Category: Efficiency

Posted on

Should you be delegating more? 

The answer is almost certainly yes.

There are certain things that only you can do in your business but there is probably a lot of admin or other work that can be delegated to somebody ‘cheaper’ than you.

When coaching busy clients I recommend that they keep a timesheet for a couple of weeks. This can be on paper or using one of the free apps such as Toggl.

At the end of the fortnight look at all the work that isn’t profitable.

-If it is for a client should you be charging more or perhaps somebody else can do the work instead?

-If it isn’t customer work then is it the sort of thing that somebody else can do instead (next week I’ll talk about who you might delegate to)

-If it is work that you don’t enjoy then it might make sense to delegate it anyway. This is the main reason we encourage clients to delegate their bookkeeping to us as we can do it faster, and better, and we have people who actually enjoy the work.

Posted on

Still reinventing the wheel?

Today I’m borrowing a quote from Mark Twain

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of coloured glass that have been in use through all the ages.”

I love being an accountant and working with lots of different businesses within lots of different industries. This, along with running my own businesses (an Minerva Accountants and a speaking/coaching business) gives me a wealth of practical ideas for business improvements as well as all the books I read.

Where do you get your ideas from?

Posted on

Tax Tip

How to take dividends – tip 2

It’s not unusual for a married couple to hold shares in a company and each of them is entitled to receive dividends on those shares. But it is important that dividends are paid to the correct shareholder.

Whilst dividends can be paid into a joint account, they should NOT be paid into an account that does not belong to the shareholder. In other words, H’s shares must be paid into H’s bank account or H+W’s bank account and W’s shares must be paid into W’s bank account or H+W’s bank account.

Posted on

Don’t reinvent the wheel

Over the years we have built up a collection of helpsheets and explanatory videos. This is because I am lazy (although I prefer to think of it as efficient) and hate doing the same thing again and again.

If a client asks a question that we think may be asked a second time then the team don’t just answer the question once but they, or I, write a helpsheet so that we have a library of resources to help instantly.

What do you do to save time?

Posted on

How to buy yourself more time

Having taken over a small practice I have been able to see the time saved by good practice management software.

We use Accountancy Manager but any decent practice management software will offer similar services

  1. A simple spreadsheet upload of all client standing data and services so everything is in one place (the PA from the new practice kindly provided this in the form of multiple spreadsheets which we merged)
  2. Engagement letters generated based on the services provided
  3. Engagement letters and accounts signed online
  4. Clients can update any missing information and changes of address in their standing data
  5. Automatic requests for missing data eg proof of ID or a UTR
  6. Recurring tasks set up automatically for each service
  7. Adding our own internal deadlines for tasks eg 3 months for accounts and 2 weeks for VAT returns rather than the 9-10 months and 5 weeks for the statutory deadlines.
  8. Automatic records request emails generated from those tasks and deadlines (all templates can be modified to suit your personal style)
  9. Time recording as the new practice still uses hourly billing
  10. Marking a task as complete automatically sets up the next occurrence
  11. Automatic links to Companies House to keep deadlines etc updated
  12. Generating confirmation statement reminders and submitting from within the software (a small handling charge on top of the Companies House fee)
  13. Tracking emails between clients and team members so they don’t have to CC me on everything
  14. Central repository of all information which helps as all the team are part time and even I am juggling two businesses.

It hasn’t been perfect (I’ll share my learnings/improvements separately) but it has been relatively smooth.

This technology has freed me up to ‘meet and greet’ the new clients as tech is still no replacement for human relationships.

Posted on

Why it may be best to stay small

Small is beautiful. It’s also less hassle and much more agile.

As the sole director of my business I can hold my board meetings in the shower and, if I come up with a bright idea, I can often have it implemented by evening.

The downside of a small business is reduced cover for holidays and sickness. Especially if your business is just you. On the other hand even the best team will take up your time in managing their time and workload.

Before growing your business beyond you it is worth considering whether this will best suit your personal goals. Instead of taking on more clients and higher overheads you could look at taking on better clients and providing them with more profitable services. Before recruiting staff you could investigate software and other automation.

Bigger isn’t always best.

Posted on

More than one tool in your toolbox

When it comes to improving your business you need to have more than one tool in your toolbox.

Although we often start with getting the pricing right we also like to look at other things. My books give you some examples of these but they are broadly:

Efficiencies – implement systems, checklists, automation and delegation

People – get the right people in the right place, suitably trained and equipped, and all pulling in the right direction

Marketing – a baseline level of marketing going on at all times so that you have clients/work already lined up for quieter periods

What else do you do to improve your business?

Posted on

5 minutes a day keeps the accountant at bay

I’m starting an initiative for business owners to do their bookkeeping in FIVE MINUTES PER DAY rather than leaving it all to the end of the year.

If you’re on Xero or similar software this would be:

  1. Raise all your sales invoices and quotes. (Don’t forget to add a button to the invoice template if you take card payments. Remember to set up recurring invoices for regular clients. And don’t forget to turn on invoice reminders)
  2. Mark any accepted quotes so that they can be converted into invoices
  3. Forward electronic receipts to your Automated Bill Entry on Xero or Dext
  4. Take photos of any other receipts using Hubdoc or Dext
  5. Reconcile your bank by matching against the sales invoices or purchase bills/receipts. (You can set up recurring transactions for regular bills)

All this can be done through apps on your phone. When bookkeeping is this simple it’s not just kids who will be glued to their phones.

Posted on

How to work like an athlete

As an athletics coach for endurance events, I’m used to planning training loads that include elements of fast work, long slogs, technique work and recovery.

In your business life this would equate to sprinting for deadlines, putting in sustained effort for maintenance, improving your skills and automation, and resting.

Business owners always seem to forget the resting bit but, if it’s good enough for top athletes, it’s good enough for you too.

Posted on

Are you multitasking or attention switching?

We used to be proud to multi-task.
And then we were told it was wrong as we were attention switching which was less efficient rather than more.
But sometimes it is possible to multi-task efficiently.

This is when we’re doing simple tasks that require little thought. For instance, this tip is a result of me cracking an egg for my breakfast while pouring water into the teapot. Both simple tasks that I was able to do using muscle memory and minimal brain input. I also do those all essential pelvic floor exercises while cleaning my teeth so that I can laugh as much as I like when I’m in that retirement home.

Many people listen to a podcast or radio show while doing doing physical exercise. (I’m unable to do this as my focus super-power means that I automatically block out all sound to focus on the other task)

What little tasks can you combine without losing quality?

Proudly powered by WordPress