Hi ladies, as VAs do you find it necessary to turn in daily reports to your clients, and if so do you bill for the time you spend putting it together?
Do you bill by the minute or incremental?

I am asking because I have a client who insists, despite the fact that I speak to her regularly and send her work product constantly,that she receive daily reports from me.

Is this necessary? I am more and more feeling like I am trapped in a employee-boss relationship with this client do you guys ever have that feeling?

Great question!
To answer the first few questions, more generally - I bill for time spent on *anything* client-relative and I bill in 15 minute increments regardless of what it is I'm working on.

I also have a client who insists on daily feedback - he's funny because even when I send an emailed 'report' on what we worked on that day he'll ask me the same questions a few hours later (about things I just sent him). I gather that my own client is just really busy, scans my emails rather than actually reading them, and is also just really excited about the projects we're working on for him so wants to know where we are as he works out investment and media issues with the project. I don't mind so much sending the reports because I don't believe it's a reflection of our working relationship one way or the other (ie - I don't feel like he's checking up on us...). If it makes him happy then so be it, and it's another entry on the invoice so I'm not losing anything in the process.

If you feel like your client's need for info comes from a sense of insecurity on her part you might want to try opening a dialogue about it to find out what you can do to help her feel more at ease with the virtual setup - a lot of clients who are new to the virtual world feel uncertain that the work they're paying good money for is getting done. It also could be that she'll back off after a while, once she's more comfortable with you. How long has she been with you?
It may be that she's just really tentative right now and doesn't know any other way to communicate or alleviate that. Use your amazing skills in diplomacy to draw her into a conversation about it and you may find she relaxes quite a bit.

Can you elaborate a bit more on what it is about the reports that are making you feel unhappy with the situation?

There are all kinds of clients, some will let you run with their ideas and your own and you'll rarely hear a peep from them. Others require a more in-depth relationship and lots of communication - and then all the other 'types' in between
Getting to understand how to handle each client's individual style and preferences is a skill that takes time and isn't always easy to learn in some cases.

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Thanks for the info Tess, I have not bee with this client for very long, she was a referral from another client.

The reason I am reluctant to start the daily reports is one she wants to the minute synopsis of how long I spend on everything right down to composing an email to her. I number one am not sure how to calculate and track such things because I jump from task to task at times especially with email I have notifications of every email as it comes in and if it is work related I address it immediately.

Generally what I do is block time each day to devote to client projects and track my start time and finish time and that is it, I dont understand her need for a by the minute synopsis. I think you are right she is new to the virtual thing so she is a little aprehensive I think.

It is not that I mind the daily report because it gives me a documented trail of customer satisfaction since I offer a garuntee on my services. So if a client accepts the report and does not question anything then they are accepting the work product so really it is a delivery acceptance for me.

Is there a software or tool I can use to track time in the manner she is asking for?

I believe there are a number of programs that can track your work by the minute - check in Time Management or use the forum search feature to see if you can find those conversations (I'm sorry I can't recall exactly where they are...) Also, I'm sure someone else will jump in here and post their two cents and may have some insight about the time tracking software.

I work in the same manner you do and have not ever used any software for tracking my time. I think you could try explaining to her the way in which you work/invoice and let her know that if she'd like to receive daily reports in the manner she's requesting you'd be happy to set up a program of her choice at her expense (unless you were planning on incorporating it into your practice anyway). People may disagree with me on this but I feel that as a business owner it is up to you to delineate what it is you offer and in what manner - anything beyond that at a client's request will be passed on to the client in terms of cost, etc.

I hope that helps!
You're right that you're not an employee and if you're starting to feel that your own policies are being impinged upon do what you can to help (gently) steer the client back into line with what works for you.

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I haven't ran into this situation yet, but in general I tend to send clients emails updating them on my progress on a regular basis. I track my time using MyHours.com. I don't trust myself to keep track of my time on my own, as I tend to get side-tracked and don't pay attention to the clock. MyHours is internet based (no software to download), I can log-in and keep it on my desktop wherever I'm at. Also, if I'm away from my computer while working on a project, I can enter my time manually at a later time. There is also a place to enter comments, so I can track what I was working on each time.

The invoices my clients receive only shows the total hours for that billing period, but If they request a detailed timesheet I can easily print it out from MyHours. You can also download the reports into Excel, so you could easily download the report and email it to your client daily showing what you were working on and how long it took.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

I also track my time using MyHours.com but I don't provide daily/weekly reports to clients. The only time I provide a report is when they receive their MyHours report on billing day(s). I think it would become such a time eater if I were to provide detailed 'here's what I did today' reports. If my clients ever did want to know, I'd just pull the report from MyHours and send it over.

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Sincerely,

Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC

I use MyHours to track my time and I do give a detailed report when my hours are used up. I have a client on retainer. He pays me upfront for the time he books and then I send him a detailed report when the time is up. Then we start the whole thing over again.

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Shari Sultana
Online Business Manager (marketing for retail ecommerce)

I use TraxTime but don't send a detailed report unless the client requests one. TraxTime works like a punch-in time clock, allows you to work on unlimited projects and you can switch from job to job as needed. You also can bill in one-minute increments if needed.

Re: your question of if you should charge for time spent preparing your client's report, I would say yes.

Mattie

Thanks for the information ladies I will check these out and get something going

DEFINETLY charge for it, yes!

Great answer Tes. I agree completely.

Given the date of the original post I am sure the original poster has arrived at a solution that best suits her and her client(s).

But, here is my 2 cents for anyone else experiencing this issue. I would talk with your client about their expectations about reporting, if you have adopted a reporting system such as weekly progress reports as I have. I think it is also important to find out why she/he is requesting daily reports? are they formal reports or just a summary of your time for the purpose of her budgeting.

We have to manage the expectations of our clients, and if they are requesting something from us these taks should be billed to the client.

Hope this was helpful information.

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Kimberly, CEO / Administrator Streamatic Solutions
Streamlining tasks and optimizing productivity

I thought this was a great topic because I can see it from the other side of the tracks.

I have very detailed time sheets that my employees fill out daily. It tracks every minute of their day along with every mile they put on my vehicles. If they stop at Burger King to grab a burger it goes on the time sheet.

The reason I do this is because I know how long it takes me to do the jobs I pay my guys to do. So if I can do the job in 15 minutes but they are there for 45 I know they are either struggling with the task or are real talkative with the customers. Each night I go through the time sheets and I can see what my guys did all day long. If I have a guy who spends more time at locations than he should be I can investigate why. While I encourage my guys to be friendly with customers I do not want them spending a half hour at their house just talking about the weather. If it is just that they are struggling I can set them up with more training.

I know my control issues stem from my time in the military, but I use it to my advantage.

Billing in 15 minute increments...thank you for that, I was wondering how to handle that. Do you round up to the next hour or divide it to the next 15 minites? Does anyone else round up to the next hour? I figured that the first hour would be a one hour minimum regardless. but wasn't sure after that?

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I understand that, I wouldn't want to feel as if I was in an employee/boss situation, not when you're running your own business. I have clients on retainer for a set amount of hours per month so I use a time-tracking system to monitor that. I use Paymo which is an internet based software so you don't need to download anything. You can set up the various projects you're working on and assign smaller tasks within the project until the whole thing is complete. You can use a timer to track your time and there is also a manual option if like me you sometimes forget to turn the timer on. It also provides detailed reports of time spent on your projects and the smaller tasks as well which can be emailed to your client if necessary. Up until now I haven't sent any reports and my clients haven't asked for them. Any time I haven't used during the month I simply pass over to the following so they know they're getting their monies worth and the results are there.

I bill for anything I do that is related to my client's projects so if I were you I would include the time it takes you to create the reports your client requests as well as the emails. You'll probably find that with time she'll see for herself that the work is being done and she'll back off (hopefully!).

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Sabrina L. Williams
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