In this blog post, freelancer Hana Janjanin, who specializes in finance and administration, shares 5 financial-administrative tasks you can delegate to a freelancer and save yourself hours of work.

In her work so far, Hana has mostly taken over invoice and quote creation, recording incoming and outgoing invoices, collections, reconciliation, and communication with customers and suppliers - the examples below come directly from that experience.

1. Creating and sending invoices

One of the most common administrative tasks clients delegate to a freelancer is creating invoices and quotes. About 200 invoices a month doesn't sound like something you can't manage at first, but combined with other tasks, deadlines, and meetings, this is the perfect opportunity to hand it over to a freelancer, who will make sure invoices are issued and sent on time and, most importantly, fiscalized.

A freelancer can fully take over invoice and quote creation, which significantly saves time and reduces the chance of administrative errors. With the introduction of Fiscalization 2.0 in the EU and the mandatory sending and receiving of e-invoices, company`s obligations have increased further. For some, the more complex systems create stress, since every line item on an e-invoice requires a KPD (product classification) code, which is an extra challenge for many. Experienced freelancers familiar with fiscalization systems can make this job much easier.

2. Collections (accounts receivable)

This is often the unpleasant, postponed item on the to-do list. Delaying and letting unpaid invoices pile up creates a lot of stress and seriously damages cash flow. A freelancer helps here by approaching each customer individually without aggressive tactics, studying each one's past payment patterns, sorting customers into categories based on the size and age of the debt, and of course reporting to the client on collection progress.

A freelancer can match payments to issued invoices and send customers their outstanding items. They can also take on more demanding tasks, including tracking the process for customers in collections/enforcement and handling communication with law firms on the entrepreneur's behalf.

Through GoThrive collections is one of the services we offer clients - trained and experienced freelancers can take this complex task off a client's plate.

3. Expense tracking and budget optimization

You've surely said it many times: Where is my money going, and where do all these expenses come from?

A freelancer can help here by:

• Regularly entering expenses or maintaining records from accounting software.
• Categorizing expenses (e.g., marketing, office supplies, travel expenses...)
• Identifying unnecessary expenses, analyzing which expense categories are growing, and how you can save.
• Sourcing supplier quotes on your behalf (comparing offers by price, reviews, delivery times...).
• Setting budgets by category together with the external collaborator, who will then handle tracking and reporting.

For even more efficient expense tracking, the freelancer can use monday.com, where the client can easily create charts and visual breakdowns of expenses by category through dashboards, and track the monthly budget limit and usage percentage.

4. Payroll preparation

Sick leave, vacation days, overtime, per diems, in-kind wage records... add deadlines and spreadsheets on top, and things can get confusing and stressful. A freelancer can significantly ease this process by collecting and updating all the necessary data for the accountant in a timely manner.

A freelancer can keep records with all relevant employee data, check the accuracy of the data before it's sent to accounting, fill out spreadsheets covering sick leave and in-kind wage benefits, and track taxable and non-taxable income...

5. Preparing documentation and sending it to accounting

An outsourced accounting firm is there to record all business transactions, calculate VAT/TAX, and prepare year-end reports, but all the behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done for accounting also takes time. A freelancer steps in here by checking that all invoices and documents are correct, contacting suppliers and customers if there are errors or missing invoices, sorting and sending invoices to accounting, and taking over all related communication on the client's behalf.

Once an outside collaborator manages this process, the client no longer has to waste time hunting for invoices in their inbox, comparing statements, and checking whether everything has been sent.

Financial administration is an extremely important and demanding part of running any business, since it affects the company's overall functioning from well-organized finances and data accuracy, to better collaboration with accounting and a lower risk of errors.

A freelancer takes over tasks that sometimes get pushed aside or never get done at all, which can cause problems down the line. This lets the client focus on other things that are equally crucial to their business, and sometimes simply allows them to end the workday earlier and enjoy their free time.

As a member of the GoThrive Membership program, Hana continuously develops her skills through training in fiscalization, collections, and digital mail organization, which further helps her work with clients on the financial-administrative side of their business.

Hana Janjanin is a finance and administration freelancer, specializing in invoice and quote creation, collections, and communication with customers and suppliers. She is a member of the GoThrive freelancer community, where she continues to develop her skills through training and collaboration with the team.

Contact: hanajanjanin@gmail.com