I’m sure you know that you should organise finances. However, in practice it’s not always that easy. Here are what I consider to be the 8 most important things a Virtual Assistant can help with, and why they’re important.
Create invoices promptly
Invoicing promptly is important for several reasons. Firstly, if you don’t invoice, you don’t have income. Secondly, if you don’t invoice until you need the money, there’s a good chance your clients won’t pay as quickly as you like. That will inevitably lead to financial shortfalls. You can’t expect your clients to take your invoices seriously if you don’t.
Reconcile payments as they’re received
This may not seem important, but if you don’t reconcile payments you won’t know who has paid and who hasn’t. This can lead to some clients building up a large outstanding balance which can be disastrous if you don’t get paid at all. It also allows you to know who has paid and to acknowledge their payment.
Follow up on unpaid invoices
It’s good business practice to follow up on unpaid invoices promptly. It lets your clients know you’re professional and that you do expect your invoices paid on time. It also helps get payments on time, which leads to better cashflow in your business.
Enter payments into your finance system
Every time you purchase something for your business, your Virtual Assistant can enter it into your finance system so that you end up with accurate records. This helps with your reporting in that you have a true record of your business costs. It also helps at tax time when you have the information you need for BAS and your annual tax.
Upload receipts to your finance system
Again, you need this information for your BAS, tax and reporting. If you’re ever audited you’ll be expected to provide receipts for transactions over $75. If you scan all receipts when you get them and send them straight to your Virtual Assistant, they can make sure that the receipts are uploaded to your finance system so they’re always available when required.
Properly categorise payments
Properly categorising your expenses and income is the only way to know where your money is coming from and going to. All finance systems will let you create expense and income categories to suit your needs and create reports on those categories.
Balance and reconcile accounts
Regularly check your finance system against your bank statements and petty cash receipts to make sure they balance. You need to do this on a regular basis for several reasons. One of which is to make sure your business isn’t leaking money somewhere. Do you have bills you’re not accounting for? Is your coffee budget off the charts? You’ll never know if you’re not making sure your finance system and cash & bank accounts all say the same thing.
Make invoice payments on your behalf
Almost as important as chasing unpaid invoices is paying the invoices sent to you by other businesses. You know how you feel about the clients who are always late paying their bills. Do you want your suppliers thinking of you like that? Paying invoices on time is important for your reputation. However, paying them on the due date is often preferred so you keep funds in your bank account for as long as possible. Your Virtual Assistant can keep track of invoices and make sure they’re paid on time.
