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Business Start Up Advice

Making an impression with your stationery

By 5 July 2012No Comments

Every business needs stationery.  Even in this digital age there will be times when you need to write a letter or send an invoice.  And of course you need business cards to exchange when you meet clients or potential clients, either officially or at networking events.  You are handing over an instant reminder and record of who you are and what you do.

These are all extensions of your brand; they are instant recognition points.  So it is important that they are consistent with any other branding and that you get the right, or the most important information, included on them.

Letterheads

Your letterhead should include your logo as this is your main visual brand recognition point.

Your letterhead design, which will be used across any stationery, should also include your company name and address and your contact details: telephone numbers – landline and mobile, email address and your website.

Legal requirements

If you are a sole-trader you must make sure that your name and address are included even if you are trading under a different name.

If you are a partnership, then all official stationery should include either a list of the partners or details of where a list can be found.

If you are a limited company then you must also include your company’s registered address and your company registration number given to you by Company’s House.  You must also say where you are registered i.e. London, England, England and Wales etc.

Businesses that are VAT registered must put their VAT number on invoices but it isn’t necessary to include it in your letterhead.

You may also want to include additional information such as your membership of a professional body or a QR code for smart phone instant access to your website.

Often these additional points of reference as well as your limited company information is designed to be listed as the ‘footer’ (at the bottom of the page) on all your paper supplies.  This ensures that your letterhead doesn’t become too cluttered with information.  Simple is always best in terms of design.

Business Cards

The beauty of a business card is that it can have two sides.  Obviously your most important information should be on the top side.  This information is like your letterhead and should include your business logo, your company name and all your contact details as before.

The important addition for your business card is your name.  This makes your business card personal and jogs the user’s memory when they need to contact you!

If you have additional information it can go on the back of the card but remember a two-sided version is obviously more expensive to print.

Putting your QR code on a business card is a good idea but again be aware that you have an even smaller space to contain all the information.

A good designer

British Design Experts have some good start-up business stationery packages.  We also have all the necessary experience of knowing what works and what doesn’t.  We can advise on the best route and show you examples of how they work in terms of design.

The design of your letterhead and business card is as important as your logo because it is representing your business/brand visually.

Don’t forget

Your company address now needs to be on the left hand side of any printed document.