i just got done with a stack of paperwork. took me 2 1/2 hours. ofcourse i don't get paid for this time i spend at the computer. do any of you factor in a charge somewhere for this, or is it something that will just always be.
It's just part of the business...btw, do it each day and you won't be spending 2 1/2 hours at a clip. The only time I spend that much at one sitting is when I am doing my monthly invoicing.
liberty,
my wife helps out, but she works full time also, goes to the local college full time, spend alot of time doing her own paperwork for her ebay store (she gets about 10 emails an hour sometimes), .......oh yeah, then there's the job of distracting my 16 month old daughter who loves to sit on my lap while i do paperwork . needless to say, i try not to ask her to do MY work, although she has many times.
rodfather,
i was doing the invoicing, but it was only half the accounts i run out of spit for my envelopes, i gotta invest in those fancy smancy peel off sticker envelopes. i always say i'm going to do my paperwork at the end of each day, including invoices that could go out that day, but I never do.
Originally posted by fga liberty,
my wife helps out, but she works full time also, goes to the local college full time, spend alot of time doing her own paperwork for her ebay store (she gets about 10 emails an hour sometimes), .......oh yeah, then there's the job of distracting my 16 month old daughter who loves to sit on my lap while i do paperwork . needless to say, i try not to ask her to do MY work, although she has many times.
Yep, I know the deal. I work full time with an Advertising Agency, then part time with the local newspaper as a graphic artisist at the end of each month & do all the paperwork for Liberty.
We have a 2-1/2 year old who is hell on feet and a 12 year old who does several activities. The dog keeps the Gremlin busy.
You need to set-up a schedule with your wife so that you can sit down & do the paperwork and then schedule what gets done in that time. That's the only way I can manage it with going nuts.
Example: I invoice twice monthly, 15th & the last day of the month, with the customers divided into two groups depending on where they live. I do all estimates with in 2 days if humanly possible. I pay bills on or about the 5th & 20th of the month. One of us starts dinner while the other returns phone calls.
It's always a juggle, but hopefully, I'll be able to quiat my full time job in a year or two and work for Liberty & doing the graphics.
I just started using Quick books Pro it is saving me a lot of time on my monthly billing and I have not yet mastered the program. So far Quick books has taken much stress and wasted time out of my paperwork
i hate paperwork! its never ending, my worst habit is not sitting down for 30 seconds a day and putting in any expenses (fuel, office supplies, dump fees, materials, etc.) into the computer.
I also used to just dump stuff on my desk and then sort through it about once a week. however it finally caught up to me when i lost an estimate that was supposed to be faxed out. i went to staples and bought a bunch of wall-mounted folder/paper holders. I labeled each one. Bills/Invoices, Unfiled Expenses, Bank Related, Works In Progress, and daily logs. I also keep a large pad with my daily "todo" list. its working so far.
Honestly, this is just a part of the "cost of business" that all too often doesn't get factored in when bidding jobs, thus we end up complaining about the "lowballers". Maintenance time,paperwork time, printer cartridges, pens, pencils, paper, stamps,computer,printer, phone,...on and on. These are all costs in addition to the gas and equipment costs that needs to be considered when pricing your jobs. Wife helping you out with the paperwork? Are you paying her? Why not? The problem with so much of the pricing is that few people, especially when new, really understand the cost of running a business. That's why the success rate overall is so low.
What I need is two computers as I start to do paperwork and than I hit the internet button on the computer and here I am reading (and responding to) lawnsite. I need a paperwork only comp. in one room and a Lawnsite/internet comp. in another.
Sorry Sean.
Done every night, except on sunday's. I learned a long time ago it was easier to do at the end of each day than doing it weekly. When I first started, doing paperwork was done weekly, but as the business grew, it had to be done every evening and playing catch up was a pain in the butt. Thank God for computors.
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