Latest Articles
- Information – an Office’s Gold
As America moves to service based industries the raw materials needed to bring a service or product to market is information. This is the “gold” in an office. With today’s technology we are able to collect, measure and quantify our leads and customers. The question then becomes what do we do with that information?
- BPs Lack of Seeing the Big Picture
No matter what side of the political fence you fall, BP failed to take the proper quality control measures. As the weeks pass more information is coming to light how the organization cut corners with safety to keep costs down. Safety is not the place to take short cuts. In the long run this can cost you thousands of dollars and possibly your business. In BP’s case it is running in the billions not to mention what it is doing for their stock value. The ramification of poor quality control is costly. So how could a corporation
- Make Your Bottom Line Grow
No matter what size your organization doing things as efficiently as possible is not only ideal it is necessary in the new world economy. One area that can be significantly improved is the office. In fact, 60 to 80% of costs associated with providing a service or product to market is administrative. If you were able to reduce these by one third how much could you increase your cash flow?
- Proper Planning Can Ensure Success
Planning is the backbone of success. Not doing it can cost thousands of dollars, man hours and resources. Proper planning can save you money, increase your cash flow and help fulfill your mission. Here is a simple tool to aid in ensuring your success.
- Working Between Departments Means Faster Cash Flow
When you look at a traditional organizational chart it has silos which contain various departments and the people overseeing and working in those departments. In today’s business climate where information is your company’s gold this can be troublesome. Why, because the right hand may not know what the left hand is doing. We have all [...]
Effective Delegation
Most business owners are resistant to delegating their work to an assistant or bookkeeper. Part of this is a control issue and the other a time issue. As a professional organizer I hear I can do it quicker myself. What is not accounted for in this equation is the time taken away from generating income. The easiest tasks to delegate are those that are either non client facing or you dislike the most.
Bookkeeping and administrative tasks are the easiest to get off your plate. Pay the money for a qualified bookkeeper. This will free up a considerable amount of time. Check with your accountant who would be a good fit for your business and needs. If they do not have someone to recommend Certified Public Accountant Paul Rafanello, at 845.986.8776 or at http://www.prcpa.biz, is an excellent referral source.
The other important component of this equation is the administrative functions. Some of these include:
Receptionist
Email Screening
Mailer prep and send
Shipping
Composing correspondence
Filing
Prep for bookkeeper
Scheduling appointments
Maintain customer database
The tasks vary depending on your business and needs. Having a list of tasks gives you the skeleton for a job description and a measure for what the person is expected to accomplish. The key is to properly train the person on the front end thus saving time on the back end. Also, work with a staff agency to review what you expect and what skills a qualified candidate would need. Another route would be a virtual assistant. This may be more cost effective than hiring staff. If you consider using a virtual assistant conduct a thorough interview of the company. Personal information about you, your company, employees and customers will be communicated to this assistant if utilized for administrative functions. As a result, make sure that confidentiality, identity theft and data protection are part of their services.
The goal is to get off your plate as many non client facing and administrative duties as possible so you can do what you are good at making money.