to go electronic or not

[toab]

hi guys..I'm getting ready to set up my business this spring up here in ontario and I was wondering if it is worth the expense to set up my business electronicly or weather just some personalized invoiceing/receipt book would be good enough and have my wife look after the books at home.I do want to go full time with this venture and hopefully get some insurance work eventually.I've heard that going electronic can actually save us alot of late night paper work as well as making life for my accountant alot easier too.I realize that I probably will have to spend well over a K to get setup this way by the time I get a laptop computer,a mobile printer and appropriate software to run mobilly.please chime in you long time pro's as well as newbies.Thanks guys and gals.

[luxton]

I am from Ontario as well but do Pdr work for 5 years. I do all my invoices on a dollar store invoice book and enter them and everything else into quickbooks later into the computer at home. I have been considering getting a Laptop computer like yourself for the invoices and staying on top of accounts. The problem is the printer. In Ontario, you have to Take your printer inside everynight or the ink will freeze up. Also the room it takes upcan be a bit of a pain. Anyways I would suggest starting with cheap invoices until you get established and move on from there, however I would strongly suggest using a good computer accounting system like quickbooks to keep track of everything for your accountant. It also makes your life easier for Gst and Pst payments etc. I will check back for other peoples suggestions because i would like to get set up with a Laptop, but i am also well established and can easily justify one now.
Good luck!

[cure4glass]

If you get to the point that you don't have time to do your bookwork at home, you have a very good problem.I personally would'nt spend an extraordinary amount at this point to be more "mobile" until I began seeing some profits.I've been doing windshield repair for 16 years and if I stay organized I can still do my bookwork on my home computer without getting behind.I love gadgets though.I use a palm pilot(a lot), a laptop, my cell phone and a soulthern Link radio in my business but have'nt been able to justify a mobile software setup, but if I could justify it I probably would.
I hope you get to a point that you can't do without it, but I'd save the cash right now

[repare-brise]

Toab

Being a Canadian myself ( and proud of it eh ), don't go electric. As mentioned above ink freezes, and it doesn't take a night to do it( an hour in -20c will do it quite nicely), also lap-tops are not winter friendly either(lcd screens are a might chilli). Have some nice invoices printed up(if you want an example of a bi-lingual one you can copy PM or e-mail me) and transfer the info once you get home , once you get organised it's a 10-20 min job.

Remember to go vote on Monday EH!

At Your Service

[toab]

Yes my conservative vote will be in the box .lol.

[Don Boccafola]

I use a HP IPAQ hand held and a blue tooth printer during the day. I sync all invoices into quick books at night. I do alot of dealer work an I document Vin#,stock#,PO#,make,model and year. I find using the hand held is easier and more accurate than hand writing bills and then repunching the same information into the computer. I'm not saying its perfect but I hate doing paper work.

[Sneck]

I could see a palm pilot for keeping organized etc., but a lap-top to run invoicing seems a little overkill. However.... You could try and use your lap-top as a marketing tool!!!!!!!!!!!

You could take digital (before and after) pictures of every repair on every vehicle you do. Keep them on your lap-top to show new clients the kind, and quality of the work you are doing. Show them what can be expected in the end result of a properly repaired windshield.

Taking digital pictures of the (before and after) could also come in handy if someone tries to tell you that your repair failed and cracked and they want their money back, - you could name each picture you take with the customers name or invoice number (or whatever) so that you can tie the picture(s) to a repair job. That way you have a visual record of the job, and you will know if there was any funny business going on.

This could come in handy also for recording any paint scratches or dings or dents on the hood or near your work area - that way the customer can't accuse you of something you didn't do.

I would have to think that if your customer saw you taking a picture or two of the vehicle and of the repair job, they would think you are serious about the work you are doing, and that you care about their vehicle and the results of your work.

Another thing you could do is copy and paste little repair tricks "text" that you find on this forum that others have so graciously shared - so you have something to refer to if you run into something out of the ordinary.

You could also keep track of all the insurance company's Phone-numbers, addresses, and payment plans. (Which companies pay for windshield repair and which ones don't).

You could also have your latest brochure and coupons with you on your lap-top so that you can revise it or customize it to suit specific customers you are seeing that day - all while on the go.

If I had a lap-top, and I was doing repair full time, these are the things that I could see myself doing - (unless I later found it was a big waste of time).

Sneck

[repare-brise]

I use my computer for power-point presentations when I first approach a corperate client(dealer, fleet, insurance broker....) or when presenting at a trade show. I take many before and after pics and store the.m for future use. The problem as I said before is that it works great from mar-oct, after that the risk of freezing the lap-top is too great(and the result of said freezind too expensive. For cold weather I take it with me only when I know I will need it, not just incase.

At Your Service

PS Toab, as long as it's not "the block" I am fine with it.

[toab]

I am kinda curious about this hp ipac setup. Does this setup hold all the days work in it as well as issue invoises and keep track of accounts too?Is this blue tooth printer a special mobile style less suseptable to changeing temps?Also I was wondering if quickbooks is fairly straight forward to use or do I have to take office training.I am looking for software to help take out some of the paper work of running the business.I'd rather be fixin than writin' any day.

[jonnyques]

Im In Niagara Falls, ON. I run a dell laptop with quickbooks on it. I also use a canon bj80 printer. I have to say this set up stays in my truck 24/7 all winter long. Ive had no problems at all with not being able to print. I made a mobil laptop stand simulat to a joto desk. Mine has 2 trays on it, one for the laptop one for the printer. I have a security cable on the laptop. I find this setup works great for me. I can do all my billing on a custom invoice. I can see recivables, do all banking, input expenses, everything on the go! This frees up alot of time at night by not having to do the paper work. I have also had accounts say they didnt recieve my statement, NO PROBLEM, I print you off a new one Pm me if you want a pic. Ill email it to you.
John