Invoices

[The landscaper]

I was thinking of making up a master invoice and having them printed out. Would it look alright to then write out the amounts in ink. I was just thinking this would speed up the process, and I would not have to print each one out individually saving a lot of ink in the printer.

[Jason Rose]

Thats what I did, I had kinda designed what I wanted and had been printing them out with an old dot matrix printer on 2 part duplicate paper but it was always a hassle, slow and loud. lol. so I took my design with a couple tweaks to a local printer and they did a 3 part carbonless so all I have to do is write on the lines, fold and stuff in an envelope.

[The landscaper]

I completely forgot about the carbon paper. Thanks for the reminder

[MMLawn]

I was thinking of making up a master invoice and having them printed out. Would it look alright to then write out the amounts in ink. I was just thinking this would speed up the process, and I would not have to print each one out individually saving a lot of ink in the printer.

Let me step out and venture a guess here. ...you're a teenager?? If so think like a business owner, not a teenager.

Write out your invoices in ink? Very unprofessional, but if you only have a handful of accounts I guess you can. You do understand that having custom printed carbonless invoices will of course be much more expensive than that "ink" in the printer too right? Try a laser printer as we get 3K sheets to the toner. What about all the extra time the bookkeeping and "adding" and subtracting" and making sure the invoices are always correct it will take vs. using a computer program such as Quickbooks? All of our invoices are computer generated as I wouldn't begin to handwrite 100's of monthly invoices.....heck I wouldn't even try and keep up with 50 monthly invoices.

[Carolina Cutter]

Exactly what I was thinking as I was reading the first post.

Do you creditors send you bills that are hand written? NO, because it does not promote a professional image. Be professional and your customers will appreciate it.

[Jason Rose]

Well, thanks for the slam MMlawn... I for one am not a teenager, 26 yrs old, and I know doing them by hand isn't the fastest thing but it gets them done. I have tried numerous programs and not one of them was user friendly enough to be able to put what i needed in the appropriate column. every invoice is a little different with mowing days spread over a weeks time, then all that summed up every 4 or 5 weeks and put on an invoice. I never found a way to do that without having to type information pertenent to each particular customer on every invoice. Yeah, you could save all of them so you would have names and address done already, but all of the other information has to then be deleted and re-entered with the new dates of service. very frustrating doing all that scrolling up and down on a computer screen. plus then u print out, and u have to print 2 copies for each one, one for u and one to stuff. I know paper and ink is cheap but I paid 88 bucks for 500 triplicate carbonless invoice forms. all the spaces are right in front of me ready to be filed in, no clicking and hunting for the right box. All my address labels, return labels (printed out with the computer)and stamps get stuck on the envelope. Invoice is folded and inserted tab is peeled on self stick envelope and sealed. done.

I like having custom invoices because you can have exactly what you want on them, unlike generic or computer program ones that have a dozen lines with generic phrases on them. mine are easy to read and I only have to write on the lines of the services I provided, mowing, seeding, fertilizing, ect. and all I really write is the days that I was there, ie. 3/1, 3/8, 3/15 then i fill in number of times, 3 (obviously) and then the total $$.

If there IS in fact a program that can do the invoices and do them without 100 extra lines on them, like I see with most generic programs, then I would like to see it. I have tried enough to know I am faster with a pen so that's where I am. I send out about 45 invoices a month too, not that many in the grand scheme of thnigs. a couple hours of work at the desk once a month to do that. over 100 and I would have to reconsider. Maybe a secretary at that point!

[BobwithECLC]

I strongly recommend using Quickbooks Pro Premier Contractor Edition about ( $4-500) @ Office Max or someplace similar. You will save your self the price of the program just from reduced expenses from your accountant. I can say this to you because I am 26 as well and have been in your shoes. You can totally customize the form and if you only want one copy to mail to the client then only print one copy. This was a hard thing for me to realize that there was technology out there that could make life easier if I was will to learn how to use it properly. I am not trying to put you down just telling you that I have been in your shoes and have found an easier way to do things. If you want I can give you all kinds of ideas and things that you can do w/ Quick Books to make things easier for you in the long run. Well just my opinion. Hope this helps you.

[Jason Rose]

holy crap, that's a lot of $$$$ for a program!!! how bout pirating me a copy and shooting it my way! LOL. I think I do need a change, that's for sure. And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to spend the big bucks to get it to be something that I can work with like the program you mentioned.

[Roger]

bobwitheclc ... I'm considering migrating to QuickBooks. I've scanned many posts, mostly in Element of Business, and don't find much help on which QB is best. You suggested Contractor version. Why?

I've seen other comments that Basic is all that is needed. My needs do not include estimating, inventory, employees. I'm solo with simple requirements; about 45 invoices per month, about 1,500 transactions per year.

Any further insight on which version would be adequate. I don't want overkill.

Thanks.

[BobwithECLC]

That is almost exactly what I thought when I saw that price for the first time. Here are some benefits to using this program.
Keep all of your tax documents together in one place.
Ability to see who owes what at any time
Track expenses effortlessly
Balancing of bank accounts and credit cards greatly simplified
Ability to look at your P&L at any time
Have your entire price guide available to you
Professional invoices and proposals that are totally customizable
Well I could go on and on.
Oh and by the way it is very user friendly. ( But it does take some time to learn everything )

Hope this helps

[lawnboy33]

Landscaper,
If they are already customers? who cares. These guys are idiots. A customer is not going to leave you because of a written invoice. All they care about is the price. I have been in the business for 11 years now and trust me unless you have a vendors account with some huge franchise, don't worry about it. Quick books is just as unprofessional. When you get going Get Real Green invoices. Lawn Assistant is the best program out there. Make sure your estimates ,flyers, and business cards look the best. That's what is important. http://www.perfco.net/ has some great estimates and flyers for the business. Don't let these little guys tell you anything.

[lawnboy33]

Wow! I guess nobody here heas used Perfco. Well They have all the lawn stuff you need. Your Welcome!

[MMLawn]

Landscaper,
If they are already customers? who cares. These guys are idiots. A customer is not going to leave you because of a written invoice. All they care about is the price. I have been in the business for 11 years now and trust me unless you have a vendors account with some huge franchise, don't worry about it. Quick books is just as unprofessional. When you get going Get Real Green invoices. Lawn Assistant is the best program out there. Make sure your estimates ,flyers, and business cards look the best. That's what is important. http://www.perfco.net/ has some great estimates and flyers for the business. Don't let these little guys tell you anything.


That's funny because look what YOUR Profile that YOU wrote says about being in business....

Birthday:
February 16, 1975
Your Age:
28
Years in business:
just started



As to Quickbooks, shows what you know...or don't know, as their Invoices can easily be Customized and you can even include logos if you wish and is the most widely used financial Business Program on the market, kid.


As to "little guys", son I blew more money last year than you made...

[hole in one lco]

go to office max and get the invoice cd it will do it all and i payed 25.00 for it

[The landscaper]

I just made one up on excel, so I can print them out and they look professional.

Happy birthday lawnboy here in about a half hour.

[The landscaper]

I tried to attatch it but, it didnt work

[The landscaper]

Hole in one, do you know of green magic lawn care

[hole in one lco]

no but i do know a lot of big and small company's in our neck of the woods

[The landscaper]

My girlfriends uncle runs green magic, its in lakewood, but still your neck of the woods.

[lawnboy33]

Yes it says been in the business not owned a business. I started my business last year and I already have over 100 customers. I was previously a manager of an athletic field contracting business. With 11 years under my belt with such projects as Pro Player Stadium ,Great American Ball Park Turner Field I know turf management. I got tired of traveling so I quit. I know there is a good future in this business. I am a turf expert :waving: So when it comes to knowing about the business I think I have ya beat! I mostly do lawn care but I have about 12 mowing accounts. I was just trying to help the guy out by the way. Perfco has the best lawn supplies that I have seen. So buddy you should have read more carefully before getting all excited!

[The landscaper]

What are your other 88 customers if you only have 12 mowing accounts?

[lawnboy33]

Lawn Care treatment of turf treat home lawns but picking up some schools . doing athletic fields.

[lawnboy33]

Lawn Care treatment of turf treat home lawns but picking up some schools . doing athletic fields.

[Soupy]

Yes it says been in the business not owned a business. I started my business last year and I already have over 100 customers. I was previously a manager of an athletic field contracting business. With 11 years under my belt with such projects as Pro Player Stadium ,Great American Ball Park Turner Field I know turf management. I got tired of traveling so I quit. I know there is a good future in this business. I am a turf expert :waving: So when it comes to knowing about the business I think I have ya beat! I mostly do lawn care but I have about 12 mowing accounts. I was just trying to help the guy out by the way. Perfco has the best lawn supplies that I have seen. So buddy you should have read more carefully before getting all excited!


I agree with the guys about using an accounting program. Hand written invoice are unprofessional.

Also, being a turf expert doesn't mean much when answering a business question :)

[lawnboy33]

yes you should have an accounting program but a customer is not going to care. I wouldn't as long as the job was done right.Far as beeing a "turf expert" it helps. I see guys on lawns that have no clue on what they are doing. You won't keep an account long if you don't know what you are doing! Now if you are dealing with commercial then yes I agree

[Jason Rose]

Well I guess our debate here yesterday kinda moved me... I went to Office Max today and bought "my invoices and estimates deluxe" by my software. Cost 40 bucks. They had one for 10 and one for 30 but I hedged my bet that more $$ ment better and went for the more $$. Hope I didn't get hozed! It seems to be pretty user friendly and easy to make columns and name them how you want. It's just going to take time to get all my customer address typed in...

I looked at the quick books pro, 300 bucks. But I am not looking for a program to do all my banking, all I wanted was a way to automate my invoices. If I actually use the program I will eliminate having to print address lables as well, I can use windowed envelopes! I guess no program is going to be magic, everything has quirks and downfalls. I want one that all I have to do is think or say what I want and it does it! maybe in a few more years...

[tonygreek]

if you don't want snapshots of exactly how your business is doing, down to exactly what your business is truly costing or making you, tracking payables and receivables, etc, then quickbooks is definitely not for you. as for the price, you can get it for $179 or so with rebates and they throw in the Customer Mgr software for free after rebate.