Sorry, I ruined your 1337 karma. What do you use to stay organized? I have a friend who was in the same position as you and they're around 15 people now. Their problem is staying organized, everything is paper.
Staying organized is a huge burden! One of the ways I've helped them organize, is by moving to digital communication wherever I can:
- Customer leads are almost 100% digital (Website, Google Ads, Yelp). This means they can reply back and forth without having to call, so no paperwork is necessary until they're customers. Everyone involved seems to appreciate this.
- Estimates and invoices are delivered digitally, we currently use Waveapps, which is good enough for the small business for now. This allows us to keep track of who has/hasn't paid yet. This is a huge help with staying on top of things.
- My parents aren't tech people, so after much trying with iCal/Gcal, their best calendar to work with is actually an old fashioned paper one. Used to keep track of estimates, and project scheduling.
- Ultimately we've had to hire a 3rd party to help with tracking worker hours, payroll, and taxes. Yes there's payroll software, but again because my parents aren't tech people and they're currently at their wits just running the business, it was best to hire outside help. I'd like to help with this, but I work full-time, and screwing this up can result in extremely steep fines to the business.
- Really the only new paperwork we have to deal with on an ongoing basis is storing copies of customer contracts.
