Invoices and letter heads and quotation forms?

I'm thinking of starting my own business, I need Invoices, letter heads and quotation sheets for a start. I'm thinking of going into the light haulage business. Is there anywhere on the internet where I can get a few ideas on how to create them, I want them to look professional not something thats took me a few minutes to knock up. I have a laser printer so the print out will look sharp and of good quality.

[grandmaster]

First of all think logo and tag line,

You have a catchy logo and people will remember you.

As for quote sheets then just get a piece of A4 and jut down what fields you think you need on it.
Then on a seperate sheet place the fields where you think they should go.

Once your happy with it recreate it on your computer.

[Angua]

I worked for a company which had a manual for "house" style. Covered everything from typeface (goudi old style) and size to be used on any particular document through to where to put the "to" address. Always looked smart and professional (if a bit anally retentive).

Think of the name first, then how you can make the name into a logo. Have a look through yellow pages at similar businesses to see what they are doing then do something more eyecatching.

Find a typeface to match and stick to it for all documents.

Good luck!

BTW All you need is "Paint" and a word processing program of some sort they should be able to deal with quotes and invoices.

Originally Posted by Angua

I worked for a company which had a manual for "house" style. Covered everything from typeface (goudi old style) and size to be used on any particular document through to where to put the "to" address. Always looked smart and professional (if a bit anally retentive).

Think of the name first, then how you can make the name into a logo. Have a look through yellow pages at similar businesses to see what they are doing then do something more eyecatching.

Find a typeface to match and stick to it for all documents.

Good luck!

BTW All you need is "Paint" and a word processing program of some sort they should be able to deal with quotes and invoices.

Will something like Microsoft word do the trick?

[Angua]

Originally Posted by Nidge

Will something like Microsoft word do the trick?

It should and I think there are extra templates available to download from MS.

Do you have Quicken or MS Money as either of these has the ability to do invoices. Or you could do something with Excel.

Originally Posted by grandmaster

First of all think logo and tag line,

You have a catchy logo and people will remember you.

As for quote sheets then just get a piece of A4 and jut down what fields you think you need on it.
Then on a seperate sheet place the fields where you think they should go.

Once your happy with it recreate it on your computer.

For the quote sheets I need something where I can promote what I do, I'm going into the haulage business so I need to show how much I charge per mile.

[Rob]

For a small business to keep your startup costs low, just spend time creating a versatile letterhead with the logo and whatever else you need.

For invoice sheets, quote forms, whatever, I suggest you simply create a template in word. You'd print out onto your letter head, saving money on overall stationery by not having loads of different paper types. The template will include all your standard clauses, and the areas where you enter data for the specific quote.

You will probably look more porfessional by getting a designer to help you with the letter head, and even getting the letter head printed up on quality paper. May be worth getting some ide of costs for this from say your local Kall Kwick or similar store.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Nidge

I'm thinking of starting my own business, I need Invoices, letter heads and quotation sheets for a start. I'm thinking of going into the light haulage business.

No offence, but what you *need* for a start is a solid business plan!

Will you finance this out of your pocket or get a bank loan?

They'll definitely want to know the following...

How many people are already offering the service you want to sell?

What is going to make someone come to you instead of the existing suppliers?

How much are you going to charge?

What costs are going to be involved (fuel, tax, VAT, staff, accountants, wear and tear on vehicles)?

Can you make a profit on the difference between the charges and the costs?

Is it going to be just you? If so, what happens if you're ill?

If you're employing others, what about wages, health and safety, possibly pension provision?

Will you be a self-employed sole trader (you'll be liable for all the debts if the company gets into trouble which could result in you losing your house if you have one)? Limited company? (More paperwork and you'll really need an accountant and someone to operate as Company Secretary).

These are just a few of the things you'll need to consider!

Please understand I'm not trying to put a dampener on your plans and I wish you every success, but get advice and do research before you jump in with both feet!

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/

http://www.startups.co.uk/

Business Link

Originally Posted by Graham

No offence, but what you *need* for a start is a solid business plan!

Will you finance this out of your pocket or get a bank loan?

They'll definitely want to know the following...

How many people are already offering the service you want to sell?

What is going to make someone come to you instead of the existing suppliers?

How much are you going to charge?

What costs are going to be involved (fuel, tax, VAT, staff, accountants, wear and tear on vehicles)?

Can you make a profit on the difference between the charges and the costs?

Is it going to be just you? If so, what happens if you're ill?

If you're employing others, what about wages, health and safety, possibly pension provision?

Will you be a self-employed sole trader (you'll be liable for all the debts if the company gets into trouble which could result in you losing your house if you have one)? Limited company? (More paperwork and you'll really need an accountant and someone to operate as Company Secretary).

These are just a few of the things you'll need to consider!

Please understand I'm not trying to put a dampener on your plans and I wish you every success, but get advice and do research before you jump in with both feet!

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/

http://www.startups.co.uk/

Business Link

Cheers Graham thanks for the great info, I'm going to do it on my own for the at the start we'll see how it goes from there. It's going to be self financing at the start for example lorry costs, they will be funded by me by the way of lease purchase, I will be a sole trader there will only be me involved, I'm not looking at getting big I just want something to give me a decent living maybe something to pass down to the kids when they grow up.

My wife works in the accountancy trade so she can do my books free of charge

The biggest cost will be fuel, on a newish lorry you'll be looking at getting a decent return on your fuel, I have yet to budget for the fuel.

I'm looking at charging companies £1.20 - £1.50 per mile one way depending on weight and size, so if I do a 150 mile job @ £1.20 per mile it will get me £180, take the fuel out £50 - £55 the profit will be £130. If I double my runs up like most companies do you can charge both companies £180 per job, that's not going to happen all the time but it happens twice a week where I am now, take yesterday I had two loads on board from 2 diffrent companies going within 20 miles of each other both being charged £1.50 per mile.

If I offer a good reliable service keep my feet on the ground it might work.

[grandmaster]

I wish you the best of luck!!

[Millay]

Good luck, words templates are a great starting point, there what I used when I first started. Steer clear of the excel ones though, ive seen some pretty bad stuff coming from them.

[Richard M]

Originally Posted by Nidge

I'm thinking of starting my own business, I need Invoices, letter heads and quotation sheets for a start. I'm thinking of going into the light haulage business. Is there anywhere on the internet where I can get a few ideas on how to create them, I want them to look professional not something thats took me a few minutes to knock up. I have a laser printer so the print out will look sharp and of good quality.

Try to get hold of Macromedia Fireworks - it's really good for creating graphics in printer-friendly* formats.

* - As in the professional print shop, not your inkjet.

Originally Posted by Richard M

Try to get hold of Macromedia Fireworks - it's really good for creating graphics in printer-friendly* formats.

* - As in the professional print shop, not your inkjet.

Right I've got a hold of that, my word it looks daunting.

[Jules]

Vista print have some good offers on if you want to have them done for you

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Nidge

I'm not looking at getting big I just want something to give me a decent living maybe something to pass down to the kids when they grow up.

My wife works in the accountancy trade so she can do my books free of charge

If I offer a good reliable service keep my feet on the ground it might work.

I would still recommend setting up as a limited company, in time an accountant is likely to recommend you do, the limited liabililty thing is a better place to be if it goes all wrong. Mrs Nidge can be the Co.Sec, do the bookkeeping and you can be sole director these days.

Depending on you customer base you may find being a Ltd company is a good thing from a marketing POV. If you are dealing with the public they don't care as long as you do the job.

We us SimplyBooks as our accounting application, this does everything but quotes (and letters), so you record each job on it once you are done as a new invoice and then you can print the invoice from it and print statements at the month end to chase your debtors.

Remember you can compete on quality of service as well as price. Being the cheapest is not the best strategy for starting a business, being competitvly priced and doing the job you promised are far better reasons.