Portable Printer

DebbieR · 7 February 2016 at 12:02PM

OH runs a small business and has always issued receipts from a carbonless receipt book. I'm trying to drag him into the 21st century by getting a mobile printer he can use while he's out and about. It would also look more professional. Does anyone have any experience of which are good/bad? There seems to be a lot of difference in the prices.

Looking at some examples on Amazon it looks like you control the printers via your mobile phone He has a Galaxy Note so it would need to be compatible with Android. My son who also works with him has an iPhone so something that would work with that would be helpful though not vital. Do you need to have additional software to create an invoice template? How do I retrieve the information to put into his accounts?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm confusing myself looking at all the different models!

paddyrg · 7 February 2016 at 5:29PM

It's a harder request than you'd imagine - the printer itself isn't the trickiest part (you can get 58 and 80mm bluetooth thermal rechargeable printers), but getting software to drive it reliably reduces your options a heap.

Your best bet would be to get a matched system from a single vendor, so they can't blame each other for incompatibilities.

fishybusiness · 7 February 2016 at 6:13PM

Had a Zebra QL mobile printer for a while, connected using bluetooth.

A real pain to run reliably, could connect to it but printing what I wanted was difficult to achieve.

I'm fairly tech savvy, spent more time messing around than I should have done. Sold it in the end and went back to paper and pen.

Pennywise · 7 February 2016 at 6:59PM

I think the printing out bit is a bit out of date now. Lots of modern accounting software is online, so lots of plumbers, elecctricians, etc., just create the invoice online on their tablet or phone and email it to the client there and then, the client can then look at it and some even have a link to enable the client to pay immediately via card or paypal online.

phill99 · 7 February 2016 at 7:08PM

Pennywise is right. I run a property maintenance company. I always email an invoice to clients. Setting a word template up on the smart phone is very simple. That is then filled in and emailed to the client. Occassionally I have a client (typically elderly) who don't have email, so still use a carbonless pad for these rare (maybe 4 or 5 times a year) occassions. Having a printer in the van is another expense, cuts down on space in the van and requires recharging.

Work smarter, not harder!

patman99 · 7 February 2016 at 10:02PM

All the tradesmen I know don't print receipts at the customer's address. Instead they do it at home on their computer.
They then post it to the customer.

Savvy_Sue · 7 February 2016 at 11:34PM

I know this might be slightly different but once I've paid my chiropodist by credit card she emails me the receipt. My builder emails me estimates and receipts afaik from his phone. would agree that a portable printer would be more trouble than it's worth ...

DebbieR · 7 February 2016 at 11:59PM

Thanks for all the helpful advice. From what you've all said and looking unto it further, I think getting a printer is probably not the way to go.

We do have an accounting package which I use to email receipts for bigger jobs but he also has lots of elderly customers who've been with him since he started up 28 years ago(he services their alarms on a yearly basis) and he likes to give them a receipt there and then when they hand the money over. (Not that I'm saying all elderly people aren't computer savvy but he has a lot who would rather have that bit of paper!) He's also not the best with computers anyway and looking at some of the comments from buyers on Amazon and your comments below, I think it would actually be more of a headache for him to work the printer than to write out a receipt.

I think I've got to resign myself to a few more years of trying to read his illegible handwriting!

paddyrg · 8 February 2016 at 9:20AM

Why not make your own receipt book, with boxes he can tick to reduce the scribbling? There may be a halfway solution like that

Savvy_Sue · 9 February 2016 at 1:14AM

paddyrg wrote: »

Why not make your own receipt book, with boxes he can tick to reduce the scribbling? There may be a halfway solution like that

Or prepare and print invoices for each day's jobs? Even if he has to hand write the amounts, at least you'll be able to read names and addresses. print him two copies and threaten to resign if he fails to come back with PAID £X written legibly across one of them!

fishybusiness · 9 February 2016 at 10:31AM

Why not make your own receipt book, with boxes he can tick to reduce the scribbling? There may be a halfway solution like that

That's how we have solved it. An eBay special, designed how we want it, only the columns and words we need, headed with our details.

Quick scribble in the description box and the cost added. Job done.

Portable Printer

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