Keeping Track of Transactions
The
operations of a small home business requires detailed records be kept
for protection of self and your customer. Setting up your business
presence online will generate sales by mail via the internet
therefore ensuring evidence
of your product, is on it's way, is a priority.
A
few options are available for us to use, that will be quite
beneficial for the business owner, no matter your size. A few
services are as follows:
Insured
Mail
The
customer must provide a signature for the item delivered. This
signature provides proof of delivery and will withstand any court of
law and is acceptable by business regulators or government group(s).
A 'Certificate of Mailing' form is provided and available free at
your postal office.
Recorded
Delivery for Overseas
A
service provided also by your post office. A numbered yellow ticket
(USA) is available for free and again requires a signature from the
customer and records are also kept by the Overseas post office
department. Evidence is provided with your own ticket and records in
the post office.
Express
Mail
Use
of next or second day delivery with express mail. You are provided
with a $500.00 insurance coverage for each item shipped, as part of
the standard fee you will pay. A signature is required from the
customer to receive the delivery.
Courier
Services
The
use of courier services such as FedEx, UPS, Airborner, etc. Each
service offers a minimum insurance coverage and again, requires a
signature upon delivery UNLESS you, as the shipper chose to not
require a signature.
Personal
Delivery
Keep
a receipt book (with carbon copy) on hand, and again, request their
signature. This provides proof that delivery was completed.
Keeping
a record of sales and deliveries, will provide you with 'physical'
documented evidence, that your customer did receive their goods. This
practice ensures that a customer cannot make claims, that they did
not receive their order.
A
few benefits of the service you choose to use, will provide a 'date
stamp' to show when you sent the order to your customer. Compliance
with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the USA, requires that
orders be delivered within their '30 days' rule. Another good
service that's available, is access to 'tracking' where your product
is en route via online, which you can share with your customers.
Providing
detailed evidence, to government regulators or groups (FTC,
Better Business Bureau, FBI, IRS)
will show that you care about your business and your customers.
Orders placed by customers can be forgotten and a record of the order
helps dispel any misgivings and legitimizes you, as a serious
business owner.
One
last note to pay attention while doing business online. Do not ship
orders until cheques or money orders have cleared. Talk to your bank and make certain the monies have been drawn and inform your customers that their order
will ship, as soon as the monies are recieved. This practice will
ensure you do not recieve fraudulent cheques or money orders. I'm
sure we've all experienced 'bounced' cheques at one time or another.
Operating
a business requires attention to details and especially transactions.
Staying legal and safe with laws, ensures maintaining a good business
reputation. Good record keeping of documents are valuable for all
businesses and owners.
I
hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave
your comments, share with others and give your Vote. Visit my
galleries for inspiration or send a Email if you would like to place
a Order today.
Article(C)2011
GG9909, all rights reserved.
