It’s safe to say that no one really enjoys the administration side of running a business, but unfortunately, it is a necessary evil. However, it doesn’t always have to be such a chore. There are always ways of making admin tasks simpler and quicker – here are some of the best essential tools you need to help you tackle that business admin.
Invoices
If you’re not getting paid for your work, there is no point in doing it. Freshbooks is a super simple system that allows you to track the time you spend on projects whilst keeping a handle on all your expenses and send invoices – click the link to see their free invoice template. It’s perfect whether you are a freelancer just starting out, or a larger business who has several employees to keep track of – send easy to create professional-looking invoices in minutes.
Project management
If you’re working with several clients, or on a few different projects at once, it can be incredibly difficult to keep up to date with who is doing what, and where things are at. Using a project management system such as Asana or Trello means that you can keep everything in one place and share access to tasks and timelines etc with the other people working on that project. You can oversee jobs and allocate specific tasks to team members so that everyone is on the same page and no one has to wade through a million emails to find out what’s happening.
Appointment scheduling
Another job that often takes a lot longer than it really should is scheduling appointments, but if you use something like Calendly or an alternative to Calendly, it can take out all the hassle and hard work out of finding the perfect time. If you’re trying to arrange something with members of your team, instead of long back-and-forth exchanges trying to find out a date, use a service like Doodle to allow everyone to choose the best time for them. This way you can ensure you select the date with the highest turnout.
Time management
If you’re billing a client hourly, or want to keep track of how long you are working on a project for, there are several different time management apps that you can install for this. For example, Toggl or Harvest both integrate with project management tools like Trello and Asana, tracking hours spent on projects across teams which can be really important to keep an eye on and analyse.
Email marketing
One of the best ways to market your business, or contact your newsletter subscribers, is through a dedicated app such as MailChimp. Not only can you segregate your audience by certain attributes, but you can also try some A/B testing for subject lines to see what works best for your customers.
Although admin can be frustrating, hopefully these tools can make things a lot easier and smoother for you, taking the headache out of those tasks and leaving you more time to do the work you’re passionate about while the rest takes care of itself.
