And so...it begins.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Don't despair

If your locked out

Simply give

True Brit a shout.

(cheesy radio jingle)

a reply to: TrueBrit

Do yourself a favor and get QuickBooks...I have used it for my business for 10 years. It will populate and produce statements, invoices, Credit/Debits etc...Once you get your basic customer info loaded, it is easy breezy. As you grow the business (and I'm sure you will :cool get an accountant. She/He will save your sanity - not to mention lots of time and MONEY!

Best of the Best for you and the business.

I didn't see mention of this, and it may not be something you would be interested in, but there are "virtual assistants" that could help you out. My husband mentioned me learning to do it, but I am so unorganized it would be a travesty!

Also.... I just have to touch on the subject of Momento. I wasn't very impressed with it either, when it first came out. But, I took a film class where we had to watch and analyze it. I was able to appreciate it more after that. However, I have no desire to ever watch it again

a reply to: TrueBrit

I'm quite like you, I rather deal with the technical stuff and leave the paper stuff to others... Paperwork, institutions, laws, these are just made up stuff we humans invented and we keep on rolling with them... And it seems that some people for some reason are really good at it too.

If you can setup a business with someone that can deal with this kind of work, it'll be very helpful on the long run and you could keep a few extra brain cells from certain death... I have two businesses and thank God I don't have to sign anything or go over any piece of paper.

a reply to: TrueBrit
I was going to suggest having those pesky numbers tattooed on your body somewhere but Augustus beat me to it. I myself am terrible at remembering numbers and such. I'm surprised that I remember the password for my account here.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Didn`t know that burglary, hacking and money laundering was legal, where can I file an application?

Joke aside, one step at the time, overloading your brain with information makes you forget things but you probably already know this. Anyway I`m sure a solution will reveal itself...perhaps if you relaxed and drank a beer or two, you would be able to remember the number. I mean if there is nothing else you can do right now....

Best of luck with your new business!

Get organisational skills right from the beginning and a routine and it will start to fall into place. If you let paperwork build up it will become all consuming and you will forget what and why at a later date.

Get a simple accounting program like Quick Books or Quicken if they still exist. Much simpler than Sage for the novice as it does all the double entry stuff in the background. It is quite simple to see your profits etc easily.

You need a black lever arch file for bills to do with business i.e. rent, water rates, gas, electricity, phone these also need entering on Quicken as overheads.

Black lever arch labelled Purchases so any purchases you make go in here and if VAT registerec take a photocopy for separate VAT file again input onto Quicken under purchases..

Black lever arch labelled SALES or JOBS with invoice done on Quicken for each customer. Good to get into habit of doing this end of each day because also creates a database of customers for marketing purposes. Again if VAT registered (good thing if you want to have business customers) take a copy for VAT file.

If VAT registered file labelled VAT OUT for all purchases (put duplicate copy invoices in here in date order with VAT element highlighted) to do with business so include petrol, lunches or anything you can claim VAT on. Don't forget in 1syt year of business to also put computer, printer anything else needed for business purposes advertising, business cards etc.

Another file with VAT IN with copies of job/sales invoices again in date order with VAT highlighted.

End of month cross reference everything on your bank account. Another good habit to get into is when you pay money into bank write on back of stubs a breakdown of which customer money coming from and tue into sales invoice. For instance if you paid £3,000 into bank and £700 is from Mr Smith and £2,300 from Mr Nobody when you come to go through bank statement it wont be clear if you dont fill stub in to show this.

As someone who started a business in my twenties the best advice is record everything at end of each day on Quicken (no matter how tired) it will take 10 mins and file everything away as above. If you can get into this routine at end of each day and get yourself organused you've half cracked it. At the end of financial year you can then hand it to accountant who wont be able to charge you astronomical amount if everything is straightforward.



Blaca reply to: TrueBrit

I have a little list I carry with me in case I forget. On a piece of paper in my wallet I have disguised them as phone numbers.

Patsy, - 799-2150, for example, the last four digits are the pin. I think if stolen, people wouldn't connect it to bank numbers.

Of course the possibility remains that I am an idiot.

In relation to remembering pin number try and form connections it always works for me. Years ago I had 8316 for my number. 83 was year I left school and 16 I remembered as leaving and Happy Birthday Sweet 16 song. Usually no matter what the number you can find a connection.

You guys...

Thank you so much for your support, for making me laugh, and for your suggestions as to how I might improve matters. No bit of software is going to work very well for me, because I will only forget to enter details into it anyway. Basically, if there is any point of possible failure involving short term memory, we may as well forget it.

But the positivity that is being displayed right now makes me feel a damned sight better, and that is nearly as good as an actual solution to my particular malfunction.

You folks are epic.

a reply to: TrueBrit

If all else fails...

Write the pin # on the inside of your knickers.

But either way, write it down man ! Write it down !

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: TrueBrit

If all else fails...

Write the pin # on the inside of your knickers.

But either way, write it down man ! Write it down !

I had a mate years ago, lovely guy. He was a brilliant engineer and could make anything mechanical work and fix just about anything you could throw at him.

He was always forgetting his pin and no word of a lie they sent him a new one. 1234.

He still used to forget it and have to ask to be reminded.

Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not good at.

Apart from me that is, I am simply awsome in all things

(exept spelling and grammer. Terrible at those.)

a reply to: CranialSponge

I will write the new one down, and put it somewhere safe...that usually works, right?

Heheh....

I am doomed! DEEEEEEEWWWWWWMED!

a reply to: TrueBrit

You could always scribble it on the inside of your bedroom door:

"For a good time call TrueBrit 4635"



See ?

I'm just bursting with ideas !

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: CranialSponge

I will write the new one down, and put it somewhere safe...that usually works, right?

Heheh....

I am doomed! DEEEEEEEWWWWWWMED!

Message Mrsnonspecific, she is a whizz at spreadsheets and organising stuff. She is also a little bizarre and is good at coming up with unconventional solutions to odd peoples problems with this kind of thing.

I have experience in this.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: crayzeed
I know that I chose a number that I would have remembered, IF I could remember dates, designation codes, the numerical reference for stars, and all that malarkey. Right now, I cannot even remember what it was a reference to, let alone what the blasted number is. I HATE my brain! I can remember useless facts about science and history and politics, I can remember events, sights I have seen, people I have met, even people I met at a Cathedral gig about six years ago while abso-flipping-lutely WASTED, but I cannot remember a damned pin for the life of me!

Now stop right there. You have a beautiful brain. It is VERY good with words. You, like other creative folks, are lopsided in your intelligence. I too, have difficulty remembering numbers and have gone into a panic over blanking out a PIN or a phone number, sort of like remembering someone's face but not their name - it's frustrating!!

Do you have anyone that can help you organize the paperwork side of things? A friend or family member that would help get you started on it without charging you? You've just been through a terrible ordeal with the legal battle. That is traumatic. You are trying to bounce back and land on your feet. I respect that.

A lot of paperwork is about establishing systems that work for you, then developing routines to make sure the systems keep working and flowing right along like a merry river of paper and money... I offer my ideas as food for thought and in the hopes that it might help. Then again, it may not be helpful. I hope you take it in the spirit in which it is offered, regardless.

Anyway, here are some ideas:

I would recommend getting a banker's box or a portable file-box to keep everything organized and file folders. You don't have to get organized all at one time, but chip away at it and create a system to help you.

You have two basic categories: Income (Receivables) and Expenses (Payables). Everything in business falls into these two categories in various forms. You know this!!

INCOME
Okay, do you invoice people based on things you purchase on a job? In other words, do you need to keep receipts ordered for job-related purchases by CLIENT?

Or do you purchase things for your work in general, without associating it with a client?

IF by Client, THEN set up a folder or envelope for each Client with their name on it and put all receipts, invoices, and the record of what is paid/not paid in that folder. This is important if you are going to charge them for things you've purchased specifically for them, and you are working off of a quote/individual job. (If you give unique quotes per job versus flat rates for services). If you purchase several things for different clients at the same time and they are on one receipt, then you can copy that receipt and circle what the client owes you, then place it in their folder for when you are doing their invoice. I can share more about client-based invoicing if you do that.

IF NOT by Client, then sort your paperwork by 1) Receivables (all income to your business), 2) Payables (all bills and purchases associated with your business).

Under "Receivables" if you have invoices out that have not been paid to you yet, then have one folder labeled "Unpaid" and another labeled "Paid." (Folders: "Receivables - Unpaid" "Receivables - Paid") . When someone gives you money for your work, you give them a receipt with the date, amount and your signature or business name. You also have a copy that goes into your Receivables Paid folder at the end of the day.

EXPENSES
Under the category of "Payables" you can sort by several methods. A general "Payables - To Pay" file of outstanding bills to pay can be helpful, sorted by DATE DUE with the most urgent bills up front and the ones you have more time to pay in the back.

After bills are paid, you can sort them a couple of ways. If you have specific companies/businesses that you purchase from regularly, you can have folders labeled for each company/business, and then sort THOSE alphabetically. Another method is to take PAID bills and sort them by Expense Item, i.e "Key Blanks" might be purchased from several vendors based on sales, etc., and you could put them there so you can later add up how much you spent on 'key blanks.' Again, sort these alphabetically.

Receipts for purchases you've made can be treated the same way as paid bills above, sorted by company or expense category. (You may only have receipts from cash purchases, rather than pay-later bills but most businesses have a mixture of both.)

TOOLS TO HELP
Quicken Business or QuickPro are very good programs in the US. I'm betting you have similar bookkeeping computer programs on your side of the pond! IF you want to do it the old-fashioned way by hand, then it is a smart thing to keep a Ledger of all your income and expenses.

You can also use simple spreadsheets if you don't want to keep a book by hand.

Set up a spreadsheet with TWO pages - the first is Income and the second is Expenses. If you have multiple types of jobs that you do, then in addition to noting the date of the income, and client, add the job title/category (one of your categories is "locksmith" - if you have others then adding the category helps you keep track of which kind of work is giving you the most income).

The Expense page can be a simple logging of daily / weekly expenses, and their category. This helps you by letting you see where your money is going by a simple sort and graph. You might see where you can trim expenses once you have all this information sorted out in front of you. This is for money that HAS BEEN PAID.

You can add two more pages to the file if you like, one under INCOME for outstanding invoices of folks who haven't paid you yet (if you do that), and the other under EXPENSES for the bills you have yet to pay. (This gets to be a challenge, because you have to then move them to the Paid Expenses page...kind of a pain, but it does let you know how much you owe.)

TAXES
I only know how it happens here in the US. I highly recommend getting someone to help you with understanding what you need to do to pay taxes from your business. If you are organized, it will be an easy discussion. It is worth it to pay a tax professional to do this, at least once, so you can see how its done correctly. You may already know, and if so, you are even more awesome!

SETTING UP ROUTINES
This stuff is hard if you are not naturally inclined to do it, but it will save you in the end to put the time in! Just like you have to take time to see what you are doing that day, go over your To Do list as it were, you need time to put the day to rest as well.

Schedule a half hour at the end of the day and another hour at the end of the week to put everything to rights and then do something to reward yourself for being awesome. Rewards for doing your paperwork can be fun! Something to look forward to at the end of the day...

Good Luck! I hope this has been helpful and not overwhelming. At one point in my life I was an Administrative Assistant to an Interior Designer. I handled all the Accounts Receivable and Payable and Payroll.

a reply to: AboveBoard

Wow! Or... he could hire you. You sound like a keeper.

You could always use the old school cheat sheet tucked away in a secure place. Or try some kind of online program to keep passwords safe. My McAffee offers the service whenever I go online.

Another poster suggested a wife or significant other to take care of those things for you. My husband can attest that it's worked just fine for him the last 17 years.

a reply to: TrueBrit


I haven't read the whole thread so maybe it is mentioned before.

But about the code you seem to forget. It could be easier for you to remember how your fingers move without remembering the actual numbers. It is not like playing a symphony of Mozart, it is more like tying a knot, driving a car or riding a bike.


a code like 1234 is easy in numbers but less easy as pattern.
a code like 1542 is an easy pattern (a small X when looking at a numpad) but less easy in numbers.
Same as Y, when you "write" Y on a numpad (literally write with your index finger) you get 9527.


Maybe if you get to choose a new code and you choose it on pattern it is more easy to remember, especially when you tell about working with locks and keys that obviously show you are in control of tiny secure controlled movements.

a reply to: AboveBoard

What fantastic advice! even for a numbers savvy business man like me! What great advice and funny comments from others too, this is why I like ATS and the people that make it so good (mostly)

My own problem is I have some mental block with names and words. It's like I know them but at the moment I am about to reference them in a conversation I can't think for the life of me what they are... The most frustrating thing is I feel like I'm forced into into a playing a game of charades practically, but I only know my "missing word " when somebody says it. How can that be?