Efficiency Tips: General and Administrative Duties

I work at a CRO so we have a fairly robust on-line expense reporting system and a thorough web-based system for reporting our billable and non-billable time through an interactive on-line timesheet. Well, I don't have the new iPhone and we still can't access the internet while in-flight so I am not exactly on-line all the time. The result of this is that I have a tendency to get behind in both my expense reports and time reporting.

Complete administrative tasks
while on the road by booking
hotels that have well-appointed
business centers. Internet access,
printing, copying, faxing, scanning,
and a FedEx drop are a major help.

Timely reporting of billable hours and submission of accurate expense reports are two of the main conditions of my employment. My other big responsibilities are showing up when and where I am supposed to for site visits/teleconferences (that includes making travel arrangements far enough in advance that I am getting the best fares and being cost-conscious for my company and the study sponsor) and getting my reports done on time. I'm never actually late with reports, timesheets, or expense reports, but at times, I have felt like I was not always as on top of it as I would like to have been.

For each of these job responsibilties I have a few tips that have helped me stay under the radar of the big bosses and consistently make my submissions accurately and on-time. I'm always on the lookout for new methods of reducing my workload and working more efficiently, so feel free to post a comment with other suggestions. This is a big topic and I have a lot to say so I will tackle it in three different posts: MV Reports, Timesheets, and Expense Reports

I hope you find this series helpful!