How to spot your business saturation point, before burnout hits.

You didn’t start your business to spend all of your spare time on admin tasks and stressing about deadlines after a full day at work.

Many business owners think that burnout hits all of a sudden and all at once, but this isn’t really the case. In the real world, hundreds of little tasks mount up on us, stealing our time and attention so there are simply not enough hours in the day to do it all yourself.

Bookkeeping and admin are often the first tasks to slip when we get busy, not to say that bookkeeping isn’t important (because it very much is), it’s just that sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day, unless somebody manages to invent a 48 hour one and don’t hold your breath for that.

Do you ever find yourself:

• Constantly postponing recording your receipts?

• Always putting off chasing customers for payment?

• Often avoiding raising sales invoices until tomorrow?

• Having that feeling of dread for your tax deadlines?

• Working every evening and weekend on admin tasks?

These are all warning signs that you might be reaching your business saturation point. This isn’t all gloom and doom though, reaching your business saturation point and burning out is not a done deal, but it does help to know the early warning signs.

So, we’ve recognised the signs of feeling overwhelmed by paper and spreadsheets and billing, oh my! What do we do next? Getting support for these time consuming tasks is not an admission of failure. In fact, grabbing back these valuable hours reduces stress, gives you more time to run your business and have leisure time for yourself. Why work so hard and never get to enjoy the fruits of your labour and see your business grow?

Here’s a short quiz, one point for every ‘YES’ answer:

• Do you regularly work after you’ve had your evening meal?

• Are you behind at all on your admin?

• Do you avoid looking at your accounts?

• Have you missed any deadlines in the past six months?

• Have you missed any family/friends events in the past six months?

• Do you spend more time doing admin than working with customers?

• Do you spend more time doing admin than with friends/family?

If you scored:

• 0-1 You’re comfortable, for now.

• 2-3 You’re starting to feel the strain.

• 4-5 It’s time to think about getting admin support.

• 6-7 You’re spending more time managing the business than enjoying it.

Even if you scored just 1 on the quiz, you could still do with a helping hand and using a bookkeeping service doesn't just take admin off your plate, it gives you back time, helps you stay on top of cash flow, keeps your records organised, and gives you confidence that nothing is being missed.

Instead of spending evenings catching up on paperwork, you can focus on serving customers, growing your business, or simply switching off at the end of the day.

In a business, everyone has their place in a team, and they’re placed according to their skills, I certainly won’t be fixing a roof or cutting hair, but I can reconcile books and make sure you’re paid on time and in full.

If you think that you’re getting close to business saturation, think about hiring out those time draining admin tasks, most bookkeepers really do enjoy the paperwork that some would much rather avoid.

So use our expertise to make your life a lot easier, then in your free time go see a movie or treat yourself to a pub lunch or a hike in the countryside, the world is your oyster, knowing that your business will always be in safe hands.

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