When you get into business, the chances are that you do it for one (or more) of a number of reasons. For sure, there is the chance to make some money, which we can all admit is an attractive prospect. There is also the opportunity to make a living from something we genuinely enjoy – being our own boss means we get to pick what we do, and that’s no small thing.

Add to these the chance to have a legacy, and even something to pass on to our kids, and you’re frankly spoilt for choice when it comes to reasons for becoming an entrepreneur.

One thing that we can safely say is no-one’s priority when they start a business is “the chance to do more admin” – and yet, when you put together the things that will occupy most of your time, you’re likely to find that this work is high up the list. It’s not the most glamorous part of running your own business, and it’s rarely the most satisfying, but it needs to be done nonetheless. In order to make your business more streamlined – and to make the parts that you enjoy both more efficient and more plentiful – it’s worth bearing in mind the following tips…

Establish a Set Routine

Business admin is a chore, there’s no getting around that fact. And just like household chores, the majority of people aren’t enthused by the idea of doing it. Equally, however, if you can get used to doing household chores, they become less of an irritation and eventually just become part of life. So it goes for business admin – the key is to establish a routine for it, setting aside pockets of time to pay bills, chase up invoices, audit the skillset of any workforce you have and more besides. If, before getting down to a week’s work, you tell yourself “this is Monday morning, so we’re balancing accounts”, it will become second nature.

This is beneficial for two reasons: first, it gets you into a mindset where you’re positive about doing admin rather than it creeping up on you and getting in the way. Secondly, and most important, it stops these tasks building up until they are both horrifically backlogged and impossible to ignore.

Stay on Top of Record-Keeping

Most of us will be achingly familiar with the sensation of embarking upon a task in business before running up against the realization that we’re going over old ground. Replication of work that has already been done isn’t just futile, it’s costly. It wastes time that could have been used more effectively elsewhere. It is also entirely avoidable if you make sure that you are keeping detailed records of exactly what has been done and what has not. Modern business management software makes this all the easier, so it’s worth investing in such software for the money it will save.

Not only does record-keeping save wasted effort, it makes it much easier to get to the bottom of any question you may have about a business matter in the future. If solid records have been kept, you will know at a glance who worked on a specific task at what time, and be able to assemble a team with experience when the task needs to be done again. If you need to obtain auto insurance policy details for a new company vehicle, you’ll know exactly who to speak to rather than having to ask around.

Hire Specialised Staff or Outsource Work

While there is no getting away from the fact that you, as a boss or entrepreneur, will have to do some of the admin yourself, it’s also important to be clear. If you took on sole ownership of all business admin, you’d never do anything else. In the beginning, if you are very much a sole trader, then you might not have much of a choice other than to do it all yourself – but as your business grows, an admin department will become indispensable and will pay for itself. At the very least, there will be elements you can outsource – such as bookkeeping and recruitment – to lighten the load for yourself.

While any entrepreneur’s immediate reaction to outsourcing and hiring is likely to be a concern over the bottom line, it’s worth seeing it from the other side for a moment. You can try to do it all yourself, but admin work needs to be done correctly, promptly and without stopping you from doing the things you got into business for in the first place. Yes, it may cost money to get this work done, but when you consider how much income you can end up missing out on by spreading yourself too thin, it becomes straightforward.

Close out Each Week With a Checklist

Just as you should make sure to get a lot of admin out of the way at the beginning of the week, it’s also important to ensure at the end of each week that you know what has been done (and just as important to know what has not been done). This is vital for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones is that it will allow you to prioritise the right things at the start of the next week. Keeping a checklist of all the tasks that need to be done regularly in your business will mean that you never fall too far behind on any one front.

Not only this, but by keeping a regular check on things you will soon come to see in which areas you may need more support. If you find that there is a certain task that is being postponed or left incomplete on a regular basis, or an area of the business that is struggling to cope, then you may need to allot specific time to the task or hire a new staff member to ensure that you are covered in that area. The sooner you know about a problem, the sooner it can be fixed.

Business admin may not be the most exciting part of business, but by devoting time and effort to it you can make sure that it doesn’t catch you by surprise.