Phat Cat

Keeping the pinks work very well for me. I take and assign all calls. Between the schedule, time sheets, and the pinks - all calls are accounted for.

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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. – Edmund Burke

Ron

To me your overworking yourself PC just how I see it.

But it's all good

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Stephen Hawking: If the government is covering up knowledge of Aliens, they are doing a better job of it then they do at anything else.

Tommy plumber

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Hire a licensed master plumber.

TheMaster

I did it but I didn't give a receipt of any kind. Boss was ok with it.

Tommy plumber

Was your boss named Ben? Ben Dover?

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Hire a licensed master plumber.

Herk

I've been making my own invoices for quite a few years. Before that, I used various types, including the aforementioned "work order" invoices.

Your invoices should reflect what it's like in your area and the kind of work you do. So, if you need a line for signature and a disclaimer or two, use them. Some people have an I.O.U. form on the back.

Being a one-man shop makes tracking invoices a lot easier. I use a cash basis rather than accrual, so I leave an unpaid invoice on the desk until paid, then I enter it in Quickbooks.

I use NCR paper that I buy by the ream. To design my invoices, I started years ago with a program called Press Writer that came with Print Shop. I don't know that print shop has that any longer, so if it comes to not being able to use the program, I'd have to re-design in something else.

I have also designed things like invoices in Word Perfect and Open Office. Press Writer was designed to use for things with columns and so on that are separate from each other.

On the upper left corner, my invoice used to say "Invoice." When I switched to flat rate a few years ago, I changed the wording to "Flat Rate Invoice." Then I massaged the sections a bit so that the task section is split into Primary Task and Secondary Task.

Other than that, I needed few changes. I print the top copy, which is the one I give the customer, in color, and the bottom yellow copy in grayscale and draft to save ink. I print all the white copies in a batch, then all the yellow copies in a batch, then I go back and number them in pairs. Then I use a Scotch Glue Stick, which is much like Post-It glue, to fasten them together.

If I were a big company, I probably wouldn't have time to do things like that, although you can start a batch printing and walk away from it. The numbering requires more hands-on. But I don't have to come up with a minimum of $250 for a set of invoices, and I can never run out because I can always run off a few if I'm in a hurry. If I ruin an invoice I can reprint it, and thereby not have voided invoices in the books.

I don't write on the invoice until the job is finished. If I'm doing several tasks, I have bid sheets that I can write on. Sometimes, I think this can lead to trouble if the client decides they don't like the price but keeps the sheet to show the next plumber.

Sometimes, it's just as easy to jot prices down on a lined notebook and show it to the customer, take it with you if you don't get the job.

The NCR (No Carbon Required) paper can also be used for such things as service contracts or any other forms you might need a duplicate for. It is also available in 3-part.

Costwise, I don't know if it's cheaper to print yourself unless you have a good price on ink. Lately, I've been using a Canon inkjet and it seems to be very good on ink - it's an all-in-one and only cost $40 new. It's been working flawlessly for quite a while.

plbgbiz

Are you serious?

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John Johnson
Water Works Plumbing, Inc. - Oklahoma City, OK
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