All sorts of administrative duties can sap time and resources from small businesses, so handling them efficiently is essential.
With that in mind, here are just some of the successful strategies ambitious organizations can use to streamline everyday admin.
Dominate document management
Digital document formats can be a pain to wrangle unless you are using the right tools for the job. For example, if you have content saved as a Word document that you want to add to a PDF, you do not have to complete the whole process manually. Instead, you can edit PDF online from this page and save yourself a lot of effort.
Likewise, by making use of cloud-powered document solutions, rather than relying solely on locally saved files, you can not only edit and transform them efficiently but also collaborate with colleagues without the usual obstacles to overcome.
Embrace virtual meetings
While meetings can be complex to organize and might not always be necessary, they remain an important part of how small businesses operate. One of the main barriers to efficient meetings can be removed thanks to video conferencing, which lets you get people together to discuss important topics without needing them to share the same physical space.
Services like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have recently brought virtual meetings to the masses, and small businesses are particularly well placed to benefit from them. You could even implement remote working policies based on the use of video calls to keep colleagues in touch.
Even fledgling firms need to get on top of their social media responsibilities as soon as possible, and this is another area that can be taxing to orchestrate.
Thankfully there are plenty of software solutions designed to take the sting out of social media. Using the likes of Hootsuite and Buffer, it is possible to control all of your accounts from a single interface and automate the publishing of content across platforms at the perfect time.
Keep customers happy
Customer service is another essential area in which small businesses have to succeed if they want to grow and gain a good reputation.
Often, the first port of call for people who need assistance will be your website. Chatbots can answer basic queries instantly rather than leaving visitors looking for your contact info and hoping for a reply to their email.
It is another case of automation riding to rescue over-stretched companies, with solutions like Chatfuel using AI to field questions from prospective and existing customers.
Prioritize project management
Project management can feel like spinning plates; one wobble can send everything crashing to the ground. However, you can shore up your project-based admin with the help of project management platforms that make every part of the process more convenient.
Products like Asana and Trello let you steward entire teams of employees and make sure that everyone knows what is expected of them over the course of a project. If hitting deadlines has been a problem in the past, moving to a partially automated approach to project management will be a godsend.
Simplify payroll duties
Another tedious yet essential aspect of running a business is making sure that payroll tasks are completed to schedule. This matters in terms of employee satisfaction as well as regulatory compliance and is one of the accounting mistakes to avoid.
Many payroll management packages exist to empower businesses of all sizes, with popular options like Quickbooks making short work of the tasks you would normally have to complete manually.
So all it takes is for small businesses to reach out and grab the opportunities for admin efficiency that are within reach.