The past month has been a time of growth for Clear Eyes.  We’ve welcomed some amazing new businesses to the family, and with them, a few new team members.  As I was setting up, going through the orientation, and training them, I realized how incredibly reliant I am on software and technology to run my business.   

Technology has been a game-changer for the growth of my business.  It has allowed us to do more, stay organized, and get things done.  I would not be in the place I am today, without these systems.

So buckle up - today, I’m sharing my tech stack with you.   

MONEY SOFTWARE 

• QBO (QuickBooks Online)

  Our accounting/bookkeeping software.  We use this for our books as well as all of our clients. 

• Dext

  Document (bills, receipts, invoices) gathering software.  If you’re a client, you know this well.  Dext allows you to send us all the bills, receipts, invoices, and any other relevant docs digitally so we can ensure your books are audit (CRA)-proof. This is integrated with QBO. 

• Cashflow Frog

  Cashflow management software.  We use this with some of our CFO clients to track, monitor, assess, and puppet-master their cash-ins and outs for their business.  This, too, is integrated with QBO. 

TEAM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 

• QB Time

  Time tracking software.  This is integrated with QBO and allows us to clock in/out as we work on different clients and tasks.  From a management perspective, I use this to monitor time spent on clients’ accounts, adjust monthly packages, collect hours for payroll, and identify trouble spots and time suckers. 

• Click Up

  Task management software/Game Changer.  Before Click Up, I struggled to keep track of what needed to be done for our clients, when, and by who.  Now this is all tracked and standardized in Click Up. I can see what I need to work on, what my team needs to be working on, and where things are behind or delayed.  With my menopausal brain, I would have not been able to function over the past few years without this. 

• Slack

  Team communication. Slack has been amazing for separating and organizing client communications. We have separate “channels” for each of our client files, where we can ask questions, identify and solve issues, and review reports.  A million emails are nothing but clutter, and trying to keep track of 50+ clients in a text feed would melt my brain. 

CLIENT SOFTWARE 

• HoneyBook

  CRM software.  Like Slack, HoneyBook provides a central system for all our communication with clients.  I have created templates for most of our standard communications with clients that the team can use for client check in’s and document requests.  I also use this to help manage all the NEW (and potential) clients that reach out, so I can ensure they’re getting the right information to decide whether we’re the best fit for their business.  It has our service packages, agreements, and onboarding instructions – all of which provide a seamless process to go from “new” to “family”. 

• LastPass

  Password storage and protection.  There’s no doubt, we have (and need) a lot of private information from our clients to do what we need to do.  With cybercrimes rising, and impacting the smallest of businesses, we need a secure and reliable place to store all this intel.  LastPass allows us to securely collect your account logins and share the encrypted data with our team.  We can do our job, without compromising your accounts’ security. 

• Google Drive

  Document storage.   This is where all files are saved for each client.  I’ve standardized the folder structure for each client and our team members have access to it all.  Clients have access to a “shared” folder within their (main) folder, where they can upload/download anything needed. 

BONUS – EMAIL MANAGEMENT 

• Spark

  Email management software.  This isn’t a companywide thing, but it’s definitely one that I’m reliant on.  I like how it brings in ALL the emails that I manage (there are currently 10!), organizes them, prioritizes real emails vs. notifications vs. newsletters, and allows me to flag, snooze, or follow up as needed.  I’m sure there are lots of great ones out there…this is just the one I got used to and now can’t go back. 

There you have it! If you’re curious about any of these, just reach out and I’ll be happy to share more.