bills....

To clarify, are you talking invoicing for payment, contract for services, or scope of services and progress tracking?

I use QuickBooks for everything.

plowin-fire said:

I use QuickBooks for everything.

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^^^^^ This. We used to use individual MSWord invoices but tracking them after a while got to be laborious. QuickBooks really simplified things.

You guys setup itemized Quickbooks invoices?

I use Quickbooks for my regular business, but, can't imagine itemizing a catering job on it. I suppose once all the categories are setup, it wouldn't be too bad

I searched the internet for an invoice template. Many of them out there and I searched until I found one I liked.

Keeping track can be an issue but I use a single folder for all of them and create sub folders for each client. When I save them I use a 6 digit code to save with it that corresponds to the job # on the invoice. This 6 digit number is the date. I also assign each client an invoice code which is normally the first 3 digits of the clients name. So if I were billing someone personally named Buckwald for a party on june 6th 2016 the code would be BUC060616. Seems complicated but its not. I also copy all new (unpaid) invoices to the accounts receivable folder. Once they are paid I go in and delete it from that folder. Once a month I return to that folder to resend the invoices not yet paid.

landarc said:

You guys setup itemized Quickbooks invoices?

I use Quickbooks for my regular business, but, can't imagine itemizing a catering job on it. I suppose once all the categories are setup, it wouldn't be too bad

Click to expand...

We created sub-accounts for all the "small" items (for our tracking of COGS) and then funnel them into consolidated line items for insertion onto the bill. i.e. sub-accounts for wood, rub, sauce, etc all consolidate up to a line item called Extra's and Contigencies. Yes, it does take some work up front but it sure is nice to be able to track the small stuff so you can figure in the Cost of Goods Sold on all of those "hidden costs".

NOTE: There are Catering softwares out there but they were too expensive for us. Maybe if our volume was larger we could justify one of those apps. My cousin uses one but she has a full blown catering company in Albuquerque so the cost isn't as onerous for her.