Office Management Services
Eva Harvey, owner of Office Management Services with 30 years of experience, admits that she held on to paper and manual processes for too long. Then, when her husband retired and they began preparing to move from California to Washington, she was sure that she would have to leave her business behind.
“I thought about selling it [the business] when my husband and I decided to move, but the work I would have had to put into successfully transitioning my clients to someone else didn’t seem worth it,” Harvey explained. “Then I just thought about giving my client base to another bookkeeping professional; it seemed like the most logical choice. It never occurred to me that I could take my business with me out of state.”
Of course, she had not yet been introduced to cloud technologies.
Uncovering the answer
Harvey wasn’t looking for a resolution to her re-location issue, but she sure got it. Before her move to Washington, she was invited by a colleague to a networking meeting where leaders were talking about the value of cloud technologies—including SmartVault and Bill.com.
“It was a Sleeter Meetup Group, and the session was led by Charlie Russell,” Harvey explained. “He introduced us to Bill.com, and I was very impressed. I also learned about SmartVault that day. The cloud was a game changer.”
While at the meeting, Harvey talked to several people about her impending move and her idea to hand her clients over. She was quickly inundated with good advice.
“I had so many people tell me that I could take my entire business with me. They explained how cloud technologies allow you to serve clients from anywhere with ease. So, I got moving on moving to the cloud.”
Shortly after the meeting, Harvey contacted SmartVault. Implementation went smoothly, and she was soon up and running with her cloud-based document management system. Now re-located to the Seattle, Washington area, she is still serving her original client base…proving that you can take it with you!
“Now that I’ve transitioned to the cloud, I can’t imagine going back. I can support my clients with the same level of expert service, and all because I took the advice of some very smart and technology-savvy people.”
Working less while serving more
“I absolutely love that I’ve lost the paper and everything is digital now. When I travel to Sacramento twice a year to meet with clients, or when my husband and I take a vacation, I can take my entire office with me. I mainly travel with a small scanner and my laptop. I can serve my clients no matter if I’m in my office or not. If not for SmartVault, I guess I would have to travel with a filing cabinet,” Harvey joked.
To date, Harvey has successfully transitioned the majority of her client base to the cloud, supporting her ability to service clients remotely. “I have two clients that still require paper documents that I deliver to the post office, but the rest are onboard with electronically exchanging documents. I love that SmartVault puts all of my client files at my fingertips and supports me in running my business online.”
Because her office is now paper-free, Harvey also emphasized the time savings. “I no longer have to commute among clients, and I’m not spending time messing with paper. All of this saves me a great deal of time, which means I’m working less, yet serving my clients more efficiently. It’s a win-win for everyone. That’s real value.”
Final words
Harvey is very thankful for her life. She’s open and honest about how much she loves her job and the opportunity to serve a long list of happy clients.
“I’m very thankful for every one of my clients and to have been able to continue my business with no interruptions in service or quality, even after moving out of state. Now that I’ve transitioned to the cloud, I can’t imagine going back. I can support my clients with the same level of expert service, and all because I took the advice of some very smart and technology-savvy people.”
