How does it work?
You’re a customer-facing business, so it might sound strange to be talking about using a virtual assistance company to manage your admin. Of course, you need someone at your practice to welcome customers, manage appointments and take payment, but a lot of your other administrative tasks can be handled safely, securely and efficiently off-site. Managing things this way gives you three clear benefits:
- Complete control of costs – instead of the expense of hiring a permanent member of staff, you simply pay for the time you use. It’s easy to budget, there are no additional costs such as pension contributions or other staff benefits, and you get exceptional value for money.
- Complete peace of mind – by working with a virtual assistant business, you know you are accessing people with experience, knowledge and understanding. There’s no need for additional training or waiting for people to get up to speed. Your tasks are managed efficiently and effectively.
- Complete flexibility – you are in control, so you can add a new service at any time, with an understanding of exactly how many hours you want to pay for and what skills you need. As your veterinary practice grows, you can flex your virtual support with it.
What tasks do you need to outsource?
Businesses of all types use virtual assistants to help keep the business on track. There are a range of tasks that you can outsource, taking time-consuming paperwork off your desk and leaving you free to do the job you have trained to do – and that you love doing. Here are just some of the jobs that a veterinary surgeon or vet practice could outsource:
- Bookkeeping – often the bane of the business-owner’s life, bookkeeping is an essential task, especially if your practice doesn’t just treat patients, but sells pet supplies and offers other services. There are potentially a lot of things to keep track of, and it’s important that it’s all done accurately and kept up-to-date. If this is the sort of thing that you spend sleepless nights worrying about, or your weekends are taken up with catching up on the accounts, why not see how virtual bookkeepers could help?
- Data entry – tasks that are time-consuming take you away from the work you really want to do. That’s why savvy business owners get the experts in to help. Data entry – whether it’s for your own customer records, your stock database or other records that you need to keep in order – is important to the smooth running of your business. An experienced virtual data entry specialist can not only take this task off your hands – they can do it faster and more efficiently, saving you money as well as time.
- Diary management – whilst your receptionist can certainly keep the client appointments schedule up-to-date for you, your veterinarian partners or associates, your own diary also needs managing. As the practice owner, you will have other meetings and events to attend – perhaps travelling to conferences, or meeting colleagues. The best way to manage your diary is to use a virtual appointment setter, who can make sure your diary is organised well in advance. They can also usually handle your travel and hotel bookings, so that everything is done for you.
These are just some of the tasks that an intelligent virtual assistant can help with. Why not think about outsourcing your social media, getting some help with your local marketing or your client newsletter?
If you’re ready to talk to someone about virtual office support, so you can find out if it’s right for you and your practice, feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.