A - Z Challenge: (My New) Quest

Okay, so this isn't a book review. I haven't read anything that starts with Q. So, I am taking a tiny break from my book review theme of the A - Z Challenge.

My new "quest" can also be called a part-time job! I believe I've mentioned before that Boyfriend manages a tiny water district in a tiny mountain town. He started just after Thanksgiving. Well, the office gal they had up and quit in January, leaving the water company high and dry. She cited in her resignation letter that Boyfriend had his own personal agenda and she couldn't just sit there and watch it happen. No one knows what the hell she was talking about because Boyfriend is trying to get the water company back into good standing with the state and trying to get grants to redo the systems. I digress.

For a month Boyfriend pestered the board of directors to hire me as their new office gal. All of March they himmed and hawed over this until finally, two of them said, "We really need someone! When can she start?" They were unsure of hiring me because I am living with Boyfriend and that is considered nepotism. Those two finally convinced the third board member to agree to hiring me. Oh to live and work in Small Town, America. lol

Since April 2nd I've been slaving away. It's supposed to be a part-time job, just a few hours a week. Five or ten hours, really. I've been working so hard and way more than ten hours a week. The last office gal who is supposedly also a "bookkeeper" sucks at filing. I have been filing papers from the last ten years that have just been "swept under the rug" so to speak and shoved in a random filing cabinet. The board members took over receiving customer payments and paying bills.

I've been thrown in (actually I kind of jumped) into the deep end, never having worked for a water company before. My quest or goal is to make them run more efficiently and with fewer errors. Today alone (I'm writing this on Wednesday) I spoke with three customers regarding errors on their accounts. Two had sent in nasty notes on their statements, but luckily for me they were very nice and understanding when I explained my situation and were so appreciative that I had taken the time to call them to let them know I had fixed the errors. One customer showed up in person and was so happy that someone seemed to be keeping "office hours". We discussed her past due amounts and she happily agreed to sign a contract stating exactly how much she would pay each month until her account was paid in full.

Then I had a guy from a bank call me regarding a lien on a property due to lack of payment as the house had evidently been repossessed. I explained that I was new to the water company and asked him to list exactly what he needed from me. He gave me his email and phone to give him the information and to let him know if I had any questions.

Mom came up on Tuesday to teach me how to do payroll taxes. I've never done payroll or their taxes before. Mom's a good teacher, and she got me all squared away. She even offered to come up to help me get the office running like it should. She worked for a water company for over 20 years and knows this stuff inside and out. Thank God for my mother!

It's been an interesting two weeks with the new job, I can tell you that. And I plan to edit their billing statements, get them using Quick Books for more than just the basics (because I know it can do so much more), the filing completely caught up, accounts payable and receivables properly lined out, the office clean, and make them more efficient overall. It's going to take some time.

 

I get home each day and even if I've only worked three or four hours, I am so mentally drained . . . I'm exhausted! But I am accomplishing things little by little. And that makes me happy.