Clutter Begone!

Let’s say you’re a business owner, and—at least where accounting is concerned—you realize you need professional help. Don’t worry, there’s no shame in that!

You make a few inquiries and find a numbers person who seems a good fit for you and your business. But your office is a jumble and you’re afraid you might be beyond help. What do you do? Throw everything in sight into a couple of bankers boxes and lug in the whole thing for your new accountant to figure it out?

Only if you want to get off on the wrong foot. Instead, try these tips.

If you’re wallowing in a mess and don’t know where to start, ask your accountant what she’ll need to get started. Then, wade in. Sort those papers into piles. If they’re not needed (ads and other junk mail), throw them in the recycle bin. If you’re not sure, file them away in a “just in case I need it” folder. Put the things your accountant asked for in three envelopes: one for assets, one for income, and one for expenses, and take them with you for your first face-to-face.

After you and your accountant have established what you expect from one another, you’ll have to continue to provide her with the ongoing information she’ll need to help you most effectively. That should give you an incentive to keep that paperwork from getting out of hand again.

Here’s a practical way to keep the clutter in check: Get yourself a couple attractive containers—pretty baskets, boxes, bins, or whatever appeals to your style and décor. Put them in a handy place that’s easy to access. One is for receipts (documentation of money you’ve spent) and the other for income (sales invoices and bank deposit receipts). 

Now, whenever either of these comes into your hands, don’t just toss it aside – put it in the appropriate container! Make sure every deposit receipt is stapled to the appropriate sales invoice(s) or other record of where the payment came from.

Do this religiously. It only takes a few seconds each day, but saves a ton of frustration later on.

At the end of the month, slip the contents of those bins into two envelopes and drop them off with your accountant. She’ll take care of the rest—and you’re on your way to the No Drama Zone!

Time Management IV

Time. Its boundaries are not elastic. It has no pause button, no speed setting, and you can’t reboot when it seems to go haywire.

As we’ve seen, there’s no way to actually manage time. However, in our last three posts, we’ve looked at some practical ways by which we can make the most of its inexorable flow. Today, we’ll look at three more tools.

Beat it at its own game. Time is limited, so set limits for your tasks. There will be certain constants in your day, such as reading/answering emails or returning phone messages. Though you have to do them every day, that doesn’t mean you have to do them all day. Set a reasonable time limit for each activity and stick to it faithfully.

Organize your systems. How much time do you spend looking for files, whether electronic or physical? Sloppiness is first cousin to your old nemesis, Ima Timewaster. Time spent getting things organized is an investment that will more than pay for itself in time saved later on. Just make sure the systems you put into place are logical and efficient so you’ll be able to use them effectively on a daily basis over the long haul.

Wait productively. How many times have you sat and waited, fuming about all the better things you could be doing? Your frustration was justified; no one benefits from thumb-twiddling. That’s why, wherever you go, you should take something with you—reading you need to get caught up on, a list you need to make, a report you have to review. Today’s technology makes this easier than ever before. But even if you have an analogue mind, you can carry a pad of paper and a pen for jotting notes to yourself or making a list of groceries you need to pick up on the way home.

Time might not negotiate, but neither is it particularly clever. If you know its limitations and keep an eye out for its co-conspirators, you’ll be able to outsmart it. We hope these tips will help.