Dear Gritty VA:
In talking with my business coach we have decided I should use my 18 years office administration and customer service skills to start a Virtual Assistant business. I’m losing my current work position in June of this year so I’m hoping to have my business established by then. One area I’m struggling with is how I perform my current skills for business owners strictly from my home office? Is there specific software I should have, etc? How are other VAs accomplishing these tasks from their virtual offices? Plus, there are some tasks I don’t know how to do at this point. –SC
I hope you understand I can’t possibly give you a neat and tidy list of all the possible software you might need to use. A small part of the reason is that I don’t know who your target market is. And that’s important because different clients working in different professions/industries running different types of businesses (e.g., are they professionals providing a service or are they a sales business?) will entail different support and require different approaches
So, here is what I can tell you generally.
1. One thing I notice a lot in our industry is VAs can tend to make things far more complicated than need be, which only increases their workload and makes their business harder to manage. In large part, you and the client don’t need anything more complicated and involved to communicate than simply emailing each other. With email, you don’t have to take time out for random, interrupting phone-calls. You have a tangible item that you can move around in prioritizing files in your email client (e.g., Outlook) and you’ve got a hardcopy paper trail, so to speak, of what is asked of you.
2. I also think using an online collaborative virtual office service such as HyperOffice is extremely useful. For one thing, HyperOffice isn’t just about one component like so many others are. For example, Basecamp is specifically designed for project management. It doesn’t come with an integrated shared calendar, shared documents, shared lists, forums, shared projects/tasks area, etc., that HyperOffice comes with. I find this particularly helpful in working with professionals such as attorneys when most of the work you are doing is working on their own client stuff. So what I do is set up a group for each of my clients. Then within my client’s group, I set up subgroups for each of their clients. Each subgroup represents one of their client/matters and being a subgroup, each has its own individual shared calendar (which I use to enter litigated case schedules and to-do reminders), contacts (where I’ll enter all the relevant parties’ contact info such as opposing counsel, witnesses, experts, etc.), projects, documents, lists, etc. Plus, with HyperOffice, you get real-time/actual live document editing and saving. None of the other services out there have that. With them, you have to download docs to your computer, edit, save and then re-upload them. That’s a HUGE time drain and annoyance, particularly if you are working with a fast-paced environment. The only other exception is Groove, but that is a software you have to purchase, install, figure out yourself, and then get hosting for it. It doesn’t come with customer support like an SAAS–software as a service–does.
3. Then, there are going to be services your clients uses and all that’s really required there is for them to give you the login access information. For example, if you client publishes an ezine (online electronic newsletter), he or she will use a service like Aweber to distribute it and manage the attendant subscriber lists. Because it is an online service, you don’t need to download anything or purchase your own software. You simply log into the client’s account and do what you need to do.
4. Let’s see, what else? Oh, here’s a good example… Some VAs offer bookkeeping in addition to their administrative support. My first caution here is to first make sure you are qualified to be providing this kind of service. When you start messing with people’s money and financial recordkeeping, you open yourself up to a whole other level of liability. People who do not have the knowledge and training to be providing this service shouldn’t. Otherwise, you risk causing real harm to the clients and yourself getting into potential legal hot water.
But let’s say you are a qualified bookkeeper and want to offer this service. There are all kinds of ways you can provide this and all kinds of platforms to use. In the actual bookkeeping field, what many folks do is have clients fax or mail bank statements at the start of every month and then they simply enter and keep the data at their end in their own software (like Quickbooks Pro). At the end of the month, they give clients summarized reports and balance sheets. When it’s tax time, they simply make a CD copy to give to the accountants (unless they provide that services themselves as well).
Other business owners are more hands-on. They want their data entered a little more regularly instead of once a month. They like to keep their own finger on the pulse of things and for them, keeping their records on their own systems is preferred. In those cases, services like Quickbooks offer an online version. It’s pretty robust, but there are components lacking that the actual software has (e.g., last I heard, the online version doesn’t allow you to enter COGS line-items; if you working with contractors, for example, that could be a problem). If the client’s business is simple and more service-based, the online version will probably serve all your needs. And if you get the online version, again, all you need is for the client to provide you with access to the account.
Another way is to have the client fax or email things to be entered and then you mail then back a CD or somehow get an electronic version back to them. Things like invoices can be emailed back to the client or simply mailed out. This is a really complicated way of doing things because it adds more work and will require that you and the client always be in exact sync and never fail to upload the latest CD of their files. For example, if you do a client’s bookkeeping for the week, then make a copy of the CD and do a file transfer of it to them, the client then has to download that latest CD. If he fails to do this, the next time you do file swapping, you could lose all your previous work. I really, really don’t recommend doing things this way whatsoever. Too much room for human error. And trust me, there WILL be human error sooner or later. I guarantee it.
The only other way is to work on the client’s own software to do their bookkeeping using remote access (such as with a program like LogMeIn). This can work really great. The only thing is that the client can’t be on the computer you are trying to work on remotely. In the past, what I’ve had clients do is simply set up a second computer (typically, one that isn’t going to be used at all or very often by anyone else), keep their bookkeeping software on that computer and then I simply log in whenever I was ready to do their bookkeeping.
I used the example of bookkeeping, but as you can see, when it comes to software there are going to be all kinds of options available to you. There are going to be online services. Sometimes remote access is the way to go. Other times, having the actual software is what is required. You simply are going to have to research them (and your research could and should include asking those specific questions of your colleagues when they come up) and find out what works best–for your clients AND you. And a lot you will figure out as you go and as you talk with clients and prospects.
What you need and the option you end up using for any given support area is going to also depend a lot on your target market and what makes sense for your business as well. Meaning, your business can’t afford for you to be spending your time using antiquated or inefficient systems or softwares just because a particular client is using them and doesn’t know any better. As an independent professional and administrative expert, you have to work with clients who can get with the program or are amenable to the advice you give them on what will work better for them and for you. Because every inefficiency you allow into your business, just to make an exception and cater to an individual client’s whims, makes your business that much less profitable and efficient. And that’s not good for you or your other clients.
