How Accountants Can Use Virtual Services to Increase Productivity
As an accountant and small business owner, you have flexibility in the way you work. You also have a lot on your plate, especially during the busy fall and spring tax seasons. Luckily, there’s an easy and affordable way to get more done — virtual office spaces and virtual assistant services.
Both solutions offer priceless flexibility, and you can customize each to suit the exact needs of your business. If you’re ready to simplify the way your accounting business works, keep reading to learn how to get the most out of these innovative virtual services.
What are virtual office spaces, and how can accountants use them to grow their businesses?
If you don’t work from a traditional office, you might be tempted to turn the kitchen table or couch into a workspace (or perhaps you have a dedicated home office). When you feel like getting out of the house, a coffee shop might seem like the best choice. But, what if you could access all of the benefits of an office, without expensive rent or rigid commercial lease terms?
With virtual office spaces, you can do exactly that. There are tons of benefits to virtual offices as an accountant, including:
- A range of spaces to choose from, including shared offices and coworking spaces, executive office suites, and private offices.
- Availability of conference and meeting rooms to meet with clients.
- A more professional image — many virtual offices are located in prestigious commercial areas.
- Access to office equipment, like scanners and printers, at no extra cost.
- Significant cost savings when compared to traditional office leases.
- The flexibility to choose exactly what you need without sneaky hidden costs.
Some virtual office providers, including Intelligent Office, also retain a team of professional virtual assistants to help small business owners run their companies. Delegating tasks might sound impossible at first, but it’s arguably the most efficient way to grow a business.
How accountants can use virtual assistants to do more work, better
As an accountant, you’re an expert at analyzing the financial records of your clients. But, when was the last time you analyzed your own operational costs and inefficiencies?
First, create a master list of the tasks you need to complete every day, week, and month. Then, review your list line by line and ask, “Can I outsource this?” The goal is to identify which tasks can be offloaded to a virtual assistant, so that you can spend more time on the things that require your professional expertise.
Some of the items on your list that could be outsourced might include:
- Calendar management, including confirming appointments and scheduling meetings.
- Receptionist tasks.
- Client outreach, including thank you notes, phone calls, emails and more.
- Creating and sending invoices, plus follow-ups on unpaid invoices.
- Creating reports using your accounting software.
These five items are just the beginning, too. If you’d like to learn more about using a virtual assistant and other virtual services to streamline the way your accounting business operates, visit this page.
