Cynthia in A/P and I had a great relationship. Until tax time arrived and 1099’s needed to be sent out. Cynthia gave me paperwork requests which didn’t make sense and caused me hours of busy work.
Our team leader, the accounting manager, had no expectations and no documentation requirements for the 1099 process. After the umpteenth argument between Cynthia and I about who needed 1099’s, according to the current law, I insisted our manager decide on some rules. We wrote them down, and our team agreed to them.
When 1099 paperwork came around the following year, instead of an overflowing laundry basket of follow up requests, I received only a handful. Therefore, Cynthia received most of her documents promptly. A mere few confused suppliers required research, not 40.
As a manager, you may feel you have the smartest team in the world. That doesn’t mean they all have the same expectations on a project outcome or they’re all working from the same blueprint. Cynthia and I looked at the 1099 project from entirely different perspectives.
It’s imperative to set guidelines and scope for your team on their projects and be crystal clear on the outcome desired. Otherwise, your team wastes time bickering jeopardizing project completion and possibly harming your business.
When the accounting manager set the 1099 guidelines to apply only to services and rents above $600 for the IRS specified class of companies, the follow-up list reduced to less than ten suppliers. Previously, the follow-up list included expense reimbursements and corporations.
Your teams can move your business forward. Don’t squander the resource by turning them loose in a desert with no map.
Small Business Solutions 