Not surprisingly, the process of collecting orders and payments is all dependent on organization and detailed tracking. Take time to think through all the people and supplies you’ll need to make this process run smoothly. Some items will be obvious, like creating a sign-up list of people to collect orders at different venues and an order form that collects the student’s name, grade, homeroom and address as well as the yearbook quantity and total payment due. Most yearbook publishers provide you with money collection envelopes and sales flyers to greatly simplify this process.
Other items you’ll need may be less apparent. For instance, potential items to have at a yearbook sales table include:
- Table and chair(s)—for order takers to sit and work efficiently.
- Posters or banners—so it’s obvious that yearbooks are being sold.
- Student and staff list—to quickly locate and record who has submitted an order for a yearbook and how much has been paid. This information can be tracked manually or electronically depending on the sophistication of your money collection system.
- Money collection envelopes and/or cash box—to keep orders organized, together and secure.
- Sales receipt pads—to act as proof that a sales transaction has been enacted. If possible, use a sales receipt pad that enables duplicate carbon copies. That way, each party has a record of the purchase—this is especially important for cash purchases should there be a record-keeping discrepancy later on.
- Lots of pens—to record order information quickly and enable purchasers to borrow them if writing a check without a pen at their fingertips.
- Other office supplies—such as a stapler, extra staples, note pads, scissors, etc. since you never know what items will need to be followed-up on and you’d rather be over-prepared than under-prepared when you’re working with a crowd of purchasers.
- Copies of previous yearbooks—for people to peruse along with anything else that will engage curiosity and excitement about the upcoming yearbook!
Enlisting others to help you think through the entire order and payment collection process will really help you build a game plan with confidence. Perhaps you can start by talking with seasoned staffers about what methods worked well (or not-so-well) during last year’s process and build on their experience.
Great tips for the school yearbook club! Learn more about making the process of collecting orders and payments for school yearbook sales easier from the yearbook experts at YearbookLife. Contact us for more information at 888-680-0143.