We used a simple cash box and basic In/Out accounts book for many
years, though both were kept in a desk so not sitting out in the open.
Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Aug-11, at 3:24 PM, Ryan Feller wrote:
Hi all! We're a new bike collective operating out of a 10x10 storage
unit. To raise funds, we're selling a few of our nicer bikes on Craigslist
at market value, but when someone pays us, I think it looks
unprofessional (and perhaps even shady) to just stick the money in one of our
pockets. We don't have the space, money or need for a "proper" electronic cash register.In all honesty, after the customer leaves we'll just put it in an
envelope and stick it in our pocket until we get to the bank, so this is just a matter of what the customer sees.Here are a few options:
- I have a little metal cash box. We could mount it to our tool
pegboard and put the money in there, but then again, putting a customer's
$100-$300 in a tiny metal cash box in an open space with lots of teenaged
volunteers around could look just as bad.
- Maybe we'd be best off pulling out an envelope, writing "Bike
Broward customer name $100" on it, putting the money inside the envelope and
into our pocket, then writing them a receipt on carbon paper?
- We could also request payment by check for bikes over, say, $100,
but we don't have our 501(c)(3) yet, so it'd have to be in my own name, which isn't a much better option.
Am I just overreacting? We're all 18 or younger and won't have our 501(c)(3) for a couple of months, so I've been putting a lot of work
into having a reasonably professional appearance.Thanks so much!
Ryan Feller, Co-Director Bike Broward (954) 232-3790 www.bikebroward.org