Laptop for customer invoices ???

A

Al Patterson

Member
Does any of you guys print invoices from your laptop using portable printer for your customers before you leave the job?
I would imagine most would not, but few might be into high tech gadgets and might even be using wireless credit card swipes.
I am interested in this and was wondering if it would be difficult to set up and what software would work best.
 
We have the technology :) It's very nice for guys who don't have someone on the computer at home that can get them out by email quicker.
 
The last thing I need is that stuff stolen from my truck while I'm on a roof, obviously I couldn't get to the truck fast enough.
 
I have a printer in my truck, bedroom, living room, dinning room. I'm going to put a touch monitor in the shower some day.

My smart phone is crazy, get one. credit card proposal, fax everything. video photos e-mail on and on and on
 
I just set up a merchant account this week to take credit cards payments by phone. It is the old fashioned land line type recommended by my bank.

I was disappointed that this was the only type of system available at my bank. As I was reading this thread I remembered that I had questioned the sales rep about being able to accept payment in the field via my laptop. Unfortunately, he said, his company did not offer that service.

So just now I googled "take credit card payment by mobile phone" and I came up with this: www.merchantanywhere.com

The cost is not bad, considering the guy from my bank wants to charge me twenty bucks a month for the land line machine plus the normal 2%. Which means I need to be in the office to take payment and I need a separate line to use the machine on while I am taking the payment.

With merchantanywhere I could use a phone like the Nokia Series 60 for card reading and printing without any wires! My truck is already set up with an inverter and a laptop bracket, so I bring my laptop and printer with me on sales calls and print up professional quotes and contracts on the spot.

My only concern is how to make deposits from credit card payments using Quickbooks. (I have been bastardizing my Quickbooks accounts for years)

Michael Baril
Commercial Kitchen Systems, LLC
 
Last edited:
CKS1 said:
I just set up a merchant account this week to take credit cards payments by phone. It is the old fashioned land line type recommended by my bank.

sales calls and print up professional quotes and contracts on the spot.

My only concern is how to make deposits from credit card payments using Quickbooks. (I have been bastardizing my Quickbooks accounts for years)

Michael Baril
Commercial Kitchen Systems, LLC
Click to expand...

You can take CC payment directly through Quick Books. You can setup a merchant account through them and then process everything pretty easily. You can even send your customers an e-mail link whereby they can pay directly.

I have been using Quick Books & their CC processing for my Roof Cleaning company for about six years and it works well.
 
Al
I have my laptop in my van mounted on a Jotto Desk and I have a 150 watt inverter that provides electric for it and a printer.

My sales rep has the same setup and we communicate via Wi-Fi through Quickbooks over the internet.

When a customer calls they get a live person who can either schedule their job (if they are an existing customer and we know the price) or create and estimate form in Quickbooks.

We then do the estimate within two days and use Microsoft Streets and Trips which has a Gps reciever built in to map the estimate route and get real time directions to the location.

Once there I'll do the estimate, print it and give it to the customer with a 4 minute DVD that outlines all of our services and other propietary sales material.

We can easily do followup and convert the estimate to an invoice using QB and schedule the job on Outlook.

The office and both vehicles are connected real time so if I see an estimate request called in earlier in the day and it's on my way to the next job or back to the office I'll stop there and do it on the way back.

My service vans have GPS (Garmin C550's) built in and we no longer use paper maps.

Having my computer/ office with me saves hundreds of hours annualy. The computer locks to the Jotto desk and the truck is alarmed so I don't worry about theft.

We've had this for the last three years and I would never go back to paper estimates .

The most estimates I ever did in one day was 37. I started at 8am and finished a 7pm. MS streets and trips plans the whole route from start to finish and having the ability to print estimate and use auto fill in QB saves tons of time.

Hope this helps.

Brian
 
apluspower said:
Al
I have my laptop in my van mounted on a Jotto Desk and I have a 150 watt inverter that provides electric for it and a printer.

My sales rep has the same setup and we communicate via Wi-Fi through Quickbooks over the internet.

When a customer calls they get a live person who can either schedule their job (if they are an existing customer and we know the price) or create and estimate form in Quickbooks.

We then do the estimate within two days and use Microsoft Streets and Trips which has a Gps reciever built in to map the estimate route and get real time directions to the location.

Once there I'll do the estimate, print it and give it to the customer with a 4 minute DVD that outlines all of our services and other propietary sales material.

We can easily do followup and convert the estimate to an invoice using QB and schedule the job on Outlook.

The office and both vehicles are connected real time so if I see an estimate request called in earlier in the day and it's on my way to the next job or back to the office I'll stop there and do it on the way back.

My service vans have GPS (Garmin C550's) built in and we no longer use paper maps.

Having my computer/ office with me saves hundreds of hours annualy. The computer locks to the Jotto desk and the truck is alarmed so I don't worry about theft.

We've had this for the last three years and I would never go back to paper estimates .

The most estimates I ever did in one day was 37. I started at 8am and finished a 7pm. MS streets and trips plans the whole route from start to finish and having the ability to print estimate and use auto fill in QB saves tons of time.

Hope this helps.

Brian
Click to expand...

Thanks great info....if you don't mind I might Give you a call!
 
I use laptop and printer to give on site estimate and invoices has worked good so far
 
I have the laptop and air card setup and I just email the customers copy of estimates and invoices.Saves the paper and ink.I also have the maps on the laptop but sometimes the cell signal is weak when your way out in the sticks and it doesn't work.I have the quick books setup up on it but don't use it a whole lot .
 
Microsoft Streets and Trips uses a GPS reciever that comes with the program.

You can get it at Office Max or Staples for around $150. You don't have a problem with lack of cell signal because it is satellite.

QB is the easiest and fastest way to do estimates and invoices, you can do your scheduling right through MS Outlook via QB.

I can't imagine doing it anyway else, it is so easy and saves lots of trees due to the paperless office aspect.

We swithched about three years ago and there is a whole lot less clutter in my office now.

Need a great printer? Get a Cannon IP 90, the thing is only 13 inches wide 2.5 high and 9 deep. It is Blue tooth so no wires are necesary and fits on a shelf in between the seats of my van. It's pricey $200+ and you need to by an $80 Blue Tooth card but it frees up tons of space in a small cabin like my E250.
 
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