7 Tips to Help You Stay on Top of Client Work and Meet Deadlines Automatically
The life of a bookkeeper is never boring. Each day brings new challenges and tasks to perform. The end of the month means checking all financials, reconciling bank statements, and compiling reports for your clients.
Working as a bookkeeper when you have other responsibilities can be challenging. You need to balance work with other obligations and responsibilities such as childcare or managing your home.
However, there are ways you can optimize your time and workload so that you can meet the demands of your clients while still fulfilling your personal needs.
These tips will help you stay on top of work as a virtual bookkeeper and meet client deadlines automatically:
Set Daily Deadlines for Tasks
Deadlines are one of the best ways to stay on top of your bookkeeping tasks. You can set daily deadlines for each task so you know when it is due. You can use virtual assistant software to set deadlines for yourself and recurring tasks such as financial reconciliations or compiling reports for clients.
Daily deadlines are especially important if you are working as a virtual bookkeeper for multiple clients. Deadlines will give you the heads-up when you need to submit reports or complete other tasks for your clients.
Daily deadlines will help you stay on top of work and meet due dates without stressing out. If you work with a team, you can also assign daily deadlines to team members so you know what tasks and projects your team is working on. This will help you stay on top of the workload and help you meet client deadlines as well.
Automate Repetitive Tasks
There are some tasks you perform every month or every week. For example, you have to reconcile your bank account every month. If this is a recurring task, then you can automate it so you do not have to perform it manually every single month. For example, you can use virtual assistant software to automatically reconcile your bank account and post the figures in your accounting software.
You can also set your virtual assistant software to inform you when a transaction is due and ready for reconciliation. This way you can simply approve or reject the transaction without having to worry about manually reconciling it each month.
You can also automate other repetitive tasks like preparing expense reports, creating estimates, or calculating payroll. This will free up your time and help you stay on top of work and client deadlines.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
There are many tools and technologies that can help you stay on top of work and meet client deadlines. These technologies can help you automate repetitive tasks, manage your time better, and communicate with clients and team members easily.
You can use collaboration tools to manage your team and track project progress. You can also use communication tools to stay in touch with clients and team members easily.
You can also use virtual assistant software to manage your finances, track your time, and help you stay on top of your bookkeeping. Some software will come with reporting features where you can create custom reports or use the software to generate reports for clients.
You can also use these features to track your team’s progress and stay on top of their tasks.
Dedicate Time Only for Client Work
While you can try scaling services to earn more as a virtual bookkeeper, there will be times when you have to focus only on client work. You may need to put on hold some recurring tasks such as preparing expense reports, managing your finances, or managing team members.
There will also be times when you have to focus on client work and ignore other tasks completely. For example, you may be waiting on clients to approve reports or give feedback on your services. When you have to focus only on client work, you need to learn how to prioritize tasks and manage your time better.
You can create priorities for different tasks and assign them a specific time frame. For example, you can work on client work in the morning only. If you have any recurring tasks, you can work on them in the afternoon. This will help you stay on top of work and meet client deadlines with ease.
Try Scaling Services at Times
If you work with a team, you can try scaling services at times. This will help you stay on top of work and meet client deadlines without stressing out. To scale services, you can hand over some tasks to your team members so you can focus on client work.
For example, you can have your team members prepare expense reports and post them in your accounting software. You can also give some tasks to your team members to complete.
You can assign tasks that can be easily scaled such as sending emails or performing administrative work. While scaling services can help you stay on top of work and meet client deadlines, you must make sure that the work is being done correctly.
You can use software to monitor your team members and make sure their work is up to your standards.
Conclusion
Bookkeeping can be a challenging job and it can be even more challenging as a virtual bookkeeper managing multiple clients. However, if you apply these tips, you can stay on top of work and meet client deadlines with ease.
You can set daily deadlines for tasks and automate repetitive tasks. You can also use technology to your advantage and dedicate time to only client work.
You can also try scaling services at times so you can stay on top of work and meet client deadlines with ease.
These tips will help you stay on top of work and meet client deadlines with ease.
Lisa Campbell is an expert profitability strategist. She evolved from a certified esthetician to a successful business owner, transforming her part-time bookkeeping job into a thriving enterprise that assists entrepreneurs. Driven by personal adversities, she achieved financial independence, becoming a Certified Mastery Profit First Professional. Now, Lisa empowers others with financial strategies and has developed "Accelerate 2 Advisor™", a program that facilitates a transition into high-value advisory roles.