Administration

How Important Is It To Your Business To Get…

Well? How important is it? Pretty vital right. So why do so many businesses not follow up on invoices?

We all hate asking for money and let's face it sometimes we have to ask repeatedly but in business we've earned it. If you went out for a few drinks on Friday night you wouldn't get any without having to pay first, dropping the money in next week when you get paid isn't an option. So here's my tips for getting paid:

Get the invoices out within the first 2-3 days of the month, that way even if you are dealing with businesses who do pay-runs on the 26th of the month you're in early and are more likely to get paid that if you send out the invoices on the 20th.
Send statements, they work as a reminder of what's outstanding to you without you having to phone anyone.
Use a red pen if necessary but ALWAYS be polite, there is no reason for bad blood in business and if there is some don't let it be coming from you.
Adhere to your own payment terms, if your policy is to add interest once bills get well overdue then issue a warning with your red pen (politely) prior to adding the interest.
Don't be afraid to pick up the phone, after all you've already supplied the goods or services, you deserve to be paid.
Stop supplying someone if you know they are unlikely to pay, making the bill bigger isn't going to entice them to pay you more.

Do you have any tips on what works for you?

Administration

Sssshhh … Let’s Talk About Filing

Back in the 90's when I was completing my Secretarial course one of my work experiences was in an Accountants. I would spend one day a week for a term there and on about the third week I was shown the Filing Room. Wall to wall filing cabinets with lower ones in the middle also serving as a giant table. I was granted the privilege of shredding - literally big black bin bags of paper. I think that might be why I like the modern day filing methods more. So here's a couple of suggestions:

Go Paperless

If at all possible then go paperless. I realise that won't work for everything but in most cases it will. By getting out of the habit of printing everything the business will benefit in multiple ways - space won't be taken up with filing cabinets, costs of paper or ink are reduced / eliminated, better for the environment.

The Cloud Is Your Friend

Over the years at home we've gone through a few PCs and had grown to form the habit of backing up everything onto portable hard-drives. Which is great until one falls on the path!!! Then a couple of years ago I was using my portable hard-drive to store files while transferring from PC to laptop and it stopped working. I lost 4 years of baby photos among many other files. Ever since that I save everything on OneDrive. I know some people think it can't be very secure but to me it's even better than on the local PC or paper copy. Files and folders can be password protected too for added security.

Label Correctly

Whether you're going paperless or on the Cloud labelling correctly is vital. There's nothing worse than looking for a file thinking it's labelled something quite obvious like 'Light & Heat' and someone abbreviates it to 'L&H'. Best labelling is done with full words rather than abbreviations.

Email Filing

It's just as important to file emails correctly as it is paperwork. If you get a lot of attachments it might be a good habit to form of saving them on the Cloud too. Keeping your emails filed means you aren't looking at thousands in your Inbox everytime you log in. It also gives you the opportunity to delete what's rubbish.

Do you have any more suggestions?

Administration

5 Apps for Better Business

1. Adobe Scan

This is one of absolute favourites. With it you can scan any piece of paper and save it directly into OneDrive, GoogleDrive, or just on your phone. You can send it immediately to whoever needs it by email, text or WhatsApp. I like many things about it such as the quality of the scan, even faded print on receipts comes out clear and those big long till receipts you get from some shops - it can snap it in one scan and still keep it clear! Did I mention it's completely free too 🙂

2. Microsoft To Do

I mentioned in last weeks blog about keeping a notepad by the bed at night time for all those late night ideas and to dos you remember. Well I also keep To Do on my phone and PC. They are linked so whatever I put in one place is synced in the other, it has reminders and you can set tasks to repeat periodically - such as Monthly Invoices. It's super simple to use and keeps all your tasks in one place.

3. Evernote

I used this app before when I was working for a Multinational CEO and it worked a treat. He would scan all his receipts, etc into it, save them into the relevant folders and then I could log in and pick them up. It's like having a digital filing cabinet and you can even lock some of the drawers if they're private stuff too.

4. OneNote

Ok this one I don't use but it was recommended by someone who does. This app works as a note taker, collaborator and recorder. So if you're working on a project with other people this is a great app for gathering great minds together and you can all your bits into it.

5. OfficeLens

Another recommendation from a friend. This app allows you to scan whiteboards and documents making them readable and savable to storage such as OneDrive, OneNote or Evernote. You can also save the files as PDF, Images, Word or PowerPoint (this is where Adobe Scan falls down - you can only save as PDF).

Administration

5 Tips for keeping up with paperwork

Know your deadlines and plan for completion 2 weeks prior to give time for delays, etc
- Income Tax 31 October
- VAT 19^th of the month after the VAT period
  - Bi-monthly
  - Bi-annually
  - Annually
- CRO Returns – Annually on date of registration
Utilise software – finding what’s best for you isn’t always the best, quickest or cheapest way to do it. These days software pretty much does it all for you, but you still have to input the items and know how to read the reports. They have many great facilities such as Cash Flows, Year on Year Comparison, Project Allocation, RCT reporting, VAT reporting, just to name a few. They do vary in cost from €15 per month upwards but most offer a free 30 day trial so you can look around and get a feel for them first.

3. Do little and often. Block off some time each week (minimum monthly) to take care of the books. That way it doesn’t build up. Make sure this is time during the day when you would be working anyway and not Saturday evening when you should be spending time with family.

4. If you run a business where your van is your office, or even if you have a physical office, get a box and get into the habit of putting all your receipts into it as you get them. Be aware that receipts kept in direct sunlight will fade quicker and if you can’t read them then neither can Revenue if they do a VAT audit.

5. Number everything. Even if they aren’t in date order, if you have them numbered it will be a lot easier to find the one you need in a hurry.

How Important Is It To Your Business To Get…

Sssshhh … Let’s Talk About Filing

Go Paperless

The Cloud Is Your Friend

Label Correctly

Email Filing