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High-touch technology family office accounting services that ensure security and privacy.

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Bill Pay

Outsourced bill pay solution with cash flow reporting and tracked expenses.

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What Are Outsourced Accounting Services and Do I Need Them?

If you are asking yourself these two questions, you've come to the right place.

What’s the Difference Between CFO and a Controller - and What Do I Need?

Although these two important roles are sometimes viewed as interchangeable there are important differences between them.

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Our Key Industries

Expert knowledge and high-quality software solutions for our 5 key industries.

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Construction & Real Estate

Real-time financial data and integrated job costing to generate reports and improve accountability.

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Manufacturing & Distribution

Track billing of materials, implement inventory control systems, manage supplier base, and reduce unnecessary costs.

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E-Commerce

Our team has the expertise needed to navigate deposits, refunds, chargebacks, and processing fees to maximize efficiency.

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Professional Services

Streamline financial operation and increase overall profitability to enable faster and smarter decisions.

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Family Office Accounting

High-touch technology family office accounting services that ensure security and privacy.

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Why does industry expertise matter?

Industry focus allows us to be experts in the accounting needs of the companies that operate within these industries.

Why Plumb Works With These Industries

This is another one of our favorite questions. The answer is easy: we know these industries.

Software Expertise
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Sage Software

Innovative software to manage your accounting, people, payroll, payments, and more.

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NetSuite Software

Integrated cloud business software suite, including business accounting, ERP, CRM and ecommerce software.

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QuickBooks Software

Scalable solutions for reporting, transactions, month-end close, analysis, and more.

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QuickBooks to NetSuite Migration: A Comprehensive Guide

Migrating from one accounting software platform to another is a critical undertaking for businesses. This is especially true when considering a transition from QuickBooks to NetSuite.

How do I know which Software is right for my company?

Selecting the "right" software for your company might seem like an overwhelming task, but we'd like to help make this process easier for you.

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Sage Software

Innovative software to manage your accounting, people, payroll, payments, and more.

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Sage Intacct

Automate the critical processes, reduce the spreadsheet headaches, and get greater visibility into real-time business performance.

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Sage 300 CRE

Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate connects finances and operations to help ensure maximum profit.

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Sage 100 Contractor

The all-in-one construction software that goes beyond basic accounting to put you in total command of your projects.

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Sage Estimating

Build bids quickly and precisely, plus integrate with other Sage software solutions to streamline operations.

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Sage Paperless

Easily store, retrieve, and route documents for accounting and operations.

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Sage Service

Streamline service calls and construction projects from start to finish with web-based real-time information.

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Additional Solutions

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How and When to Choose Construction Accounting Software?

The right tools can help you manage your construction projects efficiently, provide clarity of your finances, and ultimately help improve profitability and job success.

5 Types of Visibility Every Construction Firm Should Have.

Here we list 5 key elements to help capture insights that are pivotal to running an efficient and lucrative constriction firm.

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About Plumb

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What can Plumb Do for Your Business?

At Plumb we pride ourselves on providing "clarity in accounting and stewardship in service." But what does that actually mean?

What's the Plumb Promise and What's in it for You?

We're on a continuous journey to go above and beyond for our clients. Here's how we do that.

Remote Workforce Woes? We've Got 7 Great Tips for You.

Posted on July 7, 2022 at 1:00 PM
Written by Plumb

As part of a new monthly series, Plumb will provide insights and actionable tips for how to navigate some of the current challenges being faced by businesses today. 

In Plumb’s third installment on insights and actionable tips for how to navigate some of the current challenges being faced by businesses today, we have 7 useful tips to share about managing a remote workforce.

High angle view of young man using his laptop in bright living room

As we discussed in our article about the labor shortage and attracting talent, offering a flexible and remote work option is paramount in today’s competitive job-hiring market. But how do businesses manage a remote team? And how can they continue to provide that same water-cooler-break bonding and office-swing-by brainstorming of days past?

First, let’s outline some of the hurdles faced by businesses in the remote-work era.

Different time zones
A benefit of the remote workforce is that you are not beholden to people within commuting distance of an office. However, when working with people on opposite coasts – or potentially different continents – it’s important to be mindful of the times meetings are scheduled. Consider creating a rotating meeting schedule so that each time zone has the opportunity for meetings at times that are best for them.
 
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Connecting to the team and company
Understand that your employees are each unique people, with their own talents and challenges, and their own needs. Take the time to conduct one-on-one meetings with your team. Provide opportunities for continued professional education and growth and be transparent about their career path. According to a recent Gallup poll, 48% of American workers said they would switch to a new job if it offered training opportunities. Demonstrate to your employees that you care about them, and that their work makes a difference to the bottom line of the company.

 

Collaboration and Communication

Without the option to drop by an office, or grab a cup of coffee together, it might seem difficult to create a collaborative and communicative team. However, there are many great software tools that allow your team to both collaborate and communicate on the fly, just as they would if everyone was together in person. Depending upon the type of business you run, you might consider a project management tool like Basecamp or Asana. At Plumb we are big fans of Teams and Slack – two great options for teammates to chat one-on-one or to create larger groups for specific projects or routine use. 

happy young woman relax at home on sofa

Now that we understand some of the issues at hand – and how to deal with them – below is a list of actionable tips for managing your remote workforce.

1. Set Expectations
Let employees know when you expect them to be online and accessible but allow some flexibility for other parts of the day. There should be at least a few hours each day when the entire team overlaps – depending on just how different the time zones are – but allow your team to work at the times when they are most productive. The employees will appreciate being treated like adults, and the business will benefit from happier and more productive employees.

 

2. Establish Boundaries
Ensure that your team knows they are not expected to work 24/7 even though they’ll have access to all the tools to allow this. You can either choose to simply tell them that they don’t have to reply to messages received after-hours, or you can use software tools that prevent people from sending/receiving messages in non-business hours.
 
3. Stay Connected

You should schedule daily check-ins with your team. Include an agenda prior to each meeting to help keep it brief and efficient. This will keep your team aligned on their priorities and goals. In addition, ensure that you are reaching out to your team members individually at least once a week. It’s important they know they are a priority and that they can ask questions and receive guidance. You can also mix-up the types of meetings you hold – some can be on zoom with cameras on, some can be a quick Slack conversation, and others can be a traditional conference call on the phone. It’s always a good idea to change things around to prevent staleness.

4. Understand the Root Cause of Issues

If your team, or individual members of your team, is not performing up to expectations, take the time to understand the underlying cause. Is it because they don’t understand something they are supposed to be working on? Or are they overscheduled and experiencing zoom fatigue? Whatever the issue, everyone will benefit from the additional time spent trying to understand why there is an issue. Once this is understood, it will be significantly easier to establish a plan to correct it.

5. Gather and Give Feedback

It’s never been more important to understand what’s going on with your team since you might not be seeing their faces every day. However, most people are not comfortable giving feedback or discussing issues that are bothering them – especially with a supervisor or boss. Set-up a process where you can collect feedback anonymously. Your employees will feel more comfortable to discuss challenges and you can gain valuable insights into what’s working and not working with your remote team. Additionally, you should ensure that you have a clear path to providing feedback to your employees. Schedule job performance check-ins and reviews at 3-month, 6-month and 12-month points. Communicate the plan to your team so they know when they can expect these meetings. You also don’t need to wait for these scheduled times to let them know if you have concerns – or if they are doing something great. In fact, a little company-wide recognition of a job well done is always appropriate and appreciated.

6. Provide Career-Building Opportunities
Investing in your team will pay dividends. As we discussed in our article about the labor shortage and how to retain talent, 48% of American workers said they would switch to a new job if it offered training opportunities. Talk to your team to find out what skills they would like to learn, or educational topics they are interested in, and then create a plan around that. They can shadow you or another senior executive at the company for a week. You can cover the costs for an online training course or bring in speakers on a variety of topics to meet with your team. There are many options out there, but just asking the question of your team will make them feel appreciated and valued.

7. Walk the Walk
You can’t expect your team to do what you will not. Let them see that you follow your own advice and rules. Ask them for input, seek out their advice, and most importantly listen to them. A great leader is someone who builds trust and long-lasting relationships.
 

Remote and flexible work options are most likely here to stay. There is no reason that your team can’t be as productive or as collaborative as they were when everyone was in the same office. You just need a slightly different approach.

Please check out our other articles about how to navigate some of the current challenges being faced by businesses today:

Founded in 1996, Plumb’s mission is to help companies and individuals achieve their business and financial goals by providing an unparalleled array of customized software and accounting solutions. Through our proprietary systems, Plumb becomes a valuable extension of internal client operations, ensuring timely, dependable, and cost-effective results.

 

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