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10 C&P tools
to increase
your productivity
If increased productivity
is your goal, then put these Clients & Profits
tools to work:
1) Spec sheets store
details for standard types of jobs, including sets
of tasks. When a new job is opened, choosing a job
type/spec sheet copies its information to the new job,
making jobs more consistent.
2) PO templates are
like job type/spec sheets but contain standard information
about routine types of purchase orders.
3) If you
have a routine job that's repeated often, cloning copies
it's information into a new job ticket -- including
its estimates and schedules.
4) Cloning POs does
the same thing for routine purchase orders.
5) On the
Daily Time Card, clicking the Show My Tasks button
copies your unfinished tasks to the time card so that
you don't have to remember which tasks you're supposed
to be tracking hours for.
6) Recurring
payables can be set up to automatically add routine
vendor invoices each month for up to a year at a
time.
7) Recurring
JEs can be set up to automatically debit and
credit selected G/L accounts for entries such as
insurance expense, depreciation, and more.
8) Autobilling will
create instant client invoices for selected unbilled
jobs.
9) The Autopay
payables function will write checks automatically
for selected A/P invoices.
10) Prebilling
POs will instantly bill a client for a purchase
order. |
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By Bonnie
Burlew
Staff productivity reports are excellent first step tools to red-flag
whether or not your staff is working productively or whether it's time
to bring in freelancers. First, if the productivity reports show fewer
billable hours than you like, staff motivation might do the trick. But
if there's excessive, legitimate overtime logged, maybe adding staff
or hiring a freelancer is the answer. But what's the best choice?
Review freelance use. If you currently use freelancers,
look at the Freelance Time report to see if there is an increasing dependence
on freelancers. If there is, it might justify staffing up. (Since freelancers
charge about 70 percent more per hour than a full-time staffer's wages,
an increase in freelance use will also show up in shrinking profit margins,
unless the higher cost is built into the estimate.)
Motivate the staff. If you decide to increase productivity
without additional staff (freelance or permanent), be sure to factor
in "hidden" costs: new equipment, better benefits, and perks.
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Even if the numbers show
that haranguing the troops is fiscally responsible, proceed with
caution! It could cost more in the long run in terms of lost clients
and a sullied reputation if work quality suffers.
Do the math. For number-crunchers, the equation is easy:
hire freelancers as long as the cost of doing so is less than or equal
to the cost of adding new staff. When calculating cost for new staffers,
remember to include benefits, the cost of physical space and equipment,
and training (about 40 percent of the first year's salary for a green
staffer).
Whatever choice you make, remember that every action
has a cost, whether it shows up on the books or not. And no matter what
the rule, there's always an exception -- like hiring that certain mega-talent
to round out your winning team -- that far outweighs the short-term
cost.
Bonnie
Burlew is the controller at Clients & Profits,
Inc. and a helpdesk member. She can be reached at bonnie@clientsandprofits.com. |
