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Is Your Business Missing an Accounting Skillset?

December 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In a small business, the owner ends up wearing many hats to get the product or service delivered, the customers served, and the accounts settled. Within each functional area of a small business, there are even more hats. Although the accounting function might be considered one big hat, there are actually a number of skills that make up “the accounting department” in a small business. Here’s a list to help you understand how it all works together. As you read through it ask yourself how you are covering these functions in your workplace.

Data Entry Clerk

A data entry clerk typically knows how to do a few types of transactions that are routine. Perhaps this is posting timesheets from source documents, inventory transactions, or keying in transactions from one report or system to another. The data entry clerk usually has little or no knowledge of accounting or bookkeeping, and this person will need help when there are exceptions to the routine.

Bookkeeper

The main function of a bookkeeper is to post the transactions and reconcile the accounts of the business. This can include a number of functions and areas:

  1. Invoicing and receipts in the accounts receivable area
  2. Checks and bills in the accounts payable area
  3. Payroll
  4. Inventory
  5. Cash – bank reconciliations and necessary corrections and adjustments
  6. Account analysis
  7. Report preparation, but only to the extent that it rolls up the transactions

Good bookkeepers will know how to work seamlessly with the CPA who is doing the taxes for the small business so that the books are in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Controller

A controller brings in advanced skills beyond bookkeeping, including financial statement preparation and analysis, budgeting and planning, cost control, risk assessment, internal control, segregation of duties, and industry knowledge. A controller can bring valuable financial skills to a small business, and often do so by way of an outsourced part-time controller arrangement.

CFO (Chief Financial Officer)

The CFO is the highest level of accounting executive and is needed for complex strategies such as IPOs and financing for the larger company. A small firm might need CFO-level skills in high growth situations to manage cash flow, debt ratios, and financing options.

Technical Accountant or CPA

Typically, an accountant will have a 4-year degree or a CPA or both. In many states, the word “accountant” is reserved for CPAs. Accountants have both education and experience in a wide variety of specialties, including taxes, auditing, cost accounting, bank financing, financial statement preparation, and more.

Tax Preparer, CPA, or EA (Enrolled Agent)

Typically a tax preparer offers tax planning, preparation, and filing in any or all of these areas:

  1. Federal and state corporate, partnership, nonprofit, or individual tax preparation, filing, and planning
  2. Sales tax compliance and filing
  3. Franchise tax
  4. Payroll tax (although a good bookkeeper, controller, or accountant will know how to do this, too) and year-end requirements (W-2s and 1099s)

Management Advisory Consultant

One of the most overlooked roles an accountant can play in small business is in making process improvements in the way the staff and owner work in their business. Often a management advisory consultant can review how a process is being performed, such as invoicing, and make suggestions on how to speed the process, bill more frequently, or other opportunities that significantly improve the cash condition. The specialized skills of accounting, process knowledge, and software skills enable a management advisory consultant to save money for the business owner in many cases.

Accounting Software Consultant

An accounting software consultant has deep knowledge of one or more accounting software packages and can analyze the needs of the company to match them with the right accounting software.

Accounting Software Trainer

Just like any software package, and perhaps especially with accounting software, it’s not a good idea to guess how to use the software. A software trainer will have in-depth knowledge of the tips and tricks inside the package that will save your bookkeeper (or you) time and money.

Adding Up the Value

The more of these roles you have covered in your business, the more your business will benefit. If you have gaps, it’s likely you’re feeling the missing skillset and having issues around that area.

If we can help you fill any of these gaps, please let us know. We’re at your service. 

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With: , ,

Compliance Checklist: Seven Items You May Have Forgotten

November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Running a business is filled with regulations everywhere you turn. These can drain precious time away from the core of your business, but if you ignore them, there could be huge financial consequences you may be risking without even realizing it. The best way to handle them is to understand your exposure, consult with any experts you need to bring in, create a checklist, and make sure you’re in compliance.

Here’s a head start in creating that checklist. This is by no means a comprehensive list. These items apply to most businesses and are often overlooked. Go through the list to make sure there aren’t any surprises for your business. If there are, feel free to contact us, and we’ll help you find out where to get answers.

1. EIC notice to employees.

It’s now required annually to notify certain employees about the Earned Income Credit so that more people who need it can take advantage of it. If you have employees, the next deadline for this compliance item is the first week of February 2013 and can be met if you get the right W-2 forms. Details are in IRS Publication 15.

2. Corporate meeting minutes.

Just about the first thing the IRS will ask for in an audit is your corporate meeting minutes. If you are incorporated as a C Corp or S Corp, you need properly formatted and executed documentation of the annual shareholders’ meeting, even if it is just you. The risk in not having it includes a potential increase in tax liability from undocumented deductions.

3. PCI compliance.

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry, and if you take credit cards, you may have compliance requirements under this industry standard. The standard is designed to provide the cardholder with a minimum acceptable level of security, and your requirement is to maintain certain processes and procedures to safeguard the stored credit card data.

4. Document retention.

While it’s a great thing to go paperless, you may get caught by surprise if you are not downloading and preserving the items you used to have on paper. The IRS and other agencies still need proof of these items in order to approve the deduction. This includes invoices that are coming via email in PDFs, bank statements you’ve gone green on, and direct deposit payroll stubs, to name a few.

Fax copies fade after a few years and can catch you by surprise when you go to look up an old record and can no longer read it. It’s best to scan fax receipts in so they will stay readable for the length of the retention period.

You’ll also want to keep up-to-date on how many years it’s necessary to maintain these items in the case of an audit.

5. New hire reporting.

In small business, most of us are hiring so infrequently that it’s easy to forget this one. Most state unemployment agencies require that you report new hires within about three weeks of their start date. The purpose of this is to track fathers who have missed child support payments.

6. Changes in state tax compliance.

As geographic borders disappear and our business expands, we need to regularly re-evaluate state requirements on income, franchise, and sales tax obligations. It can be too easy to “do things the way we’ve always done them” and forget that as our business expands into new territories, new obligations can arise.

If we’ve hired a virtual employee in another state, we may have new obligations. If we’ve earned money during a speaking engagement in another state, we may have income to report in that state. And, of course, if we open new offices in another state, we have new compliance items to deal with.

7. Payroll posters.

Surprisingly, the highest payback item in this list for those of you that have employees may be posting your payroll posters. Compliance usually costs less than $100, and the fines avoided can be as much as $17,000, a pretty big dent, no matter how big your small business is.

Small Business Compliance

Did you get caught by any surprises? If so, let us know how we can help to bring your business into compliance and help you avoid unnecessary costly risks. 

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With:

Five Things You Can Do to Make Tax Season Smoother

November 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We know we’ll never make tax season your favorite time of year, but perhaps we can make it easier.  Here are five things you can do now to smooth out the time required to pull your records together for your tax preparer.

1. Contractor Clean-up 

In preparation for 1099s, take a look at your vendor list now and identify who should receive a 1099.  Perform a mini-audit and ask for any W-9s that are missing so you can plug in your tax IDs without scrambling at the last minute.

2. Check or PSE

Also in preparation for 1099s, you’ll need to break out payments made to vendors by check versus by credit card, third party or what the IRS calls PSE, payment settlement entity.  You’ll only need to issue 1099s to vendors you wrote checks to.  

3. Calculated Moves

Is there anything you can calculate in advance of crunch-time?  If you had loans, you can secure the appropriate amortization schedules.  If you have depreciable assets, some of these schedules can be prepared ahead of time.  Did you sell any major assets?  A summary of the transaction can be prepared and ready to go.

4. Playing Catch-Up

If you are behind in your bookkeeping, filing, bank reconciliations, or other accounting chores, it’s a good time to get caught up so all the routine stuff is out of the way. 

5. Getting Organized

When the year ends and the tax documents start arriving, place them in a special folder or stack so that all the papers are together.  Scan them in and place them in a specially labeled folder on your PC.  You’ll be more organized than ever. 

When all of the mundane items are completed early, it leaves time for the more important conversations, such as discussing new ideas for tax reduction, ways to operate your business more efficiently, and planning for your future.

If we can help make your tax and accounting tasks easier during any time of the year, please reach out and give us a call.  

Filed Under: Business Development, Tax Tagged With:

Are You Vulnerable to Fraud?

October 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), over $3.5 trillion is projected to be lost to fraud worldwide in 2011 alone. The typical organization loses 5 percent of its revenues each year. While we have a lot to think about as entrepreneurs, we do need to take time to educate ourselves about this unfortunately common business loss.

The Fraud Triangle

An easy way to understand fraud is to learn about the Fraud Triangle. The creation of the Fraud Triangle is credited to Dr. Donald Cressey, a well-respected criminologist and sociologist who made significant contributions to his field.

Three components need to be present in order for fraud to occur:

  1. Motivation (or Need)
  2. Rationalization
  3. Opportunity

When fewer than three legs of the triangle are present, we can deter fraud. When all three are present, fraud could occur.

Motivation

Financial pressure at home is an example of when motivation to commit fraud is present. The fraud perpetrator finds themselves in need of large amounts of cash due to any number of reasons: poor investments, gambling, a flamboyant lifestyle, family requirements, or social pressure. In short, the person needs money and lots of it fast.

Rationalization

The person who commits fraud rationalizes the act in their minds:

  • I’m too smart to get caught.
  • I’ll put it back when my luck changes.
  • The big company won’t miss it.
  • I don’t like the person I’m stealing from.
  • I’m entitled to it.

At some point in the process, the person who commits fraud loses their sense of right and wrong and their fear of any consequences.

Opportunity

Here’s where you as a business owner come in. If there’s a leak in your control processes, then you have created an opportunity for fraud to occur. People who handle cash, signatory authority on a bank account, or financial records with poor oversight could notice that there is an opportunity for fraud to occur with the ability to cover the act up for some time.

Prevention

Once you understand a little about fraud, prevention is the next step. To some degree, all three points on the triangle can be controlled; however, most fraud prevention programs focus on the third area the most: Opportunity. When you can shut down the opportunity for fraud, then you’ve gone a long way to prevent it.

The Typical Fraud

The median cost of an occupational fraud case was $140,000, according to the ACFE. It goes undetected for a median time frame of 18 months. The most likely way to discover fraud is a tip from an employee who works at the victim organization.

Small Business Vulnerability

Small businesses are the most vulnerable to fraud, because they employ the least amount of fraud prevention controls. Here are just a few quick tips to help prevent fraud in your organization:

  • Create a culture within your organization that deters fraud and provide employees with education about fraud prevention to reduce rationalization.
  • Tighten down access to financial areas, segregate duties, and use other internal control best practices to reduce opportunity.
  • Provide financial literacy programs to employees to reduce need or motivation.
  • The ACFE recommends that small businesses provide employees with an anonymous way to report suspicious activity.

While we hope fraud never happens to you, it makes good sense to take preventative steps to avoid it. Please give us a call if we can help you in any way. 

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With: ,

Six Quick Productivity Tricks So You Can Go Home Early

October 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you have an endless to-do list, you’re not alone these days. Most of us are constantly looking for ways to work smarter and get more done. Here are six quick tips to help your productivity so you can go home early.

1. Group tasks

If you have lots of errands to run during the week, why not set aside one day or a part of a day to get them knocked out all at once? It saves start/stop time and may also save gas and time getting dressed up (if you work at home).

You can also try grouping tasks such as personal care appointments, doctor’s appointments, sales calls, and client visits. Your schedule will be freed up in big blocks of time so you can focus on creative projects without having to constantly watch the clock.

2. Use checklists

Checklists are best when you have a task you need to repeat. They’re great when you’re stressed and don’t want to forget a step (such as in packing your suitcase for a trip). They’re also great for tasks that repeat infrequently (Now how did I do that last time?)

Stop and take a minute to create your checklist the next time you perform a routine task that you will repeat in the future. You’ll thank yourself the next time. 

 3. Organize your email

If you are using Microsoft Outlook for email, consider getting it to work as hard as you do. As your email comes in, you can have Outlook sort the low-priority emails that come from lists, Google alerts, social media notifications, and subscriptions into folders. Create a subfolder in your inbox called “lists.” Then set a Rule to have that type of email go into the “lists” folder. This one step will substantially de-clutter your inbox.

4. Delegate more

If you’re a little wary about delegating, try this exercise: Look at your to-do list and put an hourly rate next to each task that you are doing. If someone paid you to do that job, what would you get on the market? Then look at the tasks with the lowest dollar value next to them.

If you feel your time is worth more than the lowest rated tasks on your lists, it’s time to help someone else out who is unemployed so you can be freed up to use your more valuable skills.

5. Order online

When is the last time you’ve been to the office supply or pharmacy when you know they deliver? (Yeah, me, too. Enough said.)

6. Avoid long learning curves

Whenever you realize a task will have a really long learning curve, then it’s a red flag that it’s time to find someone to hire to do it for you. Here are several examples:

  • Doing your taxes and researching all the tax law changes
  • Installing a new accounting system and customizing it
  • Learning about every new social media platform out there
  • Writing a legal contract
  • Creating a report
  • Troubleshooting a computer problem

The cost of going through the learning curve can be dozens of hours of your precious time lost compared to bringing an expert on board who can perform that task in a matter of hours or minutes.

How did these six ideas compare to your favorites? I hope you picked up an idea or two so you can get home earlier. 

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development, overwhelm Tagged With: , , , ,

Five Favorite Freebies You Can Steal

October 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for ways to boost your productivity, technology is a great place to start. The good news is there are many free options available. Here are five favorites you might not know about.

1. Bridge lines.

If you need teleconference lines, you’re in luck: there are many high-quality options that are completely free. You can have several people, even hundreds, dial into a line and conduct a meeting or training session via the phone. You can record the session and download the recording as an MP3 file that can be played on an iPod.

Some of the more creative ways to use these free teleconferencing services include:

  • Staff meetings when someone is absent so they can listen later.
  • Free teleconference, providing tips to all your clients.
  • Free teleconference, allowing prospects to call in and sample what you offer or find out what you’re like to work with.
  • When you need to record anything. (You often need 2 people on the line to be able to record, but not always.)
  • To record a quick training session or how-to that can be distributed later.
  • To have a client record a testimonial you could put on your web site.
  • To record a meditation or therapeutic session you can listen to over and over again.
  • If you’re a coach or trainer, you can record the client training session and give the download as a service perk.

Our favorite: http://www.freeconferencecalling.com

2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to transfer large files between computers that are connected to the Internet. It’s handy for many reasons:

  • When you need to load large files such as videos or audios to your website
  • When you need to upload something to an artist, a transcriptionist, a warehouse, or other supplier
  • When you have documents such as white papers that you want people to have access to but don’t want to have to keep contacting your webmaster

As a client of mine, you have a free Citrix ShareFile account through my www.Sleeter.com account. If you aren’t already set up, ask me about it.

Also take a look at FileZilla:  http://filezilla-project.org/ and Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/

3. Gmail.

It’s just a great idea to have a backup email address in addition to the primary email address you use. Gmail is perfect for this.

Go one productivity-boosting step further, and make your gmail account the one you use for all that email you don’t need to read as frequently. This could include notifications from social media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, blog notifications, list posts, Google alerts, and any other nonproductive email, you don’t need to respond to.

Open your Gmail account less often than your primary email (even once a week if you dare) and gain that productivity boost. You’ll have freed your inbox from a bunch of clutter and can focus on your clients’ and employees’ emails instead.

Visit this site to find out more: https://mail.google.com

4. WordPress.

WordPress is free blog software that you can install on your web site or blog site. Once installed, it’s super-easy to use for both blogging and a website. You can add photos, graphics, white papers, videos, and audios to the library to put on your blog or your site.

It’s also great for search engine optimization; the search engines love it and will rank you higher when you blog and post fresh content.

Visit http://wordpress.org/ to find out more.

5. Ning.

Ning is a community platform where people can come together and post a profile, participate in discussions, join a group, and interact. Not all business models will benefit from Ning, but many of you are involved in a club, church group, nonprofit organization, or community where Ning could be very helpful.

Ning is almost free, at $19.95 per year or $2.95 per month, but it’s such an amazing platform, I include it here. Whenever you’d like to have a private (or public) community of people who are joined by a common interest, Ning can provide that extra online community connection that can help you group interact and bond even more.

Find out more about Ning at http://www.ning.com.

What are your favorite freebies? 

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With: , , , ,

Recognizing a Job Well Done

September 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When was the last time you praised your employees or contractors? Hopefully, you’ve developed the good habit of frequently praising your team members, and if you haven’t, you’re certainly not alone. Most of us do not get enough praise, so there’s a strong likelihood there’s room for improvement when it comes to recognition of a job well done in just about every workplace. Here are some tips to praise more and help your workers flourish.

A Bias for Negativity and Criticism

Our brains are designed by evolution to feel the emotions from negative interactions, including criticism and especially threats, in an exaggerated fashion when compared to feeling the emotions from positive interactions. When we spotted a saber-toothed tiger, the brain that noticed and overreacted to the tiger by running away was rewarded with surviving.

That evolutionary trait doesn’t translate very well in the work environment we are in. It takes a larger quantity of positive interactions versus negative interaction to just keep us at a neutral baseline of emotions. And studies show we perform better when we are happy and positive. So that’s why recognition is so important in a thriving workplace.

Dos and Don’ts

Here are some guidelines to help you deliver the most effective recognition in your workplace:

1. Be as specific as possible.

Praise a specific task or interaction when possible rather than generalizing.

2. Direct the praise to a task or effort without listing personality characteristics, especially when you’re giving negative feedback.

For example, saying “The report was creased and had ink blotches on it” is better than saying “You are sloppy.”

3. Be timely in your praise.

Don’t wait a whole year to unload praises and criticisms on an employee. Let them know where they stand on a frequent basis, and if possible, praise them right after they do something great.

4. If you need to give negative feedback, sandwich it.

The sandwich refers to feedback that is first positive, second negative, and last positive. It’s important not to end on a negative note. A sandwich would go like this:

“Jim, I appreciate how hard you worked on the Cole case. You put in a lot of hours and showed dedication. In the restructuring section, I would have liked to see you ask for help earlier in the project. It would have avoided the delay we have now. The section on asset disposition was terrific; you really know your stuff in that area.”

5. Always give feedback in private.

It’s important to honor a worker’s privacy when it comes to performance appraisals and even daily or weekly feedback. If your employee is in a cubicle or other non-private area, you may need to find a place that is more private before you give feedback.

6. Never send negative feedback via email.

It can be really hurtful and is not appropriate at any time. If a face-to-face meeting is not possible and it just has to be handled right away, then pick up the phone.

7. Use examples.

When giving positive or negative feedback, give several examples of what’s right and wrong so the employee will learn faster and understand better what is expected.

8. Be supportive.

You are on the same team; to grow the company. The relationship should be supportive and not adversarial.

9. Explain the impact of actions.

Help the employee understand the downstream ramifications of their actions.

10. Encourage future behavior.

Use phrases like “I’d love to see you do more of that.”

Praise your team more often, and when you do, try these tips to watch your employees shine even more.

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With: ,

Seven Ways to Wow Your Clients

August 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

One of the main reasons clients leave is because they feel ignored. The cost of ignoring clients is high; you have to do more marketing and replace those clients when they leave. The antidote to this is easy: just stay in touch more with clients, and let them know you care about them and their business. Here are seven ways to stay in touch with all your clients and especially your long-term customers.

1.     Pay a compliment.

Sometimes when we’re in an “all-business” mode, we forget the simple things. Take a minute to look around and find something to compliment your client on. What have they done to support you? What are they a natural at? What traits do they have that you admire? Tell them; they will appreciate it because it won’t be expected.

2.     Rejuvenate your service with long-time clients.

Recall the first week that you signed a new client. You were both excited about beginning your relationship, and your service was likely top-notch. Now take a look at the service level of clients you’ve had for a while – for months or maybe even years. Is it the same?

If not, consider putting the spark back into the relationship! Long-term clients deserve a higher service level than new clients; yet it’s often the other way around. Take a look at what you can do to spice up your service level, whether it’s returning calls and emails faster or delivering the work earlier as a surprise. Your long-term clients will appreciate it and know that you’re making an effort not to take their business for granted.

3.     Acknowledge referrals quickly.

Clients that pass you referrals are taking two risks when they refer you: 1 – that you will do a good job, and 2 – that their friend will like you. Help them feel like it’s worthwhile by responding quickly to the referral as well as acknowledging and thanking your client for the referral.

This is best done by a thank you card or a phone call.

4.      Send a newsletter.

Keep clients informed of tips, discounts, new services and products, and events with a newsletter. There are many ways to create a newsletter, and the most important aspect is to make sure it’s as relevant as possible to your clients.

A newsletter does not have to be elaborate or time-consuming. At its simplest form, it can consist of a single, short article. As you further develop it, you can add in components such as a brief company description, a quote, a testimonial, an events calendar, a customer spotlight, a greeting, additional articles, a poll or survey, and special offers.

5.     Celebrate birthdays and/or anniversaries.

Everyone loves to have their birthday acknowledged. Send a card to your clients in their birthday month.

The best birthday cards are just that, real birthday cards without company logos or sales pitches. If appropriate, consider a surprise twist on the birthday theme: send cards to your client’s kids, spouse, or pets.

Another great twist to acknowledge clients is to send an anniversary card on the date they first started doing business with you. This is a great option if you don’t have clients’ birthdays recorded. And it’s a great surprise because clients do not see it coming!

6.     Offer longevity or loyalty discounts.

It’s common practice to offer new clients discounts. It’s less common to reward loyalty. Give current clients better breaks in your prices than new clients. This incentivizes clients who already like your products to buy more. The more they buy, the more likely they are to keep doing business with you.

You can also surprise long-time clients with periodic bonuses and gifts. Don’t do it too often, because it will be expected. For best results, the bonus should come completely out of the blue.

7.     Express gratitude.

Say thank you to current clients every chance you can. Thank them for their business. Thank them for their loyalty. Thank them for paying their bill on time. Thank them for being easy to work with. Thank them for being flexible. Do this by sending cards or emails for no reason other than to thank them.

These positive interactions with your current and long-time clients will strengthen your relationships with them, help you say what’s often not said enough, and improve your client retention.

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development Tagged With: , ,

5 Bottlenecks to Avoid that Stump Your Business Growth

July 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As a business owner, you have likely acquired many skills and are wearing many hats in your business. Although admirable, your versatility can often lead to slower growth for your company. This happens when you become the bottleneck. Here are five places to check to make sure you haven’t become the bottleneck in your own business.

1. Managing everything.

It’s definitely good to keep tabs on everything that’s going on in your company, but once your company grows, you may find yourself inundated with information. Instead, try managing by exception.

You don’t really need to know everything that’s going on in your company; you really only need to know when things do not go smoothly, or when there are exceptions. Design a set of management reports that allow you to see these exceptions easily without having to wade through a bunch of information. This will save you time and help you focus where your expertise and skills are needed most.

2. Doing too much production.

Probably the most common small business mistake is working IN your business instead of ON your business. If you’re still generating billable work or working too much in production, it should be work that no one on your staff can do and work that requires a very high skill set. Otherwise, it should be delegated to staff. And if you don’t have staff, then they need to be hired.

3.  Not doing enough marketing.

As a business owner, you are the key person that will be bringing in business, forging partnerships, and creating new opportunities for revenue. If you spend your limited time doing other things, marketing often goes undone. Not marketing enough can dry up the pipeline, cause cash flow problems, and get a company in trouble really fast.

4. Being the only one who knows how to do something.

When employees have to wait on you to show them how to do something, you can easily become the bottleneck in the process. As you train each employee, do it only once by writing procedures for the task as you train. That way, you never have to train anyone on that task again. The newly trained employee can show others, and you can be out of the loop, freed up for more important things.

5. Having to review and approve everything your employees do.

A great employee is one who is empowered to make as many decisions as possible without further layers of supervisions getting involved. Often, a decision can be “cookbooked” so that the decisions can be pushed down the lower layers of management. Take a look to see if any of the decisions that you are making can be documented and pushed down so that you don’t have to get involved. That way, your employees will have the right balance of authority in order to do their jobs.

How did you measure up on these five high-bottleneck areas? When you can clear up the bottlenecks in your business, your firm will be able to grow even faster.

Filed Under: Business Development

10 Things You Might Not Think to Delegate But Should

July 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Just about everyone suffers from a lack of time to do all the things they want, or even need, to do in their business. One of the solutions to freeing up your time is to delegate. The question is, what are the most effective tasks to delegate? Here are ten ideas for you to consider (or reconsider) to free up your valuable time for more important things.

1. Your email.

How much of your email could be handled by one of your employees? Set up separate emails by function and not by people so that your employees can take over more of this ever-growing task. Anything that you respond to the same way over and over again can be drafted in a procedure. Employees or a virtual administrative assistant can be trained on what to send to whom.

2. Sales.

When you first start your business, you are generally the only one selling. To get it off the ground, you eventually need a team of people to help you sell your goods and services. As your sales team gets better and better, you can delegate larger and larger sales opportunities to them. Who knows, if you’re not natural at sales, you may have employees who are better at this than you.

3. Social media.

We didn’t even have social media ten years ago, but now that we do, it can be a major investment in time. Some companies ignore it completely, not wanting to open that can of worms, but done well, social media can have a great payback.

Rather than ignore it or take up your important time, turn it over to an intern or recent college grad who probably knows more about it anyway!

4. Hiring.

Hiring can be one of the most time-consuming tasks of all. I’m definitely not suggesting delegating the final decision on hiring, just the search process. I’ve heard of business owners who delayed hiring because they froze at the sight of a 6-inch tall stack of resumes they had to go through.

It might pay to hire an agency to do the screening for you so that you are presented with only the finalists.

5. Training employees.

Once you get one employee trained, that employee may be able to train additional hires, freeing you up from having to do so. Well-written procedures will go a long way to reduce training time, and even writing procedures can be delegated to the right person.

6. Vendor research and purchase.

Need to find a hotel to host an event? Or a webinar company? Or a project management system? All of these items require research to find good vendors, and as business owners, we may tend to do these ourselves when we can write up a few guidelines and give the task to a capable employee who would enjoy researching the topic and writing up some options for you to review.

7. Bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping is also one of those time-consuming tasks, with two added challenges: everywhere you turn, there are deadlines and regulations, plus it requires special skills that need updating frequently. All of this screams to be delegated when possible. Even outsourcing your personal bookkeeping could be of great benefit to your productivity.

8. The little stuff.

Think of the dozen of little things you do that aren’t the best use of your time: car wash, grocery shopping, laundry pickup, buying gifts for employees, customers or vendors; online purchases, shoe shines… and the list goes on. Whether you can deduct this as a business expense or not is irrelevant at this point. Think of the income you could be generating with that hour or two every day. In the old days, those at the top of the corporate ladder had executive secretaries to handle all of this. Today, we call them personal assistants. Imagine the income you could be creating by delegating these tasks to an efficient assistant.

9. Writing.

Writing can be extremely time-consuming for some people. Great writing requires a long learning curve, so if writing is not a core skill for you, you may want to look around for someone you can delegate or outsource this task to. This includes things like writing procedures, web sites, job descriptions, marketing copy, proposals, and even something as small as thank you notes.

10. Calendar scheduling.

All that back and forth phone tag, email tag, postponements, cancellations, and other scheduling challenges can be delegated to free you up for making even more appointments.

Your time is incredibly valuable, and the only way to make it more valuable is to accomplish increasingly valuable tasks that only you can do while delegating the tasks that other people can do. As a general rule, anything that is not in your core skill set or core business is fair game for delegation. If someone else can do it faster, then it’s fair game for delegation.

Think about what you’re spending a lot of time on (and possibly spinning your wheels at the same time). This is a task that can possibly be delegated, so you can free up your time for more important things.

Filed Under: Blog, Business Development
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