Writing things off, or expensing them, is a normal part of running a business. Examples of writing off Section 1 products for your business can include lost or damaged product you have shipped to a customer and old or expired product. Your Boulevard Help menu has additional examples in the topic: Using section 1 items as demos.
When you have a situation that occurs where you need to write-off a Section 1 item, there are several key components you should consider to ensure your records are kept accurately. First, the product needs to be removed from inventory – usually handled by entering an invoice. Second, the item should be shown as a loss. In Boulevard, this means entering an expense transaction. There may be more than one way to handle such a transaction, but here are the steps we recommend using the example of an expired product. Please refer to your accountant or tax advisor for additional information, further clarification, or their recommendation.
Invoice the product to your Business Supplies customer at 50% off (or the applicable discount for your country) and tax on the retail value.
Mark the invoice as Paid.
In the Note field, type Expired Product.
Print the invoice.
Create an expense transaction using Business Supplies as the Payee, and Old/Expired Product as the category – or the one recommended by your accountant.
Would you rather have all of this done for you? Not a problem! Main Street Software, Inc. offers a host of services to support you in your business. Our A la Carte Virtual Assistant service might be the perfect compliment to your busy life. Let us do the data entry on your expenses so you can spend time with your customers and family. Visit our website for more details.
This is the time of the year that we start booking Boulevard training sessions for springtime. If you are on the waiting list for a repeat visit, you will be contacted. If you can’t wait, or we haven’t been to your city yet, contact us now for first choice of dates.
If you are interested in hosting a training session, just arrange for a location, help market the event, and we’ll do the rest! National Sales Director or large area events are given priority, but tend to fill quickly, so book them now. LuAnn and our Customer Service Representatives love seeing our customers for a face-to-face learning experience that changes how every attendee uses their Boulevard software.
You just never know what LuAnn will cover in each of these sessions – or what tips and tricks she’ll share from her 26+ years of Mary Kay experience. This is training like you cannot imagine so don’t miss out! Contact our trainings coordinator to see if we can visit your city in the spring of 2010.
No matter how accurate you think you have entered and tracked information in your Boulevard software, the government wants you to count your inventory anyway. Now is the time to schedule a block of time to take the physical count. Main Street Software staff recommend the following steps:
Print the Inventory Worksheet by Category (filtered for Section 1 only).
Use this worksheet to take your physical count. Write your actual quantities in the column labeled Actual.
When your physical count is complete, highlight the items where the quantity you wrote is different from what Boulevard thinks you have.
Edit the physical count in your program for these items.
Print the Inventory Listing by Category (filtered for Section 1 only).
Voila! Keep this report handy, as it is necessary to complete your taxes. Because Boulevard’s inventory is ‘live’ all the time, you cannot recreate this report down the road.
References:
US: MK Tax Essentials 2008, p. 6
CA: MK Legal Ease, p. 5, section IV; CRA Income Tax Act, Inventory Valuation, NO: IT-473R, Paragraph 2 Determination of Quantities.
There are many uses for the Boulevard software Address List, from sister consultants, personal and family friends, business contacts, and leads. However, lead management is perhaps the most important facet as this is how you keep growing your Mary Kay business.
Use the 3-strikes-you’re-out rule and make sure leads are removed if they do not prove fruitful. The secondary type of contact can indicate where you met the person or attained their contact information.
Your Boulevard software Help menu has a ton of information on this topic. We suggest checking out the following areas: Uses for the Address List, Adding a new contact, and Edit contact types. Plus, you’ll find more tips in the Boulevard Extras, Volume 2: Customer Follow-up DVD.
There’s no better time than the holidays to show your Mary Kay customers you’re thinking of them and appreciate their loyalty. Why not let Main Street Software help you with our postcard design and mailing service? Our postcards can promote your holiday open house, current or upcoming sale, or simply thank your customers for being part of a successful year.
Work with our designers to customize a postcard or series of postcards that are perfect for your Mary Kay business. Provide us with your mailing list and we’ll send them out for you. Just imagine what can happen when we work together to boost your sales!
You can also view the birthday/anniversary postcards we have in stock to offer. These are great for your customers, team members/unit, family, and friends!
Already have cards you’d like to use? We’ll save you time by sending them for you.
Contact us today to begin the design process for your unique holiday postcard. You’ll love what we have to offer.
Gift certificates are not a sale until product changes hands. Tax forms ask you for the amount of product sold. Since no product has been sold yet, nothing needs to be recorded.
Preferred method:
Nothing is done at the time of sale with the purchaser.
At the time of redemption, record the Gift Certificate as a payment made on the recipient’s invoice.
We recommend handling gift certificates in this manner to avoid duplicating your sales data. If you were to create a sale for the Gift Certificate at the time it was paid and then entered a sale for the product when the recipient redeems it, you will be claiming the sales value twice. This increases your tax liability. By handling it as recommended, you will have all the tools in place to help you when the time comes to redeem the certificate, and your tax record will be accurate.
Alternate method:
Right-click on the recipient from the appropriate list in Boulevard and select Account Balance.
Select Payment.
Complete the fields as indicated.
When the recipient redeems the certificate (in part or full), just enter a new invoice. Do not enter a payment. The sale will deduct from the balance on the account.
If the buyer requests a receipt, follow these steps:
Create a New Invoice for the buyer.
Click on the Note button then type a note indicating the invoice is for a gift certificate purchase. Include the recipient name, if known.
Do not enter any items as being sold.
Enter the amount of the gift certificate as a payment, selecting cash/check or credit card accordingly.
If the buyer is also purchasing other products, make a separate invoice so that is isn’t confused with the Gift Certificate transaction. Print the receipt(s).
Once the payment is complete, to help you remember the transaction, we recommend adding a Call Note. You can do so by clicking on the Calls tab of the recipient’s profile and selecting New.
If the recipient is not yet a customer, don’t worry. Just find out his or her name and add to the Customer List. Find out more about tracking sales in Boulevard software by visiting our website.
Main Street Software, Inc. is always looking for the next possible way we can help our customers manage their Mary Kay businesses. Two years ago, we launched a new series of DVDs, Boulevard Extras. The purpose of Extras was to take your business combined with tools in Boulevard software and give you that extra edge. In Volume 1, LuAnn Darling, President of Main Street Software, shares three specific ideas to increase your sales. In Volume 2, she focuses the training on customer follow-up. Now you can buy both of these awesome DVDs together for a savings of 20%! Make the most out of your Mary Kay business and Boulevard software in one great package with these DVDs.
Boulevard software’s Tickler is set up to help you remember all the details that make you successful in your Mary Kay business. Reorder follow-ups are an integral part of customer tracking. In Preferences, Boulevard is set to create a follow-up for each customer after an invoice is created. This can be customized as needed for individual customers on the Sales tab of their profile.
When a reorder call appears in the Tickler, it’s time to give the customer a call. If she purchases, invoice her and the reorder call will be reset. If she does not or you do not reach her, change the Next Contact date.
Another way of tracking your customer records and still updating the Tickler is to use the Calls tab. By entering each new call made, you keep track of the personal details that make our business unique. To add a new call note, click on the Calls tab then select New. From each call note, you can reset the next contact date, if needed.
By following these steps, you will be working your Mary Kay business full circle, tracking your customers, keeping on top of their product needs, and your Boulevard Tickler becomes a powerful tool.
For more ideas on how to follow-up with your customers, refer to your Boulevard Extras Volume 2: Customer Follow-Up DVD or Help topics: Change the date of a reorder, sample, or unit action item; Define a unique follow-up period for a customer; or Creating call notes for a customer. (To locate any of these help topics, copy and paste the title into the Search selection of Help.)
This is the time of the year that we start booking 
Voila! Keep this report handy, as it is necessary to complete your taxes. Because Boulevard’s inventory is ‘live’ all the time, you cannot recreate this report down the road.
There are many uses for the Boulevard software Address List, from sister consultants, personal and family friends, business contacts, and leads. However, lead management is perhaps the most important facet as this is how you keep growing your Mary Kay business.
Create a New Invoice for the buyer.
Main Street Software, Inc. is always looking for the next possible way we can help our customers manage their Mary Kay businesses. Two years ago, we launched a new series of DVDs, Boulevard Extras. The purpose of Extras was to take your business combined with tools in Boulevard software and give you that extra edge. In Volume 1, LuAnn Darling, President of Main Street Software, shares three specific ideas to increase your sales. In Volume 2, she focuses the training on customer follow-up. Now you can buy both of these awesome DVDs together for a savings of 20%! Make the most out of your Mary Kay business and Boulevard software in one great package with these DVDs.
Boulevard software’s Tickler is set up to help you remember all the details that make you successful in your Mary Kay business. Reorder follow-ups are an integral part of customer tracking. In Preferences, Boulevard is set to create a follow-up for each customer after an invoice is created. This can be customized as needed for individual customers on the Sales tab of their profile.
When a reorder call appears in the Tickler, it’s time to give the customer a call. If she purchases, invoice her and the reorder call will be reset. If she does not or you do not reach her, change the Next Contact date.
Another way of tracking your customer records and still updating the Tickler is to use the Calls tab. By entering each new call made, you keep track of the personal details that make our business unique. To add a new call note, click on the Calls tab then select New. From each call note, you can reset the next contact date, if needed.
