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I just thought I'd write this in case anyone wanted any ideas to simplify their invoice/payment system...
And before anyone says "buy/download lawn care software" I run on a MAC, and have yet to find any real lawn software for Mac. And before anyone says "buy a PC" No thank you... I owned/built at least 10 in the last 15 years, sold them for 10 years, and won't buy another... I like my Mac that has run faithfully without a single crash or lockup in the 5 years I've owned it.
So here we go...
Invoices...
I prepared an invoice in my word processor which lines up with a two window #10 envelope. Pretty basic but it works good and looks good, save all the invoices to a folder labelled "2006 Invoices", and print it on paper that is perforated every 3 2/3". This way it folds perfectly, and has the bottom 1/3 set up as a return coupon with invoice#, customer #, date, and amount due with return address set up to line up with a single window #9 envelope which I include in the overall invoice package. So, About $50 to buy a ream of perforated paper, a box of 500 #10 2 window envelopes, and a box of 500 #9 single window envelopes (security lined). Might seem a lot but these materials can make 500 invoices will last me a couple years. Plus you don't have to worry about misspelled address', not knowing what invoice the check is for, and when you open the PO box you know if it's a check right away.
Invoice numbering...
I had a problem with overlapping invoice #'s last year so I made a grid sheet with numbered boxes from 0-999 (actually it's 2 sheets 1st 0-499 and second 500-999). A header with blank spaces at the top is for writing in the start and ending invoice #s so that these will work for any invoice number by just writing what thousand it is at the top (10,000-10,999, etc). You just have to print more sheets rather than creating new sheets to cover higher numbers. I keep this on a clipboard hanging over my desk with a red pen, and as I do my invoices I cross off the number... No more overlapping invopice numbers. I know... Those with lawn software probably don't have to worry about this, but it happened to me using Quickbooks last year, and one customer got 2 invoices with the same number, and there just happened to be an issue with the check on one of them... It made a simple issue take a week to sort out.
Check images...
Another problem I had last year was that the bank lost $280 worth of checks and even with the deposit receipt in hand I still have yet to see a penny of it because the bank wants check numbers and customer names for the deposited checks which I will probably never be able to come up with.
This time I'm taking an idea from Bank of America (ATMs that print check images on receipts). I've set up my scanner so that the scan button saves the image in a check directory. The program automatically puts the images into a folder named with the date, so I don't have to worry about the filenames being "scan010101.jpg" since there will only be a few in each date folder and easy enough to go through just by knowing the date the check was received or thereabouts. This is where the return coupon from the invoice makes a second appearance. I place it on the scanner with the check, hit the button, and now have a jpg image of each check with coupon. So I can open any of these images and know who sent the check, and for what invoice it paid on, and if the bank or customer ever decides to give me a hard time I can easily print out which checks are in question. The beauty of this system is that it puts that "scan" button that no one ever uses a purpose, and with the setup it also means no typing or sorting. Put the checks/coupons on the scanner and hit the button. Easy as can be.
I've also got a spreadsheet that is tabbed by month to track sales, invoices, and check numbers received that totals on a totals sheet: sales/losses by month and year, etc. On top of that is another sheet which I can enter expenses by category (fuel, parts/repairs, supplies, etc.) and totals by category for month, year, and a total expense. I just gotta get back into my spreadsheet manual to learn how to link those sheets so I can get a profits vs expense chart that updates with the sheets.
This system might not be perfect, or anything that someone else may use, but I thought I'd post it so that some might find something useful in this post that can help their business.
I will attach samples of invoice, check images later so that people can get a better idea of how it works. I'll also include my invoice number chart in case anyone wants to use it (I had to make it myself as I couldn't find one online, so it'll save you some work if you need it).
And before anyone says "buy/download lawn care software" I run on a MAC, and have yet to find any real lawn software for Mac. And before anyone says "buy a PC" No thank you... I owned/built at least 10 in the last 15 years, sold them for 10 years, and won't buy another... I like my Mac that has run faithfully without a single crash or lockup in the 5 years I've owned it.
So here we go...
Invoices...
I prepared an invoice in my word processor which lines up with a two window #10 envelope. Pretty basic but it works good and looks good, save all the invoices to a folder labelled "2006 Invoices", and print it on paper that is perforated every 3 2/3". This way it folds perfectly, and has the bottom 1/3 set up as a return coupon with invoice#, customer #, date, and amount due with return address set up to line up with a single window #9 envelope which I include in the overall invoice package. So, About $50 to buy a ream of perforated paper, a box of 500 #10 2 window envelopes, and a box of 500 #9 single window envelopes (security lined). Might seem a lot but these materials can make 500 invoices will last me a couple years. Plus you don't have to worry about misspelled address', not knowing what invoice the check is for, and when you open the PO box you know if it's a check right away.
Invoice numbering...
I had a problem with overlapping invoice #'s last year so I made a grid sheet with numbered boxes from 0-999 (actually it's 2 sheets 1st 0-499 and second 500-999). A header with blank spaces at the top is for writing in the start and ending invoice #s so that these will work for any invoice number by just writing what thousand it is at the top (10,000-10,999, etc). You just have to print more sheets rather than creating new sheets to cover higher numbers. I keep this on a clipboard hanging over my desk with a red pen, and as I do my invoices I cross off the number... No more overlapping invopice numbers. I know... Those with lawn software probably don't have to worry about this, but it happened to me using Quickbooks last year, and one customer got 2 invoices with the same number, and there just happened to be an issue with the check on one of them... It made a simple issue take a week to sort out.
Check images...
Another problem I had last year was that the bank lost $280 worth of checks and even with the deposit receipt in hand I still have yet to see a penny of it because the bank wants check numbers and customer names for the deposited checks which I will probably never be able to come up with.
This time I'm taking an idea from Bank of America (ATMs that print check images on receipts). I've set up my scanner so that the scan button saves the image in a check directory. The program automatically puts the images into a folder named with the date, so I don't have to worry about the filenames being "scan010101.jpg" since there will only be a few in each date folder and easy enough to go through just by knowing the date the check was received or thereabouts. This is where the return coupon from the invoice makes a second appearance. I place it on the scanner with the check, hit the button, and now have a jpg image of each check with coupon. So I can open any of these images and know who sent the check, and for what invoice it paid on, and if the bank or customer ever decides to give me a hard time I can easily print out which checks are in question. The beauty of this system is that it puts that "scan" button that no one ever uses a purpose, and with the setup it also means no typing or sorting. Put the checks/coupons on the scanner and hit the button. Easy as can be.
I've also got a spreadsheet that is tabbed by month to track sales, invoices, and check numbers received that totals on a totals sheet: sales/losses by month and year, etc. On top of that is another sheet which I can enter expenses by category (fuel, parts/repairs, supplies, etc.) and totals by category for month, year, and a total expense. I just gotta get back into my spreadsheet manual to learn how to link those sheets so I can get a profits vs expense chart that updates with the sheets.
This system might not be perfect, or anything that someone else may use, but I thought I'd post it so that some might find something useful in this post that can help their business.
I will attach samples of invoice, check images later so that people can get a better idea of how it works. I'll also include my invoice number chart in case anyone wants to use it (I had to make it myself as I couldn't find one online, so it'll save you some work if you need it).
lol, but that's just me. I might have incorporate this idea into mine this year. Thanks for the idea.
but QuickBooks has a version for Macintosh. It does all the invoicing/estimates/payroll/tracking, etc. that you would need.
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