Author Archive

Reasons to Hire a Virtual Bookkeeper

By admin on January 27, 2012

Do you know if your business is profitable?

Our focus is to help you keep track of the financial activity of your business so that you know how much your business is making and if it is profitable at the end of each month.

Focus on your business

Spending long hours figuring out and recording all your financial activity takes up valuable time you would use to grow your business.  We can help you keep up with your bookkeeping so that you can focus on priorities that generate revenues for your business.

Organize your financial records

Unorganized papers and receipts often get lost or misplaced and this means you could be missing out on valuable tax write-offs.  We’ll have you create a system to keep your financial records organized so that you will always know where to find information, especially if your business finances are audited.

Save money on accounting fees

An accountant would charge you 3 to 5 times more than a bookkeeper to do your business bookkeeping.  While it  is extremely important to have an accountant review and analyze all your books and papers at tax time, you don’t need to pay them to keep track of the monthly financial activity of your business.  We can help you get organized and provide you with what your accountant requires at income tax time.

Comments (0)
Categories: January 2012

Determining your Target Market

By admin on January 3, 2012

When you are starting a new business or even you have established your business and are looking for more clients, the first thing to do is identify your target market.  Determine who your ideal client is.  Is this client a consumer who wants to buy product or a business owner who wants to use services?  Narrowing down your target market and developing a niche is the key to the success of most businesses.

Decide and confirm what you will be selling.  If you are selling products, are you going to specialize in one type of product?  If you are selling services, what skills and expertise do you have?  With the skills and expertise you have, what type of services can you offer that make your work enjoyable as well as these services will benefit your customers?  This is the part of developing your niche reflects your experience, interests and professionalism.  It is easier to sell something you are passionate about rather than selling something that you need to learn more about or you are just not enthusiastic about.

Identify the type of person you want to work with and clarify who would be your ideal client.  Details about the person can include gender, age, income level, geographical location, do they work independently, are they an executive, and are they running their own business or are they working for a large company.  Keep these details in mind when you attend networking events so that you will stay focused on the ideal client you are looking for.  Remember, not everybody will want to buy your product or use your services.

Do market research.  Once you have a confirmed who your ideal client is, put yourself in their position by understanding what products or services they need.  Do as much market research as you can.  Find out what your competition is and what products or services do they specialize in and promote.

Once you have researched and assessed the market and your competition, evaluate your  niche to ensure it has the qualities that make it successful:

  • Is it sustainable?
  • Is it a product or service that customers will want to use on an on-going basis?
  • How will your customers benefit from using your product or service?
  • Is it unique even though there may not be the only product of service on the market?

Test your product or service.  Offer product samples.  Provide a trial period for the service you offer at a slightly reduced rate.  As you receive feedback from your customers, keep track of their comments.  This will help you determine if your product or service needs to be improved upon and developed further.

Following this process will help you have a better understanding of who will be your ideal client.  This process will also help you develop strategies for marketing and promoting your product and service more successfully.

Comments (0)
Categories: January 2012

Do You Set Goals for Your Business?

By admin on December 3, 2011

There are business owners who go through the entire year without ever really having a clear specific goals for their business. They just go through the work routine, day after day, week after week without ever really having any direction as to what they want to accomplish by the end of the year. The reason most business owners do this could be because if they never commit to a specific goal, they won’t be disappointed when they miss it and they won’t feel bad about their lack of a real plan to succeed.

The best time to set goals for the year is in December before the new year begins.  When business owners set specific goals, it provides an incentive to achieve.  Throughout the year business owners check back on what they have accomplished on a monthly or quarterly basis to measure their progress and ensure they and their staff stay focused and motivated towards what they want to accomplish.

If you want to set goals for your business, start by writing down your specific goals for the new year in categories: Customer Satisfaction, Marketing, Operational Efficiency, Revenue Growth and Profitability. If there are other critical areas that are priorities to the success of your business, then write down goals in those areas as well. Decide what you want to accomplish in each particular area of your business. When do you want to reach that goal? How will you hold yourself and your staff accountable to accomplishing these goals? Do you have a plan that will help you and your staff measure progress towards accomplishing these goals?  Document this plan and keep it available so that progress can be measured.

Always measure your progress towards accomplishing your goals. This is very important. Having a goal is one thing, but having a measurement system so you can see your progress on a regular basis will provide incentive and is the key to success! Keep it simple. Document your progress on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Share the results with your staff. Celebrate the small steps towards accomplishing goals. Make corrections and adjustments on a regular basis. This process will keep you and your team focused and will give you the highest probability of success!

Comments (0)
Categories: December 2011

Consider Outsourcing as a Benefit to Your Business

By admin on October 20, 2011

Whether you’re considering taking your business online or you already have established a presence on the Internet, you know it’s impossible to do everything yourself.  In the world of the Internet, things move very fast. You’ve got to keep your website content and product and service offerings relevant for your target market, plus you need to take care of your administrative, marketing and financial responsibilities that are important in the operations of your business. And most importantly, you need to have the time to working with your clients. Trying to manage all this yourself will quickly overwhelm you, damage your client relationships and negatively impact your business reputation.

Outsourcing will help you tremendously.

If you are a solo-entrepreneur or sole proprietorship company with an online business, you need support just as you would in a corporate office setting.

Traditionally, a business must have office staff that includes a receptionist, bookkeeper, sales person or team, a technical person or team depending on the type of the business, a business manager, clerical workers and front-line workers or customer service representatives. In the online business world, there is not a lot of difference, except the roles have changed to fit the virtual requirements.

An online business may use:

  • a virtual assistant who would be the virtual receptionist who may answer your email/check your phone messages and handle other office tasks
  • a bookkeeper who, when working with you virtually, is not so different from the bookkeeper who works on-site, except you’ll communicate over email or phone or Skype or fax
  • a website designer/programmer or tech person who creates and maintains your website, blogging social networking and also looks after ecommerce
  • an online business manager, the chief executive officer, who actually runs the company; manages client and team intake, manages all team members and handles the day-to-day operations

Other people you may also need for your online business are:

  • a copywriter
  • a branding expert
  • a Internet marketing expert

The payroll aspect of an Internet business is also different than an on-site business.  Most people who work over the Internet will be paid over the Internet.  This means that Internet-based vendors accept payments via Pay Pal or they may have their own credit card processing system.  Bank transfers or cheques are also accepted by Internet-based vendors.  Virtual payments have become the most popular and fastest methods to be paid.

In any business, even though hiring others to help you is an expense, look at it as an investment instead.  You already know you can’t do everything yourself, and when you have the right person or team to work with you, you will quickly find this to be a very good return on that investment.

Here are some key benefits to outsourcing to virtual vendors:

  • you pay only subcontractor fees; there are no employee overhead expenses like income taxes, pensions, and other employee benefits, holiday pay, etc.)
  • you save money by not having to provide office space, computer and other office equipment
  • your subcontractors will work on an ‘as need’ basis or you can opt to have them work on a monthly retainer basis
  • you will be amazed that it is possible to work with anyone from anywhere in the world
  • you can work with different virtual subcontractors simultaneously
  • you will find that you will have more time to work on important priorities of your business and do the work you love to do on the activities that produce the most profits and value beneficial to the growth of your business

Over the last 25 to 30 years, working with a virtual assistant has become more and more popular as the virtual assistant industry continues to grow globally.  Internet-based business owners are appreciating the benefits of having these skilled specialists working alongside them as their right-hand person, helping them keep their business running smoothly.

So consider taking this all-important step in your business and check into outsourcing.  You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by having too much to do any more.  Start slowly and hire one person.  The sooner you make the move to outsource, the sooner you’ll see how working with a virtual assistant can be very beneficial in helping you achieve your goals and grow a successful business.

Comments (0)
Categories: October 2011

Hire a Virtual Assistant … or a Regular Office Employee

By admin on October 20, 2011

A virtual assistant is equal to the regular office worker. And this is why it is not hard to see the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant.  The virtual assistant and the regular office are, in fact, equal. They are both workers with specific sets of skills and they are both capable of helping companies achieve productivity and profitability in business.  Hiring a regular and full-time office worker has its benefits just as hiring a full-time virtual assistant does.

Some people hesitate to hire a virtual assistant because they do not think that the virtual assistant can deliver the same level of service to the company as a regular employee.  Regular employees report to the office and companies think they have greater control over employees who work in the office.  But what many companies don’t realize is, workers who are dedicated to finishing tasks will finish the job whether or not there are plenty of distractions in their place of work.  Employees who are not dedicated to their jobs will let things distract them whether or not they work from home or in the office.

As long as your business can accommodate workers who do not report to the office your business can gain great benefits from hiring a virtual assistant. This is because you get the same level of service and professionalism from a virtual assistant that you get from a regular office worker. The difference is that the company can get savings in terms of time and money. The time saved will come from the tasks that you would have to do yourself if you didn’t have a virtual assistant. Your company will save money on the office space, office equipment and other resources that are needed when you have full-time employees.

What companies must do is hire the virtual assistant who has the skills that they need.  What companies should just do is hire a virtual assistant as if they were hiring a full-time employee. They should not consider hiring a virtual assistant as completely different from hiring a regular employee. The only difference should be that the virtual assistant does not work within the confines of the office.

Comments (2)
Categories: October 2011

Factors in Determining Your Rates for Services

By admin on September 15, 2011

Determining what rate to charge for services is one of the toughest tasks for a business owner or entrepreneur. Theoretically, the price you set for your service or product will have a direct relation to the demand it will have at that price.  One indication as to whether you have under-priced or overpriced your services or products is based on the reaction of your customers.  Adjustments are made to rates as demand increases or decreases.

Time, Training and Expertise

Pricing your services depends on how much time it takes to do your work and value you place on your work.  The length of time it takes to do the work is determined by:

  • how complicated the task is to do;
  • the level of skill required to do the work; and
  • whether extra time is required (overtime) to complete it.

The value you place on the services you provide depends on:

  • your level of expertise, training and experience, and what certifications, degrees and other diplomas you have acquired;
  • the length of time you have been operating you business as a service provider to other businesses and busy individuals who rely on your services; and
  • how your services compare to the competition.

Under-pricing your services may bring you more clients but can also lead clients and potential clients to think that lower prices reflect a poor quality of service and, as well, these clients will show low or no respect towards you as a business professional.

Operating Costs

Setting rates for services follows a straight-forward formula as:

Gross Profit  -  Expenses  =  Net Income.

This means services must be priced at rates that generate enough revenues to cover all your business operating costs including:

  • Advertising and marketing;
  • Continuing education and vocational training to ensure your skills, knowledge and expertise are up-to-date;
  • Office equipment costs and depreciation;
  • Computer equipment and software;
  • Membership Dues for professional associations;
  • Stationery and office supplies;
  • Website development and hosting;
  • Telephone, mobile phone, and fax expenses;
  • Utility expenses;
  • Insurance;
  • Automobile expenses including repair and maintenance if the vehicle is used for business purposes;
  • Rent expense if you rent office space.

Your rates should also provide you with a sustainable income in keeping with the continuously rising cost of living and cover costs of your benefits.  This also would include health plans, insurances, retirement savings plan, and government pension plan contributions.

If these business operating and personal income costs are not properly incorporated in the rates you set for your services or products, there is a chance that the business operation may not be profitable after all.  Failure to properly account for all costs may cause your business to fail.

Once rates have been calculated to cover expenses, income and benefits, the next step is to calculate the amount of profits you want to make.  One strategy many entrepreneurs use for testing their rates is to offer an Introductory Rate.  Entrepreneurs offer their services at a discounted rate for specific periods of time as a special introductory benefit to their clients.  As time passes and the demands increase, the rate can be adjusted higher until it reaches a sustainable level.

It may not be as difficult as you think to set rates for your services or products based on your costs and the target profit you want to make.  However, to determine the most effective rate, you have to consider your target market and who your ideal client is.  Rates for many services and products can be set according to the perceived value of the service or product by your ideal client.  Better value can be made when you provide a service or product that is an absolute necessity and provides time-saving, cost-effective benefits for your clients.

Competition, Professional Standards and Economic Environment

Factors that can affect your pricing are your competition, trends, guidelines, policies, and regulations for setting rates according to professional and vocational standards, and the economic environment such as the recent downfall and recession during which you may have to had to reduce your prices.

Other Considerations

You may be required by your federal government to register your company as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation.  You may also be required by your federal government to have a business number if you are charging sales taxes on your services or products.  Sales tax remittances must be completed on a monthly or quarterly basis by corporations.  Sole proprietorships and partnerships may have the option to submit sales tax remittances and payments on a quarterly or annual basis.

If your company is registered as a corporation, it highly probable you have staff working with you which means your company must also comply with payroll obligations such as income tax, pension plan, and employment insurance.

Virtual Assistant Rates

Keeping in mind factors and other criteria discussed, virtual assistants set their rates accordingly.  Hourly rates of $25.00 to $50.00 are based on level of expertise, types of services offered, level of skills required for different types of projects and level of detail.  More complex, detailed and technical services are priced from $50.00 to $75.00 per hour.  Virtual assistant rates for services must also cover incomes and benefits required for the virtual assistant to provide a sustainable means to support themselves and their families with the necessities of life, and keep up with the rising cost of living and inflation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when the survival of your business relies greatly on the revenue that it generates, you have to pay particular attention to how you set your rates for your services and products. Calculate your rates carefully in order to cover your business operating costs and your income requirements.  Research your target market/ideal clients so you can anticipate how much they are willing to pay for your service or product.  Set your rates so that they reflect the value of services or products being provided, your specialties, expertise and professionalism, affordability by your clients and still generate revenues required for the survival of your business.

Comments (0)
Categories: September 2011

Maintain Open Communication with Your Virtual Assistant and Get Better Services

By admin on July 30, 2011

Communication is at the center of an effective relationship with a virtual assistant and any other business relationship.

Open communication is a vital part of any business relationship, whether the workers are in-house or work as subcontractors. It is extremely important with regards to the work that is being done that you make sure that you have effective communication channels with them and that you are truly communicating with them.  When you have effective communications with your virtual assistant then you get good services from them.  Without effective communications with your in-house workers or subcontractors or virtual assistant, the end result of the project will not meet your expectations and will fail.

When you have a virtual assistant whose services are best suited to meet the requirements of your business but you do not communicate effectively with your virtual assistant then you still won’t be able to benefit from the services your virtual assistant is providing to you.  There are many methods of communication available to the business community to help us communicate effectively besides email such as Skype, VOIP and on-line fax services.  When there are open communications between you and your virtual assistant, then you can achieve great deal more.  You will see how effective open communications between you and your virtual assistant will prove that you can work on projects much more effectively.

There is a need to understand and manage people’s expectations especially when the people involved in the project are working separately from each other.  When there is a failure in communication then there will be failure in the project and possible failure in the whole business as well.  When expectations are managed and communicated effectively, it means that everyone involved in a project is aware of the expectations people have on them.  Then they can use these methods to communicate with one another whether there are problems in the process or if the person has questions or concerns pertaining to any of the tasks assigned to him or her.  When problems are communicated then expectations can also be adjusted accordingly.

When communicating with your VA, maintaining open communication between your business and your virtual assistant can ensure that projects will go smoothly. You can work together in ensuring that there are processes learned and that future projects are better planned.  When you have open communication then you can work on projects as a team even if one or more people involved in completing the work aren’t in the workplace and are doing the work remotely.  When people understand how the project should move forward and what their roles are in the project then you do not have to watch over their shoulders as they work.

Comments (0)
Categories: July 2011

Tips on Organizing Your Financial Records for Bookkeeping

By admin on June 30, 2011

It is the law that every business owner must keep a complete and organized set of books and financial records.  If you don’t have supporting documentation for the financial activities of your business, you’re in for a lot of problems especially regarding sales taxes and in the event your business is audited.  It is extremely important to keep up with maintaining your financial records to avoid these major problems.

  1. Set up a filing system for each month of the year to put your financial documentation in each time you receive an invoice and pay a bill or purchase something by cash, debit or credit card and each time you issue an invoice to your customers and receive payments.  You can use file folders or envelopes.
  2. Each time you pay a bill or purchase something for your business, arrange all your receipts and invoices in chronological order.  Note on the receipts and invoices the vendor company name and type of expense each transaction is, especially if the transaction is shown on the bank statement as ‘Interac payment’ or ‘email transfer’ if you pay by debit or pre-authorized payment from your business bank account.
  3. Keep cash or debit purchase receipts separate from your credit card purchases.  When you receive your bank statement and your credit card statement, match up the receipts and invoices to the transactions listed on statements for your business bank account and credit card.
  4. Check off the transactions on the statements to confirm that you have receipts and invoices with confirmation of payment to match them.  Make sure the payees or vendors who receive your payments and customers from whom you have received payment for your services or products are clearly identified for each transaction on the bank statements.  Make a note of bank deposits that include payment from more than one customer; indicate the names of the customers, the amounts they paid and for what invoice.
  5. Keep in mind that some bills you receive at the end of the month may not appear on your statement until the following month depending on when you pay the balance owing.  For example, if your telephone bill was issued in May but the amount owing on the bill was not paid until the first week in June, attach it to the statement for the month of June during which the bill was paid; not when the bill was issued.
  6. If you find a discrepancy, i.e. a transaction that is listed on your statement for a purchase for which you don’t have a receipt or invoice, call your bank to check and verify who the vendor is.  Occasionally a vendor name will be shown differently from what is shown on the receipt.  After speaking to a customer service representative at your bank, if you still don’t recognize the vendor name, the bank will investigate further.  If the transaction for an unknown vendor is shown on your credit card statement, the bank will, in all probability, cancel your credit card and issue you a new credit card.  Advise your bookkeeper when you receive the new credit card so that he/she will know.

Once you have received all bank statements and matched up the invoices and receipts with the transactions on the statements, you can submit them to your bookkeeper.

  1. In order for the bookkeeping electric file to contain complete and accurate information, you must have bank statements for at least one (1) business bank account and at least one (1) business credit card with all respective invoices and receipts attached and matched in the order that the transactions appear on the statements.
  2. In order for your bookkeeper to set up a company file according to accounting Generally Accepted Accounting Practices in an accounting software application, the closing balance of the last bank statements for your business bank account and business credit card will be required for the end of the fiscal year of your business.  Remember that these particular accounts are required in order to record the financial activity of your business; therefore it is highly unlikely that your accountant will need you to include your personal bank account and personal credit card account.
  3. Always have your bookkeeping done on a monthly basis; never leave bookkeeping for the whole year to be done all at once at the end of the year.  This will ensure your financial records are up to date and you will always know what the financial status of your business is at the end of each month.  This will also ensure that your GST/HST remissions and payroll remissions records are up-to-date.  At the end of the year when your accountant is preparing an income tax return for your business, you will not have to search for information and you will not have to worry about whether or not any information is missing which will affect the accuracy of the electronic accounting file.
Comments (0)
Categories: June 2011

Things to Consider Before Outsourcing a Virtual Assistant

By admin on May 28, 2011

There is so much information being shared online regarding the Virtual Assistant (VA) industry, the work and the benefits of outsourcing to a virtual assistant for the business.  All the talk regarding virtual assistance paints a very positive picture about VA services.  The growing VA industry makes it one of the most popular online services these days. If you do most of your business online, it is inevitable that you will consider outsourcing to a VA to help you out.

If you intend on outsourcing to a virtual assistant for your business, here are some simple tips that you can follow so that you can get the best possible client-VA relationship.

Your primary concern when outsourcing to a virtual assistant is the cost.  When you evaluate costs, make sure that instead of measuring costs in terms of absolute amounts that you evaluate based on values.  Cheap does not always mean you are getting the best value for your dollar.  You want the best people you can hire for the amount you can afford.  Rates for general administrative services provided by a VA range from $20 to $50 per hour.  Rates for services that are more complex and technical range from $30 to $75 per hour.  Instead of focusing on the cost, focus on the quality of work.  When measuring cost for value, you should also think about the kind of value you gain from working with a VA.  For one thing, your VA’s priority is to provide business support services you need in order to help you achieve your goals in operating a successful business.

Be open to really working virtually with the VA.  Since the VA will not be reporting to the office, if you do not communicate with them using different online channels, there could be a breakdown in communications which could lead to a breakdown in the project.  When you decide that you will outsource to a VA then you may have to make adjustments in terms of communicating by phone, email or VOIP because they work in their own office location.  It will take time to get used to this, especially if it’s your first time to work with a VA.

Choose a virtual assistant who provides services that best fit the needs of your business.   There are virtual assistants who offer a variety services, and there are virtual assistants who are more specialized and offer specific services, e.g.  website design and hosting, bookkeeping, or social networking.  Make sure you choose one that can perform the tasks that you require in your business.  You may find that your decision to choose to outsource office work to a virtual assistant is a very rewarding experience, especially because a virtual assistant understands the commitments of operating a business and has a vested interest in helping you achieve your goals towards success.

Comments (1)
Categories: May 2011
Next Page »
Administrative Services
AJL Administrative Services

Are you spending too much of your time in the office doing tasks? Let us take care of your office work and administrative tasks so you can focus on the work you love to do.
Thought Provokers
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives." – Albert Einstein

"Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." – Helen Keller

"Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each is to succeed." – Corita Kent

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Bookkeeping Services
AJL Bookkeeping Services

Bookkeeping is a necessity in your business operations. As a business owner, you may not have time to do your bookkeeping every day. Let us help you keep up with your bookkeeping needs so that you will always know what the financial status of your business is.