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Virtual Monthly Tips
October 1, 2006
Issue 8
Sponsored by JERPAT
Patty Benton, Editor
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to view our archive.
In this issue:
Note from Patty
Article-Prepare Your
Business for the Holidays
Tips-Outlook Tips by Andrea Kalli
Putting Your VA to Work for You!
Special Offer
JERPAT Testimonials
Note from Patty
The summer has flown by and we are already into fall, before you know
it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here! I have put off
doing the newsletter a couple of months to take care of some other
much needed business things. There will be a November issue,
and then we will be taking off December and January from publishing
the newsletter so that we can enjoy all the different holidays!
I am so excited, as one of the things I have been busy doing is
setting up 2 blogs for JERPAT. The first one is for all small
business owners to come and learn about ideas for helping grow their
business. We will be posting article and discussions that are
relevant the all small business owners. You can view this blog
at www.blog.moretime4u.org.
I have set up the 2nd one for virtual assistants and those using
virtual assistants (or thinking about using one) to discuss industry
related topics. You can view this one at
www.blog.virtualvacoach.com. In the future newsletter I
will be posting the blog discussion topics for the past month, and
any that may be scheduled for the upcoming month. Feel free to
come weigh in and be heard, we are creating a "safe" environment for
others to speak their opinions in a professional manner.
(Please note these blogs were JUST created, so there may be some
kinks. Feel free to send me an email if you run into any
problems.)
This month our team member who specializes in bookkeeping, Dolly,
shares some tips on how to prepare NOW for the upcoming tax season so
you can get the biggest break on your taxes. See our special at
the end if you just dread the upcoming tax season because you despise
bookkeeping and your records aren't "tax ready." We may be just
what you need to free you up to enjoy the upcoming holiday season.
Remember, I am always just an email
(va@jerpat.org) or phone call (877-506-2637 ext. 702
or 303.766.3052) away if you have any questions or would like to see
us cover something in the newsletter! Have a blessed month!
God
bless,
Patty Benton
JERPAT
Virtual Assistants and Web Designs
www.moretime4u.org
JERPAT VA Coaching
www.virtualvacoach.com
JERPAT VA Hosting
www.jerpat.org/jerpatHosting.htm
Acknowledging Christ Together at Work
www.actatwork.com
Prepare Your
Business for the Holidays
by Dolly Norris Hooker
Copyright 2006
There are only a couple of pages left on the 2006 calendar. Fall is
officially here and before you know it the stores will be stocked
with Christmas decorations and holiday music will fill the air.
You’ll soon be busy preparing for all the activities that go along
with the holidays. As you prepare your gift list, don’t forget your
business list. Take some time now to get your business in order so
you will have time to fully enjoy the holidays knowing your business
has been prepared for the upcoming tax season.
Let’s start by getting organized. The holidays are busy enough
without adding the stress of not being able to locate important
year-end documents. Clean your office. As you are cleaning off your
desk make a note of supplies that need replenishing. Go through all
of your files (both paper and computer files) and throw away anything
that is no longer needed. If you aren’t sure how long you need to
keep certain records, visit the IRS website using the following link:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98513,00.html.
Update your address book and contacts list. When you have completed
all of these tasks not only will your office be cleaned and organized
but you will also have all your paperwork in order for your
accountant.
The end of the year is a busy time for everyone; however, the local,
state and federal governments have deadlines that have to be met.
While you are getting organized you should have a file for any forms
from the appropriate agencies for licenses, taxes and such that need
to be renewed prior to January 01. This is also the time to be making
an appointment with your accountant.
Before you meet with your accountant, you will want to have all of
your accounting up to date. Not only will this help your accountant,
but it will also give you a good understanding of your company’s
financial situation. Below are a few simple tax tips to help ensure
your company reaps some big rewards at tax time.
• Increase your expenses. Pull out the supply list you made while
cleaning your office and go shopping. Stock up on paper, ink and
other supplies you will be using the first quarter of the year. If
finances allow it purchase any new office equipment you’ve been
planning to buy. Consider paying some of your expenses in advance.
Paying your January rent, utilities and such now will reduce your tax
bill.
• Thank your employees and clients by purchasing gifts now. This will
not only help on your taxes but it will also show your clients and
employees that you appreciate and value them.
• Reduce your income. If you can receive income in the first week of
January instead of the last week in December you will be cutting your
tax bill.
• Donate to charity and don’t forget to ask for a receipt.
• Set up a retirement plan or contribute to an existing plan.
You should now have a good idea of where your business stands for the
year. Set aside some time to plan your 2007 budget. Be sure to
include your web presence, marketing, and client gifts into your
budget.
Finally, take some time off and enjoy the holiday festivities.
Dolly Norris Hooker is a
busy wife, mother and entrepreneur. She is team leader for JERPAT
Virtual Assistants and JERPAT Web Designs,
www.moretime4u.org, a
company that offers a variety of administrative and design services
to small businesses. Additionally, Dolly is the lead coach of JERPAT
VA Coaching,
www.virtualvacoach.com, an affordable, alternative coaching
program to help new and established virtual assistants set-up and
grow their businesses. She is the co-founder of Acknowledging Christ
Together at Work,
www.actatwork.com, a faith-based organization to help support
those in the workplace take a stand for Christ.
Outlook Tips
by Andrea Kalli
by Andrea Kalli
akalli@virtualassist.net
Tip #1
Drag and Drop --- a key component to keeping organized! You can
easily create new Outlook items from other Outlook items using drag
and drop. The hidden beauty of drag and drop is that whatever
information is in the message or notes area of the originating item
passes on to the message or notes area of the newly created
item...making for less typing, cut and pasting, etc. To name a few:
drag an email from your inbox to a contact folder and create a new
contact item. What's handy is if the email also contains the person's
phone numbers, websites, or addresses you can drag and drop those
individual pieces of information to their appropriate field from the
new contact record notes area. Again, less typing, cut and pasting,
etc. Drag an email to your task folder to create a new task. Drag an
email to your calendar folder to create a new appointment. Drag a
task from your task folder to your calendar folder to create a new
calendar item. Did you know you can create new Outlook items by
selecting specific text and dragging it to a folder? A new item form
opens with only the selected text in the Notes field or message body.
This is handy if the email message contains a lot of information you
don't really want to carry over into your new contact or appointment,
etc. Dragging HTML from a webpage to create a new task, email,
calendar, etc. works as well. Just reduce the size of the webpage in
your screen so you can see both your Outlook and the webpage at once.
dragging selected text from a Word document to create a new Outlook
task, email, calendar, etc. works too. Notes: It doesn't work with
all items types and text formats in all versions/service pack levels
of Outlook. If you receive an error, test it by selecting a block of
plain text. In Outlook 2003, you may receive errors if you use both
Unicode and ANSI (Outlook 97/2002 format) message stores and try to
create new items from existing items in the other message store
format. Not into drag and drop? Try copy and paste - use Ctrl+V to
paste copied text on a button or folder in Outlook to create an item
with the copied text in the Notes field. Have fun!
Tip #2
Think about adding your vCard to your AutoSignature. It provides a
universal business card that is not application specific. So when the
recipient receives your email they can quickly add you as a contact
to their own address book, no matter what kind they use. Start by
creating a new contact record in your Contacts folder for your
business. Provide all the needed information you would normally have
on a business card. Then create a new Signature for your emails, add
the vCard to it, and voila! You are ready to hand out your electronic
business card to every person you email.
Free videos available for the tips at
http://www.virtualassist.net/OutlookProductivityTips.htm.
Videos require Macromedia Flash plugin (you will be instructed to
download it if not already installed).
View archives at
http://www.virtualassist.net/OutlookProductivityTipsArchive.htm.
The Convenience of Virtual Training and
Assistance
Andrea Kalli Virtual Trainer and Assistant, LLC provides remote,
interactive Outlook 2003 training for small groups and one-on-one
sessions, as well as online support services for all versions of
Outlook, all at the comfort of your own desk or home PC. We offer
Outlook usability support for you or for all your employees. It's
like having an in-house Outlook expert! Empower your employees to use
the powerful collaboration features of Outlook with Exchange Server.
We focus on training users to get the most out of Outlook in the
business world. Onsite group Outlook training is available for the
Denver metro area of Colorado. Think about the immediate benefits to
virtual training...no more time spent driving, using valuable gas,
and looking or paying for parking. All this at a cost that is lower
than most traditional training classes. To learn more about this
unique way of learning please visit
www.virtualassist.net.
Putting Your VA to Work for You!
(adapted from 101 Plus Ways to Use a
Virtual Assistant (VA) from coachville.com)
Are you
having a hard time finding the time to do your monthly bank
reconciliation? You can mail a copy of your check register
along with your bank statement to your VA. Or, if you are
comfortable, you can send a copy of your receipts to your VA and
allow them access to your online bank records, and have them enter
everything into your software, do a monthly reconciliation, and send
you a report. We have clients who use the online method, and it
has helped free up their time and they are current on reconciliation
monthly!
Remember, your VA is there to help you find the time to stay on top
of your business without stressing yourself out!
Special Offer
Need help getting your books up to date to hand over to your
accountant. Give us a call and we can get you set up to getting
on top of your books.
Contact us by October 31, 2006, and receive 10% off your final
invoice for your first month of bookkeeping.
Contact
us for a free consultation to see if we can help you! We have a
new 800 number. Leave a message and we are notified
immediately! 877-506-2637 ext. 702
(Good only through October 31,
2006)
JERPAT
Testimonials
We have worked with JERPAT for about one year.
During that time we have had many varied requests for service such as
additions and corrections to our web site, materials prepared for
marketing, materials prepared and assembled into work books, graphics
designed, and bookkeeping. Throughout each project, Patty and Jerome
have been responsive, professional, and produced quality work. I
can’t imagine how they could make it easier to work with them. As
busy professionals, we must be able to ask for things without too
much fuss and receive them in a timely manner. JERPAT has more than
met our expectations.
Jen Joyce & Patty Beach, Partners in True North Programs
www.truenorthprograms.com
Contact
Patty Benton
va@jerpat.org
www.moretime4u.org
www.virtualvacoach.com
20269 Smoky Hill Road, Suite 136 B
Centennial, Colorado 80015
877-506-2637 ext. 702
(Call anytime, leave a message, and we are notified immediately!)
303.766.3051 9
am-5 pm MST Monday-Friday
This newsletter
was established for client's of JERPAT, potential client's of JERPAT,
business owners, virtual assistants, and/or any other party that may
be interested in working with a virtual assistant some time in the
future. If you work with another virtual assistance company, that is
great. Our goal is that you can take the knowledge you learn from
this newsletter and apply it to your business and your relationship
with your VA. If you are receiving this newsletter, it is because
you are a client or have expressed interest in the past in JERPAT, or
have at some point requested to receive this newsletter or were a
subscriber to the Virtual Insider.
We
respect your privacy, and if you wish to no longer receive this
newsletter in your mailbox once a month, please click here and your
name will be removed from our list. I hope this newsletter has
been a blessing to you and your business!
© 2005 JERPAT
No part of this
newsletter may be reproduced unless specified in the authors byline.
Please respect all guidelines provided in this newsletter. If there are
no guidelines provided for a section of this newsletter you would
like to reproduce, please send print request to
jerpattips@moretime4u.org.
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