How to Simplify the Business Side of Photography

I think we can all agree that the fun part of being a photographer is taking photos and interacting with clients.

I think we can also agree that the less-than-fun aspects of photography are all the business tasks that seem to take up so much of the day.

You know, managing tasks, creating contracts, following up on leads, and so forth.

These are necessary evils of the self-employed photographer, no matter how much time they eat up over the course of the day.

But what if I told you that there’s a way you can simplify the business side of photography and spend much less time managing your studio and much more time actually taking photos?

The big secret, you ask?

It’s called Iris Works.

The life of a photographer and a business owner is a busy one, and things just always seem to pile up. I’m sure you know the feeling!

That’s what’s so great about Iris Works — it gets you organized so that you don’t waste precious time trying to remember what you’re doing today or what invoices still need to be sent out.

Iris Works gives you a studio dashboard where you can see your entire business life all on one page. And when I say “your entire business life,” I mean it!

There’s immediate access to your to-do list, your calendar, and what projects you’re working on. Heck, it’ll even tell you what the weather will be like for your shoot tomorrow.

That means that in just a few seconds of interacting with the dashboard, you know exactly what’s going on that day to keep you on track.
Speaking of Keeping on Track…

Iris Works includes many handy features, including one called Workflows that keeps you at the point of the spear, so to speak, that way no important task ever passes you by again.

You can set up timelines so you tackle necessary tasks in a timely fashion and manage the to-do lists I mentioned above, complete with due dates so you know what needs to be done and when.

What’s more, Workflows helps you stay on top of sending out client questionnaires and invoices too. You can even load your email templates right into Iris Works and incorporate them into your Workflows for seamless, automated communication with your clients.

That means that if you typically send an email to a client asking questions after they book with you or to remind them of what to wear before their session, you can now have your virtual assistant, Iris, do it for you. You still get that all-important personal touch in your emails, but without the hours and hours of work to do it.
Iris Works Handles Contracts (and other paperwork Too)

One of the biggest pains of being a self-employed photographer is all the documentation that’s required.

You need contracts, of course, and you need to keep track of who’s signed them and who hasn’t.

You need to create invoices, send them out, and collect payments as well.

That’s a lot of paperwork, to be sure, but Iris Works streamlines the processof chasing all that paper.

You can create custom contracts for any occasion and even send them electronically for an e-signature. That makes it incredibly easy to track who’s signed what. And that’s not limited to client contracts, either. You can send and track model release forms, and print releases with Iris Works as well.

What’s more, Iris Works gives you the tools you need to create invoices for each client. Not only that, Iris Works will send your invoices, track who’s paid and who hasn’t, and send your clients a receipt once they’ve paid.

You can even see your annual revenue to keep tabs on your income, and with integration with PayPal, Square, Stripe, and Quickbooks Online, Iris Works even makes collecting payments super easy. That’s a feature that is sure to get your business off on the right foot!