How to keep track of business while being overseas?

Posted by max G on September 5th, 2018

Today we live in an era where technology and everything digital got the upper hand. You don’t need to depend on paper documents, being at the office, or even seeing your employees to run a successful business. Using the right cloud-based tools, you can follow up on important tasks, track employees’ working hours, and supervise the workflow. All while cruising the Caribbean or from anywhere else in the world!

Since the average consumer spends at least 3 hours a day on their smartphones, many organizations have brought their services to your phone. There is an app for almost everything today, keeping up with your professional and personal needs. When you’re abroad, worrying about your business is the last thing you need. So let’s go through a few things you’ll need to keep track of your business while being overseas and put your mind at rest.

Time Tracking Software:

When abroad, one of your biggest concerns is if your employees are slacking on the job. You fear that because you’re not there, some employees will come late or not at all, others will take breaks that are too long, or won’t finish their work on time. However, technology offers a solution to this problem by using time tracking software.

There was paper timesheets and punch cards but their inefficiency was proven with time and time tracking software was developed. This software lets employees clock-in when they get to work, schedule their breaks, clock-out, and even add manual hours if needed. Some applications even allow you to leave shift notes on your work progress or take screenshots of your screen during work to prove you’re working. And most importantly, this software has a timesheet feature which can be integrated with payroll apps to create accurate payroll at the end of the cycle. For example, Zoho Invoice works as a time tracking and invoice software to help create invoices for clients and keep track of employees’ working hours.

Other time tracking software like ClockIn Portal, Tick, or Time Doctor are also affordable and efficient solutions to keep track of working hours and work progress. You’ll know which employees are at their desks, on break, or absent, all from a handy phone app.

Virtual Mailbox:

Another issue that needs constant handling while you’re away is your postal mail. You can only put your mail on hold for a limited time (only USPS mail) but if you’re going on long trips, a virtual mailing address is what you need.

Important business mail like contracts, leases, or other documents are normally sent to your business address but some documents need to be handled instantly. With a virtual mailbox, you get all your business postal mail delivered to you online. Your mail will arrive at a secure mail facility, which is, in fact, a virtual address in a commercial location for your business. You can use it as your business’s address for marketing purposes and on your website. When your mail is received, the envelope is scanned and uploaded to your virtual mailbox. You can access it online through a browser or your phone.

You’ll get instant notifications with all your new mail, and then you can log into your mailbox and choose how you want the mail piece handled. It can be opened & scanned, forwarded, shredded, or recycled, or archived. When the order is received, certified mail operators take action and get it done. You can have contracts forwarded to whichever address, financial documents shredded for safety, or packages stored if needed. Your team can enjoy the benefits of this mailbox too! You can add multiple users, and each employee can get mail separately and handle it on their own.

Project Management:

Who says you need to be present to assign and follow up on work tasks? There are multiple project management tools like Basecamp, Trello, or Asana that give you all the options you need. The pace tends to slow down when you’re not supervising work yourself at the office. But in order to make sure the deadlines are being met, you need an organized system to keep track of work.

Project management software does just that, it helps you manage your projects and tasks. It offers advanced features like setting deadlines, giving you reminders, assigning tasks, and following up on progress. You and your team can leave comments on tasks and make attachments, keeping you in the loop with every active task.

Communication & Collaboration:

Staying in touch with your team leaders and the team itself is very important when remotely supervising a business. Strong communication is the key to any successful business, you need to encourage your team to communicate any concerns to you and leave their feedback on the business and its operations.

It is now easier than ever to communicate with individuals from all over the world. There are multiple phone/ video calling apps like Skype and Google Hangouts that work on desktops or phones. You can run a whole meeting with multiple individuals on the same call, using nothing but a good internet connection. As for collaboration, Google Drive is great for working on projects together. It has multiple apps like Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slideshows, etc. that everyone can join in on and make edits or leave comments. Other apps like Dropbox and Trello also encourage collaboration; Dropbox is essentially used for sharing files and Trello is great for collaborating on ideas, especially visually.

Conclusion:

Being overseas shouldn’t stop you from efficiently being able to keep track of business. In fact, using the right tools, you’ll get the important info you need without wasting much time or resources.