Outsourced Appointment Manager

If you have a telephone, a computer with internet access, and are available during normal business hours, you have the potential to earn an income from home providing outsourced Appointment Management services! The benefits of outsourcing are becoming more apparent to business owners every day, leading to more contractual work for the stay at home parent. One such job is outsourced Appointment Management. The employer does not have to provide the outsourced Appointment Manager with an office space, provide benefits such as paid sick leave or 401k, provide group health, dental, or vision insurance coverage, nor withhold taxes. The work of an outsourced Appointment Manager is done on a contractual basis, from their home. The outsourced Appointment Manager is responsible for their own tax withholding, and considered "self-employed". The only real skills an outsourced Appointment Manager would need to possess are good speaking voice, and the ability to manage many tasks at once.

As an outsourced Appointment Manager, you would be required to work as a liaison between the business owner, involved persons within the business, and the customer/client. Appointment management generally consists of setting appointment dates and times, adapting related schedules in the event appointments must be cancelled, and sending appointment reminders to both the customer/client and related business personnel. Each business may vary in the manner they prefer you to handle this, but as an outsourced Appointment Manager, typically you would perform these tasks either over the telephone or via e-mail. As an outsourced Appointment Manager, you would need to have a separate phone line with call waiting that you can devote solely to business purposes, a computer with internet access, and preferably a hands free headset for your telephone. The benefit to being an outsourced Appointment Manager is that you can work from your home, your equipment investment is minimal, and your earning potential is practically unlimited. A well organized outsource Appointment Manager can handle the scheduling needs of several businesses at once.

When determining the amount you should charge for your services as an outsourced Appointment Manager, you should first consider the business in need of this service. If this were an in-house position, it would be considered secretarial/clerical and probably entry level. What does this business pay for those positions? Bear in mind, you are already saving the business quite a bit in the benefits they do not have to pay you or offer you, so you want to set your price for your outsourced Appointment Management service within the range you believe they are currently paying for entry level clerical/secretarial positions. For tax purposes, always get your contracts in writing with the rate of pay clearly defined. Keep all records of payment! You may wish to pay your taxes periodically throughout the year, and the IRS can provide you with Vouchers to do so. When filing your taxes at the end of the year, you will most likely want to file a Form 1099, self employed tax return.