Client invoicing run
Invoices go out on each client's agreed cycle, whether that is monthly, per retainer or per piece of work, and each one is chased afterwards.
For virtual assistants
Keeping several clients' deadlines at once
A virtual assistant lives inside other people's deadlines, and every client keeps a different calendar and a different idea of urgent.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What virtual assistants have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Retainer renewals
Retainer agreements have an end date and a review point, and the renewal conversation has to start before the term runs out.
Client domain and hosting expiries
Domains and hosting renew on the client's behalf on their own dates, and a lapsed domain takes a client's email and website down with it.
Insurance and licence dates for clients
Clients hand over their own policy and licence dates to be watched, and each one needs a warning early enough for the client to act.
Tax and filing deadlines
Self assessment and VAT dates come round on fixed dates and the paperwork is gathered from several clients at once, so the work collides.
Access and permissions housekeeping
Logins, shared drives and account access grow with each client and have to be reviewed, handed over and revoked cleanly when an engagement ends.
Subscription and renewal dates
Tools, software seats and memberships taken out for clients renew quietly on a card, and each one needs a decision before it renews.
Client reporting cycle
Weekly or monthly updates go to each client on their own schedule, and the report has to be assembled from several tools before it is worth sending.
Booking and appointment reminders
Diary appointments, calls and follow-ups are confirmed ahead of time, and a client's double booking is discovered only if the list is checked.
What it costs to carry it
The work is not hard; the holding of it is. Each client brings a calendar, a set of logins and a way of working, and a virtual assistant is the only place where all of it meets, so a missed renewal is never a small thing: a domain lapses, a filing date passes, or an engagement ends with access still open months later.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Cross-client deadline list
The desk keeps every client's dates in one list, ordered by what falls due next rather than by client.
Renewal warnings
The desk warns before each domain, policy, subscription or retainer date and says which client it belongs to.
Invoicing and chasing
The desk raises the invoices on each client's cycle and chases the ones that have gone past their terms.
Access register
The desk keeps a record of what access exists for each client and what has been revoked when an engagement ends.
Reporting pack
The desk gathers the figures for each client's update and drafts it for checking before it goes out.
What stays with the virtual assistant
The virtual assistant decides how to handle a difficult client, takes on work, and sets the rate. Judgement about people and priorities is the service being sold, and the desk stays on the administrative side of it.
Questions
Can the desk keep client logins and passwords?
It records which access exists and what is due for review rather than holding credentials. Where they are stored is the assistant's own decision.
How does one deadline list work across several clients?
Each date is recorded against the client it belongs to, so the list can be read by date or by client. Nothing needs to be carried between separate systems.
What happens when a client hands over a new set of renewal dates?
The dates are added as items and warnings start from the next cycle. Any correction to a date is recorded against that item.
Put the virtual assistant's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the virtual assistant corrects it.