The "Time Tracking" Challenge for Virtual Assistants

Over the past couple weeks, we have received many responses to our question (on the optin form at VAClassroom), "What is the greatest challenge facing your Virtual Assistant Business today?" We will be reviewing these common challenges in the next few posts to come. A couple subscribers admitted that one of their ongoing challenges is effectively tracking time for the different clients they work with. You might be thinking... tracking time is a piece of cake - just wear a watch, use a stop clock and you should be fine... Yes, it may seem simple, but with short Instant messenger chats, calls on your cell phone, quick email questions from clients, the tracking of time can start to become a little murky, especially if you are a busy VA with multiple clients and projects on the go simultaneously! I know with the VAs I work with, I will often "Skype" them a quick question and have a little chat - they need to keep track of these little chats, calls, emails that they do on a daily basis for many different clients. Well, here are three ideas to help manage this time tracking challenge... 1. I would recommend being upfront with your clients on your minimum time intervals for any task or inpromptu question they may have. In other words, you might set a minimum time interval of 10 minutes (or whatever you decide), so if you have a quick skype chat with a client, you will bill them at a minimum of 10 minutes of work. Again, it is important to be clear on this with client's upfront so they don't think you are padding the invoice:). In the name of building long-term relationships with clients, you might also consider not charging for that occassional quick chat - that could go a long way to keeping a happy client as along as it does not become too frequent! 2. Another strategy for managing the time tracking issue is to shut off MSN, Skype, Cell Phones, PDAs when you are working on a specific client's project in order to make your time tracking a little more cut and dry. I know this is easier said than done at times, but do you best to focus on one project or task at a time - this will help to maximize your productivity as well. 3. Invest in a Time Tracking Solution. There are a number of cool time tracking applications you can use to keep track of clients' works on a minute by minute basis. I personally like FreshBooks as it also offers the billing and payment features for managing your clients invoices and payments. FreshBooks enables you to track time across specific client tasks and projects as well as tracking the time of any staff you may have working on the same project. This is particularly useful for Multi-VA firms. I also like the accountability piece in which you can provide your client access to your Freshbooks account so they can monitor their budget and project activities. I think this adds a level of professionalism and credibility to your business efforts. If you haven't already, be sure to sign up for our "VA Business PowerPack Contest" at VAClassroom.com as we have included a one year subscription to Freshbooks!