Smart City Work Diaries – Meet Ashli

Smart City, back at it again with the Work Diaries. Next up, one of Smart City’s brightest gems, a numbers ninja and OG of the Finance Department, Meet Ashli! If you’re not into spreadsheets and the word “finance” makes you shudder, have no fear; this dry-whitted, accounting generalist is here (with one surprise after another to keep you, and everyone around her, entertained). 

Married to Quickbooks by day and flag football star by night, one can find her bouncing between spreadsheets and invoices, the Dollar General (don’t judge, they have some good deals), Target, and camp gladiator. She’s also quite skilled at multitasking things like meal prepping while watching ANY sports game with her fiance, or getting a pulse of what’s hot on YouTube while waiting for her morning alarm to go off because her internal clock clearly hates her (peep her Wednesday start time; no thanks).

Ashli started with Smart City as an Invoicing Specialist almost three years ago and was recently promoted to Accounting Generalist–a goal she’s worked hard for and is already dominating. Read more for an insider’s look at her first official week in the new role!

MONDAY

5:45 am – No need to wake up this early, but my inner alarm clock won’t let me live. 6 am on the dot, my puppy is ready to go outside and play fetch with her rope. My alarm goes off at 6:50 (thanks for nothing), I bug my fiance about still being in bed, get ready and head out the door, most likely forgetting the lunch I packed for myself.

9:00 am – I was early this morning, so I grabbed the usual suspect from Starbucks – grande chai tea latte with almond milk. Time to get my day in order, check my calendar and write my to-dos (I don’t trust technology, so I have a literal calendar on my desk and write everything down in my notebook; @ me). Today is the official start of my new title, Accounting Generalist, so lots of accounting work is on the schedule for today.

1:00 pm – Now that we’ve had our weekly finance meeting and I’ve paid the bills and all that Quickbooks jazz, it’s lunchtime! Meatballs and salad – yum; healthy. Usually, I take this time to draw in my personal bullet journal and watch Youtube (looking for Inspo for my own channel), but today, I posted some holiday wreaths for sale in our Marketplace Chat. Our Smart City folks respect the holiday hustle, for sure. 

5:30 pm – These next two weeks are dedicated to month-end close- Lots of numbers, lots of spreadsheets, lots of matching numbers, lots of Quickbooks. Quick snack break (a bowl of dry Life cereal is a snack, right?) Finance is literally one big family, so we come together to talk about our day, now it’s time for my final game of flag football in Carrollton. It’s Monday night, so I’ll be checking the score of the Cowboys game like a nervous tick.

GAME UPDATE: We tied; I’ll take it. I definitely thought I broke my hand during the game. In other news, I realized when my fiancé picked up our Save The Dates, they didn’t include the envelopes…cool.

TUESDAY

6:00 am – The pups are up and ready to go (I’ve been up since 5 am, so it’s fine). How my dog has so much energy this early, I have no clue. Puppy energy, I guess!

9:45 am – Traffic this morning was horrible!! It took me over an hour to get to work, but luckily we have a coffee shop next door, so I got myself a hot chocolate and pastry. To-do list made, emails and calendar checked, post office run complete, company bills paid and checks received! Time to visit my work best friend…Quickbooks. 

2:30 pm – Weekly lunchtime venture to Target with my fellow finance gals; Did I need anything? No. Did I buy things? Of course, I did. Month End is close, so Quickbooks and I are thick as thieves. I re-work my way down my to-do list, clear off the pile of papers that have accumulated on my desk, pay more company bills, organize my life (lol) and work on my most recent project: our internal financial audit. 

7:15 – FINALLY home after another gruesome commute. Time to cook some shrimp alfredo and Brussel sprouts, and watch some college basketball (Go, Duke!) Today was a long one, so I fully intend to be in my bed, scrolling Twitter and Facebook by nine, and passed out by ten.

WEDNESDAY

4:45 am – My inner alarm clock needs to chill!! 

6:50 am – Alarm goes off (why do I even have you). I’ve already taken the pupper out to run around and play, cleaned up a little accident that was in her crate and showered. Time to prepare some lunch for my fiancee and me, and start the commute to work. We have to submit payroll today, so it’ll be a long one!

11 am – Quickbooks and I are officially in the throes of Month End! It’s been a morning full of matching transactions, writing out checks to pay bills and entering those bills into Quickbooks. I had a one-on-one meeting with my Accounting Manager and it’s back to the spreadsheets! Feeling like I need some coffee right about now!

5:30 pm – Lunch consisted of leftover pasta and YouTube videos of people decorating their homes for the holidays (Is that weird). The Christmas decor is out at Michael’s, so I’ll definitely be hitting that up on my way home! My life for the next two weeks will be lots of spreadsheets, journal entry imports to Quickbooks, Bank reconciliations, more spreadsheets, and I love it. 

8:30 pm – Michael’s trip was a success (shoutout to my mom for being on the phone with me and keeping me from literally purchasing the entire store). Taco Bell is what’s on the menu tonight (judge me). Dinner and SFA Basketball with my boo! #AxeEmJacks! We won, of course.

THURSDAY

6:10 am – Got to sleep in because the fiance is on puppy duty this morning…not like I was really asleep because said fiancé likes to watch YouTube videos in the morning….with no headphones…but at least I don’t have to get out of bed yet!

8:15 am – Just remembered Starbucks’ holiday drinks are BACK and you get a free reusable cup! Peppermint Mocha, YES!!! Also, the new Toasted White Chocolate Frappaccino…get it! Today is a bitter-sweet day in the office- It’s our last day in our current office before we all pack up and move. This is where it all started for me! *tear*

UPDATE: Month End is going well…a little too well; should I be worried??

1:30 pm – Today has been filled with forecast spreadsheets, client emails, paying bills (shocker), followed by lunch and YouTube (you should see a pattern by now). After lunch, I’m packing everything up and getting ready for move day tomorrow.

7:30 pm – Of course, it’s 40-degrees outside the night I have Camp Gladiator, but I get it done! It was myself and one other girl who showed up, so there’s that! Salad for dinner (can’t ruin this workout), shower, then Thursday night football…in bed…by 8:30 pm. Scratch scrolling through Facebook and YouTube tonight before bed, I’m picking up my newest graphic novel, Pumpkin Heads…such a cute story/fall read; highly recommend.

FRIDAY

7:20 am – The fiance took on puppy duty this morning and traffic was… non-existant? So, I got to work super early. (When I have free time I tend to make a visit to Dollar Tree…my limit is $20. Walked out spending $28. It could have been worse!)

11:00 am – NEW OFFICE VIBES! It’s so nice and big – So much room for activities! Morning meeting to kick-off the day, then off to Target for office supplies. A big chunk of today will be spent organizing all the office furniture and desks in our new area, which is a much-needed break from my partner-in-crime, Quickbooks.

3:45 pm – Remember when I said I pay the bills? Well, now I have to wait for the movers to finish so I can pay them…no worries, I have emails I can check! It’s been a long but great day, so I’m heading home after the movers finish doing their thing, plus it’s Friday!

9:00 pm – Lots of puppy playtime tonight! I obvi didn’t cook, because who cooks on a Friday?! This weekend will be packed with shopping at Michaels and Hobby Lobby (holiday DIY decor, anybody?), Half Priced Books, Walmart, and of course, the Dallas Cowboys!