5 Important Tools To Creating A Virtual Office

The advent of the internet has made it easier for budding entrepreneurs to generate home-businesses and allow their workers to telecommute. Having a virtual office can help you save cash, rack in more profits and expand your market. Here are the best tools to help you create a productive and professional online office.

Keep track of your money

If you are just starting a new business venture, it is possible that you are wearing many hats; carrying on the tasks as a manager, accountant, secretary, and IT all in one. Therefore, it is very easy to lose track of the cash flow within your business. To help you keep track of your invoices and payments, opt for a money management program. If you want to protect your financial data from unwarranted breaches, software such as Quickbooks and Quicken Home and Business will help ward off these kinds of threats.

Secure your office

When working in a virtual office, your clients’ information, as well as your own, is at constant risk. It’s very important to get creative with your passwords and keep them unpredictable and varied. To remember all your passwords, use a password manager, which will keep track of all your innovative phrases for you, all you need is one master password. If you are planning on reusing passwords, use one password for one area, for example, you can use one password for all your email accounts. This way, in case your system is hacked, the perpetrators will not be able to have access to your bank accounts or other sensitive information.

Build your team

Because your workers are not meeting in one location, you will need to build effective lines of communication and instill in them the sense that they are all part of a hard-working team. There are many tools available that can foster teamwork including Google apps and Gmail drive. For you to share or manage tasks and hold meeting with your team opt for Teamwork PM or Basecamp.

Ensure your internet use is secure

As you type away in your home office or coffee shop, ensure that you're using a secure Wi-Fi connection so all your data and passwords are encrypted. It’s important to note that most public Wi-Fi connections aren’t secure and are open to the public. A secure network usually requires a password to connect. In order of preference, WPA2 encrypted networks are more secure than WPA and WEP.

Separate work and family

Separating work and family requires a little more effort especially since both of them are literally in the same space. If your computer and phone act as work devices and your child’s toys, Android will ensure that your child doesn’t call your top client. Android software provides restricted profiles from which you can choose which apps and services your child can access.