Navigating the Paper Trail of Show Orders

[smilesarepriceless]

Ok, I've just submitted my second show, and if there is somewhere on CC that I need to look, please point me in the right direction, but I'm nervous about the papertrail process I need to be doing with orders..

Since I am submitting all my shows electronically, what do i do with the paper order form copies, I have...Am I supposed to mail those to PC?

For people who call me and say "hey, i want a large bar pan, but I can't come to the show.." and I add it to the show, how do i officially track their order..aside from placing the order on PPP...?

 

[JaimeQ]

If it helps.. I haven't mailed anything to HO and I put everything in electronically. I was keeping the order forms people filled out but have since stopped doing that. I just have everything on the P3 program.

 

[katie0128]

Heather - you are using P3 correct?

 

[smilesarepriceless]

yes I am..using PPP, that is...I suppose, i just want to be doing everything correctly..and wasn't sure what to do with the 'real' paperwork, if i submit everything electronically.

 

[katie0128]

O.k....

Since I am submitting all my shows electronically, what do i do with the paper order form copies, I have...Am I supposed to mail those to PC?
For people who call me and say "hey, i want a large bar pan, but I can't come to the show.." and I add it to the show, how do i officially track their order..aside from placing the order on PPP...?

Since you are submitting everything electronically (which I believe is the only way HO will accept anything anymore), you DO NOT need to physically send anything into HO... they get everything they need from the transmission.

Personally, I'm a pack rat and slightly OCD when it comes to paperwork (among other things!!) and I SAVE EVERYTHING. I have a manila file folder I create when I book a show that I keep all information related to that show in... directions, host info sheet, any misc notes, etc. If I receive any orders for the show before the show, I put them into P3, put a big green check on the paper (all my notes are done in green - makes them stand out) and file it in the folder.

After the show, I enter the orders into P3 and again, do the green check thing and put everything into the folder. Personally, even if I'm going to combine orders, I have each customer complete a seperate order form and then I staple the forms together with the one on top being the customer who's name the order is under.

When I get orders after the show, I complete an order form for that person (or print the order from my PWS), enter it into P3, green check and file it. I complete an order form even for my host... just to make sure I have everything correct and keep ALL show orders on order forms and in my file.

Before I submit the show, I pull out all the order forms and double check to make sure they are all entered correctly - correct names, payments, items, future bookings, notes about each customer, etc. Then I green check them again, submit the show, print a show summary and the receipts.

The show summary gets a green check to verify I reviewed it and then filed in the show folder. The receipts get a note or sticker or whatever I feel like doing and then into an envelope to be mailed to the host.

Now I have only been doing this for a year, so I don't have a huge collection of past shows. But the plan is to keep the show folder between 6 and 12 months (right now it is 12 since I don't have that many shows). Then I will shred everything in the folder since there is personal information on all the pages.

This ended up being a longer post than I intended, but I hope it helps. Feel free to PM/email me anytime if you have any questions!!

 

[Christ Follower]

I'm not as organized as all that, but I do save my guests receipts in a fiel folder in my file cabinet. I staple all the receipts together for each show then put them all in file folders by months. Now that I hit my 1 year mark, I'm thinking about thinning things out and getting rid of some (shreadding).

 

[katie0128]

Told ya I'm just a wee bit OCD!!! heehee

 

[chefann]

Heather, since you're submitting everything through P3, you don't HAVE to keep any of the paper. Most consultants do, just for peace of mind (then you can recreate your history if - heaven forbid! - your computer crashes, taking the backup with it). A more important thing to do is back up your P3 data OFTEN, and onto some form of removable media (like a flash drive).

 

[jenniferp417]

I'm only saving my paperwork for two months, tops - but I'm super-OCD about backing up P3 (or PPP if you prefer that name). And when I say OCD, I mean:* backup on my computer
* nightly backup onto my backup drive
* nightly backup over the internet to a safe site
(THIS backup, by the way, is dated. So if I find out today that yesterday's backup is corrupted, I can grab the day before yesterday's... or another day before that)I figure if I'm going all-digital, I'm going to be *sure*.

 

[BethCooks4U]

Since you are submitting everything electronically (which I believe is the only way HO will accept anything anymore), you DO NOT need to physically send anything into HO... they get everything they need from the transmission.

Orders can still be submitted by paper. There are still lots of people that don't have computers and internet access.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Orders can still be submitted by paper. There are still lots of people that don't have computers and internet access.

I had a recruit like that (had being the operative word here!) and it was so difficult to figure things out and submit shows/supply orders/etc......I had never done it that way - and I remember sitting at my kitchen table with her several times trying to figure out what to do. She didn't make it very long - it was too much work for her!

 

[PC_CPR]

My sister was a consultant a few years back. She started when she had a laptop (given to her by an ex boyfriend who was a techie). When the laptop died and the boyfriend was history, she gave up on Pampered Chef. Like Becky said, it just became too much work and hassle (she had a computer at work but it wasn't feasible for her to do the entries there).

 

[chefjeanine]

Orders can still be submitted by paper. There are still lots of people that don't have computers and internet access.

I would guess that the Amish women are still mailing in their orders.

 

[Brandi2007]

LOL! This completely describes me!!! I am so glad i am not the only one that is paperwork obssessive!

Since you are submitting everything electronically (which I believe is the only way HO will accept anything anymore), you DO NOT need to physically send anything into HO... they get everything they need from the transmission.

Personally, I'm a pack rat and slightly OCD when it comes to paperwork (among other things!!) and I SAVE EVERYTHING. I have a manila file folder I create when I book a show that I keep all information related to that show in... directions, host info sheet, any misc notes, etc. If I receive any orders for the show before the show, I put them into P3, put a big green check on the paper (all my notes are done in green - makes them stand out) and file it in the folder.

After the show, I enter the orders into P3 and again, do the green check thing and put everything into the folder. Personally, even if I'm going to combine orders, I have each customer complete a seperate order form and then I staple the forms together with the one on top being the customer who's name the order is under.

When I get orders after the show, I complete an order form for that person (or print the order from my PWS), enter it into P3, green check and file it. I complete an order form even for my host... just to make sure I have everything correct and keep ALL show orders on order forms and in my file.

Before I submit the show, I pull out all the order forms and double check to make sure they are all entered correctly - correct names, payments, items, future bookings, notes about each customer, etc. Then I green check them again, submit the show, print a show summary and the receipts.

The show summary gets a green check to verify I reviewed it and then filed in the show folder. The receipts get a note or sticker or whatever I feel like doing and then into an envelope to be mailed to the host.

Now I have only been doing this for a year, so I don't have a huge collection of past shows. But the plan is to keep the show folder between 6 and 12 months (right now it is 12 since I don't have that many shows). Then I will shred everything in the folder since there is personal information on all the pages.

This ended up being a longer post than I intended, but I hope it helps. Feel free to PM/email me anytime if you have any questions!![/QUOTE]

 

[Jewel]

I'm only saving my paperwork for two months, tops - but I'm super-OCD about backing up P3 (or PPP if you prefer that name). And when I say OCD, I mean:

* backup on my computer
* nightly backup onto my backup drive
* nightly backup over the internet to a safe site
(THIS backup, by the way, is dated. So if I find out today that yesterday's backup is corrupted, I can grab the day before yesterday's... or another day before that)

I figure if I'm going all-digital, I'm going to be *sure*.

I am married to a computer tech, so this is totally me too. I even go as far as to save it on 2 separate thumb drives. Great now I have OCD and didn't know it!

 

[smilesarepriceless]

well this is good to know..Now, how on earth within PPP can i print a receipt for someone..And from my first show, I had 3 neighbors all go intogether on their order..
1. but how can i go about giving them all a separate receipt..

2. Aside from the order forms we can order, is there a different online/downloadable order form I can use and print on my own computer to cut on costs?

 

[chefann]

In P3, select the show (lower left), then click the little button just above the show listings that says "Print receipts". You'll have a chance to select which ones to print. You can print the back from the OOF on CC onto your paper to make official receipts.And as far as people going in on orders, I only give them one receipt. I tell them that my software won't let me print multiples (yeah, I lie!) and they'll have to pick one of them to keep it for warranty purposes. It's a way to cut down on people combining orders.

 

[ljeffries]

I keep my 'paper copies' of orders only until my host tells me that they received their order and that everything was there. Somtimes I staple the original order form by staple to the receipt. If I don't do this, as soon as the host tells me that everything was delivered and was in good order, I shred the original form. I am just not keen on keeping folks personal info - credit card numbers - in a file. Not OCD, but a banker!

 

[Chef Endora]

What's a flash drive?

What's a thumb drive?

I can get by on a computer, but I am still learning!

Is there a way to print a separate receipt when people combine their orders? I mean using their own names & not the person you put the order under?

I think our shipping is very reasonable compared to other DSs and I point that out at my shows, but there are always a few, or someone that has a small order & I can understand them not wanting to pay the $4.

 

[jenniferp417]

A flash drive and a thumb drive are two names for the same thing. It's a small computer disk that plugs into a USB port (your computer might have one on the front of the computer). It's good to store files, back them up, or share between computers. It's about the size of your thumb, which is where that name came from.You can't print separate receipts for people who combine orders, and you really shouldn't want to. I think someone else in this thread said that they tell people the computer will only print one and that they'll have to share - to discourage people combining orders.

 

[chefann]

What's a flash drive?

What's a thumb drive?

They're the same thing - a small portable storage device that you can plug into the USB port on your computer. They hold more than a floppy. I couldn't survive without mine! IT's a great way to carry important files with you, and to have a second place for your PP/P3 backup.

Is there a way to print a separate receipt when people combine their orders? I mean using their own names & not the person you put the order under?

Nope. PP/P3 will only print a receipt with the name you used as the customer. You could write out paper receipts (on order forms), but if people know that you do that, they'll start combining orders more, and that will eventually lead to shipping increases.

 

[chefann]

Hey, Jennifer- we were typing at the same time!

 

[jenniferp417]

I just *knew* that would happen! :O)