Work on Tuesday 15th May

On Tuesday I do the payroll.

It is not a straightforward process.

Everyone uses a tag to clock in on various sites and then every Monday morning the site foreman goes to each site to pick up the hours.  This is done via blue tooth and he sends to data of to some place in cyber space and I pick it up via the software on my computer.

Lots of our jobs are cost plus which requires me to record the hours on complicated spreadsheets.

We have found, over the years, that there are just some things that require a lot of human input.  No matter how efficient technology is and no matter how detailed software packages are, nothing beats a spreadsheet for really detailed information.   And nothing beats a human being for doing costings.  Humans and computers work best together for certain things.  One software package may do lots of things, another does other things but we have yet to find one that does it all.

I learnt bookkeeping the boring old manual way.  Using ledgers, cash books and other dull things to gather information.  I certainly would not want to go back to that but at least I know how.  Now I use an online accounting package that interfaces with the bank.  I can access it from my own lap top at home which is great when we go on holidays.  Just in case things go wonky and some help is needed.

Years ago I used to love the beginning of the financial year when I would start a new cash book.  Rule up the pages.  Put in the headings.  Use sharp HB pencils for the figures.  Now I just order the folders that will hold the thousands of bits of paper that will be processed over a twelve month period.

I do more than bookkeeping these days.  I do loads of financial administration and deal with the tax office quite often.  We have various companies and trusts that have to have accurate figure work to present to the company.  It suits my inner anality.  Is that a word?  It should be.

One thing I love about bookkeeping is that it is order in a world of chaos.  

No matter how technology changes, the core basics of bookkeeping never changes.  

I never think whether or not my job is easy.  I just do it and whatever new thing I have to learn I just learn it.  Recently I have started a job description of my job to enable me to create a more structured process to work with.  I also wanted it in place in case the unthinkable happened and I could not work.  After a few pages I realised that I do quite a lot more than I thought and there is a good reason why I am often stressed when pressure is high.

We have had someone to help us in the office recently.  She does data entry, filing and answers the phone.  The plan had been to delegate some of my work but it has not yet happened as she has limited office experience.  Now and then I give her a few things to her because I believe she is capable of a lot more than she realises.  It is a slow process to show someone the ropes.  Recently she became engaged so may not be staying for much longer.  It is her second marriage, her first husband having died three years ago.  Her new partner lives in a rural area and I am guessing (by what she has said) that she may move there with her two boys.

That holds me back a bit in regards to handing over too much to her as I will have to do it again with someone new.

My boss says that when I am ready to retire then he and his wife will.

He is going to have to wait a while then.

I think I have at least twenty super productive years in me yet at work.

Besides, I have a kid to put through university!

Xbox University.

Ciao
LC