Q When should you start thinking about ordering diaries for your teams?

A It's never too soon, but if you haven't done it yet, you should get busy now. Some firms offer incentives for early ordering, as we are all keen to receive your orders as early as possible. Your teams will appreciate having next year's diary pronto, too, as we all plan so far ahead these days. Our diaries come as 13- and 15-month versions.

Q What should I think about when choosing diaries for the office?

A Make sure the key information is relevant for your staff, or clients, and of course, check that the format is one which they find easy to work with.

Basically, diaries contain the diary section itself, and the information pages - maps, planners, currency converters, national holidays, etc. But rather than accepting a standard set of info pages, did you know that these can be tailored to your own organisation? You can also select topics that are particularly useful to your company (perhaps the London Tube map is of little interest to your accounts staff based in Wales, but they may relish a financial planning section). And you can also personalise pages to your organisation, such as including details on your history, locations, key contact numbers, etc.

Q Are there other ways to personalise a diary?

A Yes, your firm's logo can appear on the front cover, and you can even have covers made in your corporate colours.

Q Does size matter?

A Well it does to some people! We offer 8 sizes and 11 formats - pocket diaries, A4, A5, week to view, day to a page, etc. Depending on how your colleagues want to use, store and carry their diary, and how much information they need to put on each page, you could either pick a diary that will be a great tool for them, or one which will be a real frustration for a year!

Canvass your teams to find out what they need, but aim to gently limit their choices, too. With so many sizes and formats available, you could create a costly logistical nightmare, ordering small numbers of multiple combinations.

Q What else should you consider when ordering?

A Bear in mind that a diary has to last 12 months, minimum - so it needs to be durable. Some trendy diaries make great fashion accessories, but by July they've fallen apart! We offer different bindings to choose from (case bound, wiro binding, comb binding, etc), protective gold corners, leather covers, Polypro covers… there is a whole range of materials, colours, bindings, etc, all selected for durability as well as looks.

Q Isn't everyone using electronic diaries now?

A Certainly more people are using electronic diaries, but the paper product is far from finished! Yes, it's great to have your information on your PC or your PDA, but they're expensive, often not very user-friendly, and when they break down you can be in a real pickle. Paper diaries, however, are extremely user-friendly, economical, quick to load (!), and very portable. For those who never leave the desk, electronic schedulers are fine, but for those on the move, a paper diary can make more sense.

Q Do you make diaries with funky covers, like zebra stripes, or fur fabric?

A Just about any cover material can be considered provided it can be bound into book form. We offer an exciting range including suede, printed linen, dyed leather, coloured polypro and silk. Letts is constantly on the look out for new and innovative ideas and we source materials from all over the world from Italy to the Far East. Our aim is to offer to our customers the widest possible choice