If you don't have (or need) accounting software to produce invoices for your business, there are other options you can take advantage of. Some businesses create their own database program (or pay some to create it).

Others (like me) just use their own document template for creating invoices. And as I discussed in my last post, having your own set of document templates enhances your company identity and helps you to stand out among others. But since Microsoft Word doesn't come with a sample invoice template, you'd either have to find one in the Microsoft Office Template Gallery, or create your own from scratch. Below is a sample of the template that I use for my invoices:

Invoice Template

The only two drawbacks of using a Word invoice template are that the calculation isn't automatic and it doesn't automatically number them sequentially for you. However, since I don't create a ton of invoices every week, I'll live.

Now that my kids are out of school, they suddenly have a lot of time on their hands. They are all restless out of their minds!  Particularly my daughter, who only has one thing on her mind ... her 6th birthday party!

Here's the problem; her birthday isn't for another 40 days. We could either be pestered with the question "Is it my birthday yet?", or come up with something she could use to monitor this on her own. So my wife told her to ask her father to create a calendar for her to mark the days leading up to her birthday in July. Here's what I came up with:

Birthday Countdown

This Microsoft Word document uses a combination of three tables, each placed in their own column and accented with simple clipart.  Of course, this could be used for any countdown you like. Also, you may opt to delete all the flower images that I put in for my little girl and add your own clipart.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

The Document Gallery will soon have many more documents available for anyone to download. Admittedly, this will be a slow, gradual process; but my goal is to provide hundreds of document templates and samples, including hard-to-find documents from other websites that you might be able to use. For now, I'm going to start simple, with mostly MS Word documents; but later you'll be able to find speadsheet & presentations, also.

Here are some simple office templates for your business:

• Letter Template
• Letterhead Template
• Memo Template
• Press Release Template

If there's a document that you need, leave a comment on this post and let me know and I'll see what I can do (or maybe someone else can help). 

Enjoy!

When it comes to prospective clients, I believe the second most important document they will see is ... your website (yes, it is a document - I will address this in another post).  However, the most important document they will see from your business is your proposal. For that reason, you will find many products and resources dedicated to making good proposals.

There are two approaches you can take: 1) Use a software package (like Proposal Kit - which I highly recommend); or 2) Create your own.  I would say that using software is for those that have never done a proposal before and need more help than normal; but I suggest creating one from scratch for those that have the experience, time and resources to gain the advantages of it being custom and (in most cases) a lot more direct. I have added a sample of proposal template that I've used successfully for a long time:

Proposal Template

You will find it very straight forward, clean in design, and easy to modify in Microsoft Word for your own use.  Feel free to download it anytime and let me know what you think about it.

When it comes to offering help on documents, advice and suggestions are always good to have; but nothing beats actually having samples of what you're talking about.  I'm excited about bringing back the ability to download free Microsoft Office documents (and other form and publication samples that you can actually use to create your own.

Therefore, I have added this entry where anyone could post a comment expressing what types of documents they would like to see available in the Document Gallery.  This will be a great benefit for me to know how I can best serve those that visit BetterDocuments.

I look forward to seeing an ever-growing wishlist of documents that will help all of us for years to come.