The 4 Essential Tools You Need to Help Make Your Bookkeeping Firm More Efficient, Streamlined, and Productive
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When you’re running a bookkeeping business, you need to know how to be efficient!
If you’re constantly starting from scratch, you’re wasting precious time that could be used for things like:
Scaling your firm
Hiring team members
Taking extended vacations
Leveling up your skills with a course
When you build your team, it’s your job as CEO to provide them with the tools and resources they need to meet expectations and goals!
In this blog, we’re going to explore our tried and true toolbox for efficiency that we not only teach but also use in our bookkeeping firm!
In our group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, we’ll actually show you exactly how to build out and implement all of these tools for your firm. 🎉
This is how we’ve built and scaled Workflow Queen AND Magnetic Bookkeeping & Consulting. We know how big an impact these tools can make. Yes, they’ll take work to set up, but the long-term gain is sooo worth it!
Essential Tools for Efficient Work
Now let’s open up the magical toolbox you’ll need to create efficient workflows and streamline the way you outsource work!
Keep in mind, you don’t have to implement all of these tools at once. It’s okay to start small and build up from there - just do what makes sense for you!
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
At our firm, we have an extensive library of SOPs to support our team. It’s a living, breathing database that helps us easily delegate tasks to each other.
The best part? We know the task will get done correctly as long as the SOP is up to date!
Think of each SOP as a how-to. You can record them with Loom to make it SUPER easy for your team members to follow along.
SOPs are even helpful when you need a refresher on how to complete a task!
A great example of an SOP would be: How to set up a new QBO file.
You could include a video or written instructions, links, screenshots, and any other information someone might need to complete this task!
Decision Trees
Want to delegate a decision (like when to fire a client) but you can’t IMAGINE how you’d possibly pass that off to a team member?
Enter - decision trees!
This tool lets you create a visual representation of how to come to a specific conclusion, even when there’s variables involved.
We use an incredible digital whiteboard to create our decision trees. It’s called Miro, and you can learn allll about it in our in-depth blog post about it here!
Decision trees empower your team members to confidently make big decisions without second-guessing themselves. They’re also a great tool if YOU need help deciding what to do when an issue comes up.
Owner’s Manuals
Here’s a little-known tool that can make a HUGE difference in how you and your team use and understand all the tools, tech, and resources in your bookkeeping firm.
We highly recommend you (or a team member) create a user manual for any resources you expect them to know how to use and understand.
It’s basically a document explaining the who, what, when, where, how and why of the resource/tool/tech!
This tool is especially useful when you’re onboarding a new team member. Just have them go through your owner’s manual database (which we happen to store in Notion - read more about how we use Notion here) to learn all about the tools and resources they’ll be using on the job.
It’s easy to overthink this but I suggest you go for “done is better than perfect”. It could literally just be a Google Doc with all the important information written out, we just happen to store ours in Notion instead!
Process Maps
Another great reason to get a Miro account - process maps!
We use this tool to visually map out a process and any necessary tasks or assets before we bring it into our project management system of choice, Asana.
We’re so obsessed with Asana, we built a signature program around it, specifically for bookkeepers and accountants!
One example of when to use a process map would be for creating your sales process.
You can easily lay out all the phases, steps and information needed to make up the process.
psst...if you’re looking to automate your sales process, we use Dubsado and LOVE it!
Implementing Your Efficiency Toolbox
Now that you’re armed with your shiny new efficiency toolbox, it’s time to implement these tools into your bookkeeping firm!
Doing this can really help you take more off your plate, and ultimately help you remove yourself from the day-to-day operations of the business.
If you’re interested in learning exactly how we use these tried and true tools in our firm, we got you!
Join us in Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants to supercharge your systems and prepare your business as a whole for sustainable growth.
We’ve created a high-touch group coaching program to help you navigate things like creating efficiency tools, organizing them in one centralized hub, and building deep internal systems to streamline your firm.
We’ve poured everything into this program because we believe in sharing our expertise with other bookkeeping and accounting firm owners to help them thrive!
Want to be one of them? Join us in the program and have a breakthrough of your own!
