While there are hundreds of different software solutions out there that can help in every area of your business, this blog describes the three most critical in any business, in my opinion.

Clockify

How often have you asked ‘where did the day go’?

If you’re not aware of how much time you spend in each area of your business, how do you expect to increase productivity and as a result, your profits?

Time tracking software, even if you don’t bill by the hour, is essential for working effectively. Every business owner, at some point or other, will be working on their business rather than in it, and the time spent here is just as important to track as client work.

By knowing how much time you’re spending on different business tasks (as opposed to client work), you can see what jobs are taking up your time and what shouldn’t be.

This allows you to delegate the time-consuming or low-value tasks that need to get done but not necessarily by you. You can then focus your time on the efforts that make more of a difference to your business.

Clockify is a great tool for tracking your time and is the one I use in my business. I also like the ability to track time for my team and get the report I need to bill clients correctly.

Another free alternative I recommend is Toggl. Whichever you use, tracking your time will give you insights into how you operate as a business.

Xero and Hubdoc

There are a few good accounting software options out there, but the combination of Xero and Hubdoc has to be my favourite.

It is vital to keep up to date with your business finances for any sort of projections, funding and analysis of how your business is doing. But it doesn’t have to be hard work.

Using Xero helps you track everything for your business finances, from out-going payments and client invoices to tax liabilities and financial reporting. It’s easy to set up (we can help you with that too if you need it), and once you understand the basics, you can keep on top of your finances instead of dreading the day your accountant contacts you for your records.

The integration with Hubdoc makes it even easier as it captures your receipts with a simple click and imports the data into Xero for you. Before you even leave the shop, your bookkeeping is half done!

If you don’t have a bookkeeping system set up, then I highly recommend Xero and Hubdoc as accounting software that will make your finances easier to manage.

And if you do have it set up and are struggling, give me a call. I can solve most niggles in 15 minutes, for free, and get you back on your feet again.

Adobe Sign

One of the most important processes to get right is the on-boarding of new clients.

By making this process slick and easy, you transform the way people value the relationship. They instantly feel in safer hands and have more confidence in the choice they have made in working with you. To read more about onboarding clients, click here.

Adobe sign is an electronic signature app that you can integrate with Mircosoft, Google, Salesforce and other programmes that allows you to collect signatures for your contracts easily.

It takes only a few minutes to generate a contract and all the client has to do is sign it digitally. They can do this at their desk or on their phones on the move.

It’s a simple solution, but it creates a great first impression.

Summary

Choosing the right software for your business can make all the difference to your day-to-day running and enjoyment of your business.

The three recommendations above are vital to my business and if you don’t have software in place that covers these areas, these would be my go-to solutions.

If you want help in setting up processes and software that help your business and save you time, contact us to see how we can help set you up for success.

For more tips on systems and processes that help grow your business, subscribe to our newsletter here.

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The problem is, email can take over your entire day. Even when you’re not responding, the little ‘ding’ creates micro interruptions, distracting you and cutting your productivity without you even realising.

Managing your email is one of the best ways to gain back your time. And it’s not difficult to do. The 4 easiest ways to deal with your email are:

• Setting up rules
• Using other software
• Turning it off and scheduling
• Unsubscribing

Let’s look at those in turn.

Setting up email rules

Rules allow you to predetermine what happens when certain emails land in your inbox. They are a great way to keep your inbox organised and help you concentrate on the emails that need your attention.

For example, if you have purchase receipts sent to you, you could set up a folder that these are automatically redirected to. That way, when it comes to doing your bookkeeping, all your receipts are in one place, and in the meantime, all those emails aren’t cluttering up your inbox.

Using a different software

This will only work for certain tasks that email currently does, but it is worth investigating which ones will save you time.

One of our favourite alternatives is calendar schedulers such as Calendly or Koalendar. These save massive amounts of time when booking meetings because instead of emailing back and forth trying to fix a date and time that suits you both, you simply send them a link to your calendar and leave it up to them.

Turning email off and scheduling

Turning your emails off for periods during the day will give you back more time than you realise. 

Decide on set periods that you want to deal with email – maybe it’s 3 half-hour slots morning, lunch, and at the end of the day. Or maybe you do an hour at 2 pm and that’s it. Whatever works for you is fine, but set a schedule and stick to it. You can always set up an auto-reply to let people know when you’re available and a phone number if it’s urgent.

You can also write emails and then schedule them to be sent at a more appropriate time. 

For example, if you’re writing an email at 9 pm, you might not want to give the impression that you are contactable at that time. In that case, schedule it to be sent first thing in the morning. 

Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails

This is probably the easiest and most important tip from this entire blog. Unsubscribing from emails you don’t read or know who they’re from will be the biggest decluttering exercise you can do for your inbox.

It’s so easy to sign up for this free report or that free checklist and then forget to unsubscribe again. 

If you’re not sure if you want to read the emails sent from a subscription, set up a rule to send it to a folder. If you don’t look through that folder within 3 months, you can unsubscribe.

Summary

Email is a habit we got into. Therefore, it’s also a habit we can get out of, or at least adjust to suit our lives better. 

Use these simple tips to give yourself more time for the things that matter.

If you want help in organising your email inbox or for other time-saving advice, contact us to see how we can help set you up for success.

For more tips on systems and processes that help grow your business, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Get a little superstar treatment by contacting us on:

Email: info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk

Telephone: 020 3362 4436

Mobile: 07811 393520

Website: https://www.jaxstarsolutions.co.uk/

“I want to streamline the quoting process and make it more effective but I just don’t know where to begin?”

What’s your current quoting system? What’s your process?  Do you have one? 

Why should you have one? 

It saves time. If you are using invoicing software, and not using the quotations within that, you’re duplicating the work. Because you’re having to replicate that quote into an invoice when the work comes in. 

It also doesn’t work if you ever want to step out of the process. 

New business begins with quotations. So how do you start to delegate invoicing to someone else if you don’t start with a quotation process? 

Begin mapping your existing quotation process.

Ensure you’re quoting in the same system that you do you’re invoicing in. 

If you don’t know how to, then you can get help with it.  

For example,  if you’re using Xero for invoicing but you’re generating a quote in Word, they aren’t in the same system. If you are invoicing through Excel or PDF and you’re generating quotes in Word then it’s going to be very tricky if you’re not using software for invoicing. 

All business should be trackable. 

You should be learning from your losses as well as your wins.

So it’s great if you know where your sales are coming from and how much revenue you’re receiving. 

It’s equally important to know what’s happened with our losses. 

If we’re not tracking these in software, then we might have an idea but we often look back optimistically. 

So make the most of the software you’re paying for. Put as much as you can through the software to get the best value for your money. 

If you want any free help and advice streamlining the quotation process for your business, with a little superstar treatment thrown in, contact us on:

Email: info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk

Telephone: 020 3362 4436

Mobile: 07811 393520

Website: https://www.jaxstarsolutions.co.uk/

When it comes to CRM systems for small business owners, how does one begin to choose and what’s your favourite?

First, think about what you want your CRM system to do. For example, if you want your CRM system to talk to your invoicing system but there’s no link or integration between the two systems then there’s no point. 

We look at everything in the back office from the foundations up. 

Then we plan out how we want it to work, in an ideal world. 

For example, I would like my CRM system to do X, I want it to talk to Y and then I want it to talk back to the CRM system. 

But identifying the ultimate aim of the CRM is just one key aspect to consider.

The other aspect to consider is what is the budget. 

I recently looked into a CRM system that did absolutely everything. 

Except the pricing was based on a much larger company than mine. 

Figure out first what you want it to do before you start any free trials. 

If you’re not sure what CRM systems can and can’t do then seek advice from professionals with the experience and knowledge to guide you through finding the right CRM system for your business. 

If you want any free help and advice choosing a CRM system for your business, with a little superstar treatment thrown in, contact us on:

Email: info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk

Telephone: 020 3362 4436

Mobile: 07811 393520

Website: https://www.jaxstarsolutions.co.uk/

So many financial software packages. How do I choose and what’s your go-to recommendation?

My go-to recommendation is, stick with what you know but learn to use it fully. 

Get someone to train you, or set it up for you so you’re using it to its full potential.

I’ve worked with many businesses that are using software that aren’t using it properly, and it causes all sorts of problems for their business.   

But don’t just stick to one way of doing things because it’s the way you’ve always done it. 

Often Xero works better. It’s always going to be my go-to for financial software because I’m a certified partner. 

However, Xero isn’t going to work for every type of business. 

For some businesses, spreadsheets do work better than software. 

There are many businesses that Xero can’t work for. 

And in those circumstances, we’ve made their existing systems work even better for them. 

It’s all about the process. 

For example, we’re working with a locksmith who invoices one address and carries out work at a site address. He was using an existing invoicing system software to invoice from the site he carried the work out at. But his accountant wanted to move him to Xero to be tax digital. We’ve done that by getting his invoicing system to talk to Xero. It was crucial that he maintained the ability to invoice on-site when he was there before he gets on to his next job. Otherwise, he’d be spending all his evenings and weekend invoicing.

So we made it work for him. There was no change to him, but a lot of paddling below the surface by us –  like the swan analogy – to make it work for him. 

Don’t be fooled into believing that anyone method or software is better for your business. 

Consult with someone who has experience with different types of systems, software, and processes, and especially someone who takes the time to understand your business thoroughly.

If you want some free advice on how to choose the right software for your business, with a little superstar treatment thrown in, contact us on:

Email: info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk

Telephone: 020 3362 4436

Mobile: 07811 393520

Website: https://www.jaxstarsolutions.co.uk/