sjsmith.com.au - blog

Using What You Need

Low Tech, High Speed

I've talked before about how low tech things were when I started out in business (Blog 16) and lately I've got to thinking about whether any of the early systems I had in place still had any relevance. Aside from my little manual typewriter  and a landline the only other things I used where three notebooks. One for financial accounts, one for tenders we submitted and one with details of the jobs we had. Each job also had its own file. These days there is a programme or an app for any sort of function you can think of. Accounting, cashflow, photo management, time billing, email management, to name but a few. The thing is, do we really need to invest not just in the cost of all of these systems but, in the time it takes to learn them, data input for them, run updates for them, and teach our stuff how they work. I once worked in an office where they were just starting to computerise their records. The business mainly related to making redundancy payments.

The manager asked for details about a particular person due for a payment. My colleague went to look it up on the computer while I went to find them in a handwritten, alphabetised ledger. By the time he turned on his machine, loaded the program and searched for the information, I had already found what was needed. Now I'm not sledging computers. I think they are fabulous and the information sources they provide these days are invaluable to any business. I can't think of any business that could do without one! But if you are a small business, starting out and the thought of having to learn another program or app just seems like a step too far, think about whether there is a low tech solution that would do you just fine for now. Maybe a simple accounts ledger with money in and money out is enough to get you started. Maybe you can manage your sales with written invoices until you have time to set up an integrated financial accounting program. Don't think you have to be a full-on techie to get going. Start where you can and then schedule when you'll move to a computerised version.

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X