How to Create Great Invoices

Picture yourself after you have completed a big wedding, Birthday Party, Bar Mitzvah, etc. You have worked hard at the Event, the customer is satisfied and you go home to get some rest.

But, you’ve forgot one thing…

The invoice!

It is very important that the invoice is submitted to the customer in a timely manner. First of all, because you want to get paid sooner, second, it’s a vital part of Customer Service routine.

A rule of thumb for invoicing is that it should be in the customer’s inbox 72 hours after the event. However, depending on your business size and the arrangement with your customer it may happen sooner. We don’t recommend waiting longer than that, unless there are circumstances that are known and agreed upon by both parties.

To prepare a good invoice it is advised to use a professional program. That makes it more automated and looks more legitimate; see this video to learn how to create a quick and accurate invoice with Inspherio.

Your invoice has to have a unique Identifier: number or name, or both. That way, you can easily find a record of it anytime.

Look through all your expenses, add them up. Was there any extra money spent, overtime? Did you have any last minute additions and/or cancellations?

Check with all your vendors that have billed you for the event, then double check that those charges are correct.

Make sure that the Invoice is easy to read and to understand for your customer.

Is the information on your Invoice clear (amount, due date, acceptable methods of payment)? With Inspherio, your customer can pay you directly from the Invoice page by using PayPal, Google CheckOut or Authorize.net.

Double check mailing address/e-mail address before sending it over (you don’t have to worry about this step with Inspherio, the program will use the information from your Address Book.

We hope that this tip will help you along the way to grow your Event business. For more tips and trends in the Event Industry visit our website and our blog.

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How to Become More Efficient in Your Business

Although Productivity and Efficiency are often used synonymously, they are not entirely same. Productivity is more about getting things done, efficiency is about the Way those things get done.  

If you are reading this blog, you probably have a business and that business is successful or at least becoming successful. So that means that you must be getting things done. Well, the tips below will help you make it more Efficient.

Always plan ahead. It’s best to pick the end of your workweek for this stage. (We don’t want to call it Friday, because we know that most people in the Event Industry are working over the weekend).  Sit down by yourself or with your team and go over your goals for the week, month or a year. Write them down and add them to the calendar. With SpanPlan, your team can share the same calendar to stay in-sync with your current agenda.

Adhere to your deadlines. Since you have written them in the calendar and everyone is aware that they exist, now is the time to plan according to the deadlines.  Make sure that you have all the staff and tools ready at the planning stage of the project.  That way there is less chance that you will be caught off guard in the middle of the project. (Think about it as if you are baking a cake and realize that you are out of sugar when all other ingredients are already in the bowl. Of course, you can run to the store, but will the cake be ready for the client to pick up on time? You are lucky if it will be. So, why stress out? Plan ahead!)

Respect other vendors’ deadlines and demand the same from them. If you are an Interior Designer and the Event Planner wanted you to have the space set up 3 hours before the event, have the room ready 3 hours before the event, not 2 or 2 and a half. The same for your table linen and chair covers rental company, they must deliver 2 hours before you start setting up tables.

Get organized (see our post about Organizing your business), remember: clutter on your desk leads to clutter in your head. So, do it now!

Keep personal stuff out of business hours. As we always say, it takes a long time to gain the concentration once you have been interrupted. It is especially challenging if you run your business from home. For this topic we will dedicate an entire blog post, so stay tuned.

We decided that every Friday we will be sharing tips that will help you grow personally and as a business. So, come back and check our blog every Friday.  Also, read our other new blog themes, every Monday and Wednesday.

At SpanPlan we always strive to streamline your work to free up your time for the things you enjoy doing. Now, see what efficiency solutions Inspherio can offer for You!

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7 Better Business Tools

Think about all the tools you need to complete a simple task - like cooking a dinner for example: pots, pans, spatulas etc. There is a tool for every task. Have you ever tried to use the wrong tool? If so, it is likely it was not the outcome you hoped for.

So, to continue our discussion about Organizing your Business, we will be talking about Tools today.

If you have read our previous blogs you would have learned about separating your business into departments and keeping all of your files organized and up to date. So, what’s next?

Look through the files and Departments. Are you using the most up to date tools available?

Does the speed of your Internet meet your business requirements? If not, call your internet provider right now!

Do you have many different ways to be reached by your clients?

Make sure that your phone works and the phone number is listed correctly in the directories of your choice, including your website!

Do you even have a website? If you don’t your business is too 1990s! Get it fixed, get a website! Inspherio can give you one for free as part of our basic package.

Do you participate in social media? If for some reason you do not, (I hope you do, since you are reading this blog), you may be underestimating its power. Harnessing Social Media may be one of the greatest investments you can make. While it takes quite a bit of time, it will pay off in the long run.

Access your clientele. How do your clients prefer to be contacted? Is it e-mail, phone or, maybe Twitter? Be sure to know that and set up all means of contact to be available on the go: smartphone, tablet or laptop. You never know when your client will need your assistance. In the modern world there is nothing that makes more difference in winning business like great Customer Service! Inspherio allows you to keep all your clients’ information at your fingertips, no matter where, you will never be caught off guard again.

Do you still use paper receipts and bill your clients via paper bills? I have news for you: while you are waiting in line at the post office; your competitors are closing deals with their next clients. Is that really what you want? Send your next bill with this automated feature via Inspherio and move on with your day!

Ditch the paper calendar! Get a shared calendar that you can access anywhere, anytime and even set up a reminder for the task to be performed. It will be especially beneficial if you have a group of people working with you in different locations, give access to the calendar maintenance to your key staff to in order keep everyone up to date.

What is the tool that saves you time the most? Share with us, we’d love to hear from you!

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Event Planning Business Organization; How to Divide and Conquer

First of all this article is for the people that are serious about their business, serious about making money and becoming successful. If you would rather watch dancing kittens, follow this link instead: Kittens Dancing.

Now, that we only have the serious readers, we will proceed.

Any business, big or small, needs a structure. Structure is the backbone of any business. A clearly defined structure will keep your business operations smooth and the management easy.

To create a structure for your business, break your business down into Departments. For Event Professionals like you, we recommend: Operations and Support departments. Ok, I can already hear you saying: "Wait, my business is run by one person, and it’s me!" Relax;we don’t want you to start a hiring campaign. These are Virtual Departments, the purpose of this is to keep your business organized; you can still serve in all departments and do a great job at it!

Divide your Departments in to Divisions or Sub-departments,whatever you want to call them, the main purpose is to reflect every activity that needs to be performed to keep your business thriving, think of everything. For example:

Operations:

Sales

Marketing

Customer service

Vendor relations

Accounting:

Accounts receivable

Accounts Payable

Taxes

Support:

Purchasing

HR

Building management

... and so on

We will continue talking about organizing your business in the next blog. For now, please, check our new product: Inspherio, which will help you organize your business and keep all of your event information.

Picture source: sp122809.eventbrite.com

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