The front of your business: logo, documents, a website and your own email

Hook

Boss, a question with nothing to do with numbers: does your business have a decent logo? Some people will say, "My customers are all regulars, what do I need a logo for?" Here is the thing: a logo is not decoration. The place it appears most often is on your accounting documents.

Your documents are your signboard

Think about it. Over a year, how many times does a customer look at your signboard? Only when they pass by. But your quotation, your invoice, your delivery order, your receipt — those appear once for every job you do. Put a quotation printed on a plain white sheet, with no logo and no company details, next to one that has a proper front, on a customer's desk. Which one looks more trustworthy? At the same price, the one with the presentable document looks more professional and looks like it is not about to disappear. Your documents are the name card you hand out most often.

Where the front has to be worn

A complete business front gets worn in these places. The letterhead — for letters to banks and government departments. Quotation, invoice and delivery order — the three-piece set of trading. The payment voucher and the receipt — the vouchers from the last lesson; with a logo and the details on them, whoever approves the payment can see straight away whose rules are being followed. And the report cover — a set of financial statements you carry to the bank, with a proper cover, makes a different first impression. And it is not only the logo being worn: the full company name, registration number, address, phone, email and bank account details — every document carrying the same details, in the same look. That is another kind of "complete": the front being complete.

A website and your own email

Two more that a lot of bosses skip. A website — it does not have to be big; one page is enough: who you are, what you do, how to reach you. When a customer wants to check you and a Google search turns something up, that is your shop number in the digital age. And your own email address — this is the one most often underrated. Doing business from a gmail or hotmail address, versus yourname@yourcompany.com, puts you in two entirely different tiers in the eyes of a customer or a bank. In the era of e-Invoice, when the documents all travel online, an email on your own domain is the cheapest available proof that you are a proper business.

Why an accountant is telling you this

You may wonder why an accounting channel is talking about branding. Because at LTT, the invoices, vouchers and reports we produce for clients are never left in the system's default look. We put your logo, your colours and your details on them, so every document looks like you, in your industry. A renovation company should look like a renovation company, a restaurant like a restaurant, a trading firm like a trading firm. Keep the accounts clear, and make the front look the part too.

To close

So today's homework is simple: send us your logo — and if you do not have one, tell us — along with your full company name, registration number, address and contact details. We will dress your documents and reports in your own front. Grab a coffee first and talk about your business. For the accounting, come to LTT. I am LTT, helping SME bosses get their accounts straight. Follow us, and see you next time.