Kid's Matters' Booking Office

Kid's Matters Occupational Therapy has been operating since 2003.  They are Brisbane's largest paediatric occupational therapy practice and are staffed by experienced therapists.  The practice provides a full range of occupational therapy services including comprehensive assessment, treatment, school and home visits, holiday intensives for rural and remote clients and is currently expanding its capacity for the training of junior occupational therapists and rural outreach services.

Vivienne Williams (AccOT) is the principal of  Kid's Matters.  In mid 2008, with her business expanding rapidly, Viv recognised that she was at a point where her front-of-house processes were letting her down.  Her single phone line and extremely capable part-time administration staff were working to capacity, but still there was a lot of work that wasn't getting done.  Viv turned to ABS Office and talked to us about what her business needed. 

Viv's vision of a professionally run business offering a consistent standard of service was a starting point for us.  Kid's Matters was now effectively operating from multiple locations, their clinic in Sherwood and from ABS Office in Cleveland and Toowong.  We're a multi-locational business ourselves, so we understand the challenges such businesses can face.  We recognise that businesses operating from multiple locations need a phone number that isn't exchange specific.  A consistent standard of service also requires management systems and operational processes that support it. 

We provide Viv with a 1300 number for Kid's Matters.  The 1300 number tells her clientele right from the start that Kid's Matters is serious about its business.  The ABS Office telephone system also allows multiple, simultaneous calls to be answered.  So no more engaged signals, unanswered telephones or business hours voicemails for Kid's Matters' clients.  The calls are answered professionally by our trained receptionists and are either handled by the receptionists directly or transferred to the appropriate staff at the Kid's Matters Administration Office.

With the phones being answered professionally, ABS Office then set about working with Viv and her team, helping with her processes.  Our aim, and it's an ongoing challenge as both our businesses grow, is to simplify, standardise and consistently apply policies and procedures that both the Kid's Matters and the ABS Office teams can follow.  We helped Viv to move from her paper based booking system to a web based calendar management system.  Kid's Matters has outgrown the original solution and so we've upgraded to a different solution that better suits their needs as a growing practice.  We've also designed and built a workflow management system that is used to manage tasks within and between Kid's Matters and ABS Office.

Viv quite often comments that her business would not be where it is today without ABS Office.  That is the best testimonial we could ever get.  We're excited about the direction and future of Kid's Matters, and we're proud to be associated with them.   If you're interested in learning more about Kid's Matters, have a look at their website .

Phone answering made easy

Deanne* is a busy house painter, and someone who loves to talk to people.  She has found however that her penchant for chatting with potential clients has been cutting into the time that she spends actually painting.  She also found that answering her mobile phone while she's busy is nigh on impossible, leaving her with copious missed calls and never-ending voicemails to listen to when she did have a break.  Add to that the increasing number of telemarketing calls she was receiving and Deanne was losing the battle with the phone.

Deanne contacted ABS Office to discuss the options available to help her business.  Deanne was able to customise a virtual office solution that was both affordable and very effective.

A full time receptionist, without the full time cost....

The initial solution for Deanne was an enhanced answering service, also known as a Virtual Receptionist Service.  A virtual receptionist service provides much more than an answering service can hope to provide.  ABS Office's virtual receptionists provide Deanne's callers with basic information about Deanne's services.  The callers are never aware that they have called a virtual office.

Deanne was given a number of options for how she receives her message.  She chose the SMS option, receiving her messages immediately, and she can schedule her return calls based on the priority of the call.  She also chose to receive a list of her messages at the end of each day, as a second checkpoint so that she can be sure she has returned all her calls.  Her daily messages are archived and held for Deanne by ABS Office, so she'll never lose that crucial number again! 

Deanne has big plans for her business' future, so ABS Office also provides Deanne with a 1300 number.  A 1300 number enhances the impression that callers will have of a business, whilst providing a business with incredible flexibility for where a call is answered.  The business can choose a number of different answering points based on the time of day and/or the caller's location.  For Deanne it meant freedom from the mobile!!  Her calls are answered by ABS Office during the day on her dedicated phone line in the ABS Office system. Deanne has chosen to have her 1300 number directed to her mobile phone in the evenings until 8pm.  After that time, the 1300 number is directed to ABS Office's voicemail system.  Each morning, the ABS Office virtual receptionists will transcribe the voicemails and send them to Deanne.

A virtual assistant, professionally managing your diary....

Deanne visits potential clients to provide them with obligation free quotes.  Initially, Deanne still scheduled these appointments into her diary by calling people back in the evenings.  ABS Office suggested that they could help with this.  So Deanne set aside specific times for appointments, and ABS Office took over managing her diary.  Deanne's schedule is faxed to her each evening.

All in all, Deanne's business has benefited from her decision to partner with ABS Office.  By being more focused on her business, she's been able to increase the number of jobs she gets through each month, and has employed an apprentice to assist her to grow the business - although she does admit that employing an offsider was partly to give her someone to talk to!!!

Mobile Professional stays mobile

Bernie* is a consultant.  His clients are spread throughout Australia, requiring him to travel extensively.  Because he was away so often and for so long, Bernie found that he was missing important mail and worse still, he sometimes missed paying important bills.  In order to grow his business, Bernie asked ABS Office to devise a Virtual Office solution that would provide him with the support he needed to run his business.

Mail delivery to your inbox - another virtual office service...

Bernie has redirected his mail to ABS Office's post office box.  ABS Office collects his mail each day, opens it and forwards it electronically to Bernie whereever he may be.  Bernie has also taken up the bookkeeping services offered by ABS Office.  He doesn't have to worry about getting paperwork to his bookkeeper because she receives it electronically at the same time as Bernie.  The upshot is that Bernie's time is now his own - he remains in control of his finances, but without the ball & chain of having to keep track of everything himself.

Every call answered....

Joe's Windows & Blinds* is a thriving business built on Joe's dedication to personalised service.  Joe's wife, Dianne, works in the office, looking after Joe's schedule and the books.  As the business grew, so too did the number of calls coming into the office each day.  Joe & Dianne found that some calls were not being answered because Dianne was on the phone, or out of the office, doing the banking or collecting the post.  Unable to afford to employ a full time receptionist, they explored using an answering machine, but felt that was too impersonal for their business. 

The solution?   An overflow arrangement with ABS Virtual Office answering the calls that Dianne can't answer, means that none of Joe & Dianne's callers miss out. 

Virtual receptionists will give you more freedom....

All callers' details are emailed to Dianne who can call clients back, or notify Joe of schedule changes.  ABS Office even takes credit card payments over the phone, securely transferring the details to Dianne so she can process the payments.   Joe & Dianne are pleased that they are still in control of their business and their clients are receiving the personal service on which Joe's Windows & Blinds has staked its reputation.

*Names have been changed to protect client confidentiality