Charmaine Swart

My first employment was at Santam Insurance Brokers in 1990 as an intern. Two years onwards I moved to Natal and started at Apex Foundries as a data capturer and worked myself up to a secretarial position for the General Manager. Moving to Louis Trichardt in 1998, I took care of my daughter while doing some temporary jobs to gain knowledge before I applied for a long-term position as Shop Manager at Checkpoint Cash & Carry in early 2006. When I started at Digibali Productions CC in January 2010, I was given 6 weeks to fit into a fast-paced customer support environment with minimum training. I learned on the go, also taking into account that I had no prior experience in IT and the software developing field. This is where I realised that I have an admirable aptitude for working on computers. End of June 2011 the directors of Digibali Productions CC (alias Wiki Village Pty Ltd) decided to work from home and therefore closed their brick-and-mortar office in Sedgefield. Being the only

Surname : Swart Full names : Charmaine Year of Birth : 1971 Marital Status : Divorced Dependents : None Languages : Afrikaans & English Speak, Read & Write Driver’s license : Code EB Hobbies : Gardening and researching a variety of edible wild plants Apartment Homesteading Learning Affiliate Marketing

School attended : Hartbeespoort High School Standard passed : Matric/Grade 12 Year passed : 1989 Subjects : Afrikaans  HG English  HG Accounting  HG Biology  HG Business Economics  SG Typing  SG  45 w.p.m. (typewriter)

Trustworthy,   Healthy,   Friendly,   Patient,   Punctual,   Hardworking,   Fast learner,   Loyal,   High accuracy level,   Organised,   Self-starter,   Problem-solving,   Multi-Tasking skills,   Strong analytical skills,   Can work independently or in a team,   Function well under pressure,   Good communication skills,   Can deal with difficult customers,   Get well along with co-workers,   The ability to work in chronological order,   High confidentiality values

Experience synopsis : 20+ years – Administration 20+ years – Secretarial 15+ years – Reception 10+ years – Personal Assistance 10+ years – Debtors   7+ years – Remote Assistance   5+ years – Management   5+ years – IT related experience Computer literate : Skype Zoom Social Media Management Internet Cyberbanking Basic Microsoft Word Basic Microsoft Excel Online email filing Email management Data capturing Website development Pos-I-Till Ulti-Sales (Data capturing only) Boscon-Go QuickBooks (Data capturing only) Gmail MS Outlook Pastel 5 (Data capturing only) Management : Handling Queries Managing large float Customer care Cash-up office Supervising staff Deliveries Stock control Clerical : Bank statements Reconciliations Receipts Expenses Orders Claims Deposits Petty Cash Credit notes Invoicing Quotations Cash sales Salaries & Wages Debtors: - Invoicing, - Allocating payments, - Statements Creditors: - Pay creditors, - Reconci

Online Assistance  Client : Sophie's Properties @ Brenton Period : 1 June 2019 till 1 February 2020 Type of Business : Real Estate Duties: Submitting posts daily to: ~ Facebook Page ~ Instagram ~ LinkedIn ~ Twitter Assisting with : Filing - will travel to my client and assist with monthly/yearly filing and capturing of expenses on Excel Any Photoshop related designing Change or add Properties to the website Blogging

Remote Assistance  Client : Sophie's Properties @ Brenton Period : 1 December 2016 to 30 May 2019 Type of Business : Real Estate Duties: ~ Website developing ~ Help with any error messages encountered in Outlook ~ Adding, deleting or marking property listings as 'SOLD' on her website ~ Blogging ~ Adding her calendar to her website ~ General website housekeeping ~ Any technical or email related services such as adding an auto-responder when she takes leave ~ Managing her Facebook page ~ Occasional telephone assistance ~ Connecting via TeamViewer to resolve computer-related issues ~ Filing & capturing expenses ~ Managing Private Property & PropertiFind ~ Opening & Managing other Social Media platforms ie. LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter ~ Listing properties on Free Online Classifieds for more exposure

Virtual Assistance (After Hours) This client was in South Africa. The Professor immigrated to the USA and all work was done virtually since March 2012. Client : Wiki Village (Pty) Ltd Period : 1 June 2011 to 30 April 2018 7 years and 10 months City/Town : Port Elizabeth Type of Business : Online business listing platform Duties: ~ Debtors: invoicing and emailing it to the domain/website owners ~ Checking for payments on a regular basis online on the bank account ~ Allocating payments ~ Domain database management ~ Downloading bank statements ~ Expense reports ~ Bank reconciliation ~ Liaising with Agents ~ Email management ~ Make and receive calls to and from clients or agents ~ Communicating via Email, Phone or Skype ~ WhatsApp communication ~ Liaising with the Director in the USA  ~ Liaising with the Director in Sedgefield ~ Liaising with the Director in Port Elizabeth The business ceased to exist after the owner was diagnosed with Dementia.

Employment history Period : 1 July 2011 to 30 November 2016 5 years and 5 months City/Town : Port Elizabeth Type of Business : Books and antique dealer Position : Shop Assistant Reason for leaving : The owner sold his business lock, stock and barrel Duties : Front office Over the counter sales Cashier Packing books per category and in alphabetical order Affixing price tags as stipulated by the owner Email monitoring Processing orders received via email Processing orders received via phone Processing orders received online Quotations Invoicing Forwarding invoice by email Confirm payments with the owner Preparing parcel Handing the parcel and posting costs over to the domestic aid for posting On occasion, I had to walk to the Post Office to post a parcel  Answering the phone, assisting the caller if necessary or forwarding the call to the owner or taking a message if required – passing messages on Returning the call regarding feedback on an item Secret

Employment history Period : 4 January 2010 to 30 May 2011 17 months City/Town : Sedgefield, South Africa Type of Business : Internet café; website hosting & software development Position : Studio Manager Reason for leaving : The formal studio closed and the directors started to work from their individual home-based offices Duties : Front office Reception – Welcoming clients, offering assistance or directing the client to the managing director’s office Personal assistant to the managing director Cashier Assigning walk-in customers to a station and calculating time spent on the internet, charging the customer, receiving the cash and ringing it up on the till Assisting customers in faxing documents or making copies (black & white/colour), calculating the amount owing, charging the customer, receiving the cash and ringing it up on the till Petty cash Filing General office administration Answering calls and assisting where needed or forwarding call to the m

Employment history Period : February 2006 to August 2009 3 ½ years City/Town : Louis Trichardt (± 40km out of town) Type of Business : General Dealer Position : Manager Reason for leaving : Shop closed – the owner moved back to India Duties : Front office Supervising 19 staff members Capturing salary information on Excel creating salary slips as such. Printing the salary slips, cutting it out by hand with scissors and handing it out to the staff Creditors- Capturing supplier invoices onto Quickbooks, printing monthly creditor reports, reconciling creditors after payment, contact suppliers to sort out any problems such as double payment etc. Opening and closing the shop if the owner was on leave Receiving deliveries Fast paced and high pressure environment Getting cash ready to be taken to the bank. I had to choose one of the 3 pre-selected staff members to check the bank money with me, seal it and this employee will go to the bank to deposit the earnings. At ti

Employment history Period : ± 1 ½ years City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Fresh produce chain store Position : Admin Manager Duties : Front office General office administration Answering calls. Depending on the call I would either assist or relay the call to the applicable staff member or take a message I had to work on a till when we were short of staff and when it was exceedingly busy Capturing data on the computer program Boscon Go, such as daily sales figures, stock counts, supplier invoices and price changes I had to assist the till supervisor at the end of the day at cash up should the floor manager not be available Assisting with debit and credit card payments Handling customer complaints discreetly Either assist or call the head office if a till gives problems Calling head office if the computer program gives problems I had to help out on the floor if the supervisor was on lunch, on leave or off sick I had to work in a close relationship with

Employment history Period :  ± 6 months City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Lawnmower repairs Position : Reception/Cashier Reason for leaving : Temporarily job  Duties : Front office Greeting customers Booking in lawnmowers that need repairs Opening job card Capturing completed job card onto Quickbooks Printing invoices  Receiving payment – cash or cheque Answering calls – taking messages for or calling the owner to the phone if necessary Phoning customer to collect repaired lawnmower. Briefing the customer regarding payment. Petty cash General office administration Had to work in close relationship with the owner and the workshop assistant  Receiving faxes Sending faxes to order spares and parts

Employment history Period : ± 5 months City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Undertakers Position : Clerical Reason for leaving : Temporarily job Duties : Back office Working independently with large amounts of cash behind a closed door More or less R100 000 of cash in float Working in close relationship with the field workers The field workers had different stations daily in the rural areas and had to collect premiums for funeral policies. They went out in pairs. I had to make up bags with set amounts of change – R10, R20, R50, R100 and sealing each bag with a number. Inside the bag would be the change, an extra seal and a form with all relevant information for example the amount of change in the bag, seal numbers, signatures, dates, etc. I had my own set of forms on which the same information appeared as above As the field workers finished their daily tasks, they needed to verify the seal number accompanied in the bag, sign off and seal the bag before

Employment history Period : ± 8 months City/Town: Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Micro loans Position : Consultant Reason for leaving : Business closed – the owner of the business’ husband passed away due to cancer. She and her daughter made a fresh start in another town. Duties : Back office Explaining to clients what a micro loan entails Completing relevant forms while in consultation with the client Briefing client on which documents are needed to apply for a loan Handing over fully completed set of forms to the owner of the business Standing in for the receptionist as required Working independently Filing

Employment history Period : ± 3 months City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Irrigation installation Position : Debtors clerk Reason for leaving : Temporarily job Duties : Back office Claims Reconciling accounts Printing invoices & statements Placing invoices & statements into envelopes Physically writing debtors’ addresses on the envelopes Filing Pastel 5 Worked independently Had to drive twice to Pietersburg to collect irrigation parts at a supplier. Driving a Hyundai van.

Employment history Period : ± 3 months City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Homebuilding and maintenance Position : Administrative Clerk Reason for leaving : Temporarily job Duties : Back office Capturing data on Pastel 5: Claims Debtors Credit notes Stock Supplier invoices Tax Printing trial balance and reports upon request of Mr Struwig

Employment history Period : 1999 – 2001 ± 2 years City/Town : Louis Trichardt Type of Business : Electrical appliance dealer Position : Stock controller & Computer operator Reason for leaving :  My 4 year old needed my attention Duties : Back office Counting stock Capturing stock figures onto the computer program called Ulti-Sales Capturing all other relevant data onto the computer program as indicated/given to me, such as sales figures I also had to sign in to the owner’s private and business bank accounts to transfer amounts from one account to the other. The amounts were never less than R1 million per transaction. Eventually, I had to work over weekends and on public holidays as a salesperson. It was very long hours.

Employment history Period : 1992 – 1994/1995 ± 2 ½ years City/Town : Isithebe, Natal Type of Business : Metal foundry Description : 5 Divisions of foundries on one large property. They made all sorts of appliances using from the smallest screws and washers to the largest bolts and nuts, metal sheets, etc. It was a large company with hundreds of workers. Position : Data capturer/Secretary Reason for leaving : Company declared insolvent and closed doors Duties : Back office Liaising with staff in other departments Worked ± 2 years in the data capturing room – it required precise capturing of all statistical information from the foundries – 4 data capturers in the office Very high pressure with monthly deadlines to be met to print reports in time. Large printers were used with A3 continuous printing paper. These reports had to be filed in flat binders according to the date Front office There was a shift among the office workers. I was appointed as secretary to the gen

Employment history Period : January 1990 – July 1990 7 months City/Town : Brits Type of Business : Short term insurance Period : January 1990 – July 1990 7 months Position : Clerical Reason for leaving : Moved to Natal Duties : Back office Receiving claims from assessors, starting the claim process Answering the phone – assisting with a claim related or general insurance inquiries – these calls can be from clients or insurance brokers We were a team of 3 ladies, a male (office manager), another male (branch manager), 2 assessors (male & female) and a domestic aid When the receptionist was on lunch, one of the clerical ladies stand in for her We were not confined only to our own duties, all of us had to learn the other one’s job I also had to deal directly with clients if required. Some of them were very difficult and I had to treat them discreetly. Luckily my patience, friendliness and willingness to do my utmost best to help them resolve any issues h

1. Danie Immelman – +27 (0) 83 280 8500     The former owner of Books & Bygones 2. Sophie Verhamme – +27 (0) 82 572 2729     Owner/Estate Agent  Sophie's Properties 3. Derna van Vuuren – +27 (0) 82 810 5399     The former owner of Toro Ya Me