Expenses After Certification

EXPENSES AFTER CERTIFICATION:

Once you are certified and ready to call the clients on the Client list, you will need to get your office, supplies and equipment ready to do the work. Here is a list of what expenses you might expect to come up:

1. Printer: There is a video on the Graduates website in the Library which addresses what you will need to begin with. Most dual tray laser printers which we call “work horses” sell for anywhere from $300 to $700. This is a big investment in your business. Be sure to do your homework, purchase one that has metal parts and will last you for years. If you start out with a good 4 in 1 office jet or a laser jet printer without the “dual tray” you can purchase the next item and it will last for years without having to purchase the dual tray feature.
2. Toner or Ink cartridges for Printer. Cost depends on printer but be sure you keep plenty on hand. There is nothing worse than printing out documents and running out of ink or paper.
3. Both letter and legal size paper. I suggest you purchase by the case. It is MUCH less expensive and a good idea to always have plenty available. Letter is about $30 and legal is about $70. The best thing is to watch for special sales and buy it then! Shop around.
4. Page Separator: This product is terrific and available on our Graduates website as part of the section called “Panning for Gold”. The cost for the PRO version (this is the one you will want), is $69.99. This version will convert multiple attachments of documents into two folders, one for legal size paper and the other for letter size paper. It also prints out a report that will assist you in sending the documents back in the same stacking order as received which is the most professional.
5. Data Program: You will need a good program for keeping track of all your data and I strongly suggest Notary Assist. It does everything you need from client information, signings, mileage, expenses, invoicing, payments made and not yet paid. My husband loves this program because at tax time you only need to print out some reports and all your tax information is there and ready to use. As a graduate you get a 30-day free trial and 25% off the small monthly subscription fee.
6. Binder Clips – Medium: You will need a lot of these and it is always a good idea to buy in quantity. Staples typical price (shop around) is about $16 for boxes totaling 144 clips. Amazon has come as low as $8.00 for 96 total.
7. Pens: When you are getting started you will need to make sure you have plenty of pens (I prefer blue ink) and they do not have to be expensive. However, we found our favorite pens to be UniBall Vision Elite. They run about $7.00 for bold and $12.00 for fine point.
8. Business cards are very inexpensive when printed at Vista Print. You design them yourself or Barbara will design them for you if you are getting a website from her. 200 of them run about $20.00.
9. E & O Insurance (Errors and Omissions). This depends very much on where you go to obtain this necessary and required insurance. I suggest you start with $25,000 coverage. Most companies will accept that amount but if you begin working directly with title companies they will require you obtain a policy for $100,000.00. At NotaryRotary.com you can purchase 4 years with $25,000 coverage for $98.00. If money is short you can purchase it by the year.
10. Background Screening: This is unfortunately an necessary evil which must be repeated every year. You have several choices. I suggest you get yours from the NNA at a cost of $65.00. Once you buy it from them you will be listed on SigningAgents.com which will give you greater exposure to various companies. You will be able to show in your profile that you are a Notary2Pro graduate. We have Crimcheck (compliant and accepted by most companies) which you can access from the Graduates website. The cost is $40 (a special discount to our grads). Or you can shop around and go to whatever company you want but be sure it is a completely compliant background check.

SUMMARY

Printer: $300 plus

Ink:$50 - $100

Paper: $100.00

Page Separator:$69.99

Notary Assist: Free trial then small monthly fee

Binder Clips:$8.00

Pens:$7.00

Business Cards:$20.00

E & O Insurance: $98.00 (4 years)

Background Screening $40 to $65

Website: $250 if you have Barbara design and host for you, includes free business card design and one year of hosting. I highly recommend, beautiful websites!

TOTALS: Start up costs will be between $400.00 to $700 depending on how your order what you need.