I'd suggest first off that you make a habit of taking orders while in front of your computer. Then you can type them up on the fly, and avoid losing papers, illegible handwriting, etc.

You could set up a database, or do something rather simple to start with:

Make a few folders on your computer, like:

New
In Process
On Hold
Completed

etc. (essentially, one for each status that an order can have).


Then, when the phone rings, you open up a program like "Notepad", type in the order, and save it to the "New" folder (maybe by the customer name, or something).

You can click and drag the files to the appropriate folders as they go through the system. And of course, you can update the order by editing the file, and adding any notes required.

On a daily basis, you could check the orders in each status area, and make sure things are moving as they should. Old orders could be moved to a "2006" folder, or some archive folder. or by customer name.


NOW - this is a very "rudimentary" tracking setup, but it's a step up from what you have (paper), and costs nothing to implement.

Ideally, you should look for some kind of order tracking / inventory type program, and use that. Then you can store customer information, track repeat orders, generate all kinds of reports, etc.

But, maybe that's beyond where you are right now.

Hope this gives you some ideas.