What do you need in your Systems Manual Now let s get this straight from the start. EVERY Business should have a Systems Manual. You cannot run a Professional Business and be Mega Successful without one. Your systems manual for your Business should outline everything in the Business and everything about the Business. I previously worked in a number of Government Agencies, where I didn t get a lot of training. I would walk into the new position blind folded. I would read any manuals and copy things that I could. I found that when I started these new positions, the best way to cope and learn was to write everything down. For every single task that I completed, I wrote it down and I wrote it down in detail. Then I would type this up in a Systems Manual. When I left the position, I would often get comments and thanks at how easy it was to take over because of my detailed system manual. Depending on the type of Business and System Manual, I usually use Excel and Word to have all my information in. Again, depending on the type of Business, some manuals are set out with specific tasks for the day, week, month, quarter and year. Here are some topics that will help you get started with your Business System Manual. Your Business Details Enter all your Business details, Business Name, Trading Name, Australian business number, tax file number, postal address, location address, facsimile number, phone numbers including mobiles, internet sites, passwords, websites. Is your Business a Sole, Partnership, Company or Trust, give details. Who are the Managers and their personal details. Your Mission Statement Get Clear, write in your Mission and get passionate on why you are in Business and what you want. Remember You should be in Business to make Money, but also to give benefit. In whatever business you do but you must make Money. Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself? Be very specific with your answer. What is your net profit? What are you providing for your clients What are their problems?, How are you going to solve them? Do you want to contribute some of the Net Profits to Charity? How Much? What are your Timeframes?
This can be done in your Planning Manuals, but have the Statement in your Systems Manual for reinforcement. Your Goals Write down all the goals for the Business, again be very specific. Are they achievable? Are they measureable?. Who will do them? What role? Who is the leader? Who is Responsible for who? Timeframes? Consequences of going over the timeframes? You have to be able to setout exactly what you need to do to be able to achieve these goals in the set time frame. You need your goal A Timeframe How you will achieve the goals in your timeframe? Results Review How did you go? What did you do well? What could you do better next time? Did it make money? How much? What was the Net Profit? The Mission and Goals will carry over to your Business and Strategic Plans. The more you have them around you, the more focussed you will become to achieving them. DO NOT type them up and put them in a folder and leave them there for the year. Check them at least every week. Are you on task? What have you done? What do you need to do next? Leadership and Management Roles Who are the Leadership people in your Business?
What are their specific roles and tasks? Who do they lead and who do they report too? Do up a detailed Position Description. What is their salary and ongoing costs? What are the incentives? Who has the Management Role in your Business? What are their specific roles and tasks? Who do they lead and who do they report too. Do up a detailed Position Description. What is their salary and ongoing costs? What are the incentives? Employee s What is the Employee s Role in your Business? What are their specific roles and tasks? Who do they lead and who do they report too? Do up a detailed Position Description. What is their salary and ongoing costs? What are the incentives? Who does their job when they are away? Get them to do a detailed system manual of their job. Administration Detail every task that is required: Database Collection collect names, addresses, fax, phone and emails for all clients and all your business purchase contacts. Plus add a list of emergency numbers, including business machine and computer technicians. Faxing Emailing Online Social Networks and Forums Collect Mail Deliveries and Orders
Answering Telephones (Are they answering sales calls? Do they need a script?) Website Management work Typing Bookkeeping Tax Reporting Office Supplies ordering Photocopying and Scanning What are the ongoing administration costs? Taxation List your specific requirements, reports, how do you do the quarterly government reporting what programs to you need or is it manually completed, the end of year process what do you need to give to your accountant, closing your accounting software payroll year, closing your accounting software financial year. Finance and Net Profits Where do you make your money? What banks do you use? Where do you get your finance from? What loans do you have? Type of loan, term of loan, interest rate Has any Capital been put into the Business? Future Business dealings? Assets List all the Assets? Who owns the Assets? What are your future Asset requirements and costs? New Equipment. What needs to be sold? Who looks after the Assets Schedule and Maintenance?
Filing and Archiving Have a very good filing system. You should have a filing system for basic correspondence and a separate file for taxation. It s much easier to file your taxation correspondence in the correct folder during the year, than trying to organise and find it at the end of the year. Do you need to upgrade your filing system. How does your filing system work? If it is very large, write up a filing system list. Who looks after your Filing System and Archiving? Software What software do you need for your Business? Are there future software requirements? What updates, upgrades are required? What are their yearly costs? Websites and Smart Phones? Who is your Internet Technician? Who needs to be called if there are problems? Procedures Business Plan The business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals. It sets out the reasons why these goals can be attained and the plan for reaching these goals. There can also be a mission statement and business background information. The Business Plan is usually for a 12 month period. Strategic Plan The strategic plan is the business process of defining strategies, direction and making decisions. It sets out the resources and capital required to pursue each strategy. The Strategic Plan is usually for up to 5 years. Products and Services What do you sell?
Do you have to make it? Is it a service? Explain in details what your products and services are and what they do? What is it that you are going to do better than your competitors? BE HONEST. What do you sell your current products or services for? Is this too cheap, can you make your price higher? What future products/services can you implement to get more sales? Who has your customer before you and after you? Are your customers one time or return? How many customers do you need? Ongoing Customers How do you keep them? What do they cost to keep? How to do you keep in touch with them? New Customers How do you get them? What does it cost? Telephone Techniques and Scripts Who needs telephones, what is your standard procedures. Do you need to have specific scripts. Marketing and Sales What is Marketing and Sales? Marketing is getting them to the door. Sales is getting them through the door. Quote Brendan Nichols What types of Marketing and Sales will you do? The marketing mix includes the following marketing ideas, strategies, activities, tactics & thrusts. 1. Advertising Inclusive of Television, outdoor signage, radio and print (magazines, trade publications & newspapers).
You should only engage the services of an advertising agency or sales promotion company if you can afford to and it is absolutely necessary. 2. Public Relations Media releases/press Releases, editorials and advertorials. You should only engage the services of a public relations company if you can afford it and it is absolutely necessary to the success of your business. 3. Direct Marketing Sales letter and sales brochure. A meaningful Referral System & program amongst existing clients which rewards and incentives your clients to refer and recommend friends, family and other people who would benefit from your product and service. 4. E-Marketing Internet & e-mail 5. Point of sale Retail & trade 6. Sales promotion Seminars & industry trade shows 7. Strategic alliances Win/win relationships with like-minded individuals and organizations whereby you can help each other to market your products & services. What are the costs for each Marketing or Sales Strategy? Who writes all the sales and marketing scripts? Do your research? Test and Measure? What are your clients saying? Seminars, Conferences, Press Releases Do you run Seminars or Conferences, Book Release or Press Releases? Who do you attend the above to go too? Where are you getting your database of clients from?
Make a list of your Book Release venues. Have a list of Press Release Agents. Who is your target market? What is your detailed plan of Dates Venues Meals Clients Support Team Media used Costs for the event Net Profit Number of Clients needed to breakeven? Number of Clients needed to make a profit? Training and Education What skills do you and your team already have? If you write this down for each person, then you will be able to see if you can use them for doing other tasks, sometimes you don t know what everyone can do, unless you ask. What training do you need now? Future Training requirements and cost? List the Incentives for your Staff in each position description. Remember Training and Education in Mindset as well? This is important for all your team, you want motivated and passionate people on your team. This could be weekly staff meetings. Clients Who are your Clients? What are their problems? Where do you get your clients from?
What does it cost to keep your current clients? Include Employee, Administration, Product/Service and Marketing Costs What does it cost to get new clients? Include Employee, Administration, Product/Service and Marketing Costs. Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly Tasks For some of your specific Jobs example Administration, it s a good idea to have a calendar/chart that lists the specific tasks that are required on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. Example: Daily open mail, read emails, orders Weekly pay accounts Monthly bookkeeping reports and bank reconciliations, filing Quarterly Tax and Payroll Government Returns Yearly Tax Reporting to go to Accountant, Filing of all Yearly Financials to Archives Other positions that require these types of charts Websites (Social Networking, Updating Articles, Testing and Measuring, Autoresponders? and Builders (This is very important when building a house for organising Contractors). Clarissa Leary www.clarissaleary.com Shifting Your Mindset to Increase Your Net Profits