The Admin’s Role

Every day the Admin is checking for new clients to bill, SEO reports to generate, Blueprints to process, existing memberships to update, licenses to renew, transactions to record/reconcile, meetings to set up, payroll hours to submit, and any calls/emails that may have been missed by the Key. These are typically “low priority” tasks that don’t always have strict deadlines, but ultimately are important.

Monday Morning meeting

Prior to the Monday morning meeting, the Admin should know the current bank balance to help the Owner make financial decisions, as well as an overview of how much was spent the previous week on projects, especially when working with freelancers or 3^rd-party services, as these affect the bottom line on any project. They should also be aware of any unanswered calls/emails from the week prior.

During the meeting, the Admin will take notes on upcoming expenses based on project needs, take on overflow tasks from other team members with impacted schedules, and offer to stay in the Sales meeting to note any meetings that need to be set up or followed up on behalf of the Rep.

Initial Handoff

When the Rep makes a sale, they are expected to fill out a Blueprint and meet with the Key. The Admin should attend the meeting and take notes, especially on larger projects. It’s up to the Admin to ensure that Blueprint makes its way to the project management software appropriately so the Key can do their job and that the client knows what we need from them. This entails setting up deadlines for each Phase of the project and purchasing any 3^rd-party software needed to get a project done. The Key can also have the Admin communicate what is needed from the client, such as getting necessary login information.

Daily Expectation

The Admin should always know what’s on the calendar, what the Sales Rep needs, the status of projects from an internal or client standpoint, as well as where the business stands financially on any given day. They should be ready to switch gears at any moment to set up an appointment for a Rep or Key, answer client phone calls, respond to an urgent email/text message, or dial out and work on the backend of the business, like accounting or documentation for a new software being set up. The Owner or a client may even interrupt them to ask for a cup of coffee (assuming they are in the office and not virtual).

The Admin works very closely with the Sales Rep to ensure no potential (or existing) client gets forgotten, sending SEO Reports, Accessibility Reports, scheduling virtual or in-person appointments, and reminding the Sales Rep of those appointments.

Daily Task List

While the Key is at the center of the business, the Admin is equally important behind the scenes. While most of the team focuses on the product, the Admin is focused on getting the paperwork right and making everyone else’s job easy. An admin ensures all the miscellaneous tasks that keep the doors open get done and that the Key doesn’t get overwhelmed with managing projects. They may be an underappreciated role, but not here!

These tasks are specific to an in-office Administrative Assistant and include some “Personal Assistant” tasks for the Owners.

“First Thing” Tasks

Generally, do these when you walk in the door before anything else, unless told otherwise. Rarely is there an emergency when you walk in the door, so always keep priorities/urgency in mind when being tasked daily. Usually, it can wait!

(In-Person only) Manage the office:

• Throw away any trash, empty trash can, put bags in.
• Organize your desk, file anything that doesn’t need to be out.
• Organize break area, restock water for coffee, napkins, cups, etc.
• Organize fridge, throw out anything expired, refill energy drinks.
• Note any office items that need to be restocked for ordering.
• Sweep the floor at least weekly.
• Ask anyone in-office if they’d like coffee or anything from the store. Do this often, it’s awesome!

Prepare yourself and others for the day ahead:

• Look at the calendar for any double bookings/conflicts in meetings.
• Check voicemail, Cytracom texts, and emails for any requests for specific appointments and double-check availability.
• Keep Cytracom open to answer incoming calls.
• Send a reminder email/note to ALL meeting attendees:
  • Be specific about the person and purpose of the meeting, as sometimes it’s unclear and should be investigated beforehand. For example, is it a sales meeting or an administrative meeting?
  • If the meeting is in the morning, send the reminder the day prior, as often it’s useless to send a reminder less than an hour beforehand.
  • If the meeting is in the afternoon, you can send it the same day at least an hour beforehand.
• If any upcoming meetings are sales-related:
  • Make sure the Rep has any necessary notes going into the meeting, such as website URL or any recent updates/communications from a potential client. For example, have they received a DocuSign yet?
  • Be sure to include an SEO Report in the email reminder to the attendees if applicable. Feel free to ask the Rep if this is needed.
  • Follow up with both the Rep and client, if necessary, to confirm the location of the meeting (in-person, virtual, or over the phone). Generally, the preference is to meet in person for sales. The client should know how to log into the video conferencing software if it’s virtual. Obviously, the phone is easiest but only preferred for quick meetings or non-tech-savvy clients.
  • Ask the Rep if they would like you to attend and take notes.
• If any meetings are Key-related:
  • Ensure the Key has necessary notes going into the meeting, such as a Blueprint from the client to do an initial review and/or the latest updates/communication from the client. If neither of these applies, then the meeting will likely need to be rescheduled until the Key has those items.
  • Follow up with both the Key and client, if necessary, to confirm the location of the meeting (in-person, virtual, or over the phone). Generally, the preference is to meet virtually over Google Meet. The client should know how to log into the video conferencing software if that’s the case. Obviously, the phone is easiest but only preferred for quick meetings or non-tech-savvy clients.
  • Ask the Key if they would like you to attend and take notes.

Get Started

Now that you’ve prepared yourself and others for the day, you can move onto your assigned tasks. The rest of these tasks may not come before one-off tasks and are up to your own prioritization schedule.

• Check emails for urgent and administrative matters.
• If it’s an urgent matter, make sure all relevant parties are notified with action steps in place. You may be asked to call or send an email on behalf of someone, especially if it’s a simple “we’re looking into this, we’ll update you ASAP!”
• Respond to emails that don’t require any input from others.
• Administrative emails/tasks typically include:
  • Billing:
    • Checking that an invoice was paid in QuickBooks (especially when it comes to hosting/domains)
    • Creating a Sales Receipt and auto-billing clients that have either DocuSigned, called to provide a credit card or existing clients that have agreed to additional services and already have their information saved.
    • Following up with client and Key if invoices aren’t paid in a reasonable amount of time. For example, if hosting bills aren’t paid 30 days after they’re due, their website needs to be Suspended.
    • Notify a client if their site has been auto suspended.
    • Review and correct any failed transactions (it will pop up on the home screen). These are usually due to canceled credit cards, and we need to get a new one on file.
  • Setting up an appointment.
  • Blueprint Submission that needs to be entered into the project management software.
  • Tasks essential to the operation of the business, such as a business license, LLC renewal, setting up new systems, payroll, taxes, utilities, etc.
  • Anything that falls outside of direct responsibility of the other roles, or other roles are too busy to handle (remember, the Key is always right until they are wrong!)
  • Following up on the above administrative matters with all necessary parties as needed. It’s common that bills don’t get paid right away or clients have follow-up questions.
• Reference your prioritization tree for ongoing tasks.

End of Day

These are things to do approximately 15-30 minutes prior to clocking out. This is where you put an end to daily tasks and make notes to pick up where you left off the next day.

• Note down phone calls, a general list of clients communicated with, and tasks completed for an End of Day Report.
• Note what tasks are still open/need to be followed up on, and update priorities if necessary.
• Email or meet with an Owner or Key on what you did depending on their availability.

Clean up the office (In-Person only):

• Throw away any trash, empty trash can, put bags in.
• Organize your desk, file anything that doesn’t need to be out.
• Organize break area, restock water for coffee, napkins, cups, etc.
• Organize fridge, throw out anything expired, refill energy drinks.
• Note any office items that need to be restocked for ordering.
• Sweep the floor at least weekly.

End of Week

This also lines up with the Key, where tasks can easily be forgotten over the weekend. The Admin should note down tasks that are incomplete and re-prioritize to become urgent for the following week in tandem with the Key.