Running a small or mid-size business is tough when you factor in marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, and all of the other business functions. When it comes to the administrative side of things, even that can be overwhelming. Responsibilities like making sure you have the right equipment and supplies on hand and tracking leads as they travel through the sales process are critical for ensuring you acquire customers and keep them long-term. Thankfully, many administrative operations can be streamlined to make things easier for business owners so that they can better focus on growing their business. We recommend prioritizing and investing the time and effort into setting your business up for success in terms of administrative needs. They are the backbone of business operations, so keeping them streamlined is the first step to ensuring efficiencies across all business functions.
Stock Up and Save on Office Supplies
Even in the modern world of virtual communication and shopping, most businesses still require a physical office of some sort or storefront from which to operate. Part of ensuring an office is functional is keeping it stocked with the equipment and supplies needed for daily operations. While it may be tempting to shop for supplies only when current stock runs low, doing so can be costly in terms of both time and money. No business owner wants their office staff to run out of something critical for doing their job.
One of those common supplies often overlooked is printer ink and copy toner. Waiting until these run out before ordering or buying more is risky, as not having replacements on hand may mean copying and printing functions for the organization are halted until more arrives. With the supply chain issues over the past couple of years, it’s even more crucial to be prepared. So, take advantage of the opportunity to stock up on ink and toner cartridges so that running out is near impossible. A bonus – buying in bulk often saves money as well! Our sister company, Onlinetoner.net, offers monthly promotions to help small business owners save on ink and toner. With free shipping offered on orders over $75, stocking up is simple AND affordable. Most importantly, ordering in bulk better guarantees you won’t waste any valuable time waiting for replacement cartridges to arrive once your current stock is depleted.
Automate Where Possible
Automation has changed the game for owners and managers in several different business function areas. Modern platforms and integration tools allow for many manual processes to be automated, which saves time in addition to preventing a lot of human errors. One area of automation most business owners can benefit from is lead management. Leads make their way to a business from a number of sources – website traffic, social media, outside sales outreach, etc. For those leads coming via online channels, automation can be very beneficial to tracking those leads through the sales funnel.
Take advantage of (often free) tools to automate tasks like email follow-ups and quote generation. Much of this work begins with your website, which is often the first impression potential customers have of the organization. A well-designed website will both make it easy for visitors to navigate between pages and lead them effectively into the sales funnel, via something like an opt-in for email marketing or interest form. From there, set it up to let automation work its magic to send that information to a CRM or simply a spreadsheet designed to track leads as they move towards converting. Eliminating the manual step of adding these contacts into a CRM saves time and also limits manual errors like misspelling an email address.
Leave IT to the Experts
Nearly every business relies on technology to some extent, most using tech for the majority of their business functions. While technology can be a game-changer for organizations, it must be properly managed to avoid security or functionality issues. Many small and mid-sized businesses don’t have the IT expertise in-house to handle this management. Rather than have non-experts leading IT efforts and putting the business at risk for network failures or security breaches, bring in a team of industry experts. Outsourcing IT management to local experts offers a number of benefits.
First, IT professionals like the team at Kustura Technologies bring years of industry experience and expertise, staying continuously up-to-date on new technologies and best practices. Also, this option is almost always less expensive than staffing an IT department (or even a single individual). As a managed service provider (MSP), we offer complete managed IT services for small businesses that need all-in-one IT support. That support includes 24/7 assistance so that issues such as network failures or locked applications are addressed sooner rather than later, avoiding the downtime that often comes with handling these issues in-house. Downtime isn’t just frustrating, it is costly as well. Preventing normal business functions from operating for any length of time affects overall efficiency and has revenue implications as well.
A good MSP should contribute to a business’ administrative operations running smoothly. Choosing local for this provider also better guarantees your questions and issues are resolved quickly and effectively – no waiting in long hold queues trying to reach IT support for an application or software. If you are interested in learning more about how our products and services can help streamline administrative operations at your business, we would be happy to share. Contact us today to discuss your needs!
