03/ 27/ 2007
You might joke about the mindless flurry of business forms that come your way each month, but make no mistake about it: Routine business forms are powerful management tools. Used properly, they can make a difference in the success of your small business. Here, then, is an inventory of forms you should consider:
Credit memos. The "reverse" of invoices, credit memos document the value of returned goods or cancellation of services. Tip: Use invoices and credit memos to verify the accuracy of inventory.
Delivery tickets. These tickets should be signed by your customers whenever they take receipt of goods. They provide evidence that goods have been received. Tip: Link delivery and invoice documents together for easy retrieval in the event of questions.
Employment applications. If you have employees, you'll need a standard application form. Since a variety of state and federal laws govern employment, you'll want a form that clearly meets legal criteria. The application form should contain basic name and address information, education, experience and other data related to the job. Tip: Require application forms of all candidates before speaking to them or interviewing them.
Inventory control records. If you produce or sell goods, you must keep track of inventory. These records typically consist of receiving tickets (which document incoming items), journals (used to track and value incoming items and items placed in production) and a control ledger which summarizes the available quantity of everything in inventory. Tip: When taking inventory, your ledger should agree with your physical count.
Invoices. If you bill customers for goods and services, you need invoices. They contain space for product numbers, order quantities, item descriptions, prices and totals. Tip: By including the terms of sale on invoices, you help minimize misunderstandings and late payments.
Leave request. Another important personnel form, leave requests authorize employees to take sick or personal time or other leave allowances. By formally approving these in advance, you control employee time away from the job. Tip: Require that copies of leave requests accompany time sheets so that appropriate payroll notations may be made.
Memorandum. You'll use the internal memorandum form to transmit routine data and information within your enterprise. Many contain checklists, which include such instructions as "read only," "for your files," "reply" and other terms. Tip: Hold memoranda requiring replies in a tickler and refer to it each morning. Another tip: Memoranda relating to a particular project should contain the project name or code number. This simplifies the filing process.
Petty cash vouchers. A specialized receipt, you'll use petty cash vouchers to document disbursements from the petty cash fund. As cash is removed from the fund, accompanying vouchers and backup documents, such as store receipts, are substituted. Tip: Leave space on the petty cash voucher or receipt for logging of account numbers. Then, your bookkeeper won't have to rummage through the attached documents when it comes time to replenish the fund.
Production logs. If you're involved in the production of goods or services, you'll need to log input and output (in the case of hard goods) or time (in the case of services). Tip: Use production logs to measure efficiency and estimate the availability of finished goods.
Project planners. Strategic planning is one of the marks of effective management. Project planning forms— arranged in the form of sequentially numbered lists or planning grids—allow you to detail every component of a project along with accompanying deadlines. Tip: In the margins of your project planning notes, include numerical or alphabetic codes which reference source documents, expense vouchers or other data.
Purchase orders. You'll use purchase orders to place orders for goods and services. These documents should note the physical description, quantity and price of goods ordered, as well as any special terms or delivery dates. Tip: Include all the specifics of a transaction on your purchase order. You'll prevent misunderstandings over terms and protect yourself in the event of sales disputes.
Receipts. If you collect funds from customers or clients, you probably need to issue receipts, generated by hand, computer or cash register. Tip: By sequentially numbering receipts, you provide a clear audit trail for your accounts, and you help prevent internal theft.
Statements. Statements summarize the status of customer accounts at periodic intervals, usually the end of each month. Statements reflecting past due amounts can—and should—contain payment reminders. Tip: Enclose special offers with your monthly statements to stimulate additional sales.
Time sheets. Once you hire employees, you'll need time sheets. Your employees will use them to record time worked, as well as vacation, sick and other leave allowances. Tip: Time sheets can help substantiate an employee's whereabouts in the event of a claim for unemployment insurance, workers' compensation claims or legal action.
Vouchers. A voucher is simply an authorization to issue a check or pay a bill. It may be very small in size (or even imprinted on invoices with a rubber stamp) bearing space for the claim date, item description, general ledger account to be charged, amount and signature. Once complete, vouchers become the documentation for payment. Tip: A strong voucher program helps prevent checks drawn for vague purposes and helps bring control to the accounting process.
Work order. If you run a physical facility, you'll use work orders to formally request maintenance and repair jobs. They'll contain date and deadline information, descriptions of work to be complete, analyses of problems and, perhaps, funds available in your repair budget. Tip: Maintain work orders in a tickler by deadline to monitor completion of projects. Another tip: Note the work order number on all invoices and employee costs related to the project. If you can track project costs on your accounting system, you'll then be able to summarize the true costs of every facility project.
Most of these forms will likely be indispensable to your business. You may not need every one of the forms listed above to run your small business. In fact, you may need additional forms unique to your business or industry. But whatever forms you use, don't forget: These trifling pieces of paper help you produce a stronger bottom line.
