Hi folks. I’m using an external assistant to help me get my expenses etc logged on bullet. I see there is an option to give them restricted access to the MONEY OUT section. However, it looks like this still allows them to see all money outs, rather than just expense items. My main concern is their ability to see P30 payments and tax payments etc. Is there any way or any plan to restrict an account to just bills / expenses? (And ideally, just bills / expenses that they have logged)?

Yes, I have started working with someone via freelancer.com. It may work out or it may not, but I said I'd give it a go.

Good market research questions there, Pete!

I could have got it cheaper but her timezone worked better for me.

My process is more complex than it needs to be as I still use an accountant to officially do my books while I migrate myself over to Bullet.

I know John F from college so if you want to get into far more detail of what I have done to-date in terms of accounts for my one-man-show IT consultancy, no problem - We can talk by phone or if you are in D2/D4 sometime, we can meet somewhere around Dawson St.

I'm usually in town Mon/Tue-Wed/Thurs but next week is not a runner. How does the following week look for you?

In terms of budget for this VA to do my expenses, I'd say once she's up and running, it will cost me about €30-40 every 2 months. But remember what I said about the work I still need to do to prep the material for her.

If there are alarms going off in your head and someone shouting 'scope creep', my job here is done!

I suppose the type / size of your client's business will dictate which of these could be most valuable:

Getting someone else to do blog posts for a business? Interesting; maybe some companies are happy to ship this out - Depends on what value they place in the blog, I suppose. Again, as a one man show, I don't run a blog at the moment because if I had one, I think I would want to be the one doing the posts.

I suppose I don't know what niche Bullet is targeting - For one-man shows like me, the types of low-value tasks I spend my time on and that could benefit from a outsourcing to a VA are probably vastly different from the tasks an SME owner might love to outsource.

No problem, Pete. I will certainly do some 1:1 client immersion interviewing with myself and let you know the results!
If you held a gun to my head right now though, the three things I’m thinking about for my VA are tasks that don’t actually need my OCD level of attention - Expenses, Invoice generation, and initial / basic web research.
?? Why are expenses time-consuming and low-value:
Multiple sources of information (invoices online, emails, paper receipts);
reconciling with bank statements, personal credit card statements, various bank accounts.
Working out travel and subsistence.
All takes time and the benefit is a few quid back from the tax man.
Time better spent on higher-value, paid client work.
I can define a repeatable and reliable process for someone else to follow.
?? Why is invoicing time-consuming and low-value:
Invoice is usually made up of:
things I have bought for the client and need to pass-through at cost to them (e.g. WordPress theme / plugin; Google Adwords spend) plus
my own time (Toggl report generation and export required).
The ‘invoice’ ends up being three different documents (bullet invoice page, supplier invoice page, toggl timesheet page) combined in to one.
Time better spent on higher-value, paid client work.
I can define a repeatable and reliable process for someone else to follow.
?? Why is initial web research time-consuming and low-value:
You start without a clear path.
You start looking around, reading forums, trying to find places where your targets 'hang out’
The next thing you know it’s dark outside and you have no idea how to put any structure around what you have read. And you get frustrated at the wasted time so you rush through the process next time.
I can define a repeatable and reliable process for someone else to follow. The output would be for them to come back and tell me ‘I think you should focus your attention on sites A, B and C for the insight you are seeking’.
This could expand out into a whole range of areas: e.g. Tell me good places to go in July when you’ve got a lunatic 2-year-old son who has endless energy! Or, tell me what ‘people’ say about whether a two-year old should be given a scooter, a balance bike or a sedative!
Regards,
Sam.