Getting Organised
Getting Organised
Could you find all the paperwork and electronic files to do with some random job you did 3 years ago in less than five minutes? We can! But I can assure you, it wasn't always so easy.
In the early days we had no records at all, just a lot of stuff called BUSCARD.CHP, FLYER1.CHP etc, making changes even a week later was a bit hit and miss.
Then came the Book. It was just an account book ruled up with the following headings:
---------------------------------------------------------------- | Job Number | Date | Customer | Descript | Date | Date | | | | | |Finished|Invoiced|
The allocated job number was then used as a prefix for every text file, scan or DTP file to do with the job. Backing up became a dream. Using Xtree we do a global search for 1234*.* and catch everything. It is all shoved on disks in numerical order, labeled 1234 to 1290 or whatever and put away.
When the book was first invented, so where job forms. They record the job number, customer details, job description and have room to write down everything that happens, phone calls, proofs delivered etc. It also has the charging information, which is written down as the job is done.
After invoicing, the job forms are filed away in lever arch files appropriately labeled. Stapled to each form is all the associated paperwork, including a copy of the finished artwork - signed off by the customer before printing. We have a rule that we keep absolutely everything on the basis that "you never know." It has taken nearly five years to fill a large bookshelf with neatly numbered lever arch files.
The book system lasted unchanged for over three years. It only really became unwieldy when there were too many pages to look through and no one could remember when the job was done.
The computerised system was custom written using Paradox. The information is exactly the same. But now we can look for old jobs by asking the computer to search for a customer name or any other relevant detail. It is not an accounting system, just an Automatic Book. A side benefit of course is easy reporting on types of jobs etc.
Very recently, we hooked up an ancient laser printer loaded with the job sheets so they are printed automatically to save time.
TIP: We always split large jobs up into several smaller ones. For example, if you are doing a whole set of stationery for a customer, use a new number for each component (business card, letterhead etc). That way you can logically charge out each part as you finish it, rather than presenting one big bill at the end. It is a lot safer for you, and in me experience seems to be more palatable for the customer. Terrific for the cash flow.
(With the advent of the Automatic Book, the original book has become redundant, right? Wrong, it is tucked away as a prized possession, taking a look through it from time to time is a real walk down memory lane.)
