Due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) and most businesses not being able to operate face-to-face, workers are now forced to work remotely. I have always done remote/online sessions with clients and when I travel, I need the tools to be able to help my clients. Since I am currently not doing any onsite visits with clients, I am now doing everything remotely and am happy to share how I am still able to run my business during these tough times.

Go Web-Based and Paperless
For accounting purposes, I run my business with QuickBooks Online (QBO). Until several years ago, I was using QuickBooks Desktop (Enterprise Solutions), but when the new version of QBO came out in 2014 and the mobile app for desktop was discontinued, I made the switch and never looked back. Now, I am able to connect thousands of other web-based apps that sync seamlessly with QBO such as Gusto for payroll and Receipt Bank for receipts.

Choose a Platform
Whether you are a fan of Microsoft, Google, or Apple, choose one and focus on all the apps that are part of their ecosystem. They usually don’t like to play nicely together, so it’s not a good idea to intermingle. I used to love Outlook (desktop version) but got frustrated with syncing Google Calendar. And since my personal email was already with Gmail, it made sense to switch my business to G Suite. This was easily done by moving my domain to Google and getting rid of hosting my website and migrating my email to Gmail.

I have always used Android phones and with a Chromebook, all my syncing of data dreams came true. I ditched Verizon and switched to Google Fi, mostly because I could use my phone pretty much anywhere in the world using my existing data plan, but also because it is inexpensive: $20/month for unlimited calls and texts + $10/GB of data. My business phone number is via Google Voice and I use Google Hangouts for calls on my computer and phone. I especially love the transcription of voicemails sent to email and being able to send text messages using my browser. Speaking of, QuickBooks Online works best with the Chrome browser. And it very easy to separate personal and business accounts with different Google profiles.

Make Connections
Use apps that bridge the gap and sync with each other. I use Method CRM to create leads in Gmail. Leads converted to customers sync to QuickBooks Online. I also use Zapier to do two “zaps” at the same time: add the customer to Google Contacts and a MailChimp list.

Stay in Touch
There are a ton of apps for screen sharing and over the years I have use Mikogo, Join.me, Google Hangouts. But my favorite so far has been GoToMeeting. Sometimes there are issues with Mac users, having to change system settings in order to become the presenter and give keyboard/mouse control, and even so, sometimes I am still not able to makes changes on their computer. But features such as being able to record meetings and incorporate GoToMeeting with my scheduler and Google Calendar make it the winner.