ePLATFORMS

The Use of Social Media in My Daily Work

As a financial specialist, working with start-ups, my role involves budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and internal communication across multiple stakeholders. I often collaborate with the sales teams, accountants, CEOs, HR, and developers in real time. Social media and digital communication have become pivotal tools in organizing and streamlining many tasks.

My Current Job role and Digital tools in Use

My current job involves handling various financial and administrative operations for a tech startup. Tasks include managing accounts payable and receivable, processing employee reimbursements, preparing payroll inputs, updating the monthly financial model, and adding new employees to our system. I work in a hybrid environment where team communication and real-time updates are critical. The key digital tools I use daily are:-

Slack – The main channel for internal communication, team collaboration, and department status updates. This is used to get real-time responses when clarifying information to process a task. This ensures there is no bottleneck in the process stemming from delayed information.

Google Meet—For virtual meetings with remote colleagues and stakeholders. Since we are completely remote or are not required to work from the office, Google Meet is often used to coordinate operations between and across teams.

ClickUp – A project management tool that tracks tasks, deadlines, and team assignments. This tool tracks our projects from receipt of purchase order to payment and delivery, with other steps in between. I use clickUp to assign tasks to others in my team, mainly the CEO and the CFO, and also complete tasks they assign to me.

Netvisor. – A cloud-based accounting software that allows real-time financial reporting, VAT declarations, payroll preparations, and general ledger maintenance. This is the heart of the company’s financial operations. I use Netvisor to create and send invoices, factually verify incoming invoices, input expense claims, and get reports of our financial performance, among other things.

Visma Scanner – An app that captures and uploads receipts and invoices directly into our accounting software. It simplifies expense tracking and document storage by digitizing paper documents on the go. This tool is handy when employees submit expense claims or when suppliers provide physical receipts.

These tools help me coordinate my work and, when used effectively, reduce manual errors, speed up decision-making, and enhance collaborations across the various teams in my organisation.

Five New Tools for Potential Use

I will evaluate five social media or digital tools that I have not previously used actively, but see strong potential for integration into my daily workflow.

LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a professional networking platform with built-in learning resources like LinkedIn Learning.

Although I use LinkedIn for job searches and professional networking, I see a strong potential in using it to keep me up-to-date in my field through following the trends in my field and through LinkedIn learning. Through LinkedIn learning, I could follow courses related to financial analysis, project management, Excel, and leadership, enhancing my skills and staying updated on industry trends.

Pros:

• Access to thousands of professional courses.
• Keeps users informed on updates in their field.
• Can serve as a learning portfolio tied to professional visibility.

Cons:

• Requires a paid subscription for full access.
• Self-paced learning requires discipline to stay consistent.

Why it was chosen: LinkedIn can be transformed from a passive job-search tool into an active learning and professional development platform that aligns with long-term career goals.

Miro is a digital whiteboard platform allowing teams to collaborate visually in real time.

I have created most of the Excel reports and the project profitability analysis Excel templates on occasions when I needed to collaborate with the CEO, CFO, or individual teams to explain or expand on the profitability model or the design and functionality of the timesheet report (which is a key component of all profitability reports). I can map the process in Miro, and we can then update it as needed.

This would be useful in financial planning meetings and to document our financial processes, as they are not currently documented.

Pros:

• Excellent for visual learners and creative brainstorming.
• Encourages teamwork and increases participation.
• Can be used in virtual workshops to replace in-person whiteboard sessions.

Cons:

• It may be time-consuming to set up detailed boards.
• Team members need time to learn the interface for optimal use.

Why it was chosen: Miro was selected for its potential to enhance financial discussions through visual representation and brainstorming.

Todist – A personal productivity and task management app

Todist can serve as my personal reminder application for critical deadlines such as payroll cutoffs, reminders to follow up on due invoices, and due invoices according to upcoming job completion, as stated on the customer’s purchase order. This application would supplement ClickUp by tracking smaller recurring tasks unsuitable for a team-wide board.

Pros:

• Clean, distraction-free interface.
• Integration with Gmail and Google Calendar.
• Helps prioritize work with labels, filters, and project categories.

Cons:

• Might overlap with functionality already in ClickUp. and Netvisor
• Not ideal for team-wide project visibility.

Why it was chosen: It is useful for maintaining my daily focus and ensuring personal accountability, especially during busy reporting periods.

Evernote – A cloud-based note-taking and organizing app.

Evernote can be used to keep notes from weekly finance meetings, ideas for process improvements, my daily work plan, or a list of recurring monthly tasks. I can also use this application to track where I spend my time daily, being able to give more detail than I do in Clockify.. With Evernote, I can also store screenshots of error messages and material I may need for future reference.

Pros:

• Excellent organization through notebooks and tags.
• Accessible on multiple devices.

Cons:

• The free version has limited storage.
• Might overlap with other tools like Google Docs or ClickUp.

Why it was chosen: It helps create an easily searchable and always available personal knowledge base and event log.

iAuditor – a mobile-first inspection and operations platform. It allows teams to digitize inspections, audits, and operational workflows.

This tool is a mobile-first inspection and operations platform. It allows teams to digitize inspections, audits, and operational workflows. It could also help track recurring financial review processes and improve departmental accountability.

Pros:

• Customizable templates and checklists.
• Supports offline use and automatic report generation.
• Encourages standardization and transparency.

Cons:

• Setup time may be required to create tailored finance templates.
• Some features may require a paid plan.

Why it was chosen: As financial operations become more complex, iAuditor offers a way to ensure consistency, compliance, and traceability in financial workflows.

The successful implementation and usage of digital tools depend on several factors. Below, I have listed and expanded on these factors:

Ease of Use—Tools should be intuitive so team members can adopt them without long training. Their purpose is to simplify tasks and processes, and a cumbersome tool will have the opposite effect.

Integration – Integration with current tools like Slack, Google (calendar, sheet, drive), or Netvisor would enhance usability.

Security—Since sensitive financial data and some company secrets are shared, the tools must have secure access controls and data encryption.

Scalability – Tools should support growing team sizes and increased data volumes.

Purpose – A tool should solve an actual problem or add significant value to an existing workflow.

Support and Updates– The tools should be well-maintained and have active development and support.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Media at Work

Using social media and digital tools at work has advantages and disadvantages that must be weighed carefully. On the positive side, these tools significantly improve communication by enabling real-time messaging and instant status updates, which reduce the need for lengthy meetings and emails. Tools like Google Sheets make collaboration on financial data seamless and transparent, while platforms like LinkedIn support professional development and upskilling. The accessibility of cloud-based tools ensures that employees can work effectively from different locations, increasing flexibility. Additionally, interactive tools like Miro encourage greater participation and engagement in team projects, particularly during virtual collaboration. However, there are also drawbacks. Social media and digital platforms can be distracting if not appropriately managed, potentially reducing productivity. Having too many overlapping tools may confuse users and lead to inefficiencies. Security is another concern, as improper use or settings could expose sensitive financial data to unauthorized access.

Conclusion

Integrating digital tools and social media platforms into my daily work has significantly improved my productivity, responsiveness, and organization. Tools like Google Sheets and Netvisor are essential for accurately and transparently performing financial work. Slack and ClickUp foster communication and collaboration.

Exploring tools like Miro, Todoist, Evernote, and Doodle can further enhance how I document, plan, and communicate at work. These tools offer scalable and practical ways to solve everyday challenges, provided they are chosen with purpose and used effectively.

Self-evaluation

I consider myself digitally fluent and proactive about experimenting with new tools. I am open to testing technologies that improve workflows and data handling. However, I acknowledge the need to continuously evaluate tool effectiveness and minimize redundancies. I aim to strengthen my automation skills and explore integrations that reduce manual tasks. I can further optimize productivity and team engagement with better planning and tool selection.

Going forward, I will focus on using digital tools to work faster and smarter, supporting better decision-making, documentation, and collaboration.