Where to start: things you can stop doing by hand

• After-hours leads get an honest reply saying when you'll be back. Someone reaches out at night or on the weekend. They get an honest reply right away saying when you'll be back, and their message is right there for you when you are.
• A polite check-in when a new lead goes quiet after your first reply. Someone got your first reply and then went quiet. They get a polite check-in in your voice asking if they still want help. Two at most, then it stops.
• Keep junk leads out of your inbox and to-do list. Obvious spam and sales pitches get set aside before your reply goes out, so your warm reply doesn't go to spammers. Anything that looks odd waits for you to decide.

• Send a quote from your approved template. You set the price and what's included. Your quote gets filled in and sent. It never picks a price for you.
• Friendly follow-up when a quote you sent gets no answer. If a quote gets no answer, up to two short check-ins go out in your voice. Then it stops.
• Approved final proposal saved with the job and sent to your client. When you approve a final proposal, it's saved in the client's folder with a clear name and sent to them. You always know which version they saw.
• Expired quote closed out with a polite offer to pick it back up. When a quote passes its end date with no answer, a polite note goes out offering to pick it back up if they still need help.

• Link in your first reply that lets people pick their own time. Your reply can include a link where people pick a time that works for them. No phone tag. You set your hours.
• Booking confirmation in your voice, and the time goes on your calendar. When someone books, it lands on your calendar and they get a confirmation in your voice with the time, the place, and what to bring.
• Friendly reminder before each appointment. A friendly email reminder goes out before each appointment, with an easy way to confirm or move it, so fewer people forget.
• Reschedule link without phone tag. When someone asks to move a time, they get a link to pick a new one, and the old time gets cleared.
• No-show reschedule link. If someone misses an appointment, they get one polite note with a link to rebook, and the time opens back up.

Also helps here: New lead or booked job goes straight onto your to-do list. Booked jobs land on your list too, right next to new people who reach out.

• Welcome packet goes out when a new client says yes. When a new client says yes, they get your welcome packet: what happens next, who to contact, the timeline, and the links they need. You write it once.
• What we need from you checklist. New clients get a short list of what you need from them, plus one reminder if something is still missing. No more chasing the same things by email.
• First call with a new client booked straight from your welcome email. The welcome email includes a link to book your first call, and the call goes on both calendars.
• Client folder created and linked to the job. Every new client gets a folder for their files from day one, set up the same way every time.
• Intake form answers saved with the job so you don't have to ask twice. When a client fills out your intake form, which is just your list of starting questions, the answers get saved in one place so you don't have to ask twice.

• Plan or draft you approved goes to your client for their okay. When a draft is ready, your client gets the link with a clear ask: approve it, or send changes by a set date.
• One nudge when you are waiting on the client. If you're stuck waiting on a client for feedback or files, they get one friendly nudge in your voice. Then it stops.
• Repeat job puts the next visit on your to-do list and calendar. For repeat work, like a monthly visit, the next one goes on your to-do list, the date goes on your calendar, and your client hears the date.

• One review request after a job is done. A day or two after the work is done, one review request goes out in your voice. Just one. You can skip anyone you'd rather not ask.
• Kind words from happy clients saved, with their okay to share. When a client sends kind words, their exact words get saved, along with whether they said you can share them.
• Past client check-in. Some months after a project, a short personal note goes out asking how things are going, with an easy way to book again.
• Referral thank-you. When someone new tells you who sent them, that person gets a short thank-you in your voice.

• Approved post marked ready to publish. Once you approve a post, it's set aside ready to go, and you get a reminder on the day. You still press publish yourself.
• Wording checked and okayed before anything goes public. The wording gets checked first, then the right person gives the final okay. Nothing goes out without the right eyes on it.
• Your approved wording saved in one place so you can reuse it. Your final wording, like your bio or the short blurbs about what you do, gets saved in one place so you can reuse it instead of rewriting it.

• Job applicants hear you got their application, and their details get saved. Job applicants get a kind note saying you got their application and what happens next. Their details get saved so you can look when you're ready.
• Interviews go straight onto your calendar. Candidates get a link to pick an interview time, and it lands on your calendar with their resume attached.
• Job you hand off goes on your team member's calendar. When you give a job to someone on your team, it goes on their calendar with the address, notes, and files, and they get a heads-up.

• Signed contract filed to the client folder. When a signed contract comes back by email, it's saved in that client's folder with a clear name and date. Always one click away.
• Meeting notes saved and linked to the job. After a client meeting, the notes get saved in the client's folder and the next steps get added to the job.
• Receipt filed to your expense folder. Receipts you get or forward get saved into a folder for the month, ready for whoever does your books.
• Monthly folder ready for your bookkeeper. At the start of each month, last month's invoices and receipts from your email and files get gathered into one folder for your bookkeeper.