I ask my remote assistant to manage my Outlook calendar
- To block my calendar upfront,
- Reach out and schedule meetings and other events with my remote team, new applicants, potential investors, business partners, etc.,
- Manage mine and my wife's shared calendar, and
- Manage the schedule I share with my daughter.
My whole life is reflected in my Outlook calendar. When you travel a lot to different time zones, it can get confusing, so here it is invaluable that your assistant keeps you updated at all times about meetings, flight-departures, events, etc.
I ask my remote assistant to manage my receipts and process my travel expenses
- Manage my receipts,
- Process my travel expenses,
- Prepare bi-monthly expense reports,
- Log expenses against agreed dates, and accounting codes.
I send a photo of the receipt to my remote assistant when I pay for something, and then I sign off on the expense report on a bi-monthly basis. My assistant has access to my calendar, so I have asked her to log my expenses against agreed dates in my calendar and approved accounting codes.
Plan and schedule ground transportation options from point A to point B
- Estimate transportation time and blocks my calendar upfront,
- Find and evaluate transportation options,
- Suggest means of transport
This is especially handy when I travel to new cities.
Book hotels, Airbnb’s, and rental cars
- Compare prices,
- Recommend and book hotels, Airbnb's, and rental cars both for business trips and family vacations.
Manage my schedule proactively, and to continuously plan, block and schedule meetings and events ahead of time in my Outlook calendar
- Reach out via email,
- Coordinate meetings,
- Block my calendar,
- Schedule,
- Manage cancellations, and
- Reschedule meetings and events.
It's not just meetings with clients. It's business meeting travel dates, my daughter's dance lessons in London and her exams, weekly catch-up calls with my remote team, doctor's appointments, my yoga classes, guitar classes, haircut, barbershop, etc.
Help me file my VAT
- as well as manage light bookkeeping for me
We use Xero.
Remind me of recurring meetings and events
- I.e., my daughter's school schedule, scheduled exams, when I am needed in attendance at the school, her singing performances throughout the year,
- Birthdays,
- My employee’s anniversaries,
- Doctor’s appointments,
- Names of the children of people I meet, and their birthdays.
Stuff, I would love to remember.
Purchase airline tickets
- I ask my EA to find and recommend flights for me,
- To manage the booking,
- Check me in,
- Make sure I get my preferred seat on the plane every time,
- Manage upgrades and lounge access,
- Manage loyalty programs,
- Manage rebooking for me, as well as
- Manage cancellations and reimbursements.
She saves all the booking details in my calendar every time, so I always have all the travel documents and details saved in one centralized place.
File and save scans of important documents for me in my Client Secure Vault in 1Pasword
Some documents are essential when you travel for business. I always make sure to have access to these documents in my 1Password app on my smartphone, i.e.:
- A copy of my Passport,
- A copy of my Visa,
- Virtual debit cards and payment details,
- Details about loyalty programs,
- Booking details for everything from flights to hotels, cars, events, etc.,
- Even documentation about stuff I have purchased online.
Research stuff for me online
- Compare prices on items,
- Manage orders,
- Manage the shipment of, i.e., books on Amazon.
I love to read.
Manage online subscriptions and memberships
- I ask my remote assistant to keep an eye out on online memberships,
- To keep them current,
- Remind me to sign off on memberships, subscriptions, and apps in time if I haven’t used them for the last six months,
- Renewal of memberships, or
- Subscribing to new memberships and subscriptions.
For this, I use a Virtual Debit Card from Sigrid.AI.
Set up conference calls
- Manage new and recurring meetings and events with my remote team, new clients, existing clients, business partners, and applicants.
We use Zoom. I find it to be the best conference call software on the market right now.
Coordinate and schedule interviews with new applicants
- I ask my remote assistant to screen candidates,
- Create shortlists,
- Book a slot in my calendar for interviews, and
- Set up conference calls.
We use Workable to communicate about candidates; it's super smart when you are collaborating as a remote team, and I can do it while I am traveling via the app on my iPhone.
Reminders
- Remind me of events, anniversaries, appointments, dinner dates, parties, my godchildren's birthdays, my employee's anniversaries, etc.
All the essential stuff that shows you care while being away a lot of the time.
Things we do for our clients
We do a million and one different things for our clients every day. As long as you need it, it's legal and manageable remotely; we are happy to handle it for you. The list provided is non-exhaustive and meant to inspire you to offload your whole To-Do List. Read more and get inspired here.
