Thank you all for sharing your advice. I like the idea of corresponding only with email/chat that way I have a record to go back to.

Great information! I better get a notebook to jot all this down. :-)

What a marvelous thread! Thank you, Tess, for kick-starting it.

As a newbie, I am still fleshing out policies and procedures and as such don`t have much to share. As I read through this thread, I copied and pasted shared ideas into a raw Policies document that I will organize and fine tune into a pro forma policy document that I'd be happy to share when it's complete. It can be my `contribution` to the thread.

Many of these ideas hadn't crossed my mind and will surely save me some grief and frustration down the road. Thank you all for being so willing to allow me to benefit from the wealth and wisdom of your experience.

It is encouraging to me that there is such kindred strength among VAs. The industry will only be strengthened by the willingness to build and grow together. Thank you so much for paving the way to recognized, credible industry status. It is professionals like you who help to make success possible for start-ups like me.

Sincerely,

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Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

As a newbie I am finding this very useful

The original post in this thread has been updated to include the following:

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11/2010 ADMIN UPDATE:

Big thanks to VAF member AssetVirtual - Daniela was generous enough to compile, organize and edit this list into a PDF for download for use by other members. Thank you Daniela! Grab the document here, print it out and use it to help you develop your own business policies.

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Thank you Daniela! This .pdf includes many policies I've already implemented and several that I will now include in my contract as addendums. I appreciate you taking the time to post it here.

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Carol Aldridge
www.ProgressiveBusinessSolutions.net

Thank you for posting this policy pdf. It gives me a lot to think about as I am setting up my own.

Jamie

Hi, although I have yet to actually begin my VA business (still working on getting it off the ground), my most important 3 policies would definitely be
1. Contract - I believe this to be an absolute must. Having operated businesses previously and still running another business I know just how important clearly defined terms are to be set out.
2. Customer Service. Ensure all emails are answered immediately within working hours, or first thing as soon as office hours open - an acknowledgement even to begin with is fine. Don't you just hate it when you email a company and get a reply 2 weeks or even later down the road - when you have forgotten what your enquiry was all about.
3. Sticking to payment terms!

Julie

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http://www.just-delegate.co.uk

Thanks for the business policies guide. This is great to have when setting-up your business.

1. Have set hours, no weekends.
2. Payment on invoices 10 or 15 days after, and setting-up a time when I might have to send to collections for payments.
3. Have a 1-800 number for customers to call.

Great policies everyone!

I started my policies and procedures manual, not just in terms of expectations of my clients, but of myself, and in the future, as I grow, my staff.

1. Signed contract - will not work with out one.
2. Terms: I bill on the 15th of the month and payment is expected in 5 business days. Overdue invoices are charged at 1% per month.
3. Phone/email issuse: for the most part this is a great rule but because of the time sensitive nature of my niche market (Oil & Gas) I don't have that option. However, all emails and messages will be responded to in an hour.
4. I have strict office hours Monday to Friday (the choice to work evenings/weekends is my own, but I refuse to work Sundays)

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

As someone who has yet to establish her business I would like to thank every single person who has replied to Tess' original post.

There is so much information to include in your business policies that I had not thought of.

Because of all the replies (which I have read from beginning to end!) I have a taken a bit from each person who replied and will implement them into my business policies when I start.

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your input and for helping me to establish the policies that I need to put into place.

A4-Admin

__________________
www.a4-admin.co.uk
Helping you make the most out of your day!

I agree, this has been a great compilation thread.
Thanks to all who have contributed, looking forward to seeing it continue to grow!

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What a wealth of information! I find this thread very useful. I am a newbie still trying to get things going and this is a big help. Thank you all for sharing your trials and tribulations!

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April
ARC Virtual Office Services

I have learned alot from these few post. I will be putting a few of these into practice. To Lia you dont have to put your personal number on a website, but you get yourself a 1800 or toll free number put on you phone so that way clients can call your toll free number and still be able to reach you

Originally Posted by bsetc

(1) I don't pick up incoming calls unless they are scheduled. I do this because the phone can be a HUGE time waster. I prefer scheduled, to the point calls. I recently implemented a toll-free, automated system that e-mails my voice mails to me so that I can listen to them in a batch and when I want to

Which phone system is this? I'm interested.
Thanks, Barbara