A prospective client sent us an email last week via this website, wanting help with end of quarter reports and the BAS Lodgement.
We replied to their email, suggesting that they email the file to us, which would save them both time and money.
We can review the file, and quickly ascertain any areas in the bookkeeping that do not seem to be correct.
Then we can prepare the Business Activity Statement lodgement for them to have a look at before we make the submission to the Australian Taxation Office. There’s no problem in us working at their premises if they so wish.
After agreeing to take the approach of emailing the file, we waited to receive it.
Things do not always go as planned, particularly where technology is involved. Since we did not receive the file, we contacted the client, who explained that they would like to meet us at their office in the first instance.
Business was undertaken face-to-face, person-to-person
So we agreed a date and a time, and asked that they advise us of the address and contact telephone number. (Remember the days when business was undertaken face-to-face, person-to-person?) We got no response, so we contacted the client once more by email.
Still no response, so we advised the client that we would be unable to attend the meeting since we did not have an address to visit them at!
This is really quite extraordinary!!
The next communication we receive is that the prospective client has found another bookkeeper because we cancelled the appointment. We did explain that we had to cancel the appointment because, inspite of repeated requests, the client failed to provide us with their contact details or the address of their office.
What transpired was the client had apparently sent an SMS text message to our mobile phone, with the relevant details. Now, whether or not this was the case, since we didn’t receive the message, wouldn’t it have made sense for the client to telephone and confirm, rather than reply to our email telling us that they had sent the text message?
What if they had sent the details to the wrong number? What if the message had got lost in cyberspace? What if we were just plain ignorant and didn’t know how to check our text messages?
Communication is so important not only in the business world, but in all aspects of our lives. Some business operators seem to want to take the hard road, and make everything more complicated. As bookkeepers, we are always look to simplify the process of bookkeeping, and save our clients time and money.
Good communication in business is so important. We ensure that when sending emails, we do not allow anything to chance, and we explain everything as clearly as possible. Our preferred form of communication in business is verbal, either person to person, or by telephone. It saves time in the backwards and forwards of text messaging, or getting mixed messages by email.
Next time you send an email, have a look at it with the perspective that the receiver of your email may have absolutely no idea what you’ve been thinking about as you wrote it – If someone from another planet received your email, would they be able to understand the content immediately?
Even more so as bookkeepers, when working with our clients, we understand the importance of good communication in business
Next BAS due
