Chasing up paperwork

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Have you got a system in place to chase up contracts or paperwork, or do you just write something in the diary, or something else?

It's something that I need to improve as I don't really have a system, other than manually checking the date of booking and whether the contract is back.

[Leicester Ben]

I'm pretty bad at this also, I have a whiteboard up in the office which lists the contracts that have been sent out and are due to be sent back (14 at the minute).

I only really chase people however if I get other enquiries for that date, I find that they pretty much all come back eventually.

If I had more time I would definately get thsi area of the business more organised however.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

If I had more time I would definately get thsi area of the business more organised however.

Hence the question, so that I can spend less time doing it. ;)

[Charlie Brown]

Diary? What's that....:sj:

I'm 1 month in to being organised and it's working a treat.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I'm 1 month in to being organised and it's working a treat.

Good....so,


Have you got a system in place to chase up contracts or paperwork, or do you just write something in the diary, or something else?

[SC Events]

I use DJ Event Planner and I put the date in when the contract was sent and when it`s due back, if it`s not back by then I send them an e-mail or give them a call.

[Charlie Brown]

I send a booking pack out the day they confirm.

All my bookings are stored on my computer (old and new)

All new bookings have a "WAITING" then 12th august, wedding, keyworth...The waiting means I haven't received the booking form etc back yet.

Once I have the pack back - I remove the "waiting" part. ;)

[Vectis]

I use Google Calendar because it plays nicely with my iphone, my wife's iphone, my lad/roadie's ipod.

I have several calendars on it - the one which is visible on my website simply shows my availability for disco work.

I have another which is a different colour (and only shows to trusted devices) where I make a note when docs are issued and when they're due back. When a booking pack is issued, the public entry is changed to "Provisionally Booked" and the private entry is updated with the basic details. When it's returned I change the public entry to "Booked" and clear any pending messages.

I also have about 6 other calendars for different purposes so that I can instantly see across my family's availability too.

Everyone keeps their own lines up to date, and they are automatically synced across all the devices.

A quick glance once a day tells me all I need to know.


I've been using it for about 3 years without a glitch.

I guess for a multi-op you could have a line per DJ? Then each DJ could have access to their own line... or read/write access to their own line but read access to all the others so they know where colleagues are?

Perfect (and free) :thumb:

[Steve the DJ]

I use DJ Event Planner and can set it up to automatically email a client after a specified time period has elapsed if I haven't received the contract back.

I say "can set it up" because I haven't yet, it's on the list of jobs to do... :o

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I use DJ Event Planner and can set it up to automatically email a client after a specified time period has elapsed if I haven't received the contract back.



That is what I wanted to hear.

I 'may' need your help in setting DJEP up soon. ;)

[Steve the DJ]

No problem.

The only thing with DJEP is it does so much stuff that it seems quite complicated, when in reality most people will only really need to use 50 - 60% of the tools and not worry about the rest.

Get it set up correctly and it can make life much easier. :)

[Spirits High]

I use DJ Event Planner and can set it up to automatically email a client after a specified time period has elapsed if I haven't received the contract back.

I say "can set it up" because I haven't yet, it's on the list of jobs to do... :o

I've been using DJEP for about a month now and for the £6 odd it costs me it's brilliant. I've set it to automatically send a follow up enquiry 2 weeks after the intial contact date. Also on the "Dashboard" it tells you what tasks are due that day.


That is what I wanted to hear.

I 'may' need your help in setting DJEP up soon. ;)


It's not that tricky, I'm using the majority of the tools on there. Yes it takes a while to get your head round it but anything you can't do and Steve & I can't help you with just post it on the support forum on DJEP, Troy the owner usually sorts it within a few hours.


No problem.

Get it set up correctly and it can make life much easier. :)


Totally agree. It's the best thing I've ever done for my business. I know that DJEP has actually secured me bookings over other companies so I'm more than pleased with it.

[TonyB]

DJEP for me too. I used to use an access database, MS word, a diary and separate accounting package but DJEP handles it all now - the amount of time it saves is worth every penny that it costs. I've set it to automatically fire off a reminders e.g contract deposit 4 days before its due and then another email letting the client know that the date is no longer being reserved if I don't receive contract and deposit by the due date.

[Spirits High]

then another email letting the client know that the date is no longer being reserved if I don't receive contract and deposit by the due date.

Now there's an idea ;)

In the process of chasing one at the moment , contract went out on March 16th :eek:

[James]

Hmmm, i really should have something properly organised, but i don't

Everything gets jotted down in the diary, and the contracts just get shoved in a drawer.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Just started using automated systems myself, but I'm using eWebmin rather than DJ Event Planner (I prefer the feel and look and method of set up on eWebmin, although I know that others disagree with that)

[rob1963]

I have a note pad where I jot down the dates of new bookings, and cross them off when the deposits have been received.

However, if I was a multi-op with several bookings each night, I'd need something more substantial, so would probably make up a word document where I listed each booking taken as well as the date. When each deposit was received, I would remove the details from the document.

That way, I could look at the word document any time, and see exactly how many & which deposits were outstanding.

[[email protected]]

I use BT Esignature where your clients can electronically sign contracts.

You can set it automatically to send a reminder every day or every week until it is signed.

Works a treat.

[Excalibur]

I use BT Esignature where your clients can electronically sign contracts.

You can set it automatically to send a reminder every day or every week until it is signed.

Works a treat.

Yeah, it's even more insistent/persistent than a nagging wife. ;) :D :D

[Booche]

I use Excel for me remembering whos payed the deposit or whole amount as i find it alot quicker to use, pop there name in first row add amount in second row what it is they've paid (deposit or full amount) third row then when they paid in fourth row (sounds long but once set up its easy), then i also use DJEP for adding so customers know if im booked or not but i also make a note in diary (in pencil) when they say they will book me and just add a quick note saying what they have done.
like i say it might seem long winded but i find this easy to cope with and i haven got to log on to the net or anything to check.

Cheers Dave :)

P.S. I also add a reminder on my satio of the date of the event and i always set a reminder to go off 7 days after ive sent the booking form :)

[yourdj]

I use entourage which is a mac version of Outlook.

Its great as it has calendar, email, notes projects etc. I cant work out how to do the projects though :o

I colour code everything relating to the gig type and write paid in big letters when it has been paid. :)

Im getting an iphone at some point and it also sync with that which is useful on the move.


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[Chris1984]

what version of entourage is that?