Doing your own admin as a trades business owner might seem like a no-brainer. It’s an easy way to save money, and she’ll be right. How hard can it be?
Unfortunately, DIY admin does come with costs. In many cases, they are significant! If you’ve put invoicing, scheduling, payroll, bookkeeping, customer comms, digital marketing, lead follow-up, and other general administrative tasks in the “too-easy” basket, you’ve likely underestimated your own abilities, time management, and capacity to remain sane.
We’ve broken down the hidden costs of DIY administration, so you can see for yourself where the price tags might be.
$[Too much of your valuable time]
Many trades business owners are very good at their trades. It’s why they got so busy that they decided to expand beyond the man-in-a-van operations. That expertise is put to much better use on income-earning activities. That is: doing the trade that your customers are paying for, and doing it well.
Being on the tools also means you are providing hands-on teaching to your employees. If you’d like to build a skilled team and teach your apprentices to meet your expectations and match your values, it’s important to be there and lead by example.
$[Your professional reputation]
In the same vein as above, it’s hard to oversee standards of quality, finish, and customer service when you’re in an office or sitting in the van trying to create invoices on your phone. The work your team does is representative of you as a business owner, and they need you on site to develop the skills and mindset required.
There are other ways that your reputation can suffer from the DIY admin approach. Like building, plumbing, HVAC installation, and carpentry, administrative work is a skill. A busy and stretched business owner taking on tasks outside of their expertise is always going to end in mistakes:
Customer communications move down the priority list and customers feel overlooked.
Invoices and quotes go out with errors, chipping away at your professionalism.
Team members experience mixups with pay and schedules, disrupting good working relationships.
Leads are forgotten and job opportunities missed, because you’re too busy with the work you already have.
Being organised is more than just making your life easier. It is the foundation of a professional, responsive business. Your reputation is immensely valuable, bringing you referrals and repeat customers.
“So many of our clients find that they miss out on new work because the enquiries are buried in an onslaught of notifications and missed calls. By the time they follow up, it’s too late and they look unresponsive and unprofessional. It really sets them back!”
Sarah Andrews, senior VA
$[Your free time and sanity]
One of the issues we outlined above was DIY admin keeping you away from your tools and your team. Some business owners will solve this by moving all admin work to their evenings and weekends. Innovative, but costly.
Your free time is not a price you should be willing to pay. Work-life balance is crucial to avoiding the kind of burnout which sees many Kiwi businesses fail. Admin creeping into your evenings and weekends eliminates space for family and friends, exercise, hobbies, and simply taking a break. That’s a price tag that can come with sneaky compounding interest!
$[The growth of your business]
You’re the captain of the ship, and the ship needs your hand on the wheel. That means leading your team in the field and spending time on work that will move the business forward. If you’re too focused on the daily grind of administrative work, you’ll just be keeping your head above water (or your boat afloat, to return to our nautical metaphor).
All of the errors and dropped balls mentioned above that chip away at your reputation also halt the growth of your business; if you’re always chasing your own tail, there’s no time for change. In addition to that, the workload of daily admin on top of your income-earning work ensures that you do not have the time or brainspace to step back and look at the big picture. Strategic planning, financial planning, hiring, networking, governance, training and capability uplift: all of these take time, effort, and perspective.
Is your DIY admin approach costing you growth?
$[Good cashflow]
Disrupted cashflow is an issue often encountered by business owners with a second-shift admin job. Invoicing, particularly in trades with many materials, stages of a project, and moving labour parts, is a complicated task. Having someone who’s one step removed from a project and has the focus needed to pull together all available information to put together invoices promptly and accurately is a major asset.
Sending out error-free invoices quickly and following up for payment keeps your cashflow healthy and can make or break a business. You don’t want this important task to be pushed to the evenings and weekends when you’re already tired.
Client case:
Dispense Worx South came to us with a subpar system that had them creating and sending invoices on the last day of every month, leaving it to the last minute and taking up a whole day that could be spent on other tasks. The Released team took over daily invoicing, getting this done quickly and efficiently. Customers began paying earlier than the due date, and their cashflow was greatly improved.
$[Minimal monthly bills that reflect only the time you use]
Released can consolidate these ever-compounding price tags into one that’s paid the traditional way: with money. People will tell you that money is often the cheapest price you can pay for something, and in this case they are quite likely correct!
Our flexible service means that you can use as much time or as little as you need, adjusting your admin investment according to your workload.
We’ll get the job done faster than you can, because we are specialists. Our team of administrative professionals are efficient, skilled, and well-trained in the tools of OUR trade: software systems, accounting and payroll platforms, AI agents, automations, and other handy things that can greatly reduce time spent on tasks. We also have an astounding depth of human expertise and experience in supporting NZ trades and service businesses.
What’s more, we have a secret weapon. With more than 25 VAs each bringing different perspectives and knowledge, the Released group chat is the holy grail admin resource that every trades business owner needs. Ask your VA a question, and they can have it answered.
Taking the DIY approach to your administration might save you money short-term, but avoiding that bill racks up many more - some of which require more from you than you wish to give.
Are you willing to pay with your sanity, free time, professional reputation, cashflow, and long-term growth? If the answer to that is a no from you, then it’s time to book a quick chat with our team and get the conversation started.
