Tools to Stay Organized

As entrepreneurs we often feel disorganized and as our business progresses, it becomes harder to keep track of what you’ve done, what you’re doing now, and what you should be doing. You know that it would great to be tracking and reporting on all of the activities of the company, but with all we are working on, we can’t take the time to track every task and every project. So we think – when we get bigger, we will put in place all the tools to be more efficient.
Entrepreneurs often get stuck in the present tense—after all this is where creativity and innovation live—but if you want to turn your vision into a successful business, then you must operate in all tenses. Track past work, communication and goals. Maintain priorities and balance your time in the present. Establish ongoing processes to ensure accurate and efficient communication and goal achievement in the future. Without simple management tools, organizing incoming information and tasks will continue to feel like herding cats all day, every day.

“These will help you create order.” 

Tools To Use

Once you are aware of these tools and their advantages, take some time to find the ones that seem best suited to your needs. Many of these tools are available online and are free (or very low cost) and allow multiple people in your company to access them at an appropriate level of authorization. You may not need all of them, but they will help you create order.

  • Project and Task Management Tools. New ventures lack administrative support positions. Tracking to-dos, plans, and larger initiatives is time consuming. Online project management tools help organize your company and its tasks.
  • Simple Task Tools. For simple to-do list items, there are free applications that keep track of tasks you must accomplish. Look at Google Keep, Wunderlist to just name a few.  Pick one and get disciplined about keeping all your to-dos in one place. The use of these tools may seem overly tactical, but they create efficiency and put time back in your day.
  • Accounting Package. You may be spending time creating invoices, tracking expenses and trying to keep track of money with individual spreadsheets. Online small business accounting packages are efficient at managing the basic financial elements of the business including creating invoices, purchase orders, and keeping track of customers, employees and vendors. Also, if you track all financial activity in the package, you can produce the standard financial statements (i.e., income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement) with the press of a button.
  • Sales Pipeline/CRM Package. Online customer relationship management (CRM) tools allow you to keep track all sales opportunities and their size, stage, and likelihood to close. While primarily designed for sales, this can also be used to track potential investor opportunities.
  • Document Management. You generate documents as your business evolves. Use an online document management tool that allows you to house all documents. Set up a section for each department and other major area of the company. This tool can also be used for your “data room” to manage your investment process.

If you’re ready for your organizational makeover, by all means, get started. It won’t be long before you see increased productivity and creativity. Then you’ll ask yourself, “How did I manage before this?”

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