Managing a small business can be tough, especially if you are doing it alone; missed deadlines, paperwork not filed, and you just can’t seem to clear your email inbox. If this sounds like you then I only have one question, “Why aren’t you using a Virtual Assistant?!?”

A virtual assistant (VA, for short) wears many hats, and is able to assist you with a variety of tasks, not just office administration. Speak with your VA about taking on some of these tasks:

-1- Email Management

If you are feeling intimidated by the number of unread messages in your inbox, ask your virtual assistant to start managing it for you. Even though they work remotely, there are a number of ways in which they can get access to your email. Look at methods that allow them direct access so that they can also create effective spam filters in between alerting you to messages that need your attention.

-2- Mail Management

Technology has not done away with regular mail, yet, and if the nature of your business sees you traveling regularly, arrange to have all your mail forwarded to your VAs business address. Again they can filter out all the junk mail, and ensure that you only get mail that requires action. They can easily scan each item and forward it to you as an email attachment.

-3- Password Management

We all work with dozens of logins and passwords every day, and if you are reluctant to use a software solution for managing and storing passwords, ask your VA to compile a database or spreadsheet to keep track of all your account details. Should you ever forget any details you won’t need to waste time resetting your password, you can simply request it from your VA.

-4- Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions often include too many features for small businesses, not to mention the additional cost involved. Your VA can manage a simpler solution for you, using a database to manage client information, record interactions and even manage important dates such as birthday’s, anniversaries and quarterly reminders for all of your clients.

If your Virtual Assistant also manages your business accounts they can advise you when to send out a payment reminder to any of your clients, or advise you when you need to make payments to avoid any penalties.

-5- Holiday Calendar Management

Holidays are important for all businesses, and while it is relatively easy to remember the big dates, smaller holidays can be just as beneficial for different industries. Promotions, advertisements and press releases need to be scheduled around these dates, and your VA will be able to keep track of publication, printing and even delivery deadlines.

-6- Schedule and Appointment Management

Ideally this should be one of the first tasks you hand over to your virtual assistant, managing your diary, appointments and schedule. They can ensure there are no conflicts, that times are scheduled according to factors such as travel, and send you timely reminders of upcoming appointments.

-7- Digitizing of Documents

A near paperless office is much easier to manage, but finding the time to scan and properly organize all your documents, receipts and contracts is not. A VA can take care of all this for you, scanning and naming everything according to your requirements, and then saving it to a portable hard drive, or uploading it to offsite storage for you.

If you already have a virtual assistant, you can approach them about taking on some, or all, of these tasks for you. If you don’t have a VA, you need to consider hiring one, and with this list in hand, you will know exactly what to look for. You are able to focus more on your business and opportunities with someone helping you to stay organized, and saving you time.

About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:

At Out of the Office, we are committed to providing earth-friendly administration and offer ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, and offering creative solutions for your business success.

Image credit: niekverlaan | CC0 Public Domain