5 Benefits of Outsourcing Administrative Tasks to a Virtual Assistant Team

In today’s fast paced business world, small business owners often have to wear multiple hats to keep their businesses running smoothly. With a wide range of administrative tasks to handle, from bookkeeping and accounting to customer experience management, it can be challenging to keep up with everything while also growing the business. This is where outsourcing administrative tasks to a virtual assistant (VA) team can be an excellent solution. In this blog post we’ll explore five benefits of outsourcing administrative tasks to a VA team.

Save time and increase productivity

One of the most significant benefits of outsourcing administrative tasks to a VA team is the time it saves business owners. By delegating tasks such as bookkeeping, email management, CRM management to a VA team, business owners can focus on more important tasks, such as growing their business or developing new products or services. This increased focus on core business activities can lead to increased productivity and improved bottom line results.

Cost effectiveness

Outsourcing administrative tasks to a VA team can also be more cost effective that hiring an in-house employee. With a VA team, business owners do not have to worry about employee benefits, such as pension, holiday entitlement and office equipment. Additionally, the cost of training and onboarding a new employee is eliminated. This can result in significant cost savings, especially for small businesses with limited budgets and you still have a team of experts on hand for when you need them.

Flexibility and scalability

A VA team provides greater flexibility and scalability for small businesses. With a VA team, business owners can easily adjust the amount of support they need as their business grows and changes. This means that they can quickly ramp up or down their administrative support as needed without worrying about the cost of hiring or laying off employees. This flexibility can be particularly important for small businesses that experience fluctuations or are still growing and evolving.

Access to specialised expertise

A VA team can provide small business owners with access to a wide range of specialised expertise. For example, a VA team might offer CRM and lifestyle services that small businesses might not have inhouse. This can be particularly beneficial for small businesses that require specific expertise or could do with the occasional help.

Improved customer experience

When business owners outsource customer experience services such as customer experience monitoring and customer journey mapping it allows business owners to grow their business while focusing on other aspects of their business. This can result in improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, which is crucial for small businesses looking to grow their customer vase.

Outsourcing administrative tasks to a virtual assistant team can provide numerous benefits for small business owners. It can save time, increase productivity, be more cost effective and give access to the specialised expertise small business owners require. If you are a small business owner looking to streamline your administrative tasks and focus on growing your business outsourcing to a VA team could be the solution.

At VASS, we offer a wide range of expertise in bookkeeping, accounting, lifestyle, personal assistant, CRM and customer experience services. Out team of experienced Vas can provide the administrative support you need to grow your business what saving you time and money. Contact us today to arrange your free consultation to learn more about our services and how we can help achieve your business goals.

Customer Experience and your small business

What is customer experience and how can I improve it?

The customer experience is an essential aspect of any business, regardless of its size. However, small businesses face unique challenges when it comes to creating and delivering a positive customer experience. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the key features that contribute to customer experience within small businesses and offer some tips on how to improve it.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand what customer experience means. Customer experience (CX) is the overall perception that a customer has of a business based on their interactions with it. This includes everything from the initial point of contact (such as browsing the business’s website or walking into their physical store: to the post-purchase follow up such as customer support or feedback surveys.

Small businesses often have an advantage over larger companies when it comes to CX. They can provide a more personalised experience and build a stronger connection with their customers. However, there are also some unique challenges that small businesses face, such as limited resources and smaller budgets.

One of the most important factors in creating a positive customer experience is communication. Small businesses need to ensure that they are communicating clearly and effectively with their customers at all stages of the customer journey. This includes, providing accurate and up to date information on their website and social media channels, responding promptly to customer enquiries and feedback, and providing clean instructions on how to use their products or services.

Small businesses also have the opportunity to create a more personal and memorable experience for their customers. This can be achieved through things like personalised emails and messages, handwritten thank you notes, or even small gestures like offering a complimentary beverage or snack to customers who visit their physical store.

One of the most important aspects of CX within small businesses is the human element. Small businesses often have the advantage of being able to build personal relationships with their customers. This means going above and beyond to ensure that customers feel valued and appreciated. This could include remembering a customer’s name and preferences, offering personalised recommendations based on their previous purchased, or even just taking the time to chat and get to know them.

In order to improve customer experience within a small business, it is important to gather feedback from customers on a regular basis. This can be done through surveys, feedback forms, or even just asking customers for their thoughts and opinions during their interactions with the business. The feedback can then be used to identify areas where the business is doing well and areas where improvements can be made.

Another way to improve CX within small businesses is to invest in technology and automation where possible. This could mean using chatbots to provide instant support to customers, implementing a CRM system to track customer interactions or using data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Customer journey mapping

One useful tool that small businesses can use to help map out the customer experience, is a customer journey map. A customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer’s experience with a business, from the initial point of contact to post purchase follow up. By creating a journey map, small businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs, paint points, and expectations at each stage of their interaction with the business.

To create a customer journey map, businesses should start by identifying the various touchpoints that customers have with their business. This could include things like browsing their websites, interacting with customer support, or making a purchase. Once the touchpoints have been identified, businesses can map out the customer’s journey through each of their touchpoints, nothing their emotions, needs and expectations at each stage.

Using a customer journey map can help small business identify areas where they need to improve the customer experience. For example, if customers are experiencing frustration during the checkout process, the business can make changes to simplify and streamline the process. Journey maps can also help identify opportunities to create a more personalised and memorable experience for their customers, such as by offering tailored recommendations or incentives.

Why creating a customer experience plan is important.

Having a customer plan within the business is essential for several reasons. It helps align the business’s goals with the needs and expectations of its customers. By defining a clear customer experience plan, businesses can ensure that all employees are working towards the same goal of creating a positive experience for their customers.

A customer experience plan can help differentiate themselves from their competitors. By focusing on providing a better customer experience that their competitors, small businesses can create a competitive advantage and built a loyal customer base.

Finally, a customer experience plan can help businesses identify areas for improvement and measure the success of their efforts. By setting clear goals and metrics for customer experience, businesses can track their progress over time and adjust as needed to ensure that they are continually improving the experience for their customers.

If you are a small business looking to improve your customer experience and create a personalised customer experience plan, reach out to us today. VASS is a leading provider of transformation and customer experience solutions, offering tailored services to help businesses of all sizes create a positive and memorable experience for their customers. With a team of experienced professionals, we can help you map out your customer journey, identify areas for improvement, and create a customer plan to meet the unique needs of your business.

Contact us today to book a free consultation to learn more about how they can help you improve your customer experience and drive business growth.

So you are ready for your first employee!

As a small business owner, one of the biggest milestones is often hiring your first employee. This can be an exciting time, as it signifies growth and the potential for increased productivity and profitability. However, it can also be a daunting process, especially if you’re new to the world of HR. There are a lot of considerations to keep in mind when bringing on your first employee, from legal requirements to employee relations and benefits. In this blog, we’ll take a look at what you need to know to ensure you’re ready for your first hire.

Legal Requirements

Before you begin the hiring process, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the legal requirements for hiring employees. This includes minimum wage laws, employment contracts, and legal compensations. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in fines or lawsuits, so it’s important to do your research and make sure you’re fully compliant.

Employee Relations

Hiring your first employee also means you’ll need to establish employee relations policies, such as codes of conduct, employee handbooks, and grievance procedures. You’ll also need to decide how you’ll handle performance evaluations, promotions, and terminations. It’s important to have these policies in place from the start so that everyone is clear on what’s expected of them, and what the consequences of not meeting these expectations are.

Benefits

In addition to salary, you’ll need to consider what benefits you’ll offer your employees, such as health insurance, paid time off, any bonuses you would like to offer, and pension benefits. Offering competitive benefits can help attract and retain top talent, so it’s important to take this into consideration when creating your compensation package.

Recruitment and selection

Once you’ve established your legal requirements, employee relations policies, and benefits, it’s time to start the recruitment and selection process. This can involve writing job descriptions, advertising the positions, and conducting interviews. When interviewing candidates, be sure to ask questions that will help you determine whether they’re the right fit for your company, such as their work experience, skills, and goals. You’ll also want to check references and conduct background checks to ensure that you’re making a well informed hiring decision.

Training and onboarding

Once you’ve selected your first employee, it’s important to provide them with adequate training and onboarding. This can help ensure that they’re fully equipped to do their job and that they understand your company’s culture, policies, and procedures. This can also help prevent misunderstanding or miscommunications down the line.

Employee engagement

Employee engagement is an important aspect of HR, as it can help increase productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. As a small business owner, it’s important to make your employees feel valued and appreciated, and to create an environment that supports their growth and development. This can include providing opportunities for professional development, giving regular feedback, and creating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture.

At VASS, we are committed to providing comprehensive HR support for small business. Our team of experts are here to help with all your HR needs, from recruiting to benefits administration, and everything in between. Whether you’re just starting out with your first employee or are looking to expand your HR infrastructure, we’re here to help.

With a focus on customisation and personalised attention, we work with each of our clients to develop HR solutions that meet their unique needs and goals. So if you’re ready to take your HR operations to the next level, reach out to us today and let us show you how we can help.

Avoid the last minute rush for your self assessment deadline!

Leaving your Self Assessment return until the last minute can be a recipe for disaster. Not only is it a stressful and time-consuming process, but it also increases the chances of making mistakes and facing penalties. The deadline for 2023 is looming so let's make sure your 2024 return is the easiest and quickest one yet.

To avoid the last minute rush and ensure that your tax return is accurate and complete, it's important to start preparing early. Here are a few tips to help you stay on top of your taxes:

1. Gather all necessary documents. Before you can complete your tax return, you'll need to have all the necessary information and documents on hand. This may include your income statement, bank statements, and receipts for deductions. It's important to start gathering these documents as early as possible so you have everything you need when it's time to file. There are handy apps and software that allow you to upload these so they are in the same place for when you need them.

2. Use tax preparation/accounting software. There are a number of software programs available that can help make the tax preparation process easier. These programs can help you navigate the complex tax laws and ensure that you take advantage of all the deductions and credits for which you're eligible.

3. Seek professional help. If you're not confident in your ability to prepare your own tax return, it may be a good idea to seek professional help. An accountant or bookkeeper can ensure that your return is accurate and complete and can also help you navigate any complex tax issues.

4. Keep accurate records. To ensure that you're able to take advantage of all the deductions and credits available to you, it's important to keep accurate records throughout the year. This means keeping track of all your income and expenses, as well as any other relevant financial information.

5. Plan ahead. One of the best ways to avoid the last-minute rush is to plan ahead. Make a schedule for yourself and set deadlines for gathering documents, preparing your return, and filing it. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you meet the filing deadline.

6. Ultimately, the key to a successful Self Assessment return is to start preparing early and stay organized throughout the process. By following these tips, you can reduce your stress, avoid mistakes, and ensure that your return is accurate and complete. Remember, it's always better to be safe than sorry and file your tax return on time to avoid penalties.

Remember the deadline is approaching for 2021/22 returns, don’t leave it too late to ensure you don’t receive any late penalties, if you don’t have time get in contact today to see if we can help you today.

Using Workflows and Automations in your small business

You may have heard of the benefits of using workflows and automations within your business but never really considered using them. Whether you deem your business too small to utilise them or simply finding the time to get them set up.

However, we can tell you that it does not matter how small or big your business is. Utilising workflows and automations in your business can have so many benefits.

What is a workflow

A workflow is a chart that shows your different business processes. You could have different workflows for many things. Customer onboarding, sales processes, customer service processes, lead generations, and the customer journey are just some of the workflows you can implement into your business.

Benefits of using workflows in your business

Mapping out your processes will allow you to see your business in a whole different light. These are just some of the benefits that they would bring:

• Allow you to have a different insight into your business processes

• It will allow you to see where you can adjust to improve your business growth

• They will allow you to see parts of your business that are not required and create more work

• If you have employees, they will allow for more accountability, with them understanding the areas of the workflows that they oversee

• They will allow you to provide a better overall customer experience as the customer journey will be standardised

• Allow you to see areas of your business which require your focus and attention

• Will allow you to see what would happen to different areas of your business, if you were to make any adjustments to your business processes

• If someone has to pick up your work, they can see what needs completing to keep your business moving

How to create workflows from your standard business processes

This is easy, although it can take a bit of time. There are some fantastic software and systems that can help you create workflows, such as Monday.com, Asana, or Trello

Start by working through your day-to-day processes, what goes into each stage of running your business, and create a full and comprehensive process flow of each one. You can then implement these into the software of your choice.

What to do once you have all your workflow in place?

Once you have your workflows, this will allow you to see the areas that can be automated to help free up some of your precious time.

What are automations?

Automations within your business are aspects of your workflow that are completed, time

and time again, which can be added to the software that will do it for you.

What can I automate?

You can automate most processes, but remember it is important to still have a personal touch within your business. The important parts to automate are any tasks from small to large that you complete all the time and are the same each time you do them. For example:

• Sending sales emails

• Email marketing and campaigns

• Onboarding clients

• Uploading client details to a CRM

• Having an immediate response to customer enquiries

• Meetings and appointment scheduling

• Abandoned cart shipping emails

• Any repetitive tasks

Utilising workflows and automations in your business can save you time and money. As well as help you grow your business and increase your customer experience.

Want to start saving yourself time but don’t have the time to start setting up the workflows and automations, we have an inhouse expert that can set up your processes, identify areas of your business that can be automated and implement these into your business.

Get in contact today to arrange a free consultation to discuss how we can get you set up and ready for you, to hit those new year goals.

Customer Journey's and small businesses

The customer journey is the process of a customer traveling through your business. It is one of the main points that every business should not only map out but continually monitor to ensure they are providing the very best customer experience to each of their customers.

By mapping out your customer journey through your business, it ensures that:

· You are not missing out on any potential sale points

· You are not missing out on any interaction points

· You can focus on a smooth, seamless transition through your business from start to finish

· It will allow you to find out where you should market

· You can spot any customer pain points

· Identify any gaps within your journey and your business

So how do you develop your customer journey?

Step 1

Something I am sure most business owners do regularly. If you do not, you really should! Set your targets.

What do you want to achieve?

How do you want your business to grow?

How much do you want to earn?

Step 2

Identify your client again. It is something you might already have but nail this down to the point you have given them a name. It is important to fully understand your customers so you can locate where they will be, what they are looking for in products and services, how easy or hard they are to sell to, and so much more.

Step 3

Understand your customers goals, why they would be buying this product or service, and what they want to get out of it.

Step 4

Understand your customer's pain points. What pain points are leading to them buying this product or service?

Step 5

Map out your customer's journey. Either on paper or there are fantastic systems that you can use, such as Lucidchart, which you can utilise to put it all down and ensure the flow through your business is as it should be.

Step 6

Identify on your customer journey map your customer touchpoints. Where a customer will be in contact with you, such as initial sale, and sourcing your business, and if there are any customer care issues. Look at where you can increase the touchpoints to reach out to them; this can be a simple email checking in after the sale, a well-placed marketing email for sale conversions upsells, or additional sales or ensuring they have all the information they require between the sale and delivery.

Step 7

What pain points could they hit through their customer journey with you; this is important to identify so you are aware of them and can make changes to your business or implement alternative actions and processes to remove these painpoints. Are there any touchpoints you can add here to reduce or eliminate these pain points?

Step 8

Identify and fix any roadblocks your customer may find. Why should they buy from you and not a competitor?

Step 9

Revise, update and improve constantly. Set calendar dates in the future for you to monitor this to ensure that you are adjusting your customer journey map regularly and when you make any changes within your business.

Implementing these steps and creating a customer journey map for your business will ensure that you are providing your customers with the best possible service through your journey.

If you have not created a customer journey process for your business, now is the time! Demand for an excellent customer experience is rising, with a higher percentage of customers choosing that as the reason to buy from a business over a lower price.

Do you need help bringing your customer journey map into existence for your business? We have a customer experience and processes specialist at VASS waiting to help you. Contact us on the link below to arrange a free consultation to discuss how we can help you.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

When you hear the term Virtual Assistant, your mind may think of the likes of Google Assistant, Google Home or Alexa. However, amongst the world of Virtual Assistants, there is a human equivalent that can also help you with reminders, manage your bookings, sort out your calendar and emails.

So, what is a human Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant (also referred to as a VA) is typically a self-employed individual or agency providing professional and personal administrative services to entrepreneurs and businesses. Amongst these services, many VAs also provide technical and creative support.

Generally speaking, most VAs work from their own home offices or their own business premises where they work with clients on a remote basis. However, there are some that will also work on site or at events when required.

What services do they provide? There are different types of VAs, offering a variety of different services. The largest pool of VAs tends to fall into the general administrative and PA category, where services include diary and email management, data entry, typing and research. However, as the industry has grown, there has been an increase in more advanced and technical support. From web design, IT support to social media management, brand design and marketing.

This is where you will also notice a variety of different titles other than VA/Virtual Assistant. Terms such as Freelance PA, Virtual PA, Online Business Manager, Social Media Manager, Web Designer, Marketing Consultant; these are all becoming increasingly popular with VAs niching into different areas of expertise. How do they differentiate from an employed PA or office assistant? A VA is typically a self-employed individual, or an agency who are contracted out to provide support to clients in their area of expertise. As they are independent contractors and not an employee, it means the VA or the VA agency are responsible for tax, NI, benefits, insurance and legalities.

Another benefit of using a contractor over an employee is the flexibility of contracts. When working with a VA you typically purchase a set number of hours or time, meaning you are only paying for the actual physical time the VA is sat working. This also gives more flexibility at times of the year when your business may be a little quieter as you adjust the number of hours as you need. Using a VA for a specific specialised area also means tapping into their area of expertise as and when you need that area of support. They have the experience and have funded their own training to call themselves an expert, allowing you to utilise their specialised services as and when you need them.

There are a lot of benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant to find out more about how VASS can help you and your business get in contact via the button below:

Why Hybrid working can lead to a happier workforce and help your business

Hybrid working has skyrocketed post-pandemic. A mix of office working and working remotely allows flexibility for the employee but also promotes good office dynamics.

Here are the pros of implementing hybrid working in your workplace:

Decrease in office costs

As you will have less staff in your office at any one time, you can use smaller office space. This will not only bring down usage costs but will also reduce the costs of office equipment and maintenance costs, to manage the equipment.

Higher productivity

By allowing staff to have a better work balance by working in a hybrid model, you will see an increase in their productivity, performance, and a happier workforce.

Access to a different employee pool

If you offer an office-only policy in your workplace, you limit your employee pool to the local area. Adopting a hybrid working model allows you to search for new employees out of your local area.

Increase in income

By reducing your costs and improving productivity, you will see a decrease in your outgoings, but will also see an increase in your incpome, leading to an overall better business model and higher sustainability in your business.

How to prepare for time off

The school summer holidays are fast approaching and we all want to take some well-deserved time off to enjoy some time with family (and fingers crossed some sunshine). But, before we can go and relax, we need to ensure that our businesses are prepared for you to take that absence. To help you, here are our top tips on how to prepare for some time off away from your business.

Decide when you’re taking time off

The first thing to think about is when you’re planning to take time off. Decide when you want to be off, how long for and when you will be back to work. If you’re a business owner, you also need to consider whether the business will be on complete shutdown or if you need a team in place to allow you the time off.

Plan your time off

As with anything, the key is in planning! If you haven’t got one already, it’s time to create a plan now.

If you are shutting your business down completely for your break, you will need to:

·         Note any work that would need to completed during this period

·         Adjust deadlines accordingly

·         Decide what will happen to any enquiries or messages – will you put an automated message to go out to all enquiries and emails?

·         Decide if you will need to check in to things in between your time off

·         If you have an online store, do you need to update delivery times and arrange stock levels

If you are arranging for cover for your time off, you will need to:

·         Who is going to be working and when?

·         Do you need to hire temporary staff or could you outsource?

·         What are the priorities that need to be focused on, in your absence?

·         Have a back up plan for additional cover

·         Any additional support they require before and during

Plan your return

As well as planning for the time you’re going to be taking off, don’t forget to consider your return. Are you going to be in back to back meetings on your first day back or anything else that would increase a backlog for your return?

Ensure you diarise at least a half day but ideally a full day to work through emails, messages and enquiries. Create a do list and make a list of your priorities, and what needs to be tackling first.

By giving yourself this extra bit of time, it will help you get and stay organised on your return.

Manage customer expectations

It doesn’t matter whether you sell products or services, you need to manage customer expectations. Informing them of the dates when things will be closed or on semi-shutdown will be important. When is the last delivery date? What’s the last date your services are available? It’s important to manage their expectations to avoid dissatisfaction and maintain relationships.

Plan your marketing and promotions

Just because you’re not working, it doesn’t mean you should stop marketing or being visible. Set aside time to look at your marketing plans for the period. In this digital age, more people are visiting social media during their downtime. This can lead to an optimal time for businesses to reach out to potential customers.

Identify what channels are going to be worthwhile posting to. What content is relevant to this time of year for your ideal client.

Schedule and automate

If you can, are there things that you can schedule in advance or maybe set up some automations? Whether it’s scheduling in your social media, setting up an automated bot or automated email sequence to respond to general enquires. If you’re not already using schedules or automations, now is the time to try. It will take some pressure off, allowing you to enjoy time off while things are running behind the scenes.

Enjoy your time off!

It doesn’t matter whether you are planning to take a day or a couple of weeks off, remember to relax and enjoy yourself! Taking time off allows us to clear our minds, reset everything going on in out head, adjust our focus and recharge our batteries. Leaving us feeling ready and raring to go when we come back to work.

If you’re looking for support before, during or after your holidays, why not get in touch to find out how the VASS team can help you enjoy your time off this summer.

What is project management and how can it help your small business?

In simple terms, project management is the organising, planning, and management of a task or event. Let's break it down further. You can split project management into five stages:

Initiation - Turning an idea into a goal you want to achieve. What is the idea you have in your head? What is the goal you want to achieve?

Planning - Create a project roadmap, what you would like to have achieved by what point in the execution. Set up goals that are achievable using SMART targets for each goal

Execution - This is where all the work you have planned in the last stage comes to fruition

Monitoring - This happens throughout the processes, making sure your objectives, and roadmap are followed and adjusting where needed throughout

Closure - The project has finished, have a project debrief to discuss everything that has happened throughout the entire project management process

How to use project management process to help your business?

In business project management can be used not only in the organisation of events but can also be used by small business owners when they are about to launch a new product or service, ensuring that they have the best possible success out of the launch or expanding businesses who need to create a new department.

There are also ways in which project management can help not only in business but also in your personal life. Implementing project management protocols can help organise and ensure the smooth running of house relocations and organising parties amongst other things.

Here at VASS we offer a full range of project management services to support you and your business to find out more about our product management service contact us on the link below:

Why it is important to understand your numbers as a business owner!

You are the expert in your business, and nobody knows your business better than you. But knowing and understanding your numbers as a business owner can make and break your business, and this is why:

- You can identify where you are leaking money in your business, allowing for you to make changes where needed and to monitor to ensure that money is allocated correctly

- You will get to know your business better; you will find which services or products are doing the best for your business, and you will be able to make expected targets and make adjustments to your margins accordingly

- You will be able to monitor your targets and your margins so you can adjust accordingly to meet your objectives

- You will be able to see where you can reduce your expenses, meaning your profit line will increase without increasing your work

Understanding your numbers can be a daunting task, but it will make you a better business owner and entrepreneur, but your business will be successful for many years.

Here are the main numbers that you should understand in your business to help you achieve the four reasons it will help your business:

- Cash flow – An overview of your operating expenses and income

- Net income – This includes your net earnings and net profit

- Profit and loss – an overview of your income minus expenses for a period of time

- Sales – You should be able to see fluxes in your sales and know when things need amending to keep sales coming in

- Price point – The cost at which you can price things to make a profit

- Gross margin – The difference in price between the price point and the selling price

- Total inventory – The negative cost of your total inventory, including storage and waste

Having a handle on these will set you up to have a successful business and increase your profit margin.

If you need help understanding your numbers, please get in contact to arrange a Know Your Numbers Coaching Session with one of our amazing bookkeepers on the link below:

How renting a hot desk will help you...

Working from home is becoming increasingly popular for business owners and employees. People are looking for more flexibility in where they work. A great way that offers the flexible working many people crave but includes working from home but wanting to mix it up every so often is by renting a hot desk. Here are our reasons why you should rent a hot desk to work into your flexible working arrangement:

Get rid of the isolation

One of the things we have learned from living through Covid-19 is that prolonged isolation can damage our mental health. Yes, working from home can have many benefits, but it can feel isolating even for the most introverted people. Having a place where you can comfortably work outside your home, but without the distractions of a coffee shop, can help with the isolation but also help with your productivity.

Networking opportunities

When you work from home or your traditional office, you will see either the same people in the same company as you or nobody at all. The great thing about renting a hot desk is other desks will be hired by people in the same position as you and run other businesses meaning they are a great way to network but a great place to socialise. 

Become more productive

Your house is full of distractions, and it can be hard to focus on your work when your mind starts to wonder if the washing machine has completed its cycle or does the dog need to go out. It takes around 23 minutes for your brain to focus on the task at hand, but with these distractions going, will your brain reach optimal focus? By stepping out of your home, you will be able to fully focus on the tasks at hand.

Flexibility

We all know business owners don’t always work the standard 9-5. Hot desking provides a massive range of flexibility compared to renting a complete office. With pay monthly, half days, full days, and pay per hour options, the flexibility of the time you need is there, and you can manage it within your budget.

Keeping your work and home space separate

Working from home means it can be easy for the lines to be blurred between home and work, but you should be able to spend time relaxing at home without thinking about work every time you look at your home office. Having an alternate working space from your home helps keep the lines from being blurred.

Renting a hot desk has many advantages for the home worker, business owners, entrepreneurs, and self employed workers. 

If you live in South London and would like to know about a new co-working, hot desking working space coming near you soon, sign up for updates at the below link:

Why you should not leave your year end until the last minute!

When running a business, it is so easy to push things to one side to focus on tasks that are deemed urgent at that moment. One thing that continually gets pushed to one side is the end-of-year organisation, and we promise you will not be the only one!

Keeping your year-end accounts and documents organised throughout the year can help your business in the long term:

• You will not need to take a bulk of time up at one time to get everything to date before the due date
• It will allow you to adjust your goals and the way you are working towards your goals to achieve them
• You will be able to see money influxes and decreases in advance, allowing you to allocate the money in the best place
• Allow you to celebrate successes when they happen

Here are our top tips on why you should stay organised for the end of the year:

Make sure your accounts are reconciled

Ensuring you do this regularly means that you are aware of any changes in your accounts, allowing you to allocate your money better throughout the year. Organising your receipts in this time frame will save you time as they are fresh in your head, and your bookkeeper will thank you for it.

The best way to store your receipts for ease of accounts reconciliation is to upload them to accounting software: we recommend https://dext.com/uk/business-owners this allows you to upload your receipts, give your Bookkeeper access to everything they require, keep all your accounts in one place, and will allow you to monitor your accounts easily.

End of year tax strategy

Implementing a tax strategy into your end-of-year accounts will allow you to focus on where your business stands with incomes and expenses. Monitoring your end-of-year tax strategy throughout the year will allow you to make adjustments meaning you will not be caught off guard at the end of the year.

Reviewing your goals 

At the end of each business year, you should always set your goals for the following year, by remaining organised will allow you to monitor your yearly goals and make adjustments where needed.

Year-end incentives

Who doesn’t love a good celebration? Knowing how well you are doing will allow you to plan for the appropriate size incentive for you and your staff members to recognise and reward appropriately?

What needs improving

Again, this comes down to monitoring your business through the ongoing organisation of your year-end accounts. It will allow you to see areas of your business that needs improving without having to wait for the year-end before implementing any changes.

How stressful is moving house?

The answer is very. Whether you rent or buy, making sure everything is in order before your move can impact the joy that moving into a new home can bring. Change of living conditions and signing a new mortgage fall into the top 5 things that bring stress into your life. The good news is there are ways that you can help make the move stress free while making it as enjoyable as it should be.

Plan

Plan as much as you can, we always know somethings are out of our control when moving house, but if you have a plan in place and complete as much research as possible ahead of time, it will allow you to make adjustments when needed.

Give yourself time

Start organising everything ahead of time and not leaving everything to the last minute. Moving house can be exhausting with none stop activity for days leading up to the move and a few days after. Help yourself even more by taking some days around the move off work or checking to see if your employee offers moving days.

Pack the essentials last and together

Ensure toiletries, medication, documents, and clothes to last a couple of days. Having the essentials in one place means that in the chaos of moving house you will know where they are.

Make a list

And check it twice, just like Father Christmas but instead of determining if you have been naughty or nice, use this list as a guide to moving house. Write down everything that needs to be completed and check them off when done. Pop it somewhere you look every day and set reminders for the most critical tasks.

Be kind to yourself

It is not unusual to become more anxious before a move take the time you need to help you. Take a walk, a hot bath, exercise, or some relaxing breaths. The more anxious you get, the longer it will take for your mind to focus on what needs to be done, by taking that time, it will mean your head is focused, and tasks get done quicker.

Get help

There is a way for the stress and anxiety to disappear almost completely, and this is by getting help. At VASS we offer moving services which will arrange everything for you from packing your old house and unpacking in your new home, arranging utilities, redirecting your mail, and even decorating your new house to your specification before moving in. We have even had clients go on holiday during their move, and we did everything for when they returned. You can focus on getting the contracts and mortgage organised.

If you would like to discuss how VASS can help you to have a stress free move, contact us on the below form:

Why Hire A Virtual Assistant Over An Employee

Are you considering hiring an employee for your business to help you deal with your full workload? It is not the only option available to you. Here are some of the reasons why you should hire a Virtual Assistant to support your business rather than an employee:

Office Space

If you currently work from home, in a co-working space, or a small office, hiring an employee will mean that you need to upgrade your working space, which can be costly. With a Virtual Assistant, everything is virtual, and they are in charge of their own office, saving you a large amount of money. If you would still like some in office support, some Virtual Assistants offer this within their packages so you can have the best of both worlds.

Equipment

Once you have hired an employee, you will be required to purchase all the relevant equipment necessary in order for them to carry out their job. With a Virtual Assistant, the Virtual Assistant already comes equipped to complete a whole range of jobs to allow them to support you without any additional costs to you. 

Insurances

As with the office space and equipment, you are in charge of all the insurances required to take on an employee, including Employers Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance. These can be costly, a cost that is avoided with a Virtual Assistant as they cover their own insurance.

Additional Salary Contributions

When employing a member of staff, it is not just their wages that need to be considered when it comes to working out what you will pay monthly. It will also include:

 Holiday Pay

 Pension Contributions

 Sick Pay

 Parental Allowances

These disappear with a Virtual Assistant, as they are liable for their additional deductions. 

Only Pay For Time That Is Used

Do you find that there are certain times in your business which are quieter than others? Such as around Christmas? With an employee, you continue to have all the overheads. However, with a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for the time you use, reducing and increasing the hours you need to be supported as required.

Are you sold on hiring a Virtual Assistant to support you and your business? Contact VASS today to see how our team can help you grow your business?

Registered Office Address VS Trading Address

A virtual office address is different from your trading address and can be used, for official HMRC, Companies House, and public domains such as your website. Registering your business from a virtual office address has many advantages and is popular for home run businesses. Why does your business need a virtual address?

A virtual office address is different from your trading address and can be used, for official HMRC, Companies House, and public domains such as your website. Registering your business from a virtual office address has many advantages and is popular for home run businesses.

Why does your business need a virtual address?

It can give a great impression.

Have you ever looked at a small business online and they have a great location in a major city centre? This is because they have a virtual address, but you still get to work from the comfort of your own home. 

Need a UK office, but live abroad?

One of the luxuries of running your own business is being able to work from anywhere in the world. But if you want to launch within the UK, you require a UK-based address, leaving you with two options: 

Renting UK premises, or

A virtual office address,

Which in comparison is a minimal expenditure.

It gives you your privacy.

When registering your business, your address goes to a multitude of places, including HMRC, Companies House, your website, stationary, Google, and more. It becomes the public domain, this is fine if you have a public trading address, but when running a business from home, having your address in so many places should be avoided. 

Having a virtual address means that this is the address that appears on all of these, leaving your home, property, and inventory safe from prying eyes. 

Cost-effective

If you were thinking of any of the above but your mind had gone to look for a public trading office, the costs each month can be costly. A virtual office allows for these costs to be reduced as there are no daily admin and maintenance costs to running a physical office and will allow you to split the costs with other virtual address users. 

Other benefits

Having a virtual office will allow you to make use of these other benefits:

- A place to receive mail

- SEO geolocation 

- Trusted address

If this sounds like the perfect thing for you and your business, let us introduce VASS Virtual Office services:

Registered Office Address

Directors Service Address

Business Address Service

Company Foundation Support

Company Secretarial Service

Meeting Space

Hot Desk Spaces

Register your interest for a fantastic London address with VVO here:

The Importance of Taking Breaks During Your Working Day!

Too busy to take a break during your working day? Use this as your reminder to take a break and slow down.

You may be thinking why, I have too much work to do, but here are our top tips to why taking a break in your working day will help you be more productive.

Help create a healthy balance

When overwhelmed with work, healthy balanced life is one of the first things to fall by the wayside. Things like taking time to eat balanced meals, exercising, and getting a night’s sleep are all things that will help your brain function better.

Ensuring you take a well-earned break in your working day will help you create time to incorporate these actions into your daily activities.

Clear your head and breath in the fresh air with a walk or run, even take a small nap to help top up your sleep and set your brain and body up for the rest of the day.

Get the creativity flowing

Sitting in work mode and at a screen, all day can impede your creativity by exhausting your cognitive capabilities. Not skipping breaks and taking that time to not think about work will help you make creative links making the rest of the tasks that little bit easier.

Help your brain process and retain information

Keeping your brain focussed at all times can mean that you can’t always see outside the task at hand, meaning your brain will struggle to process information out of this task.

Allow your brain to relax, helping your brain to focus on multiple aspects of your life and retain more information.

Think about a time when you are drifting off to sleep or in the shower, and you have had an amazing idea. So why not try relaxing your brain more often who knows you might come up with your best idea yet.

Let your brain reassess your goals and priorities

Owning a business means that you have multiple goals and different priorities, sometimes at the same time. By allowing yourself to take a step back from the tasks, your brain will be able to process all of your goals and priorities and will allow you to make a more strategic picture of your business.

We hope that these tips will help you become more productive throughout your workday, and you will see an increase in productivity and turn more revenue and a clearer mind. If you find, however, that you are still overwhelmed in your day-to-day life, drop us a message, and we will arrange a call to help you delegate some tasks relieving you of some much-needed pressure.  

Easy Tips to Getting and Staying Organised

As business owners, we know how rare it is to stay organised all the time, but staying organised has so many benefits not just to your business but also to you! Some of the benefits of staying organised are: work not piling up, increased productivity, increased revenue, gaining back valuable time, and not having your mind whirring on a million things all at one time. We like to help business owners get and stay organised. Here are some of our top easy tips to help you achieve just that:

Plan your social media activity in advance

Planning and scheduling posts in advance will save you copious amounts of time every day. Thinking of something to post every day can be time-consuming when integrating your thoughts, copy creation. Completing multiple posts at a time will allow your brain to focus solely on that project. Allowing you to focus on income-earning activities throughout the day.

Here are some schedulers you can use to plan your posts:

Later: free for 1 social set, 10 posts per profile per month & 1 user

Publer: free for 5 social accounts, 50 scheduled posts & 1 user

Hootsuite: £39 per month, 10 social accounts, unlimited postings, access to messages & 1 user

Organise your passwords

Do you have a notebook where you store your passwords, or are they stored in your head? Is it time to invest in a password locker? 

The online software allows you to store all your passwords and autofill them into the correct site when needed, a massive time saver in itself it's also safer, and even if you forget your password, it is there waiting for you.

Here are a couple of password lockers to help keep your passwords safe:

Lastpass: Free for 1 person, 1 device

Dashlane: Free for 1 device with up to 50 passwords

Improve your workspace

Start by decluttering what you do not need, then when the space is ready, think about how the space can be improved for your working needs. 

Are cables all over the desk? Buy a cable tidy.

Do you get uncomfortable sitting at your desk all day long? Look at purchasing a sit/standing table, so you have both options available to save you from the aching back.

Buy some greenery for your workspace it is proven that adding plants to your workspace can improve productivity by up to 15%. Not got green fingers, do not worry, succulents can do the same job.

Not sure where to start looking for a standing desk? The Independent rated the:

Flexispot E8 standing desk is the overall winner for 2022 - £419.99

Not got that much of a budget, check out IKEA's version:

IKEA Skarsta - £195 

Time block your day

Don’t jump across tasks and schedule time each day to do certain tasks, and yes this means no jumping across to check and respond to emails throughout the day. 

Schedule your meetings in one block, schedule blocks for specific admin tasks, and schedule blocks of time to check and respond to emails a couple of times a day.

By not flitting between tasks, you will save time by not having to allow your brain to refocus.

Putting all this down in writing to keep you on track will only help further, here are some software to help you:

Clickup: Free with unlimited users and tasks

Asana: Free with unlimited tasks 

Monday.com: Free with 2 users and unlimited boards

Outsource some work

Is everything still overwhelming and chaotic? At VASS we can help get you organised in your business and home life. We can help set your business up for success.

To find out more about how VASS can help you contact us here:

* All prices mentioned within this blog are correct at the time of writing.

Best self-care tips for business owners over the holiday period

Being a business owner can be overwhelming at the best of times, but the pressure in the run up to Christmas can make it that little bit harder.

Business owners are also renowned for not taking care of themselves.

With more pressure on home life and preparing to take time off over Christmas, it is important to look after yourself, so you can look after your business and loved ones. Here are our top 6 tips for taking care of yourself over the holidays:

Have ‘me’ time every day

Schedule some time every day to focus on yourself, gather your thoughts, and reflect on your day and the tasks ahead. The Christmas break is the perfect time to begin your regular self-care and create a healthy habit that will continue when you get back to work. 

Say no

We are always so worried that saying no will impact your business and it is no different in your personal life. Overscheduling and overworking ourselves is seen as normal, but it shouldn’t be.

But saying no can be liberating and allow you a less hectic schedule. Start over the Christmas period:

Say no to the extra party

Say no to organising more things

Say no to what you don’t want to do

Find a way to unwind

Take the time at the end of each day to unwind, reflect on your day. It will allow you to decompress and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones.

Take time to enjoy a hobby

Find something that you enjoy to do whether that be watching films, knitting, going for a daily walk. Take the time to enjoy whatever you want and let your mind rest.

Catch up with your sleep

As a business owner, it is not uncommon to work until the early hours of the morning or get up early to get a good head start. Take the time while you are taking time off to catch up with your sleep, have that lie in and have that early night.

Be in the moment

Don’t worry about what needs to be done. If you feel like you want to do something, do it. If your children ask to play and you would usually tell them you have work to do, stop and play it will make both your days.

Remember to look after yourself, and you can then look after everything else after.

Why your business should have a bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping is one of the most vital areas of your business. It can help you keep track of your finances, keep you on budget, helping you work out when you can increase your outgoings to grow your business, and allow you to keep up to date and on time with government regulations.

Whether you are a sole trader, limited company, partnership, or VAT registered depends on the accounts that you submit:

-         Sole trader – annual tax returns

-         Limited company – Annual Income and Earnings and Statement of Financial Position

-         Partnership – Annual Profit and Loss

-         VAT registered – All of the above depending on the model plus quarterly VAT returns

Completing all the necessary annual and quarterly returns is a time-sensitive process, that if not completed in the required time frame, can incur penalties. Having a bookkeeper to hand will help keep this from happening and reduce human errors in your accounting processes.

What are the benefits of having a monthly bookkeeper instead of a bookkeeper to complete your government-mandated accounts?

-         They will help you stay organised

-         They will give you advice along the way on how best to manage your money and boost your business

-         Will reduce your workload

-         Will help you create a financial roadmap, in turn allowing you to plan for future expenses

Finding the perfect bookkeeper for your business can seem daunting. Here at VASS we have the best-handpicked bookkeepers ready to help your business without having to employ a bookkeeper directly helping you save money.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you with your accounts and your business here: