You have your work to attend to. Then you have to stay on top of your accounting and finances. Don’t forget your marketing and social media. It’s enough to make your head spin!
I’m a big fan of using technology as an aid to help entrepreneurs maximize their limited time. We’re all limited to having just 24 hours in our days, but there are a variety of tools that can help us use that time more wisely. From communications to time tracking, here are five of my favorites.
Voxer
This walkie talkie app is fun, but most importantly, it’s incredibly useful. Voxer allows you to connect with teammates with whom you need to have frequent communication to deliver quick messages.
It’s faster than an email and doesn’t require the hassle of coordinating a call. You can send text or audio messages and ensure that you’re all on the same page–all without having to open your email.
Calendly
You have the best of intentions. You want to have a conversation. You offer several available timeframes. They don’t match your client’s availability. They, in turn, offer alternate times that aren’t a fit for you. And round and round you go, spending days trying to accomplish what should have taken five minutes. That’s exactly what you need in your life, right? More complications.
Calendly takes the hassle out of the process by showing the times you have available for clients and consults to choose from. You can use the link on its own, or include it on your website. Whatever the case, those dreaded back-and-forth exchanges can be a thing of the past.
Toggl
In order be your most efficient, you have to understand how you use your time. Toggl allows you to track how you’re spending your hours on desktop and mobile so that you can make the necessary adjustments. It allows you to track time spent on client work in real-time, or you can use it more as a time sheet.
You can assign billable rates to your tasks to understand how your productivity impacts your bottom line. Toggl also helps you track overall project estimates, comparing completion estimates to actual timeframes.
Trello
If you’re like me, you make a lot of lists for different areas of life. Many times those lists require additional information, but that is housed somewhere else, probably with no system attached to it.
Trello can help reign in the chaos. You can make your lists, outline your steps, and track your progress. It helps nicely lay out all of that information you have floating in your head. Capture it, release it, organize it, and plan it out without worrying about missing something.
Hootsuite
Like it or not, your business has to have a presence on social media. It can be overwhelming. Scheduling tools like Hootsuite help you manage all of your accounts from one place and schedule your content. You can also see and respond to your mentions all in one place.
You still have to come up with the content, but with this app you can save time by scheduling it at one time in one place.
Organization is half the battle in effectively managing your business. This should be a good starting point in getting a hold on the major areas that can be a challenge so that you can focus on your work and paying the bills.
Thanks for the great question. Best of luck to you!
Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash
This article is designed to provide information only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Because of the complexity of the law and the variables in your own personal tax and accounting situation, you can’t rely on our advice specifically related to your unique circumstances. In order to get the best tax savings and legal advice available to you, you should consult with your own accountant, attorney or advisor regarding your particular facts and circumstances. Healthy Bodies of Finance is an accounting firm that specializes in working with health and wellness providers. We provide monthly accounting & bookkeeping services and financial education. For more information on our specialized services for health and wellness providers please contact us at [email protected]