May News // We're Moving!

We're Moving!

Better Bookkeepers is excited to announce that we'll be moving into a new location on 1019 Alamo Drive (in the Golden Hills Shopping Center) in the next few weeks! This new location will offer us the space we desperately need and the ability to cartwheel in the reception area, which has always been a desire of ours.

To our downtown Vacaville neighbors, we'll miss you deeply, but know that a cup of coffee and a chat is always open to you at 1019 Alamo Drive so stop by. We'd LOVE to see you. Thank you for the memories!

Please make note of our new EIN #: 81-5060560

And new company name:

KM ENDEAVORS, LLC dba BETTER BOOKKEEPERS

Quick Tips

NEWS RELEASE: Cal/OSHA Urges Employers to Protect Outdoor Workers from Heat Illness

To Read More: CLICK HERE

*Courtesy of Misty from Elmore HR Consulting

DON'T FORGET: Mother's Day - May 14th

Order her a bouquet to be sent right to her door TODAY from FarmGirl Flowers and use the code SUPERMAMA for 10% off

Happy National Small Business Week!

April 30-May 6

Do you or a friend own a small business? Schedule a FREE 30-minute bookkeeping consultation with Better Bookkeepers before May 6 in honor of National Small Business Week!

(707) 474-9510

IS YOUR PORTFOLIO HEALTHY?

From Kimber Smith with Edward Jones

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Regular exercise can improve your health, but why not extend the concept of “fitness” to other areas of your life – such as your investment portfolio?

For example, just as your body needs more oxygen when you exercise, your portfolio may need infusions of new investment dollars.

And while you should take action – such as stretching – to keep from hurting yourself while you exercise, you also need to prevent “injury” to your portfolio. One way of doing this is to avoid placing all your investment dollars in just one or two types of assets. This over-concentration can leave you highly vulnerable to market downturns.

While exercise is important, so are regular physical examinations. As an investor, you should also do a “checkup” on your portfolio at least annually to determine if it’s performing as it should. If not, you may need to make some changes.

By exercising, you can keep your body healthy. And by making the right moves with your portfolio, you can help keep it in good shape, too.

This is Kimber Smith,

your Edward Jones financial advisor

Located at 4767 Mangels Blvd, Fairfield CA 94534, 707-863-0896

707-863-0896 office

THE POWER OF THE KUMBAYA

From Cheyanne Solis with Better Bookkeepers

At Better Bookkeepers, we make a point to carve out time to come back to our center as a team. Juggling the consistently multiplying tasks, appointments, events, and to do lists, it gets overwhelming individually and corporately.

Sound familiar?

Even when the phones are calm and emails are filed, we find ourselves foggy at what is actually imperative to complete and what back-burner items can finally get some attention.

Our solution?

Kumbayas.

There’s no campfire or songs—most of the time—but there’s coffee and notepads and you can find us sprawled on our office rug in a circle.

Our Monday morning “kumbayas,” as we refer to them, have been absolute life savers in touching base with every team member, ensuring that no toes are stepped on and we’re operating as efficiently as possible.

4 things that you MUST do in your team kumbayas:

1. COVER THAT WEEK'S APPOINTMENTS

Do you ever get to Monday morning and all the appointments you made the week before were all set by some crazy person who thought that 200 appointments in a 8-hour period was a good idea? Then you remember that that crazy person was you?

That’s because over the weekend, our brains like to rid itself of all the data we collected during the business week. It’s focused on friends and birthday parties and eating great food. It’s not trying to keep in mind that you have to meet Arnold at Los Reyes to go over quarterly finances at 3pm on Wednesday.

So start your day with a refresher on what’s ahead and cover where other team members are planning on being as well so you don’t unknowingly plan to challenge your coworker to a typing race when they have plans to be a responsible adult that doesn’t do silly things like typing races somewhere else.

2. OPEN THE FLOOR UP FOR QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, AND IDEAS

This can get out of hand quick, especially if your team is made up of chatty, amazing women that are easily amused (definitely not Better Bookkeepers), but opening the conversation for everyone’s voices to be heard is imperative to starting off the week strong.

When a question arises, the answer is often amongst the team or someone might be tasked with finding it.

When a concern is brought up, it up’s everyone’s awareness, costly mistakes can be avoided, and everyone feels valued as a team member.

When an idea emerges, this is when the whole meeting can go off the rails, but appoint someone in your group a diligent note taker and let the ideas fly. If you’re the scribe, be sure to capture as many details as possible.

3. CLEARLY DEFINE THAT WEEK'S GOALS

“Without vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

Put language to the vision of that week. Bring the projects that need to be completed by 5pm Friday to the table and reiterate who is in charge of each. Clearly outlining goals will set everyone up to succeed. When things are left vague, people struggle to fill in the blanks and efficiency is lost.

Identify each member’s goals for the week and watch your team’s productivity skyrocket.

4. HAVE SOMEONE WRITE FOLLOW UP NOTES

A dutiful scribe during these meetings are the back bone and compass of the meeting. Coming up with an agenda before the meeting to keep everyone on track and making space for everything covered is easier said than done, but if one person takes on this responsibility you’ll save time, energy, and money.

As well, recording as many details as possible, helping people outline tasks on their plate, reiterating information voiced and putting it in a neat email after the meeting is IMPERATIVE.

Not everyone’s the best note-taker or even likes taking notes, so having someone in place to give them a helping hand is a huge benefit. If everyone leaves the meeting with half-written notes and doodles, it’s hard to gather what was covered and the meeting did not accomplish its goal: bringing everyone together and developing a vision for the week. Follow up notes are also helpful for referencing back at the end of the week, ensuring nothing falls between the cracks.

In the follow up notes, identifying action items, dividing up urgent tasks from projects that can be revisited, etc. is all vital to wrapping up a productive meeting and going into the week feeling focused.

Make sure you include these four points as well as what you feel is uniquely important to your team and you’re well on your way to a successful “kumbaya.”

GLAMPING with

ELEANOR'S HOMESTAY

Glamorous camping: glamping. It's a trend. It's a phenomenon. It's a lot of fun.

For those craving a little peace and quiet, a reconnecting with nature, and a good night's rest under the stars, Eleanor's Homestay is the place to go.

Find her on Hipcamp and Air BNB and book your retreat from the noise of every day life TODAY.

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

NEW SICK LEAVE FAQs

From Misty Elmore of Elmore HR Consulting

Seems simple; provide 3 days Sick Leave, but don't get fooled, there is much more to it. See the link here with the updated FAQ's. In particular, the update more clearly states that the use of Sick Leave is protected and attendance violations can not be imposed. The update includes a reminder that use of Sick Leave is dictated by the employee.

Have questions or want to train your Managers in effort to avoid any miscommunication or other potential exposure, contact Elmore HR Consulting to schedule a session.