of each and every project at any time. I can customize the view or use boards to keep my projects super-organized.

How We Use Teamwork at Number Nerd Bookkeeping:

At Number Nerd, we use the “free” teamwork account, which comes with two projects. We use the first project for clients and create an individualized tasklist for each one. We use the second project for internal administrative task list(s). Members are invited to view only the projects that they are involved in.

My Favorite Teamwork Features:

Pre-defined tasks templates: To save time, we create project templates for repeatable processes. Templates ensure we perform consistently on similar projects and don’t miss any steps. I love saving time, and this is the ticket to do so! In fact, I’ve put together some amazing templates for end-users, bookkeepers and CPA’s that will be available for purchase on the Number Nerd website in the next few months.
Organization:
- Chat features: We minimize our Inbox overload by chatting about projects directly from within Teamwork. All of our conversations are saved by project so we can easily retrieve details.
- Members can pick up tasks. We keep a running list of follow-up items that fall outside our monthly bookkeeping checklists. My team can pick up items from the unassigned task list as time allows during their week.
- Email reminders. We start each week with a consolidated list of everything we need to do for every client.
Time tracking:
- Estimate vs. Actual Tracking. Teamwork allows participants to track how long they think a task will take versus how long it actually takes to complete it.
- Estimating future projects: Project managers can easily use historical project data to provide more accurate project estimates and timelines.
- Billable time. Not only can you track your time within Teamwork, but you can send invoices directly from the application, as well. You can export your time tracking data into popular third-party apps like Harvest, QuickBooks, Freshbooks, and more!

A Few More of My Favorite Things:

Their 5-Start Technical Support. Teamwork has a support team that is available 24/7 by email. That means when I run into a burning question at 7 pm, I don’t have to wait until the next day to get my questions answered. Their team has always responded lightening fast to any questions or problems that I have.
The Mobile App. The Teamwork Mobile App comes in handy for receiving notifications on the go. If I’m out and about, I can also easily check the status of a project or answer a client question. If I receive a project-related phone call, I can also easily log my time into that project.
The Chrome Extension and Connect from Gmail. Teamwork is available to me everywhere – including my browser and my inbox! I love the ability to turn an email directly into a task, assign it and give a due date without having to switch apps.

If you’re managing multiple projects, to-do lists, or a virtual team, be sure to give teamwork a try! It has saved our team countless hours and makes sure we all know what the priorities are for our work week.

March 23, 2017

Why Automations are Key to Business Success

You sign a new client and now have to send out all your onboarding paperwork:

Your contract
A welcome packet
A questionnaire
A request for passwords and log-in information

So much goes into starting a new client off on the right foot! Depending on your intake process, you could have several more pieces to the puzzle. And then there’s the actual project, ongoing communications, off-boarding, etc.

I talk to a lot of business owners who do this all by hand—create the documents and send them out individually for every client. I used to do that too, until I discovered the joy of automations.

Putting regular administrative tasks on autopilot not only saves you a boatload of time, it also makes you look more professional. And it also vastly improves the client experience.

Putting regular admin tasks on autopilot saves time and makes you look more professional. Click To Tweet

Imagine receiving just one email from a new team member. An email that gave you a list of to-do items that she needed to get your project on track. Not only would you be impressed with the efficiency, but you also wouldn’t have the inbox clutter that comes with separate emails for all of these tasks and requests.

One place to really focus your automations is in your bookkeeping. It takes some time to set up, but it’s much more efficient and you’re much less likely to miss an invoice—or a paycheck.

A great place to focus automations in your #smallbiz is bookkeeping. Click To Tweet

Here’s how to do it:

Set up rules in our QuickBooks Online program (or other bookkeeping program). While it might take a few hours to set it up the first time, you’ll never have to code, categorize or upload your bank transactions again. My point? A few hours of up-front time will save you many, many hours in the long haul.
If you’re working with a long-term client, set up recurring invoices. If the invoice is the same each month, you can create a template invoice and have QBO or PayPal send it out each month (and you don’t even have to think about it).
Automate your bill pay. Similar to your recurring invoices, you can set up your online banking to automatically pay your bills so you don’t need to worry about them. Basically, you don’t have to ever pay a bill late because your bank already knows when to pay (to whom and how much).
Set up your payroll to run virtually on its own with Gusto or another payroll service. Whether you have a team or it’s just you, your corporate set-up could lend itself well to using a payroll service to ensure you’re paid on time, every time.

Think about other areas where you could automate business systems. Virtually anything that you do in your business on a recurring basis could be automated—you just need to find the right process and the right tools to help! If you’re a CPA, I can help you tweak your bookkeeping systems and processes for a more efficient workflow. That’s part of the consulting services I offer.

November 10, 2016

When Does Your “Off” Time Start?

Taking time away from “the office” is so essential, especially around the holidays. Maybe you’re traveling to another state (or an exotic island) to visit family (or get the heck away). You want (NEED) to spend time with your loved ones and toting along your laptop is not going to cut it.

As a business owner, it’s so hard to take time away. You’re afraid that something’s going to fall between the cracks—your payroll, a client deadline, prospect calls. But for the sake of your health and sanity, time away needs to be a part of your overall business model. Because you can’t do #allthethings all the time.

So what’s a business owner to do? Plan ahead! (Yes, yes. I am the pot calling the kettle black. But hear me out.)

First of all, your business isn’t going to fall to pieces because you spent the holidays enjoying yourself. But there are some things you need to do in order to prepare yourself and your clients for your absence.

Plan ahead financially.

When you own your own business, it’s your income paying the bills. And when you take time off, you’re not working. Which means you’re not making money. Above and beyond even the cost of your trip, you need to have money set aside for the loss of income while you’re away. This is one of the most-often forgotten pieces of vacation budgeting that small business owners forget about!

Let your clients know.

Obviously, right? If you’re a service-based business, you’ll want to let your clients know that you’ll be away. But don’t just tell them as an aside to a conversation you have with them. Add the dates you’ll be away to your email signature—as soon as you know you’ll be away. Include it in your email newsletter. And, if you have time-sensitive work that your clients depend on, help them to plan ahead. Schedule your client calls a few days earlier than normal, so you don’t have to have them while you’re away. They’ll appreciate and respect your time that much more.

Set up your auto-responder.

Even with all that communication, letting your clients know you’ll be away, they’re bound to forget. Or even not pay attention in the first place. (Let’s get real. You know you’ve done it too!) Save them from wondering why you’re not responding to their email right away by setting up an auto-responder. When they email you, they’ll immediately receive an email that states you’re away and when they can expect to hear back from you.

Of course, you can do all of this and still end up working during the holidays. It’s so hard for entrepreneurs to disconnect from their babies (their businesses). But it’s SO important for your own well-being, as well as your relationships with your loved ones. You owe it to yourself to give it a try!

August 25, 2016

Stop Wasting Time (and money!) Because You Don’t Have Workflows

Are you breaking your accounting business because your systems are all in your head?

Your workflows can make or break your business, and a lack of clear workflows will undoubtedly break it.

When you set up clear workflows, onboarding new clients (and new team members) is seamless. Every piece falls into place without having to babysit the next step in the process. Clients feel nurtured. You don’t have to follow a paper trail. And there’s no question about who’s responsibility it is to complete which tasks.

Accountants and bookkeepers are notorious for having systems they follow. We’re number nerds, and number nerds are notorious for lists and checksheets. But we’re also known for keeping many tasks in our heads, instead of putting them down on paper or automating them.

Sure, you have a workflow for taking care of your clients’ books. But do you have a system for working with your clients?

Too often, that step is left off our radar because, well, numbers. We want to work with numbers. Not necessarily with people.

But people and clients are a hazard of business, and one we have to pay attention to—no matter how much we’d rather bury our heads in spreadsheets.

So what kind of systems do you need in place?

Lead Management

If your business is going to grow, you need to know where new clients come from and how they make decisions about their accounting. If they’re currently coming from referrals or in-person networking, you can’t count on this working forever! And once you’ve hooked them, you need to nurture those leads into buying from you. Because, let’s face it, you can’t expect someone to buy simply because they loved your blog about budgeting (even if it’s kick-butt!).

Establishing a system to manage leads includes finding a tool that works with your business and your bottom line. Also known as customer relationship management (CRM), these tools capture prospects’ email addresses and other vital information so you can follow up via email or phone. They will also help keep you top-of-mind as you nurture the prospects through email marketing and providing value.

Client Onboarding

Once a prospect becomes a customer, you’ll need an onboarding system—one that gathers all the data, passwords and paperwork you need from a new client. This can be a cumbersome, time-consuming project if you don’t have a clear workflow in place.

Think about it: The last time you brought on a new client, how many emails did it take to gather all the information you needed to start working? Too many to count? You shouldn’t have to send customized emails to every new client. Your onboarding system and workflow management software should take care of it all for you, so you can keep your attention on your current clients.

Service Delivery

This is where most bookkeepers and CPAs excel—workflows for current clients. You know how to work through the books. You know when reminders need to go out for tax appointments. And you already have your monthly reconciliations on auto-pilot.

But what about when you bring a new team member on board? If you’re spending time meeting with new employees or writing out your workflow for them, you’re wasting your time. And probably overwhelming your new hire in the process. A written and automated service delivery system will save you time and ensure that each team member knows exactly what to do—consistently and across all clients.

Program Management

The number of accounting tools available to us is constantly growing. New products come out, old ones improve. It’s hard to keep on top of what’s out there to try and what just won’t work for our business or our clients.

Knowing what works is important, but sticking with what works for us and our business is vital. And so is knowing when to make a change for the betterment of our clients and our workflow. That means developing a system for trying out new products and migrating clients to these products if we think a change is necessary. Without this system, it’s easy to get sucked into overwhelm and to feel like there’s no end in sight to a task.

Think about the systems you have in place. Even better, pull up the document you have that outlines your systems and workflow. (Yep, I’ll wait while you do that.)

Are you coming up blank? Then it’s time to get it out of your head and onto paper (or in your online workflow tool). If you’re not sure where to start, let’s chat! And you can hear more about my take on workflow systems on the Growing Your Firm Podcast with Jetpack Workflow’s David Cristello.