Your rebate/order tracking methods??

John Prophet · 10-17-2003, 06:30 PM

Ok, I am trying to get organized on my parts ordering and rebate tracking etc. I am not the best at giving price quotes so I need all the help I can get as far as keeping track of stuff.

So far I have an excel spreadsheet set up for tracking my inventory. It has columns such as "Catagory, Item(brand/model), Price, Dealer, date ordered, invoice#, comment, link"

Ok, thats a major step for me cuz it keeps me from having to do a LOT of looking up stuff when I want to price out a system build.

BUT, I still need some organization for the rebates and also keeping up with what I have ordered month to month etc.

What is the best way to implement such tracking?

I am pretty sure I want at least the rebate amount on my first spreadsheet shown above so that when I am looking up a price I dont have to look on a seperate sheet to get a rebate amount etc. Should I just put the price down MINUS the rebate to start with??

And then I want to have another spreadsheet to track rebates with columns for Item, dealer, price, rebate amount, date sent, date expected, date received, rebate center and maybe a link to the rebate.

Do any of you have a system for this type thing that is working pretty well?? I remember a few of you saying you had clipboard or such to track the rebates.

Gimme some ideas..thanks, JP

Oh yeah, I also have a simple spreadsheet to tell me the cost of a build....its just a column with the parts listed down the left side

like below

Case/PSU ___
Motherboard ___
CPU/Heatsink ___
Hard Drive ___

etc.

Then I just fill in the prices and I have a formula entered to just add up all the prices as I go.

Then it subtotals before the monitor is added in since sometimes they are sold without monitor. Any ideas to get all this running smoothly will be appreciated bigtime.

RayH · 10-18-2003, 06:14 PM

Tracking rebates is going to take more than a spreadsheet, especially if you're going to do it over seveal builds.

You need file foldes. When I build for others, I make them pay me the full first and I have the rebates sent to them. If they get it fine. If they don't, it's their problem.

But I make a copy of the UPC, original cash register receipt, and rebate form. If you are using a spreadsheet, note the name and address used, including e-mail. One to a customer. But they don't say HOW LONG between offers!

One file folder per client. When the rebates come in, it'll get confusing. So just have the end user deal with it!

rpertusio · 10-18-2003, 06:36 PM

Although no longer in development, there used to be a program called "Rebate! Rebate!" which I'm sure you could find. It might not have everything you need, but even if you don't use it, it can give you ideas on how to organize your info.

The company making it is no longer in business (that I can tell), but you can google it and find a download location, or check out PCWorld.com

- rp

John Prophet · 10-18-2003, 07:45 PM

Thanks for the replies.

Ray, I am not talking about GIVING rebates,lol...I am talking about when I order parts for myself and the parts have rebates....if I do 20 a month then who knows if the companies are sending them to me or not...even if I go to the website and it says "your rebate is valid and will be sent in 2-3 weeks"..even then who's to say it will be sent etc. So I need a way to track em.

I am just throwing this out cuz i KNOW some peeps in this forum ALREADY DO this sort of tracking etc.

I am just trying to find a decent way to tie it all together without duplicating too much typing.

JP

osprey4 · 10-20-2003, 01:09 PM

JP, if I ever got into rebates, I'd be asking YOU for help.

I scan all my submissions and save by date submitted and amount, but I don't do more than 5-6 at a time. I wonder if there is a way to link a cell in Excel to a file?

Ruler2112 · 10-20-2003, 03:13 PM

I have two methods- one for home and another for work.

At home, I scan the rebate submission materials and save them to a dedicated folder on my hard drive. The name of the file is the name of the store, the product, and the amount. When I buy an item, I create an entry in my 'To Do' list of my palm pilot and enter all the relevent dates and information in it. (ie- x/x/xx - Purchased blah at YakWorld, x/x/xx - Mailed Rebate, x/x/xx - Talked with Goomba at Screw-U Rebate house about rejection, x/x/xx - Went to YakWorld and complained., x/x/xx - Received Check)

At work, I'm not certain of receiving the rebate checks even if they do arrive. Many are simply entered into the computer at a receipt and I don't find out about them. Because of this, I make a copy of the materials, mark the date sent on the front page, and put it in a folder. If I get a check, I write received and the date on it and transfer it to another folder. If I don't, I check for a rejection online; if I see one, I send messages about it. If I don't, I drop it. (It's not worth me chasing after rebates on the clock, especially when they *may* have arrived and I just don't know about it.)