48: Setting Up Efficient Workflows For Bookkeeping Whether You Are Starting A Business, You Are Sel
Being efficient will save you time, and since we only have so much time each and every day, we want to make sure we are maximizing all the efficiencies in our business. But have you ever though that once you master your bookkeeping workflows, you would also be creating a system that will be more accurate and reliable? When you set up your workflows and follow them through, you will notice you are more organized, and you will even save time trying to hunt down paperwork that you know is in your office somewhere. I understand, I have done this myself. In today’s episode, I am going to talk about the benefits of finding a workflow system that works for your business whether you are just getting ready to start your small business, you’re a solopreneur, entrepreneur, small business owner, virtual online bookkeeper or virtual assistant. In most cases, you don’t even need to spend any additional money, you just need to create your workflow system and stick to it. Once you have this down, you’ll see just how easy it is delegate tasks and make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to getting work done. It doesn’t matter if you are using a computerized bookkeeping system like QuickBooks, Wave, Xero or FreshBooks or a manual system such as an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets, you can still set up workflows to ensure you are consistent in how you are doing your bookkeeping. Just think about what you could be doing with the extra time you gain by having workflows in your business. Listen in…I’m sure today’s episode will be well worth your time…
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Show Notes:
Being efficient will save you time, and since we only have so much time each and every day, we want to make sure we are maximizing all the efficiencies in our business. But have you ever though that once you master your bookkeeping workflows, you would also be creating a system that will be more accurate and reliable? When you set up your workflows and follow them through, you will notice you are more organized, and you will even save time trying to hunt down paperwork that you know is in your office somewhere. I understand, I have done this myself. In today’s episode, I am going to talk about the benefits of finding a workflow system that works for your business whether you are just getting ready to start your small business, you’re a solopreneur, entrepreneur, small business owner, virtual online bookkeeper or virtual assistant. In most cases, you don’t even need to spend any additional money, you just need to create your workflow system and stick to it. Once you have this down, you’ll see just how easy it is delegate tasks and make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to getting work done. It doesn’t matter if you are using a computerized bookkeeping system like QuickBooks, Wave, Xero or FreshBooks or a manual system such as an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets, you can still set up workflows to ensure you are consistent in how you are doing your bookkeeping. Just think about what you could be doing with the extra time you gain by having workflows in your business. Listen in…I’m sure today’s episode will be well worth your time…
Welcome Back…When I mention the word workflows in your business, what comes to your mind? Your bookkeeping or office systems might not be at the top of your mind, but think about it for a bit. Whenever there is a workflow set up, I am sure you are thinking about efficiencies, right? Well, why not take advantage of having bookkeeping workflows so that you can be as efficient as possible. I know for most business owners, the thought of doing bookkeeping isn’t their favorite part of owning a business, but it is certainly a very important and necessary part. Today, I am going to help you look into creating bookkeeping workflows for your business so that you can capture some extra time in your day. I would love to hear what you would do with even an extra half hour each day. Would you take some time just for yourself to do something you enjoy? Well, if so, let’s jump in and see what you can do to create some bookkeeping workflows in your business so that you can start enjoying a little “me” time.
First, you will want to take a look at every single piece of information that comes into your office. It doesn’t matter how you receive it, just document that you receive it. You want to have a workflow for all of this information. It may be a bill that needs to be paid, a payment from a customer that needs to be deposited, a bank statement that needs to be reviewed, or even an order from a customer that needs action. No matter what the information is, write it down. You will want to create a step-by-step process for what should be done with all the information you receive in your business. You may receive this information daily, weekly or even monthly, quarterly or annually, so make sure your workflow captures everything. This may take some time to get everything documented.
Next, you will need a workflow for processing each of these items that you receive. Make sure that you have all the information needed to process these items in your workflow, and if you are missing information, make sure you have a workflow to gather all the necessary information needed before you can begin to process it. This is extremely important since most of the time when there is missing information and the workflow stops, these items tend to get put aside and start to pile up. I am sure you have tasks in your office that you just dread doing. They are normally tasks that don’t follow your normal workflow. So, make sure you set up a system so that you can get everything you need to move these tasks through your workflow easily and if possible, see if there is a way to leverage technology, or try to batch process these workflows to increase your efficiencies.
After the task has been processed, you will want to have a workflow where you either have a review of the process or a way for you to file or capture these documents so that you know they have been finalized and are no longer in your workflow system. This step is crucial to ensure when you are finished you have a system in place to file everything away. Being able to find documents quickly is a must so make sure you have a workflow or system in place for all those documents you originally received into your office.
When you map out your workflow, you will start to see if there is a way you can improve your efficiencies. You may find that you can combine steps, or even see if there is some sort of technology that could help you move your documents through your workflow faster. Test your workflow periodically to see if there is anything you could improve. You want to be strategic when creating workflows and remember, the time you spend here will save you time in the long run. Find out where you may have any bottlenecks throughout your workflows and see if there is a way to improve these processes. You may want to also visit who is in charge of each step of your workflow. Over time, you may find it easier to delegate some of the tasks you thought only you could do, and you know that when you have your workflows in place, training will be a piece of cake.
Let’s go through a quick example of a workflow. I am going to use a bill for this example since I know we all have bills that come into our business. These bills could come in the mail, email or another method. When you receive the bill, you may want to put it into a folder so that you can gather all the bills throughout the week so that you could process or pay them on a certain day of the week. When you decide to pay your bills, you simply grab the folder where you are storing them and pay them. You may be handwriting a check, setting the payment up online or even entering the bill into your bookkeeping software and printing a check. Either way, when the bill has been paid, you will want to reference that it has been paid, the date it was paid and how it was paid. Then you are to the end of the workflow where you will want to file this paid bill in your filing system, or maybe you will scan and upload this information into a file on your computer if you are trying to have a paperless office. When reviewing this workflow, you could decide if there is someone else who could be helping with the different steps of the workflow and make sure you are taking advantage of technology to increase efficiencies. This is just one quick example, but imagine what your office will look like when you have all of your workflows documented and your office is running smoothly. Just keep focused creating and reviewing your workflows and you will soon be there.
If you are struggling with your bookkeeping workflows, let me know. You can contact me by going to https://www.financialadventure.com/Contact-Us, and if you haven’t already received your 5 Essentials For Stress Free Bookkeeping, grab your free guide by going to https://www.financialadventure.com/5essentials. This guide is helpful whether you are doing your own bookkeeping for your business, or you are doing bookkeeping for multiple businesses by covering the five essentials every business needs to do to have stress free bookkeeping…and if you are interested in having a profitable bookkeeping business, I have a starter guide and success path that addresses what you need to know to start, grow and scale your bookkeeping business so that you can learn the fastest way to start making money from the very beginning and grow and scale easily. This free guide can be found at https://www.financialadventure.com/starterguide. I’ll post links for you where you are listening to this podcast so that you can easily receive them.
And, you know I’m going to ask…what’s at least one thing you will take away from this episode that will help your business succeed and grow your bottom line? If you need some accountability, join our PRIVATE Facebook community and post your action item, we’d love to support you.
