Want to reduce some of your business admin burden but not sure where to start? Here is our list of the Top 10 things we think you can outsource to get started.
1. Outsource Your Payroll
Nothing makes your staff angrier than not being paid properly. Payroll is a lot more complex than just paying your staff their hourly rates or salaries. The Holidays Act is the bane of many businesses, large and small. Its a part of your business that needs good systems and great, highly skilled people so that your business can avoid the bad publicity and expense that comes with screwing it up.
A Certified Bookkeeper or member of the Payroll Practitioners Association are your best options when looking for an expert to help you get your payroll sorted.
2. Outsource Your GST Returns
GST Return processing is a regular and time consuming process. It is also a very easy thing to outsource if you are new to outsourcing. Get in touch with a Certified Bookkeeper and use their expertise to help ease the burden of regular GST compliance.
It is important to use a Certified Bookkeeper or Tax Agent to ensure you don’t create more headaches for yourself in future.
3. Outsource Your Accounts Receivable Management
Cash is king. From drafting quotes to reconciling payment, your accounts receivable process is the core of your business cashflow and will make or break your business. If you don’t have an accounts receivable process, you really need one. Outsourcing the process to an expert can be a great way to get an effective process in place.
Outsourcing your accounts receivable management can help to streamline the process and make sure you keep on top of your debtors. Working with a bookkeeper on your accounts receivable process will help you with:
- Drafting quotes to potential customers,
- Managing deposits for jobs,
- Raising interim and final invoices,
- Managing debtors and chasing late payments.
Outsourced to a professional, a proper accounts receivable process will help you to keep the cash rolling in while you focus on serving your customers and doing the things you love.
4. Outsource Your Accounts Payable Management
Keeping on top of all of your accounts payable can be a bit of a mission. You don’t want the accounts departments of your suppliers to be getting in touch with you all the time, its just not good business.
Most business owners seem to fall into one of two categories with their payables. You either avoid them and pay them in big batches once a month, or you pay them as soon as they come in. Neither option is desirable and both are bad for cashflow in different ways.
The best approach with your payables is to simply pay them when they are due. You expect your invoices to be paid on your terms. You should pay your suppliers bills on their terms.
Follow a simple process:
- Review each bill you receive for accuracy and payment terms.
- Record the bills as you review them into your accounting system.
- Plan payment dates and set up batches in advance.
- Set a certain day each week to process batch payments.
- Send a remittance after making payment.
- Allocate and reconcile payments in a timely manner.
5. Outsource Your Software Implementation
Software is a great tool to improve your business efficiency. However, for the automation that software offers to have the best benefit, it has to be implemented properly. Unless you’re an IT and implementation expert, it may be best to get someone in to help walk you through the process and make sure it goes off without a hitch.
There are a number of tech savvy professionals that you can use to help you select and implement software solutions. Selecting the right solutions is the first important step. Implementing properly is the make-or-break step. The overall change management process will also be able to overseen by the implementation team. Effective change management can help to avoid issues with your team having to learn new systems and processes.
Implementation experts are also going to be able to train you and your team on the software your are putting in place. Their end to end solutions will help to make what can be a nightmare into a smooth process that boosts your bottom line.
6. Outsource Your Email Management
More and more communication is happening electronically. Getting some help with your emails can help to free up a lot of your day.
A virtual assistant can help to manage your emails, delete spam and filter out the most important communications that require your attention. This means that when you jump into your emails, you’ll only have to deal with the most important communications form customers and suppliers.
7. Outsource Your Marketing Management
Marketing is the life blood of your business. Even successful and established businesses need to undertake at least some marketing to maintain their market position. If you are looking to grow, marketing is even more important.
The marketing activities you can outsource vary from your graphic design through to your Google Adwords management and everything in between.
Get in touch with a few suppliers of these services. It’s important that you find someone who thoroughly understands your business so that they can easily and seamlessly communicate with your target market and have the greatest benefit to you.
8. Outsource Your Social Media Management
Social media is a total time-suck. An hour can disappear in the blink of an eye. This is what makes it a really good task to outsource to a professional.
Getting a professional to handle your social media can help you to avoid the time-suck. You’ll be able to keep up regular posting, engage with your customers and deal with everyone in a personal manner, all while focusing fully on your business.
9. Outsource Your Copywriting
Getting a professional to handle your copywriting can be a real benefit. From SEO to blogs and proofreading, a professional copywriter can have a number of benefits to your business. They will also free up a lot of time for you to focus on value adding activities in your business.
We recommend you get in touch with the team at Spotty Lizard to have a chat about your copywriting needs.
10. Outsource Your Cleaning
Cleaning is one of the main things we recommend business owners outsource. Its a great way to relieve a weight off your shoulders by getting rid of a task you probably hate. Its an outsourced activity that has a great benefit to you personally and professionally as its something that wastes a lot of time and energy and is something that almost no one enjoys doing. The added benefit is that office cleaning is fully deductible for tax purposes while getting your home cleaned can be a part of your use of home claim if you work from home.
It doesn’t have to be business related tasks that you outsource. Anything that helps to make your life easier will free you up to focus on your business and the things you actually enjoy doing.
If you are keen to discuss the things you could outsource in your business or life, have a chat with an MBP Business Support Advisor.