Free Tools to Help You Work Faster and More Efficient

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If you are looking for faster, more efficient ways to run your business (or to help your employees work), there are thousands of services that can automate or manage different aspects of its. Everything from human resources and accounting, to inventory management and receptionist, can be outsourced or automated. These services can save you a significant amount of time, but they often charge a monthly or annual fee. What if you could save the same amount of time without recurring fees or spending anything at all?

Spreadsheets to the rescue! You’re probably aware that spreadsheets are one of the most powerful tools for any small business, and the spreadsheets you’re using have likely saved you a significant amount of time. Without them you would be using a pen, paper, and calculator to run your sales reports (ain’t nobody got time for that). The real power that spreadsheets provide is the ability to automate tasks. This includes calculating your reports, but it is only limited by your imagination (and the necessity for data entry). Here are a few examples of things you can automate:
  • Notify a customer or employee when a job reaches a milestone
  • Email customers a few days before their next appointment
  • Notify employees when their certification is about to expire
  • Estimate an entire job by entering a few variables (versus manually calculating, or worse, educated guessing)
  • Calculate client fees in seconds by entering a few variables
  • [With the assistance of an online form] Receive a customer order, send a verification email to the customer, email an order notification to your team, and print out the order form
  • Enforce policies, procedures, and legal requirements

You could pay for a online service to accomplish any of these tasks, or you could use the tool that is already in your toolbox. Here are a couple free tools to get your started. They are intended to be basic. Feel free to modify them to meet your specific needs.

Client Pricing Tool
This is designed to quickly determine the total monthly cost for a new client. You can select the services from drop-down menus, and input the estimated quantities for specific tasks. This will automatically calculate how much you should charge monthly.

Estimating Tool


This allows you to quickly determine the cost of a construction job by inputting dimensions and material type. The totals are determined by the individual cost of materials and the average production rate of your employees. This spreadsheet enforces building codes by disallowing measurements outside of specified parameters, then calculates 3 pricing options for customers, based on the margin you hope to achieve for a particular job.



In addition to these spreadsheets, both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets allows developers to create automation tools for your spreadsheets called add-ons.

If building spreadsheets isn’t your thing, that’s okay! Contact us today and let us know what you would like to automate. We won’t charge a monthly fee (just a reasonable one-time fee), and the custom digital tool is yours forever.

www.efficientsmallbusiness.com

Micah is an entrepreneur and spreadsheet enthusiast.

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