17 Ways to Manage Your Small Business Better Inside 17hats

Are you struggling to keep your small business organized and efficient? I get it. Managing a full business from clients to taxes to bookkeeping is not for the faint of heart. So, I’m here to show you 17 ways to manage your small business better before burnout sets in. 

Say goodbye to the days of sticky notes and manual tasks as we explore the powerful tools and features inside 17hats. If you’re already a 17hats member, then I’m sure you’ll discover a new way to utilize the platform to make your day-to-day more productive. 

17 Ways 17hats Can Be Your Ultimate Business Management Ally

1. Get rid of sticky notes for good
2. Create separate calendars, but see them all! 
3. Allow clients to book online
4. Organize better with Tags
5. Utilize AI to help you write emails
6. Templates, Templates, Templates (document & emails)
7. Stay on task with to-do management
8. Skip the Discovery call (Use questionnaires to keep everything nice and organized)
9. Stop making bank runs (use online payments)
10. Send your monthly clients a recurring invoice
11. Set up auto reminders to get paid on time
12. Activate the Client Portal
13. Stay on top of your lead sources – LSReporting
14. Manage your business on the go – app
15. Keep focused on what makes you money (Lead capture forms with auto responder) 
16. Kick Bookkeeping Butt – with easy to understand reports from P&L to Sales Tax
17. Automate whatever you can

1. Get Rid of Sticky Notes for Good

Simply put, your desk is probably a mess with green, blue, neon pink sticky notes. Mine was filled with client information and future meeting dates. When it actually came down to planning for a project, my head was spinning. It’s frustrating because I write down every detail, but I could never find anything. 

With 17hats, your solution to toss the stickies is simple by using project notes. Here’s how it works: during your client call or consultation keep 17hats open to the Project page and use the note feature to organize all the important information there. Never lose information again. 

2. See All Your Calendars and To-Dos at the Same Time

As a small business owner it’s important to keep an organized calendar – especially if you have a growing family and a growing business! You need to be able to see all your tasks, appointments, and important family dates at the same time. The 17hats Calendar feature allows you to do just that. Add new calendars and color code them to know exactly what you need to do each day. I love how 17hats gives you a five day preview on the dashboard so you don’t miss a thing! Check out Amanda’s blog on the 5 calendars every business owner should have to stay organized.

3. Allow Clients to Book Meetings or Services Online

No matter how small your business is, offering clients to book meetings or services online is possible in all three of the 17hats packages. How many hours each week can you save without having to go back and forth to find times on everyone’s schedule for a meeting? With 17hats Online Scheduling, all you need is to send a link for your client or lead to find a time on your calendar that works for them. Like magic, you’ll receive a notification to approve the appointment and it’s automatically on your calendar.

17hats Online Scheduling is a super robust feature that allows you to even take payments for services at the time of booking. Set up your calendars to cross reference other important dates so you never worry about double booking. It’s one more thing off your plate without hiring an assistant.

Pro Tip: We have so many great resources for Online Scheduling at 17hatsUniversity.com. Check out live events like our fall Boot Camp on mastering Online Scheduling and other guides and videos to help you.

4. Organize Better with Tags

On the road to delivering an awesome client experience, utilizing Tags is the most underrated feature. Why? Because you have to be somewhat already organized to use them, but they also help you stay organized … it’s not the catch-22 you think it is though.

Start using Contact and Project Tags inside 17hats to make your life easier. Tags are one of the most versatile tools and you can customize how you want to use them for your business. Ultimately, they help you find what your looking for faster because Tags are searchable. Here’s 17 ways that you can use 17hats Tags to help you organize your business better.

5. Utilize AI to Help You Write Emails

There’s that one email (or maybe a few) in your inbox right now that you just keep putting off because you don’t know how to respond. Yeah, I know the feeling – guilt, anxiety … maybe even gut-wrenching pain. As a solo business owner, sometimes you don’t have a partner to discuss how to respond to difficult emails. That’s where AI will be your best friend. Her name is Hattie – one of our newest 17hats features. Hattie is available to all 17hats members inside the email feature. You can ask Hattie to write any kind of email you need. Just give her a little information and she’ll make it sound great. Check out this replay of Amanda’s free webinar on ChatGPT and using Hattie. 

6. Templates, Templates, Templates 

When I first started my business, I got so tired of repeating myself in emails. Discovering 17hats Email Templates was a huge time saver. Whether it be a new lead or sending a new invoice … you need email templates to save you time. It’s one of the many ways that you create a repeatable client process … so you can GROW. 

But, it’s not just for emails. In 17hats you can create document templates too. Invoices, Contracts, Emails, Quotes, and Questionnaires are all available to keep templates stored so when the time comes, you can just click ‘Send’. It’s so easy that you can’t afford not to have it. 

7. Stay on Task with To-Do Management 

Do you dream about unicorns and fairies? Or do you dream about all the things you might have forgotten to do that day? If you’re tired of the nightmares, then 17hats To-Do Management feature is what you need. As I mentioned above, your 17hats will hold all your important dates AND tasks. 

Trust me, your neck is tired of looking down at that to-do list on your desk. It’s time to look up to 17hats to stay on task. Stay on task by assigning to-dos to individual projects and setting a deadline so it shows up on your calendar. You can even assign tasks to team members for multi-users in your account. Keeping your to-do list inside 17hats is the simplest way to stay organized. 

8. Skip the Discovery Call, Use 17hats Questionnaires Instead

As a website designer, I needed a solid way to gather A LOT of information without overwhelming my client. I would sit on the phone with new clients and get trapped in rabbit holes that a scheduled 1 hour call would turn into 2 easily. Don’t get me wrong, I love to thoroughly get to know clients and their needs, but I had to ask myself “What do I actually need to know to get their website project started?” So as a 17hats member, I set up a thorough, but easy to understand Questionnaire that all my new clients received. From a few brand identity questions to where your domain is registered and simple content questions in-between, I was able to gather all that information into their Project folder WITHOUT a long meeting. 

That’s just one of the many ways to use Questionnaires, and with the extended features of If/Then Logic, you can simplify 17hats Questionnaires so you never overwhelm your client or ask them complex questions they may not know yet. Questionnaires also give clients time to think about their responses without catching them off guard. Just another way that you can save time and impress through an awesome client experience. 

9. Set Up Online Payments (Stop Harassing the Postman or Postwoman)

Okay, maybe harassing is a strong word, but waiting for a check to come in the mail can be torture for a solo business owner. It can make you do crazy things. It’s the 21st century, it’s time to let your clients pay you with a credit card. 

Personally, it was one of the first items on my list to set up when I started my business in 2018. I knew that getting paid fast was going to be crucial to keep my business moving forward. 17hats Online Payments make it easy for the client and easy for you. You should try it today!

10. Send Monthly or Retainer Clients a Recurring Invoice 

Do you offer monthly services or keep clients on a retainer? If so, you need to be using the 17hats Recurring Invoice feature. You’re way too busy to sit down each month to create and send invoices. Recurring invoices allow you to set up an invoice to send on the same day each month, week, year, or whatever time frame you want. If your client signs an annual contract, then set up 12 recurring invoices at the beginning of your engagement so you don’t have to worry about remembering to do it yourself. It will make you so organized to your client, that renewing services will be a no-brainer. 

Pro Tip: If you set up 17hats Online Payments, you can also include recurring billing to your invoice. This means that your client can save their credit card information and be charged every time an invoice is sent automatically. Just another way to make your client’s life easier too!

11. Set Up Auto Reminders For Documents and Invoices

17hats has a unique solution to make sure your invoices and documents aren’t missed by your clients with Auto Reminder Emails. You can turn this feature on for upcoming and past due events. For example: if you have a net 15 day period for invoices to be paid, then you can set an email to send on day 10 to remind your clients of their upcoming payment. 

Why do you need this? It’s a huge time saver, and you won’t have to worry about getting paid on time or having late Contracts being signed. To see all your current and upcoming payments and due documents, you can visit the Documents tab in 17hats for a complete list. That’s one of the features I check daily for cashflow. 

12. Activate the Client Portal

If you have long-term clients that need to access their documents, the Client Portal is the place to send them. All 17hats Founding Members and Premier members can use the Client Portal. It’s a secure place that keeps Documents, event details, and client information. You can also use the custom message area to post links to any other documents or downloads your clients may need access to. 

13. Track Your Lead Sources with Lead Source Reporting

It’s important to know how leads found your business for marketing purposes. 17hats released a brand new feature in 2023 called Lead Source Reporting so you can track that information in the easiest way. 

Lead source reporting is the process of tracking and analyzing where your leads come from. This can include sources such as your website, social media, email campaigns, referral partners, events, and more. By collecting this data and analyzing it, you can gain a better understanding of which marketing channels and tactics are driving the most leads and conversions. Learn more about Lead Source Reporting and how to use it for your business from Jennifer’s blog here. 

14. Manage Your Business On-The-Go

In the car, on a train, on a plane – you can manage your business in 17hats from anywhere with our mobile phone app. All you need is the internet to access your account. You can do anything on the mobile app as you would on the desktop version. This fantastic app can ease your mind knowing that your entire business lives at your fingertips. 

The mobile app is available on both the Apple and Google Play store. 

15. Keep Your Focus on What Makes You Money with Auto Lead Responders

New business is so important to a growing business. So don’t ignore your new leads by leaving them on read for days while you’re busy working with clients. It’s proven that business flows to who can respond the quickest. Utilize 17hats to auto respond to new leads with information about your services and the next steps to booking. You can set this up inside your lead capture form settings.

16. Kick Bookkeeping Butt – With Easy to Understand Reports from P&L to Sales Tax

There are many skills you have to have as a small business owner. Learning how to care for your business through bookkeeping should be at the top of your list. 17hats will help you organize and track transactions and expenses. You can even connect your bank account and your Quickbooks account for easy syncing. 17hats makes bookkeeping easy by offering several important reporting features like profit/loss, sales tax, client sales, and upcoming and aged receivables. Bookkeeping inside 17hats is CPA friendly so your tax professional will be impressed that you’re so organized. 

17. Automate Whatever You Can

The beauty of using an all-in-one small business management platform like 17hats is that it allows you to tie your business together through workflows. If you don’t know what a workflow is, it’s a sequence of events or tasks that are triggered from an action. It’s the secret sauce of 17hats and will make managing your business so much easier. 

Use 17hats Workflows in your leads, booking, onboarding, and fulfillment process of your business. Here’s a few examples: 

Leads Process: Use a Workflow to automatically send a Questionnaire when your lead selects the service they are interested in. You’ll be able to gather information to make lead vetting so easy. 

Booking Process: Once a client books a service with you, trigger a Workflow to send Quote, Contract, and Invoice without worrying about multiple emails so you can move on to the next task. 

Onboarding & Fulfillment Process: Deliver emails or documents to your client in a timed sequence so that your client gets the right info at the right time. 

These Workflows are perfect for busy solo business owners who want to create a repeatable and excellent client experience. Learn more about Workflows in this webinar by Amanda: The Whats, Whys, and Hows of Workflows.

With 17hats, managing your small business has never been easier. From automating tasks and organizing with tags to utilizing AI for efficient communication, 17hats offers a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance your productivity. 

Whether you’re handling invoicing, appointments, or lead tracking, these seventeen tips will empower you to take charge of your business, leaving you more time to focus on what truly matters – growing your success! Embrace the convenience and efficiency of 17hats today and experience the difference it can make for your small business. Happy managing!