No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
We have a greeter who helps manage the traffic flow of our shop, and they have an official- looking desk that they sit behind. We use a cash box for cash and checks that goes in a lockable file cabinet you can get from Office Depot or whatever, and only the greeter (also a trustworthy person) gets access to that key. At the end of the day the money gets counted, matched against our computer system, and then deposited at the local bank. 2 or more people ride to do the drop for safety reasons.
-Leslie, Durham Bike Co-op
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:24 PM, Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org 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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Will the real Bike Shady, please take this money? ;-/
Sorry, someone had to...
Anyways, a receipt book might be good.
Afaict, you don't have to have a 501c3 to have an account at a bank, but it helps...
Paypal, and credit card transactions might make it seem more legit, but then they have to enter their information on some computer/ handheld, which has to be trusted, by the card company too...
I've been to farmers markets where they have little add ons to the cell phone and swipe cards. I'm sure there is a percentage the bank charges for transactions and a minimum to make it worth it for you to do the transactions...
You have at least VistaPrint business cards? Some stationary? A donations form looking like letter head?
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:29 PM, Leslie Peteya lesliepeteya@gmail.com wrote:
We have a greeter who helps manage the traffic flow of our shop, and they have an official- looking desk that they sit behind. We use a cash box for cash and checks that goes in a lockable file cabinet you can get from Office Depot or whatever, and only the greeter (also a trustworthy person) gets access to that key. At the end of the day the money gets counted, matched against our computer system, and then deposited at the local bank. 2 or more people ride to do the drop for safety reasons.
-Leslie, Durham Bike Co-op
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:24 PM, Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org 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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
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
Just create a donation jar with a lock on it that you stuff the cash in besides your pocket. That way people can donate more too. The problem is making change.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison c: 801-688-0183
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 1:24 PM, Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org 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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
put the money in a locked box
like a mail box
file a dba as a not for profit (different than a non-profit) You can get a bank account that way, Then you can take checks, buy parts and feel a lot more legiti.
The not for profit option is a simple filing you will still be required to pay tax on profit but in the beginning you wont need to worry about profit. Also the not for profit status leaves the door open to becoming a co-op, a 501(c)3, or even a regular bike shop. The bikerowave in Los Angeles is organized this way and has paid taxes but less that the additional accounting cost of being a 501(c)3. Once you go under the non profit umbrella you can't get out. Maybe someone on this list could speak directly to how the bikerowave is set up.
From: Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:24 PM Subject: [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
donation slips. give people there own recite to fill out and ask them to give a donation on top of the parts they acquire.
Bike Pirates operates without a cash register and the write your own recite has gotten us allot of lost revenue.
Ask to give?
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:51 PM, james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.comwrote:
put the money in a locked box like a mail box file a dba as a not for profit (different than a non-profit) You can get a bank account that way, Then you can take checks, buy parts and feel a lot more legiti.
The not for profit option is a simple filing you will still be required to pay tax on profit but in the beginning you wont need to worry about profit. Also the not for profit status leaves the door open to becoming a co-op, a 501(c)3, or even a regular bike shop. The bikerowave in Los Angeles is organized this way and has paid taxes but less that the additional accounting cost of being a 501(c)3. Once you go under the non profit umbrella you can't get out. Maybe someone on this list could speak directly to how the bikerowave is set up.
*From:* Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org *To:* thethinktank@bikecollectives.org *Sent:* Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:24 PM *Subject:* [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Like previous contributors, Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen has a desk, behind which sits a clerk/cashier/greeter person. The desk's keyboard tray/wide, short drawer fit the cash till part of a cash register beautifully. It's bolted inside, and nobody's said anything about it looking shady.
--Sharpe
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 1:09 PM, Geoffrey B vous.je@gmail.com wrote:
donation slips. give people there own recite to fill out and ask them to give a donation on top of the parts they acquire.
Bike Pirates operates without a cash register and the write your own recite has gotten us allot of lost revenue.
Ask to give?
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:51 PM, james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.comwrote:
put the money in a locked box like a mail box file a dba as a not for profit (different than a non-profit) You can get a bank account that way, Then you can take checks, buy parts and feel a lot more legiti.
The not for profit option is a simple filing you will still be required to pay tax on profit but in the beginning you wont need to worry about profit. Also the not for profit status leaves the door open to becoming a co-op, a 501(c)3, or even a regular bike shop. The bikerowave in Los Angeles is organized this way and has paid taxes but less that the additional accounting cost of being a 501(c)3. Once you go under the non profit umbrella you can't get out. Maybe someone on this list could speak directly to how the bikerowave is set up.
*From:* Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org *To:* thethinktank@bikecollectives.org *Sent:* Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:24 PM *Subject:* [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- Geoffrey B
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
I think you are more concerned than you have to be :)
But I remember when the SFBK was just starting out there was someone (greeter) at a folding card table and they just used a cash box. It seemed fine. Offering a receipt would be nice because it shows you are willing to document the transaction.
-jimmy
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 2:53 PM, Ryan Sharpe sharpe@sacbikekitchen.orgwrote:
Like previous contributors, Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen has a desk, behind which sits a clerk/cashier/greeter person. The desk's keyboard tray/wide, short drawer fit the cash till part of a cash register beautifully. It's bolted inside, and nobody's said anything about it looking shady.
--Sharpe
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 1:09 PM, Geoffrey B vous.je@gmail.com wrote:
donation slips. give people there own recite to fill out and ask them to give a donation on top of the parts they acquire.
Bike Pirates operates without a cash register and the write your own recite has gotten us allot of lost revenue.
Ask to give?
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:51 PM, james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.comwrote:
put the money in a locked box like a mail box file a dba as a not for profit (different than a non-profit) You can get a bank account that way, Then you can take checks, buy parts and feel a lot more legiti.
The not for profit option is a simple filing you will still be required to pay tax on profit but in the beginning you wont need to worry about profit. Also the not for profit status leaves the door open to becoming a co-op, a 501(c)3, or even a regular bike shop. The bikerowave in Los Angeles is organized this way and has paid taxes but less that the additional accounting cost of being a 501(c)3. Once you go under the non profit umbrella you can't get out. Maybe someone on this list could speak directly to how the bikerowave is set up.
*From:* Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org *To:* thethinktank@bikecollectives.org *Sent:* Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:24 PM *Subject:* [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- Geoffrey B
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen http://sacbikekitchen.org/ 1915 I Street, Midtown Sacramento Open Tu 6-9p, We 6-9p, Th 6-9p, Fr 10a-2p (kids 6-8p), Sa 12-4p
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit:
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
At TBR we've operated for a long time with a plastic opaque jar with "TBR Donation Jar" written on it in big letters. The top has a slit for money at the top of it. We keep a receipt book inside of it, in case any one asks for one. The system has worked pretty well for the past few years.
If someone makes a petty cash purchase with money from the jar during the night, we would toss the receipt in with the petty cash.
I would recommend figuring out what should be the base level of cash to have on hand for change, petty cash purposes etc...
Carolyn
www.troybikerescue.org "When shall we live if not now?" - M.F.K. Fisher
From: Geoffrey B vous.je@gmail.com To: james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.com; The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 4:09 PM Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
donation slips. give people there own recite to fill out and ask them to give a donation on top of the parts they acquire.
Bike Pirates operates without a cash register and the write your own recite has gotten us allot of lost revenue.
Ask to give?
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 3:51 PM, james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.com wrote:
put the money in a locked box
like a mail box
file a dba as a not for profit (different than a non-profit) You can get a bank account that way, Then you can take checks, buy parts and feel a lot more legiti.
The not for profit option is a simple filing you will still be required to pay tax on profit but in the beginning you wont need to worry about profit. Also the not for profit status leaves the door open to becoming a co-op, a 501(c)3, or even a regular bike shop. The bikerowave in Los Angeles is organized this way and has paid taxes but less that the additional accounting cost of being a 501(c)3. Once you go under the non profit umbrella you can't get out. Maybe someone on this list could speak directly to how the bikerowave is set up.
From: Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 12:24 PM Subject: [TheThinkTank] No cash register; how can we accept cash payments without coming off as shady?
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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Some things I don't think people mentioned (sorry if someone did)...
We produced fairly official looking receipt forms, which the selling volunteer then fills out when taking money (if the buyer seems to want a receipt). It has our official logo header, etc...
Also, we recently started using an iPad to accept payments via Square. There's obviously a cost involved in that (iPad, wifi, transaction fees). What interesting about it is that you can enter cash transactions and (I think) generate an electronic receipt via e-mail or txt msg. It also has interesting possibilities for growing - ability to track transactions in a spreadsheet, charge tax, etc....
In general though, like most of you, we just stuff the money into a box marked "Donations". :D
Brian SLO Bike Kitchen www.slobikekitchen.org
On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 13:24, Ryan Feller ryan@bikebroward.org 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
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
participants (11)
-
BK Info -
Brian (SLO Bike Kitchen) -
Carolyn Braunius -
DancesWithCars -
Geoffrey B -
james bledsoe -
Jonathan Morrison -
Leslie Peteya -
Mark Rehder -
Ryan Feller -
Ryan Sharpe