Productivity Guides for Small Businesses

Billed publishes these productivity articles. They're grouped by what you're trying to do, with a line on what each one covers.

Where an article compares software, it describes each tool from the vendor's own pages. Check those pages before you choose.

Planning and running projects

Stages, schedules and the tools that keep a project on track.

Project management
What you manage on a project, its stages, milestones, Gantt charts and the critical path, and who runs a project in a small business.
The stages of project management
The five stages of a project, and a five-stage schedule with one slip.
Project management tools for small business
What a small team needs, the tools, rolling one out to your team and checking a project against its budget.
Project management tools for freelancers
What a solo freelancer needs, the tools, a month with two projects and setting up your tool.

Planning your day and recording the hours you bill.

Time management techniques
Sorting tasks by importance and urgency, choosing three tasks for the day, timed work intervals, starting with the task you're dreading and breaking large tasks down.
Time tracking practices
Tracking time as you work, logging each entry against a client, project and task, non-billable time, readable descriptions and one rounding rule.
Time tracking software for freelancers
What to check before you choose, the tools, how rounding changes an hourly invoice and where project management fits.

Writing work down so it can be repeated, handed off or automated.

Automating business tasks
Listing tasks that repeat, writing the steps down, choosing where to automate, testing on a small batch and giving each automation an owner.
Standard operating procedures
Choosing which processes to document, having the person who does the work write it, one structure for every SOP and testing it with someone else.
Delegating tasks
Choosing what to hand off and to whom, writing a brief that describes the result, checking progress and giving feedback.
Organizing business files
A main folder structure, one naming convention, access, backups and versions, and how long to keep records in the US.

Working as a remote team and handling day-to-day HR tasks.

Remote work productivity
Protecting time for focused work, putting updates in writing, keeping meetings for decisions, setting availability and planning handoffs across time zones.
HR tasks for small businesses
Planning the team, hiring, onboarding, employee records and required notices, regular feedback and the employee experience.

Finding where money goes and testing changes before you make them.

Reducing business overhead
Listing overhead costs, separating fixed and variable costs, auditing subscriptions, renegotiating before renewals and fixing process waste.
Increasing profitability
The four levers on profit, and how to test a change before you make it.

What each vendor says its tools do, and what to check first.

AI tools for small business finance
AI use among US businesses, what each vendor says its tools do and what to check before you turn AI on.
Accounting software for freelancers
What to check, the tools, one month's profit and record-keeping habits for any tool.
Expense tracking apps for small business
What to check, the apps, one month of expenses by category and habits that keep records usable.