Photo Business Management: Examples

Photo Business Management: Examples

A few examples to help point you in the right direction. Check back from time to time as this will change over the course of the quarter.
Profit & Loss
Shows how much you have made for a given period of time. Lets you know how fast you are reaching your goals, or more importantly, if you are traveling in the right direction.
Balance Sheet
Shows how much you have at a given point in time.
Sales Quota
Calculations for determining what you need to sell (and shoot) to break even.
Estimating
Some samples. A simple estimate, bid, or quote; A confirmation complete with my terms page; An invoice; and a license.

By popular demand, and with the caveat that these are tailored for my rather peculiar business. These are screens from my roll-your-own management database. They cover a lot, but not by any means all of what you might run into. They could also use some attention to reflect, for example, the fact that I have not shot any film in the recent past.

JobInfo is my primary information screen where I get the who, what where of the job as well as the usage of the images. JobExpenses is where I do my calculations. It is based on information I have previously recorded in the database as well as items that come up by the job.

Be sure to check Software in the Resources section for live examples of commercial products.
Assistant's Invoice
Here is a basic template that shows what I like to see on an assistant's invoice. Talk to the person who hires you. They may be looking for something different. A photographer may need you to create a separate invoice for each client, and should let you know if this is the case. Whether you are treated as freelance help or as an employee, the photographer will need your social security number, which some like to include on their invoice. (I would rather only give that information when it's needed. You may do what you like.)

Office supply stores carry pre-printed booklets that can be used for assistant's invoices with little adaptation. If you don't have a computer and a printer, this is the way to go. Just make sure to give the information that is needed.