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Get to grips with virtual to-do lists

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26th Nov 2015
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You can’t just rely on post-it notes and your own memory to organise the number tasks and client requests you deal with. Virtual to-do lists made their appearance on Any Answers this past week.

Feeling the strain of multiple tasks, Manchester_man turned to Any Answers to ask the community how they cope under the pressure of multiple client tasks. Describing his old system, Manchester_man said: “I have to send something to a client I saw last week and need to register two clients for VAT and PAYE. This sits in my head and up until now, I normally remember to do these things. However, the more clients I get, the harder I am finding it on my own to remember to do everything”.

Manchester_man, no longer able to contain all this information in his head, asked how the other members keep track of every client email and everything that needs doing.

To alleviate Manchester_man from being overwhelmed by the constant phone buzz reminders and mind straining retention of information, the AccountingWEB community suggested a range of technology:

Trello: Although AccountingWEB member Stevo5678 has found practice management software adequately fulfils its purpose for “formal jobs such as VAT, accounts and tax returns”, he is not convinced by its flexibility. So instead, he has implemented another option: “I have therefore been using Trello where you create as many ‘board’ as you wish and on each board you create a ‘card’ which can be a task for example.”

Trello is a free organiser which works like a digital sticky note, allowing you to see all your tasks at a glance.

Gmail: SoL agreed with Stevo5678, and promoted the virtues of Trello for tracking and logging jobs, but also endorsed Gmail calendar. “I also use the Gmail calendar to set up recurring reminders for things like CIS/RTI/Annual Returns etc. for date specific reminders (and Trello also integrates with Gmail calendar which is handy where you want to flag update specific “one offs”). It’s a matter of finding a combination that fits your purposes.”

Wunderlist: Glennzy relies on practice management software for similar big projects, but for client ad-hoc queries he’s started using Wunderlist. “It’s just a notepad in app form but I find it very good, it syncs across devices, and keeps me in order.”  

Duggimon agreed: “It’s a simple to do list application that you can install both on your phone and computer for free and they will synchronise across however many devices you install it on. You can schedule things to get reminders or just list everything that comes in that you can't do right away.” Duggimon trawls his to do list to easily pluck the next urgent item.

Rainlender: Along with sticky notes and scanning an excel spreadsheet, Jennifer Adams recommended Rainlender.

It’s a free customizable calendar application. She explained that when she opens her calendar, Rainlender pings into action, displaying the four lists she had designed and a calendar. “The first lists everything I have to do each day. If I don’t get round to it then I carry forward at the end of the day,” she explains. On the subsequent lists, she organises clients waiting for completion, clients needing to meet, and the final list is everything else left to complete.

Excel: tbk concedes that if they had more clients they would use something more technical, but until then, they have found Excel does the job. “All my tasks go in a list in Excel, with the client name, description, planned date and estimate. Then I can do a pivot table to see how many hours I have allocated to each day and if it is realistic, or when I have a free day to fit new work in. I sort the list by date to see what is next to do.”

If all this practice management software suggestions sounds complicated, Pauljgoodman has a simpler suggestion. “I just keep a list on my desk. It’s just some sheets of scrap paper, added to as you send an email to a client asking for something to be done, or putting down something you need to do, one line at a time, and then, satisfyingly, cross off in highlight marker when done.”

What do you use to keep your practice organised? Do you subscribe to any to do list on your computer, or do you shun the screen and use a pen and paper?

Replies (5)

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By BLACKWOOD ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS LTD
26th Nov 2015 23:20

a blackboard
Simple yet extremely effective

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Replying to CHRISTINA GORHAM:
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By Practicaledd
27th Nov 2015 17:38

Come on it's 2015, get with the times and upgrade to one of those fancy whiteboards, so much less friction and the contrast is unbelievable.

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By BLACKWOOD ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS LTD
27th Nov 2015 18:54

Hmmm
I think it's time an upgrade....

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By waltere
02nd Dec 2015 11:24

"Whatever gets you through the night..."

...as John Lennon put it.

The best system is whatever works for you.  To those who've never tried anything else, I'd say "Give it a go - you might find something that works a whole lot better than what you're using now."  To those who change their to-do system as frequently as they change their socks (yes, I admit, I do have that tendency!) I'd say "You're not after perfection, just something that works, so stick with what you're using for a bit."

Having something that works across devices is a great bonus, so while a blackboard might be fine in the office, it gets a little difficult to handle when you're out and about!  Of course, for many people, leaving your to-dos at work is no bad thing.

Incidentally, I'd definitely give a vote to Trello.

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By Gone Sailing
02nd Dec 2015 13:34

Electronic systems are ..

... for people with time !

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