Posted by Julie/MI on 5/2/12 1:01pm
Msg #419617
How do you handle the busy work?
This is geared really, I suppose, to those that have a high volume of closings per month.
There is SO much busy work, posting to spread sheet when closing completed, posting when payment is made, invoicing for those that require it. Filing the paystubs (unless you toss them) making the bank deposits, filing those, etc.
Anyone have some tips to share, especially those with infants and other children?
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Reply by Jessica Ward on 5/3/12 1:43am
Msg #419727
I do 3-7 closings a day, five to six days a week. I also run another small business from my home and I home-school my two daughters, ages 6 and 13 with my husband, so I totally get what you mean--taming the paper dragon is a big job around my house.
I spend about 15 minutes a day on business-related paperwork. I never leave any on my desk--it's all put up in a locked file cabinet each night. (Besides, my desk doesn't have any room for my business papers, it's covered in kids' school work I need to review...
It took me a long time to develop a system. I found a LOT of relief as soon as I eliminated spreadsheets. I used to be someone who lived and breathed spreadsheets.... but I'm more application-based now.
I "do the papers" twice a day, once in the morning (verifying appointments, scheduling) and in the evening to finalize everything. All of my storage spaces and staging spaces are within reach of my desk. That makes a big difference. My file cabinet used to be in a cupboard and I would just make a pile of filing "to be filed." I nixed that and pulled the ugly thing out where it would be used properly.
As soon as I get an assignment, I create an invoice in Quickbooks, and put it on my schedule and create a pending file folder for the documents with the confirmation on the front--the empty file folders serves as my visual reminder that I'm waiting on docs. Those folders get filed/piled in date/time order with the nearest appointment on the front/top. Once I've created the invoice and the folder, I print two copies, they BOTH stay with my document file until I come in at night.
Once I'm in for the night as I'm notifying clients of their successful closings, I also send them their tracking number and invoice. (For clients who get a monthly invoice, their invoice goes into a tickler file and gets compiled on the last day of the month). In quickbooks you can add your client's address and "billing address" which is where I make a note of how they want to get their bills--email, fax, monthly, online, etc.
I write the tracking number (or staple my copy of the waybill) to the confirmation and my copy of the invoice and file it in pending invoices.
I only chase payables about once a month because I pretty much eliminated all my troublesome clients a while back, so I do that the last day of the month when I'm doing the monthly invoices for my couple of monthly clients.
Whenever I open my mail (morning or evening, depends on what the day is like, I open the mail, and post payments in quickbooks, then take the stubs (or a copy of the check), and staple them to the invoice from my "pending payment file" which then moves to the bottom drawer of the file cabinet which has a file for each month. It gets filed by the month the work was done--because if I ever hear about it again, it'll be because the notarization was called into question or something, so I want all of my info in an easily searchable method. (knock on wood, I've NEVER had to look one up...) The actual checks, I pile up and make a weekly deposit. (More than that if I need to for some reason, but it keeps the accounting simpler to drop off at the bank every Monday and then post the deposit).
Right now, my system takes a lot of paper--12 months keeps the file cabinet pretty full. I think that I will soon move to document imaging by the month (Take a whole month's "closed" file and scan it, and save it as one file, then burn all 12 to disk in case I ever need to see them again). But I think I'll always keep the current year and the previous tax-year (or at least until I get the royal blessing from the IRS) in paper.
Too many times I've made a data entry mistake in one of my systems (quickbooks or my earlier spreadsheets) and having my papers to fall back on and straighten myself out on really helped.
I'm also able to use all of this info to do my P&L statement every month and reconcile my accounts. It's a WHOLE lot easier to do my monthly reconciliations with everything in one place.
Yes, the software is big money, but when I needed an accountant's help with my taxes last year, I didn't have to explain my spreadsheets, I just sent him my QB file and he knew exactly what I was doing.
For my bills/payments, I keep a manilla envelope on my desk all month with the current month's info. I put my check stubs (phone bill check, etc) in it, and I also put in debit card receipts, and receipts for online purchases. When I settle my month out (usually the end of the first week of the following month) I enter those all in at once and reconcile to my statement. Then I print my reconciliation report, P&L, and put them in the envelope that I stick into the folder with that month's paid invoices and voila, my month is closed.
When I leave the house for the day, let's say I have 3 closings, I'll have my six folders (borrower copy and my copy) of docs, each pair rubber-banded with the 2 invoices and the confirmation page/instructions. I also have a different-color manilla folder that is my "homework" as each job finishes, I put anything left over that needs to go home (my copy of waybills, my invoices, etc) and it goes directly to my desk and gets processed same-day.
hope that helps. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line.
Side notes: Two things I keep in my journal that many people do not-- tracking numbers (UPS/Fedex) and my mileage or routing--even if it's just a bracket around the appointments that were all in one trip with mileage in the margins. I've found that to be really helpful.
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