

Ask HN: How does your business handle recurring administrative tasks? - jaz

Hi HN,<p>I&#x27;ve recently left my job to do (solo) consulting full time. I&#x27;ve found that there are a number of recurring legal and administrative tasks that I, as a business owner, need to stay on top of.<p>Tasks such as invoicing clients by specific dates (varies per client), filing taxes (federal estimated income, unemployment, business taxes, et al), paying the business AMEX card, renewing professional insurance and licenses, renewing certifications, paying subcontractors, filing an annual report with the secretary of state, and so on.<p>How are other businesses handling these tasks? A shared Outlook calendar, specialized software, something else? How effective are these solutions?
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trcollinson
At first I actually just kept a schedule of these things on a calendar and did
them. But I often found that I "forgot" (or in reality, I just ignored them a
lot because they weren't the sort of thing I wanted to work on).

Finally, I just went to a temp agency which did in house work and said I would
pay someone to do all of that for me. And they do. I worked it out with them
to pay a flat rate monthly to get it all done. They assigned a very studious
employee to me and I contact her via email with tasks and assignments. It has
worked out exceptionally well and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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twunde
There's a reason why many companies will have a CFO. The easiest way to get
these done is to source them to dedicated personal. This can be as simple as
getting an accountant/accounting service, a temp. Alternatively you can
automate some of these, especially if they're recurring. I'd imagine that
insurance and licenses have autopay features.

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airframeng
I've had the same problem. I also needed legal assistance in writing contracts
between my company and my clients. My clients have more ressources (legal
assistance) and therefore I would always get the shorter end of the stick.

There must be companies out there that can bundle all these services for self-
employed workers.

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twunde
You should have a master contract that a lawyer has looked over that you use
as the basis for all contracts. There are plenty of services that you can use
to get a lawyer to quickly eyeball any changes.

See
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4567884](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4567884)

~~~
airframeng
Thanks!

