I have been doing cakes for family and friends for the past year but now I am starting to get orders from others. I am looking for a way to keep the specifics of the orders organized. Right now, I am just writing the person's name in red ink on my calendar. But I'm afraid I will forget the specifics.
Thanks for your help! 
I saw a lady that owned a cake shop take her order over the phone and she was basically writing the info. on a oversized phone message book. One that had a body large enough to write the details (and also one that makes a carbon copy underneath in case you loose the top copy).
I've seen these in the catalog at Maid of Scandanavia/Sweet Celebrations and have been wanting to order them but never got around to it...also considered just printing up my own... here's a link:
http://www.sweetc.com/Cat/Set7/pr71lg.htm\\
I used to buy those invoice pads w/carbon copies underneath from walmart for a few bucks...I've also used a dry erase board on my fridge - back when I was more organized...(now I just jot it down on any scrap of paper I can find!)
On the side of my fridge, I have a magnetic clip. I had once made a little "order form" but found that I usually write all cake orders on a piece of scrap paper including everything I need to know. I put all my papers in the clip in order by date they are "due". I also write on my calendar their name, phone number and subject of the cake and price. What's on the calendar stays in my records, but the little scraps get thrown out when the cake is done.
I take pictures of every cake I do. When I get the pictures back, I go to my calendar and write on the back of the photo who the cake was for, their phone number, price I charged, and the date.
I designed by own order sheets, I print 2 to a page and cut them. I then have a cork board that I put the current orders for the week at the bottom organized by the day they are due. On the top of the board I use index cards with each of the months on them and place the order behind it for that month. I designed a different form for weddings. That way you can just look at each month and see what you have. If I have a specialty item that I will have to order, I put a note to myself 2 weeks out from the order ahead so I can make sure I have what I need. On Sundays, I pull all the orders for the next week, and bring those down to the bottom, I then use a work binder, and plan my week of work on a daily basis. If a last minute order comes in I just slide it into the plan. Once the customer picks up the order I file them by month. It comes in handy because I have regular people and they'll say make the same cake you did last time. There is no way I can remember that, so all I have to do is go back in my files and see what the heck I did. Since I have a business, I keep those records for my tax returns.
I do the order form thing too. I created a simple worksheet in Excel for all cakes except wedding cakes. I have a different form for wedding cakes. Anyway, I fill out those worksheet forms and I write the customer's name in a datebook. The datebook is just a 3 ring binder with printed monthly calendar pages from Microsoft Publisher. And lastly, I put any paperwork I generate for an order, including drawings or pictures of the cake given to me by the customer, in manilla folder with the customer's name written on the tab. I don't have that many customers going at the same time right now but as my business grows, I plan on filing the folders in a file cabinet by orders coming up and orders completed.
I also create order sheets in Excel. Half sheets for regular cakes and full sheets for weddings. I make a note of each order on my computer calendar. I have it email me a reminder a few days before (or more if I have to make gumpaste items). I also have it remind me of when balance is due for wedding cakes.
I keep all of the orders on a clip board in date order.
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