Today's Entrepreneur - First Steps to Starting Your Business (Part 5)

One: Standard Forms.
You should have three standard forms on hand at all times. A list of your products and/or services and the cost of those products and/or services. Decide what main products you plan to offer potential customers, and develop a price for those products based on what you pay for the raw supplies, the cost you incur to produce the product, and packaging, shipping, and handling of the product. Decide what services you plan to offer potential customers, and develop an hourly rate for those services based on the going market rate for the services and where you want to fit on the scale: Below Market, At Market, Above Market.

A standard bid form when giving a potential customer an estimate of the cost of doing business with you and a standard invoice form for billing customers once an agreement has been reached round out the three standard forms to have on hand. Your bid form can serve as a formal contract between your business and actual customers by adding “Bid Acceptance” terms at the bottom of bid form. Be sure to also add verbiage stating that the prices are estimates only, and are subject to change.

Three: Receipts.
Be sure to keep receipts for any and all expenses that you incur as a result of doing business, including meeting with potential or actual clients. Be sure to categorize your receipts for easy summation at tax time. Some basic categories are Transportation (vehicle repair and maintenance, gas, license plates, registration, parking, insurance, etc.), Entertainment and Meals, Office Supplies and Equipment, Communications (telephone, cell phone, pager, etc.), and whatever other expenses you incur on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Your Profit and Loss Statements, Balance Sheets, and Tax Forms are bound to be easier to compile and compute if you employ the three techniques listed above on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. For more detailed information contact G Styl Productions Incorporated at Prod@GStyl.com.