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Train to be a small business book keeper online – and off

May 9, 2012 By

As a Book Keeper you are responsible for keeping accurate records of a small or medium sized business.  Armed with the very best account software such as perhaps QuickBooks for mac any wannabe small business employee could definitely train themselves up to become a viable self-employed Book keeper.  It’s definitely worth becoming “QuickBooks certified”.  You can study alongside your everyday job and take things at your own pace.  The choice exists between becoming a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS) or QuickBooks Advanced expert.  After your training online, you will be awarded a certificate which will be very useful in drumming up future work as a freelance Book keeper.

If you’re a dedicated “number cruncher” you’ll already have a leaning toward becoming a Book Keeper or eventually an Accountant.  Indeed it will definitely help if you know an Accountant and can turn to them for help and advice.  As a Book keeper you will need a combination of education and experience.  If you are organised and methodical it will help also, but to study in your spare time, you might think of enrolling at a night school or daytime business college.

Perhaps a two-year office administration course would be a good idea or you could study Payroll and Bookkeeping and of course accounting?  It is possible to study from home – especially if you are in no great rush, but if you do study alone account software and payroll software will prove invaluable.  QuickBooks Online is cloud based which means you can update your studies from anywhere and at anytime!

Filed Under: Business Training Tagged With: , ,

The Agency Worker

January 18, 2012 By

An agency worker is often known as a “temp” is a person who has a contract with a Temporary Work Agency – that is whose employment contract is with the TWA but who actually works for a the company that hires them “the hirer” and who will be managing and arranging their work schedules and tasks.
The expression “Agency Workers” in the Agency Workers Regulation includes

• Workers supplied by the TWA (the temp agency) for temporary work. They have to have a contract or written agreement with the agency and will work for and under the direction of a third party company – the hirer
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Staffing and Employees

Time Management Thoughts Part 2

November 9, 2011 By

Priority
Time available should be allocated to tasks in order of priority. Other wise you tend to spend more time in amounts inversely proportional to the importance of the task. (Parkinson’s 2nd Law) Routine tasks of low value to overall objectives should be minimised, consolidated, delegated, or eliminated to all extent possible.

Probability of things actually happening
The probability of an intended result actually happening increased directly with the systematic effort directed towards that goal’

Deadlines
Imposing deadlines and exercising self discipline in keeping to them, helps  overcome indecision and procrastination. Also look into whether you can outsource parts of your business to external agencies such as shipping companies to ensure all necessary tasks are carried out in time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Is your business believable without professional indemnity insurance?

November 5, 2011 By

The credibility of a business can hinge on various points, not least its capacity to provide an effective service. First-time clients have little way of knowing how believable or professional a business is likely to be, however, which is why they might ask questions about other clients, relevant qualifications, years in the business, insurance and so on. In respect of the last point, prospective clients would at the very least expect service providers to be fully insured. If this is not the case, why would a client ever risk doing business with a firm that apparently places little value in protecting itself from legal claims?

Insurance and specifically professional indemnity insurance is essential for many types of business. Professional indemnity cover, premiums for which can be acquired from services such as Constructaquote, is necessary for all professional service providers, from solicitors and accountants to surveyors and architects.

Without this vital cover, a business risks losing both money and clients. Money can be lost very easily without professional indemnity cover; in fact, legal claims can cripple or destroy an uninsured business. Professional indemnity insurance acts as a safety net for professionals, but it also provides benefits for clients.

Perhaps the easiest way to describe the benefits of professional indemnity insurance is by way of example. If an architect acts negligently by developing a building design that is inherently unsafe, the client might end up losing everything. Assuming the building is constructed before the design flaws are noticed, it may be that a section has to be knocked down and rebuilt. Perhaps the design flaws are not noticed in time, leaving part of the building to collapse in time, causing extensive damage. If the architect is uninsured, it is quite possible that any claim for compensation made by the client would run aground if the architect were to be declared bankrupt (and therefore unable to pay the damages).

If the architect in question does have professional indemnity insurance, their policy should be able to cover the losses sustained by the client in question or at least up to a certain limit defined by the policy. Whilst the good name of the architect would be tarnished, the client should still be able to recover their losses.

Therefore, professional indemnity insurance is essential for protecting both the insured and their clients. Mistakes do occur on occasions and insurance is sometimes the only barrier between failure and a total loss. In a nutshell, clients are unlikely to take seriously the credentials of any professional who chooses not to purchase professional indemnity cover.

Filed Under: General Business Advice

Key Interpersonal Skills for Managers (Part3)

October 26, 2011 By

A second group of important interpersonal skills for managers come under the heading of INNOVATING BEHAVIOURS. These are skills that develop a positive, forward thinking, and learning organisation.

Innovative Behaviours

  • Creating an Open Environment/ensuring Multilateral Communication – This skills is about facilitating organisational communication and making sure that there are the appropriate mechanisms for people to be aware of organisational goals and where they and others fit into the overall purpose. At it’s simplest level it is about listening and responding to information from staff as well as making sure they get key information.
  • Searching for alternatives – If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got. If you want to move forward as a learning organisation and solve thorny problems then alternatives to ways of working and doing things need to be available.
  • Learning from Others – In order to learn from other there needs to be an ethos that says that mentoring and coaching is an important activity to ensure the organisation shares vision and maximises skills.
  • Encouraging reasonable risks and Managing Failure – not everything we try is successful and works, but a learning organisation that will grow and develop needs to initiate activities that may well have risk of failure involved. Helping staff to accept the risk of failure and not stop them taking reasonable risks in the future is a vital interpersonal skill.
  • Providing Constructive Feedback – this speaks for itself, it’s not just about praise for a job well done but also the important skill of giving feedback of work not quite right in order to help the person do the job more effectively – without crushing morale or denting motivation.
Filed Under: Management Skills Tagged With: , ,

Time Management Thoughts Part 1-Equal Distribution

October 26, 2011 By

No one has enough time, but everyone has all there is. This is the great paradox of time. Time is the one resource that is equally distributed to all

Time Management – the Imperative
Irreplaceable and irretrievable- time is the most critical of resources. The ability to organise and manage time is an imperative, for without it nothing els can be managed

Anticipation
Anticipatory action is generally more effective than remedial action. Assume that if anything can go wrong it will. (Murphy’s Law0

Planning
The great majority of problems arise from action without thought. Every hour spent in effective planning g saves three to four in execution and achieves better results. By failing to plan you are planning to fail. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Key Interpersonal Skills for Managers (Part 2)

September 30, 2011 By

Key Interpersonal Skills for Managers (Part 2)

Supporting Behaviours continued.

Supporting behaviours are the most vital interpersonal skills for managers as they are key to motivating staff and making them want to work hard for themselves and the organisation. These so-called “soft skills” are some of the very hardest to develop for some managers involving, as they do, a large measure of self control and anger management for some! Some staff will bait managers and openly seek confrontation, but creating an environment where such behaviour has no place is the managerial challenge.

  • Recognising Contribution – This skill is about making sure that staff are given positive feedback and appropriate praise for work well done. It also means that ideas and developments initiated by a particular member of staff are also attributed appropriately. Some managers will take personal credit for their staff’s own work. Teamwork is fine, but individual effort towards a team goal needs recognising.
  • Managing Disrespect – This means managing disrespect and put-downs between staff and workgroups as well as open conflict and disrespect with managers. A culture of zero tolerance for bullying and unpleasant confrontation, or underhand sneakiness or “getting away with murder” makes a superior and supportive place to work.
  • Removing Obstacles – Staff will often get thwarted in what they are expected to do because of problems with resources, or other staff, or even relationships with the manager. It is the manager’s responsibility to not only listen so that he or she is aware of obstacles getting in the way of effective working
Filed Under: Management Skills Tagged With: , ,

Key Interpersonal Skills -for Managers (Part 1)

August 13, 2011 By

All managers at whatever level in the organisation from  the most junior with responsibility for a few staff to the person at the top responsible for everyone’s wellbeing and effectiveness need some key interpersonal skills to help their staff to grow and learn as well as develop their own skills. The goal is to make the organisation not only successful but also innovative and forward-thinking.

It is possible to classify key interpersonal skills under two headings: SUPPORTING BEHAVIOURS and INNOVATING BEHAVIOURS.

Supporting behaviours

These are the most important interpersonal skills for an effective organisation

  • Building Consensus – this is about understanding the skills of managing conflict resolution and managing agreement
  • Focusing on priorities – helping staff to become more effective is not about supporting them to work harder per se. Its not about efficiency-efficiency is about doing the right job, effectiveness is about doing the right job right. A manager’s job is to make sure staff are doing the right job right.
  • Leading by example – Managers can’t expect staff to follow their leadership if it is perceived that the rules the manager want to enforce are not being followed by him/herself. This is not about doing a staff member’s job for them, it means doing the manager’s job appropriately. At its simplest it is about self discipline.
Filed Under: Management Skills Tagged With: , , , ,

Handbook of Intellectual Disability and Clinical Psychology Practice

May 31, 2011 By

Handbook of Intellectual Disability and Clinical Psychology Practice Aims to equip clinical psychologists in training with the skills necessary to complete a clinical placement in the field of intellectual disability.

Filed Under: Top Products Tagged With: ,

Clinical Psychology In Practice

May 31, 2011 By

Clinical Psychology In Practice Presents an introduction to the practice of clinical psychology. This book explains a range of competencies which a psychologist is expected to possess, and how these can be applied in a variety of contexts. It covers key issues such as awareness of the social context, and the need for responsive and flexible practice.

Filed Under: Top Products Tagged With: ,
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