Online banking. Use your bank’s site to set up automatic bill payments. Even if your electric, phone, and internet provider doesn’t offer payments through their site, your bank probably does. Set up as many automatic payments as you can. All you have to do then is remember to deduct the expenses from your checkbook. This saves me a ton of time each month, because I don’t have to remember when bills are due or write a bunch of checks and mail them. And by doing it through my bank, I’m in control of my money going out, rather than giving a company access to my information.

Automatic payments. In addition to setting payments via your bank, you can also pay some of your business items automatically with your business credit card. Purchases are tracked for you and you only have to make one payment to cover several expenses. And you may even earn bonuses or cash back. Just be sure to pay it off each month so you don’t rack up expensive interest charges.

Finance software. If you use a program like Quicken, you can simplify several financial transactions. It can automatically total your accounts for you. Use it to track various categories of expenses. And even download your banking info to make reconciling your account a breeze.

Automatic savings. Set up your accounts to automatically put aside some money for savings each month. Do it at a set time each month, with an amount that puts you closer to your savings goals. Want to save $5000 this year? Transfer $417 each month. Or about $100/ week. Don’t forget your retirement. And sole proprietors should be setting aside money for taxes as well. All of this can be done automatically so you don’t have to spend a lot of time each week or month figuring it out, or trying to remember to do it.

Just a few small steps can save a lot of time in the long run. Give it a try and see how it works for you. What other ways do find are helpful for simplifying your finances?

Image: Newscom

Post from: My Organized Biz

(myorganizedbiz.com) – One thing I’m trying to keep up on is finance. Specifically: expenses. I bought software to help me keep track of my business expenses and accounts receivable. It is intended to save me time when it comes to tax preparation. If I already have my expenses categorized, I won’t have to spend a few hours adding things up for my tax return.

But three-quarters of the way through the year and I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit. I have a few monthly recurring expenses that are easily added to my expense list. And I really don’t have a huge amount of expenses at this point, since I already took care of major purchases like my computer.

So while keeping up on the numbers shouldn’t be a big deal if done regularly, I now face going back through a few months’ of receipts and statements and entering them.

How did I get to this point? It sneaks up on you. I got busy getting a big project out of the way (which finishes this week). It took up a large chunk of time, and then I had my other regular work to do, plus family things.

It happens to the best of us at times. And now, I have to find a way to pull back out of it. So what’s my plan?

Small chunks. When you realize you’re far behind on something it’s easy to get discouraged and want to scrap it all. But when it comes to our businesses, we can’t do that. So to keep from getting overwhelmed, I need to get things back in order in small bites.

I’ll take 1/2 hour here, 15 minutes there, one pile of receipts, one credit card statement… you get the idea. I need to break it into manageable pieces and just get it done. A little each day or each week until I’m caught up. And then I need to enter receipts weekly so I don’t get behind again. Even biweekly is better than nothing.

We all get behind at times. But we can’t give up and just scrap everything. We have to take a look at where we are and take the steps to get back on track. Don’t try to do it all and once and overwhelm yourself. Just do it gradually if you can. And if you can enlist help, it’ll go quicker. Just don’t give up!

Post from: My Organized Biz

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – I got a notice over the weekend of an unpaid bill. Now that’s not like me at all, so I wasn’t sure what had happened. It was a medical bill, which I hate dealing with. I could have sworn I’d already paid it, but I just had to find the evidence.

Easy, right? It should be if you have your paperwork organized.

It just so happens that the bill was in my “to be filed” pile and I was easily able to put my hands on it. And right on the bill was the notation of when and how I’d paid it. I also found the credit card bill that showed the charge.

With a short phone call, things should be resolved. I’ll check back in a week to make sure that their records have been corrected.

If I didn’t have a designated place for holding files until I can file them, I would have been searching for a long time to find what I needed. And fortunately, I remembered that particular transaction, which made it easier for me to put my hands on the papers.

The question is, do you have a spot for papers before you file them? Do you have a filing system that makes it easy for you to find what you need when the occasion arises?

Image: miguelb on Flickr (creative commons license)

Post from: My Organized Biz

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in receipts. And I want a solution.

Right now, I have an accordion file where I drop my receipts by category. It helps when it is time for taxes. But I also have a pile of receipts waiting to go into said file.

All I really want to do is get rid of all of the paper clutter. Additionally, some of those thermal paper receipts just don’t last. If I don’t immediately write down the amount and what it was for, it’ll fade so bad that it will be useless. So what can I do?

I’m thinking of getting one of those little receipt scanners. Something small, but fast so I don’t spend hours scanning and managing my files. I saw some at Fry’s yesterday and I was sorely tempted. But before I can do that, I need to do a little research. Is it cost-effective? Will it really help me reduce paper? Will the state and federal government accept scanned copies in lieu of the actual paper?

Maybe I can hire my college-age daughter to scan and catalog the receipts for me. (Delegating is another organizational skill that we’ll address later.) But I don’t know if it’s the way to go. Yet.

Do any of you scan your receipts? Does it help you? Is it worth it – for your needs?

Image: Dan4th on Flickr

Post from: My Organized Biz

The downside is that I’d like to use these miles a couple of weeks from now and United imposes a $75 penalty for scheduling so close to the departure date.

I know I’m not the only one ticked off about the “creative” ways airlines are making ends meet lately. Checked bag fees, penalty fees, and racheting up miles requirements are more the norm than the exception. I also know I’m not the only one who laments the lost halcyon days of hot roast beef carved in-flight and Pucci-clad stewardesses. Flying used to be stylish. Today, it’s more like herding cattle into mass transit. /rant.

So I’m faced with the decision of buying a $300-400 ticket or spending $75 for my “free” ticket. If I’d been truly organized, I would have kept track of my miles and known I had a free trip. I probably would have booked it months ago when I had the chance. But what’s the use of self-critical mind chatter?

The advantage of buying the ticket is that it earns me more air miles and I get to keep the free ticket to fly for free later this year when prices are even higher.

That’s my thinking. Have you faced this dilemma recently? Would you use your “free” $75 trip or spend $400 to fly and save the free trip for a longer, more expensive flight?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Today’s feature comes from AJ West at Lifehack with an post about how to free yourself from paper clutter.

Want to know which papers to keep – and which ones to throw away? Do you know what the government expect you to have on file if you’re ever audited? Here’s the post you’ve been waiting for. And AJ serves it up.

This is also timely information considering tax season is just barely behind us. Maybe you set an intention for that proverbial new leaf. Check it out here.

When you sort through your papers, how do you know what to keep and what to get rid of? How do you know something is worth keeping?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Post written by Maggie McCauley, ACC, LICSW

Ah, the dreaded filing task! UGH! We tend to make this the very last item on our “to do” list, don’t we? That’s mainly because we haven’t created proper homes for it. Our battle with paper can end with the creation of a good system. It doesn’t matter which paper system we put in place as long as it takes under a minute to find it or put it away and it makes sense to us. Here are three things you can do to right now to eliminate the dread of filing.

Make room. You’ll need twice the space you think you’ll need in your filing cabinet. Keep files for current documents, archives (year+), and resources.

Follow the two step rule. When paper comes in it gets sorted or acted on. Sort– keep or toss. Act– file, pay, fax, mail, recycle, or review. Set up a mail sorting system to accommodate this rule with coordinating file folders.

Develop categories. Track all the important paper coming into your home or office for one month. As it comes in assign it a category. Create larger categories using colored hanging file folders (clients, marketing, receipts, banking, etc). Then use manila folders for sub-categories. Label clearly, alphabetize, and stagger tabs. At the end of a month you should have clear idea of the kind of paper categories you’re generating.

We live in the information age. There is power in knowledge and having information at our fingertips. Keep only the most valuable and usable information from the most highly regarded sources. Remember, 80% of what we file away we never look at again. The choice is ours—we can be in charge of our paper or let our paper be in charge of us. Take charge!

Maggie McCauley, ACC, LICSW is an Organizer Coach—Certified Life Coach & Professional Organizer. She has a background in clinical social work and has been working with adults promoting balanced, vibrant and healthy lives for over 16 years. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, the National Association of Professional Organizers, and Toastmasters’ International. You can reach her for comment at www.anewviewforyou.com.

How does your filing system work? What tweaks have you made that make it more intuitive and easier to use?

Post from: My Organized Biz

1. Pick one thing you want to clean up this month.
2. Post what you’re going to do – here or on your own blog.
3. Then check in at the end of April and share how you did.

Here are some of the people who took the challenge:

Alyson at Art Biz Coach had a decluttering goal…
Kristen of BizChicksRule had an affectionately-named Box of Doom
Barbara had 3 closets to do (after completing her kitchen)
April was actually going to get rid of her desk!
Ann started out with the intention of doing her sock drawer and then got courageous and aimed for the toiletries cabinets (wait til you see her photos!)

I took my own challenge, so here is my update:

My goal was to enter all of my receipts and get my finances back into order. Right now, the receipts are still on my desk, only slightly neater. This is hard to admit since I’m writing an organizing blog, but honesty and transparency are important to me.

I am so behind in entering receipts and income that I have checks to deposit that I’m not sure how to enter. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. If I were being my perfectionistic self, I’d give myself 30 lashes with my “get organized” noodle and a major guilt trip.

But even though there are no visual changes in my office and things are slightly worse than they were, I’ve gained a number of valuable insights about my internal process.

• I need a bookkeeper – someone to come in monthly and get this stuff arranged.
• I’ve been taking on too much lately, saying “yes” when a “no” is more appropriate.
• I’m taking steps to lighten my load so that I can attend to the maintenance operations of my business, not just the creative stuff.

I feel good about these discoveries and my next step is to solicit bookkeeper recommendations from my local business buddies. I’m also not going to beat myself up about still having the receipts (this is definitely progress). By the beginning of June, my goal is to have a new system in place and a firm grasp on my financial records.

How about you? Did you meet your spring cleaning goal? Exceed it? Let’s hear all about it!

Post from: My Organized Biz

Jennifer Hofmann is the queen of organization here at My Organized Biz, so the pressure was on when she asked me to help with one of her own organization issues.

Jennifer sent me a photo of her receipts piling up and said -

I can’t get myself motivated to enter my receipts. The picture features my system of sorting them, but it’s not working because they’re now piling up on my desk.

Seriously, it’s embarrassing, but I haven’t put them in my Excel spreadsheet since the end of January. And every time I try to use the desk, I have to shove them around or try to ignore them but it’s not working.

In a perfect world, I’d enter them regularly, like weekly. But I am so busy it’s just not happening. I’d love some ideas about how to make it more fun, less painful, or just have them disappear into thin air.

My Suggestions:

My first suggestion is to minimize the number of receipts you need to deal with by -

• Direct debits – For regular expenses e.g. phone, internet, mail etc. see if you can get your bank to direct debit these from your account so the payment goes through the bank.
• Credit card payments – For non regular purchases, use a credit card, but make sure you pay it off before the interest starts to kick in so it is cost neutral. Both direct debits and credit card payments will show on your bank statement so you have the details without the receipts.

For the remaining receipts –

Instead of letting them pile up, put them straight into an accordion file or 3-ring binder with pockets, divided into suppliers and/or date order. They will be in order ready for you to enter them on your Excel spreadsheet when you are ready.

They will also be off your desk, and out of sight, which may help both space wise and psychologically.

If you really hate this task, and thinking about it is affecting productivity, would you consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant? If you can’t justify the expense, maybe there is a task or service you could barter as a swap.

Have fun, Jennifer. I look forward to the “After” photo when you have tamed those pesky receipts.

Yvonne Russell is a freelance writer and professional blogger at Grow Your Writing Business, Small Biz Mentor and Home Biz Notes.

Post from: My Organized Biz

In it, you’ll find my article about Mark Silver’s Kitchen Table Financial Summit, some practical ideas you can use, and some other fun stuff.

Take 10 minutes and give it a whirl – it could help your business weather this storm.

Post from: My Organized Biz