10 Minute Tidy Tip 39: Tracking Client Billing

by shannon on May 14, 2012

Depending on your profession, you may need to track the time you spend on each client or project by the minute. One lawyer I know recommends keeping a client hour tracking file open on your desktop always and having it minimized when you are not logging your time in it. If you have an electronic file open like this on a daily basis, it makes it much easier to fill out your time card, log client billing hours, or maintain any other system you might need to make your record keeping much easier. Check out On The Job, stuntsoftware.com/onthejob [http:// stuntsoftware.com/onthejob], it comes highly recommended, seems super easy, and is extremely accurate.

If you are just starting out, a free- yes free- online service to consider is: BillingBoss.com [http://billingboss.com/]. It has great features such as allowing you to accept credit card payments and manage your account with a smart-phone. This is an excellent option for people who often travel and are comfortable using their smartphone on the go.

Aside from Quickbooks, there are other accounting and invoicing programs out there to consider as well. freshbooks.com [http://freshbooks.com] is a much simpler way to do online invoicing and yet it has other features such as invoicing in foreign currencies and scheduling reccurring billing that might make this a great solution for your business.

For more 10 Minute Tidy tips, read Shannon’s books:

10 Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Office Quickly
10 Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Home Quickly

www.10MinuteTidy.com

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10 Minute Tidy Tip 38: Client Management

by shannon on May 7, 2012

Depending on the type of work you do, you may have multiple patients, clients, customers or consultants you work with at the same time. For simplicity, if I say client, I am referring to the people you are working with at any given time.

If you have multiple clients that you work with on any given day or week, how do you keep their information so that you can easily refer to their specific situation? Most times there is some type of client intake form, either online or on paper. A logical way to store these files could be: Current Clients, Past Clients, and Archive Clients. This type of system works for both electronic and paper versions. Then you want to follow an alphabetical filing system, either by first or last name.

If you have a huge client database, you are going to want to use a client management software program that allows you to track and follow up on your clients’ requests. Check out PlaybookIQ.com [http://PlaybookIQ.com], SugarCRM.com [http://SugarCRM.com], and landslide.com [http:// landslide.com]. You may want to ask other successful colleagues in your field what they use to keep up their client relations. Again, whether you work with clients, patients, customers, or consultants, choose the software program that suits your specific needs best.

For more 10 Minute Tidy tips, read Shannon’s books:

10 Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Office Quickly
10 Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Home Quickly

www.10MinuteTidy.com

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10 Minute Tidy Tip 37: Log-Ins and Passwords

April 30, 2012

How many log-in IDs and passwords do you have? How do you keep track of all of them? Did you know it’s important to vary your passwords for different Web sites? Well, this can lead to a lot of confusion and frustration. What I have done for myself and my clients is to create a [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Tip 36: Internet Bookmarks Save Time

April 23, 2012

In addition to keeping your desktop organized, it is also important to have a system for organizing the Web sites you use. What do you do with all the Web sites that you want to refer back to? Creating a thorough bookmark index for both personal and professional interests will support you to find the [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Tip 35: Set Up Online Automatic Backup

April 16, 2012

Setting up an automatic online backup service ensures the safety of your electronic records. Several Web sites that other professional organizers recommend are: mozy.com [http://mozy.com] dropbox.com [http://dropbox.com] carbonite.com [http://carbonite.com] crashplan.com [http://crashplan.com] For simplicity, I will offer you the online backup service that I use and let you know why I choose to subscribe to mozy.com. [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Tip 34: Safeguard Your Electronic Files

April 12, 2012

Whether you choose an external or on-line service, it is important to have a plan for safeguarding your electronic files. An external hard drive or USB drive allows you to back up the files you select whenever you choose. An online backup service will automatically back up all types of files, depending on if they [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Office Tip 33: Are Your Electronic Files Organized?

April 2, 2012

Do you know how to easily find the document you worked on last month? Do you have file folders created by the content of the document or what it is used for? Taking the time right now to look at your electronic files and trying to create some order out of the chaos is infinitely [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Office Tip 32: Keeping Your Desktop Organized

March 19, 2012

Sometimes I get frustrated because every time I download something it gets saved to my computer desktop. If you don’t delete or save these in an intentional location, your desktop easily becomes cluttered. Did you know that your computer operates more efficiently if you save files in folders instead of on the desktop? That’s an [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Office: Your Computer

March 12, 2012

Your computer is probably your most useful office tool and it also often takes up the primary work space. Maximize the use of your desk by looking into ways to maximize the area your computer already occupies. There are stands for the monitor that have trays and drawers to store items. There are also keyboard [...]

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10 Minute Tidy Office Tip 31: Use A Cordless Phone and Headset

March 5, 2012

A cordless phone and headset make talking on the phone easier while simultaneously getting things done. If you are cordless while on the phone, you can grab the client’s file or write notes about the conversation more easily because you have both hands free. There are now phones that will also wirelessly transfer from your [...]

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