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Are you stuck for ideas of what to buy that special person in your life? Here at YOPA we know that there is no greater gift than the gift of time?
These days we all lead such busy lives. Just think, how many times have you heard someone utter the words “I wish I had more time to…” recently? We all know time is precious so why not give someone you care about, the time to do the things they want to do – while we take care of the things that they need to do.
YOPA vouchers are not only a perfect gift solution for those who might need a little extra assistance in their daily busy life but, we also happen to think that they would make a unique gift for that someone special in your life.
Perhaps you have a hard-to-buy for relative – we all have one of those – you know, the person who has everything! Give them something they haven’t got. The YOPA Gift of Time. Our unique vouchers can be used for everything from helping organise paperwork to managing home projects or planning a party.
Maybe you have an older friend or relative who doesn’t have a computer and would like some help with online shopping? We can help with that! What about accessing and downloading paper copies of their utility bills or insurance details from a provider’s website? Not everyone likes paperless!
Perhaps there’s a small research project we could undertake such as sourcing a local handyman or service.
Do you know someone who would benefit from a reminder calendar – all of your household or business renewals dates and reminders in one place, with your own personal assistant prompting you, ensuring that you have plenty of time to look for comparisons or never forget that important date?
Is your partner a sole trader who would benefit from some much needed business support with their administration? Do they have paper piles in need of organising or receipts waiting to be entered onto a spreadsheet? We can help.
Of course, these are only a few ideas of how someone could use their Gift of Time – as always, we’re incredibly flexible, meaning the list of possibilities is possibly endless - we can assist in whatever way is needed, all completely tailored to the needs of the recipient.
Click here to purchase a Yopa ‘Gift of Time’ voucher, available in Yopa hours enabling you to buy one or more – the choice is yours.
Why not make someone’s day and give them the Gift of Time!
PS YOPA vouchers are also a superb way for those who have not yet experienced our exceptional customer service to put YOPA to the test – with no commitment – perhaps that’s a good enough reason to treat yourself to the Gift of Time!
2015 has been an incredibly busy year for us here at Yopa, we’ve taken on lots of new projects with lots of fabulous new clients, but we’re not complaining at all - we like busy, we thrive on busy!
All this extra activity however has meant that we needed to get ourselves an extra pair of hands and pronto! Let us tell you; its no easy task trying to find someone who can meet the high standards that we pride ourselves on delivering for our clients. We didn’t want just any old person joining our team; we needed to find ourselves a superstar PA!
That’s why today we’re really excited to let you know that we’ve only gone and found ourselves that superstar in the form of our brand new Yopalette – Kerry.
Kerry joined us in August and has already become a great asset to the team. Her extensive background and experience in supporting busy business owners with their administrative tasks and social media makes her the natural choice and the perfect addition to the fabulous Yopa team.
With our new strengthened team we look forward to taking on more of those time-consuming tasks for you. Offload as much as little as you want to us and give yourself a spot of breathing room to focus on all the things that really matter, whether that’s developing your business or spending more quality time with your family.
Our range of bespoke services includes but is not limited to;
- Call answering
- PA Support
- Bookkeeping
- Personal Concierge
- Business Development
Why not get in touch today for a FREE consultation? Call us now on 01926 355777 or email us at [email protected] … we are here to help you.
An organized business is a productive business. You may not consider yourself blessed with natural organizational skills, but now is the perfect time to get your business and work space organized.
Here are our top ten tips to help you do that and get on track in the New Year.
No. 1 - Purge Your Office
Even if you don’t mind a little mess and dust, too much clutter can add to daily stress and chaos. Clutter exists because we think that everything is important. With the New Year, toss out whatever is outdated, no longer relevant or a duplicate.
For example:
☛Recycle the broken electronics you may have stashed in a closet.
☛Delete all those old voice messages.
☛Donate anything you don’t need or use.
☛Keep the basics and anything you’ve used in the past year; all else can go.
When your work-space is clean and uncluttered, you’ll enjoy spending time at your desk and won’t waste time searching through junk or moving piles around.
No. 2 - Organise Your Paper Files
One study found that the average person wastes over 4 hours per week searching for papers. Go through your filing cabinets and shred anything that’s out of date or no longer relevant to your business.
If you’re worried you might one day need four-year old notes from a client project, then scan the originals and throw out the paper files to make more room.
No. 3 - Ditch Paper Receipts
Considering the HMRC accepts electronic copies of receipts, there’s really no reason for you to continue hanging on to all those tiny paper slips from restaurants, taxis, office supplies, etc.
Find a receipt management scanner or app for your smartphone (such as Neat Receipts) and make sure your solution lets you export data to whatever expense reporting/accounting app you use.
No. 4 - Use the Cloud for Storage and Sharing
If you haven’t done so already, start using cloud-based tools to share and save documents. For example, Google Drive lets you store up to 15GB for free, while giving clients or colleagues access to collaborate. Other tools include Dropbox and Box.
By housing files in the cloud, you can help clean up your personal storage, as well as save valuable time spent emailing documents back and forth when collaborating with others.
No.5 - Tame Your Inbox
If your email inbox has become a catchall for every email you’ve received over the past years, it’s time to clean house. It is possible to manage your email inbox so you only see the messages you still need to deal with and everything else is neatly archived for safe keeping.
Start with a clean slate by filing away everything you no longer need to respond to.
Next, tame the level of new emails you get each day by unsubscribing to newsletters or other subscriptions you no longer read. Create specific folders where non-essential emails go automatically, so they don’t interrupt your daily flow.
No.6 - Get the Right Note-Taking Tool
One key to staying organized and effective as a small business owner is having the right solution for jotting down any tasks or inspirations when they strike.
Whether you prefer to use pen and paper, voice recording on your smartphone or an app like Evernote, the most important thing is that the solution fits into your lifestyle so you’ll use it consistently.
No.7 - Tidy Up Your Social Media Profiles
It’s not just your email inbox and desktop that fall prey to clutter. Your social media profiles can also become clogged and out of date.
First, take stock of where your business has a social presence and drop any accounts that are no longer in use. There’s no point in having multiple Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Instagram profiles if you’re not actively posting and monitoring each account.
You can also use a tool like JustUnfollow to weed out any followers who are inactive or aren’t following you back.
No.8 - Meet with a Tax Advisor
Don’t wait until it’s time to file your returns to start thinking about taxes. Make an appointment with your Accountant or Tax Advisor early in the year.
If your business is still structured as a sole proprietor, now’s the time to think about protecting your personal assets and gaining other benefits through a formal business structure like a Limited Company.
No.9 - Take Charge of Your Books
If you run a small business, you already have some kind of process in place for invoicing, processing payments, recording expenses and tracking projects. But if you haven’t updated your process lately, chances are there’s a system out there to help make these administrative tasks easier and more efficient.
Take a look at your tablet/smartphone app store for a new tool that could help you get organized and take charge of your books in the New Year. For example, there’s different packages to suit business owners in Xero.
No.10 - Tie Up Any Legal Loose Ends
This is a perfect opportunity to tie up any loose ends you’ve been putting off in prior years. For example, are all your licenses and local permits in order? Did you make any changes to your business which will need amendments filing? Have any of your Health & Safety qualifications expired?
If you are unsure and need any assistance, please call we’re here to help!
Telephone Answering Service - 6 Sectors Benefiting!
How much did that last missed call cost you? In this busy working world, many people don’t wait for you to call them back. Instead, they’ve moved onto someone else.
Answering that call can mean the difference between winning and losing a new customer. But you also need to concentrate on the job you’re doing at that moment.
Yopa Call Answering Service can be the answer. Every business can benefit but here are six examples of clients who have really reaped the rewards.
Not every job involves sitting by the phone. If you work in a trade which requires to be onsite, with clients or driving for a good deal of their day, picking up the phone can be tricky. Many of your customers are often running through a list. Missing a call can mean missing a big opportunity.
Existing customers need to feel important and have come to expect a prompt response. Our call answering service can also act as your Sales or Help Desk, logging calls and raising sales tickets for you to deal with. Yopa call answering can create the impression of a large support team when really it’s just you.
- 3.Designers, Architects and Writers
Often people need time and space to create. Nothing stops a good idea like an interruption from the phone. If you have a design project to work on, or a big pitch that needs your full attention, divert your calls to give you the peace and quiet you need.
Customers often want a company to look like an established business. However good your service is, a missed call on a mobile can give the wrong impression. As well as simple call answering, you can add an auto attendant to your line: press 1 for Sales, 2 for accounts. The customer will think you’re in the next office when we transfer the call. You can even have a bespoke answer message for out of hours calls.
Every business has busy periods. They may be seasonal or the result of an advertising campaign or change in legislation. Yopa call answering service can immediately take the pressure off and expand to fit the demand, leaving you plenty of time to follow up on the new business. When viewings and new listings are both at their peak, we can take the details from buyers and landlords freeing you to concentrate on your clients.
Without a receptionist, it’s hard to manage your diary, ringing people back to slot appointments in between treatments. We can fill that role, booking appointments into your online diary as if we were sitting just outside your treatment room.
Of course, there are many more businesses that can benefit.
It’s not just creative types that need time to focus. It’s been shown that people perform better when they stop trying to multi-task and concentrate on one thing at a time. Dealing with all of your phone messages in one block can free up a huge amount of time for other things.
It can also save you money. It’s a difficult decision to take on staff. The leap to becoming an employer or taking on premises is not to be taken lightly. Yopa Call Answering can be an excellent alternative, saving you money and stress.
More important than money, it can give you peace of mind that all your calls are being dealt with professionally and efficiently.
Do you worry what happens to your business when you’re away? Or does your family have to tolerate you taking phone calls and emails while you’re supposed to be on holiday. We can take care of that, holding the fort, and forwarding only the emergencies if absolutely necessary.
Yopa’s Call Answering Service can be fine tuned to suit you, whatever your profession. All of your calls will be answered personally, as if we were working in your office, whether you are on the road, with a client or taking a much needed break.
Get in touch with us for a free consultation to see how we can help.
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