Technology is relied upon more heavily than ever in business. Unless you are on top of the latest trends, progression, and development will be hard to achieve.
While paper documents are no longer used, digital ones are. Customizing these is just important now as it was then.
Unless you have experience in graphic design, however, the idea of customizing your business’s documents will no doubt be a daunting one.
It doesn’t need to be, though. Making amendments and changes to documents to give them personal flair can be very simple. Here is everything you need to know:
Embossing Documents
While reference was made in the introduction to this post to the fact that documents tend to be digital more than physical today, sometimes paper documents are still used.
Most people emboss documents with the logo of their company or their personal seal. You can also give yours a personal touch by using a text embosser using your customized artwork or text.
Emboss your document with whatever you think will make it look better.
Adding Headers
In most word-processing programs, you can add headers and footers. A lot of people’s first instinct is to put the time or date in as a header, but it can also be good to insert your own name or your company’s name.
When adding headers and footers, you have the option to customize the font or size of the text inserted.
Try to use a font that is congruous with the rest of the document. Do not get carried away with this section as a bold and captivating header could take attention away from the document itself.
Time Or Date
Inserting the time and data can be good for storage or later investigations. Lots of businesses make the mistake of leaving documents undated.
Undated documents can be hard to track down when they need to be revisited. By including the time and date you will then know exactly where to look in your files.
On that note, ensure all of your files are organized according to the month and year that they were created; storing documents this way makes finding them much easier.
Efficient document management is one of the signs that you are working with a professional.
Be a professional yourself and organize your documents. It can be as easy as inserting the time and/or date.
Digital Signatures
Since paper documents are not used as much it is common for professionals to just write their signature out on documents as their full name, rather than signing them.
Some programs allow you to sign your document using your finger. However, these signatures can be difficult to effectively pull off.
Rather than using an ordinary font or your finger, invest in a device that allows you to digitize your signature by signing it with a digital pen and pad.
These devices plug directly into your computer, making signatures on documents look more professional. They do not cost much and are a great investment.
Standard Contracts
In terms of contracts, make sure that you download and use standard ones. All over the web, you can find contract archives, where you can take documents out and use them for yourself.
The good thing about standard contract models is that they are more often than not created by legal experts, and designed to be used as industry standards.
You can then make amendments and add your own clauses, ensuring the documents you use are relevant to your business.
Personal Insertions
When using standard contracts it is important that you make your own personal insertions, adjusting documents according to your needs. Do not make the mistake of copying standard documents to the letter.
Making your own adjustments can make them more relevant. If you are creating files and documents that do not need to be signed and are not legal contracts, make them yourself.
You only need to use standard documents for contracts. Your own personal files will convey messages much more effectively if they are made by you; as long as they are for your eyes only it does not matter how they look or read.
Borrowing Formats
While you do not need to use anybody else’s standard documents for personal or business files, you can benefit from borrowing formats.
Even your personal documents could be necessary for the event of an audit. Formatting them in a professional way will make your business look a lot better in such a situation.
You can find thousands of document templates online. Simply borrow one and use the format for your own documents.
Again, the text should be relevant to your business and therefore it makes no sense to copy the document you are using word-for-word.
Word Processing
Actual document creation can be done using a word processing tool, of which there are many to choose from online.
The most popular and useful of these is MS Word; there are many more beyond Microsoft’s tool, however.
If you are planning on using an alternative processing tool then spend some time researching.
The main advantage to using MS Word is that you usually get the entire MS suite included as part of the cost of your software purchase.
Before investing in anything make sure that you read its reviews, as they will give you a glimpse into what it is like using the program in a professional capacity.
PDF Documents
One of the last things that you need to know and think about is the fact that in business, clients and collaborators typically request documents to be sent to them in PDF format.
However, when you save a document as a PDF it can make making adjustments to it later very difficult.
Make sure you save your documents as PDFs and editable word documents, i.e., with the extensions .doc or .word.
PDF documents do look professional but can complicate matters, which is why it is always important to have duplicate files in the event edits need to be made.
Following this advice will save you the trouble of having to create new documents.
Documents are still as important as ever, it’s just they tend to be digital ones more than they do paper ones.
In spite of that, planning for paper documents by investing in embossing equipment is still a good idea.
Likewise, you should plan for digital documents by investing in the other equipment mentioned here.
