Bits of Silver

Recently Intuit came out with the results of a survey they took of Bookkeepers and Accountants who work with various businesses. The leading question of the survey was What is Keeping Small Business Owners Up At Night?

The top three problems viewed as most important from various questions were the following:

63 % Generating New Customers

41% Paying Their Bills

38% Managing Time/ Productivity

I would like to address Time Management today. I my view, there are three things distinct categories that create problems here-

1. Lack of Promise

2. Lack of Priorities

3. Lack of Policies

Promise- You must have written goals, or you will not get things done, nor will you know when you have accomplished something important. Create a default diary which holds the items not accomplished yet, check off the things as you finish. Have goals for the day, the week, the month.

Priorities- Managing your time must take priority, because if it's not that important it will surely be overlooked. If spending quality time with family every night is your priority, you will learn how to work faster and smarter, picking what is more important and delegating the rest.If you have no one to delegate to, then move to outsourcing may be your key to success. If you are a one or two person shop, it might be time to give up some responsibilities on a part time basis so you can get things done.

Policies- If you have Policies and you know what the procedure to accomplish something is, it will go much faster. Repeating something over and over? Make a form. Paper all over your desk? Get a short filing system for your desktop and use it faithfully. The key to reducing stress and getting things done is to repeat the processes, eliminating the unnecessary steps and streamlining the activity.Ifyou are not good at organizing, hire someone to come in and work with you to create the processes. It will be worth every penny in future savings! Remember, your time is money.

Don't forget that June 15 is the date that your second Estimated Taxes payment is due!  If you are not sure how to calculate what you owe there is a worksheet that you can fill in at the www.irs.gov website.

What a wonderful week I had in Aruba! We have a timeshare there and had not been back for various reasons for several years.  It took a day or so to get into the 'laid back island mode' but once I did it was a very enjoyable week filled with lots of beautiful beach, happy hours, walks and a pile of reading.

Aruba has the best restaurants! My husband and I always eat at the California Light House because it has the best views. We also did Amazonia this time, a Brazilian all you can eat type place. And of course, another favorite, the Buccaneer, where there are huge water tanks and the fish, turtles and lobster move about right at your table!

If you would like to visit an island where you are guaranteed beautiful weather all seven days- this is it.

Now, back to catching up with work! 

In a tough economy Cash Flow becomes a bright and shiny object you are always looking at.  Personally, I tell all my clients that this is the Number One area they should be spending the most administrative time on.   After all, didn't we each start a company so we would be well paid? Then why don't more companies seem interested in getting their money until they can't pay their own bills?

I believe the number one reason this area is deficient is probably because there is no policy in place.  You need to be very specific about what course your company will take in 15 days, 30 days, 45 days and over.  This could start with a statement sent by email, followed up with a phone call at the next interlude, and maybe a personal visit after 60 days, when possible.

Make sure your clients know your payment schedule upfront. Always put it on your Invoices, and be very consistently in how you go through the steps you have set up for collection.

One thing I absolutely know-  if you will call and actually ask for the payment, you will receive your money before someone who just sends an email.  Which company do you want to be? The receiving company, or the one that has yet to get payment?  Who would you pay first?

If your company is large enough to have an Accounts Receivable person, make sure they know what you will and won't accept, and what their actions should look like.  There is a huge difference between a deadbeat customer, and your best customer that is having a minor problem.  How will they judge the difference. This should have a written procedure they can follow, including oversight.

Make sure your clients value your services and would not want to be without them.  The quickest way to receive your check is to be very forthcoming; that if the bill is not paid by a certain date, all services will stop until the bill is current.  Companies that need you will respond in some capacity.

Make it easy for them to pay you- offer several modes, like automatic debit, credit card, longer payment plans, etc.

Be cautious. Don't let one or two clients be more than 50% of your income. Run a credit report on a regular basis if you have large receivables.  Consider purchasing  receivable insurance if the amounts warrant it.

And if all else fails, make sure you have a good collection agency or legal advisor to work with.  One letter from a lawyer can bring excellent results.

Remember, the best way to have a good ratio  (Accounts Receivable/ Sales) is to have a system in place and stick to it.  Pre qualify your clients if necessary, and be a good partner when one might need a little breathing room for a short time period, something they will remember when good days are ahead.

Economic times are hard. Make sure you response in quick, thoughtful and systemized.

The other night , as I crawled into bed at about midnight, it didn't escape me that while I was trying to read an article called "The Exhaustion Cure"  I was doing all I could to to stay awake to finish it (and to be honest, I didn't make it).     The article was describing 10 ways to beat exhaustion. Meanwhile,  I'm fighting, to keep my eyes from closing, and my head is doing that little plop thing when you are actually falling asleep sitting up.

I'll give you a cure for exhaustion- don't start your own business.  Because if you are anything like me, no matter how much I get done, I can think of numerous things I haven't gotten to yet!    The person who wrote this must have lived with Small Business Owners for a while.   There are  causes, such as 'leaky boundaries' and 'information overload'.  This all applies to me, and everyone who is responsible for creating a company and making it a success.  A few hours of sleep can repair most of this, and when it's too much-  you have to take a little time out.

They want you to start a journal. Are they nuts?  Add another thing to my schedule? I'm already reading in the powder room- lest I waste a single minute.   Oh no,  I'm not ready to retire and play golf all day. But I do like the ocassional golf game, and a day at the beach.    

I do agree with the basics listed- Get enough (but not too much) sleep, eat right, stay hydrated, get plenty of excercise and limit caffeine.    I do take a break every once in a while and run up and down the stairs to my office to get my single cup of coffee .....

The article was written by Hillari Dowdle and can be found in Whole Living/Body & Soul (which I don't subscribe to- but they were kind enough to send me a free copy this month).