Customers Not Paying Their Invoices, Getting Screwed Over
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- Опубліковано 9 січ 2018
- How many of you hate it when customers don't pay their invoice?
I know I do. In this video I talk about two different ways you can insure to get paid more often.
1. Go to a pre pay service
2. Have a credit card on file
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Pro tip, please do this: Bill upfront. If they don't like the job -> Refund. If they don't like the upfront -> Walk.
I haven't chased an invoice since 2017.
Most of my customers pay me at time of service. If they're not home they just hide the payment somewhere outside and let me know where it will be.
The customer who is scared off by pre-payment or giving you a cc# is the same one you don’t want as a customer.
Yep, meanwhile they have their credit card on file online with probably a dozen retail websites for their online shopping...I find it funny so many people don't want to give out that information yet they have it saved on several websites for quick checkout LOL.
@@wildbill23c Good point. They're ok to shop online and give their CC# to strangers, but the lawn guy whom they welcome around their home and family isn't trustworthy.
Yeah but what if I give you pre-payments and you take out my pay and don't do the service? Lots of people are screwed over by contractors too.
@@alienlatino2945 Yup, thought of the same thing when I heard it, plenty of people get screwed over like this
Yup, and the customers who wait until you contact them for payment and then they get mad at you for calling them weekly
I had a couple when I first started who refused to pay. I still feel like strangling them. Credit card on file or pay in advance is a must.
"Still don't get paid, whaddya do?" Big sign on a board in the back of an old truck parked outside his property. A huge message on the sign telling the customer that when he pays for the 6 weeks of lawncare you will move the truck.
Credit card on file has worked great for me during my first season (2017). As long as you convey it with confidence and keep it simple, people don't put up a fight.EDIT: Forgot to mention I bill every week after service is rendered.
We only have two options; prepay for the month or payment is due at the time of service. We only take cash and etransfers or it's no business.
I have done pre payment for a few years now and I offered pre pay one month at a time, half the summer and I have them a 5% discount, or the whole summer( not including leaves or any other requested services) and have them a 7% discount. It really drew people in and it was a lot of time saved for me not having to do invoices all the time. It also saved me the hassle of chasing my money!
That's a great way to do it as well, prepay and I'll give you a discount. Discount is a great way to get people's attention, even if its just a small amount, the customer feels like you are giving them a great deal and its saving them a little money. Great job on your discount plan.
I have done prepay for the last 2 years. I have only had 2 people not sign up because I do prepay and one has come back and said that they can’t find anyone reliable so they would like to go with my service. They may be prepaying but if you explain that this is the only protection you have as a business owner to not get ripped off the customer 99.99% of the time understands and will prepay for high quality, reliable service. I do my billing once a month and one month in advance. If I have to miss a cut I simply credit a cut on their next invoice. With prepayment as a business owner you do have avoid any appearance of being shady. So no showing up two days late for a job or taking a vacation without communicating it to your customers. With prepAyment communication with your customers is key.
I’m not as big but I have them put cash or check in a safe location each visit. No pay. No loss really. Works great for my little setup
That was works well when you’re not a legitimate business.
Jason #get legit. Get a business checking account, pay taxes. It’ll catch up to you if you don’t. Or just listen to idiots like Jason giving you advise
Why do you feel the customer needs time to pay? For us in the trades, it de-values us. What other industry or service has time or leniency to pay? Do you leave the grocery store or wal mart and have 2-4 weeks to pay? Nope. This is exactly why contractors and service people get screwed is because of this mentality that was set a long time ago. Props to you for being professional and not being an angry person even when we all have had those moments when we wanted to be and take action.
Ran a lawn mainteance company that did 1.8M year in sales. 1.) stop doing residential. 2.) bill at the beginning of the month and give 30 days to pay. (I.e. bill May 1st and expect payment May 31st. 3.) show up and ask for the payment. 4.) stop doing residential properties. Good luck man.
I also use yardbooks and invoice every week. I have 20 weekly accounts and have had little to no issues with customers not paying. You may think that invoicing every week is a pain and time consuming but yardbooks makes it easy. They have a "recurring invoice" feature that automatically generates the invoice for you every week. All you have to do is email it to the customer. It takes me less than ten minutes to invoice my 20 accounts. My general rule is I never let a customer get more than $100 behind on their account. As soon as it hits the $100 mark I stop mowing until I get paid. I've been in business for two years and I've only had to stop service for one customer.
Trying to start my own business and had this EXACT question. Thanks Brian.
Prepay is the way to go, and have their payment information on file as well. Be sure to keep a log of each property that you take care of, what you did on xx day, take before/after pictures if you feel uneasy about a client.
We bill monthly for 12 month and 8 month contracts. For example, lawn care is only April-November this adds a nice little buffer to start with before you ever even provide service just Incase they decide to stop paying. This is a great concept for our full service clients too. Full service meaning; seasonal mulch, monthly landscape management, turf apps, irrigation and lawn care) snow removal is separated. Most of ours have been narrowed down to full service clients anyways. I also got tired of chasing the small bucks. That’s where the moneys at! Commercial and Estate.
Great advice brother!
Oh also leaf removal and fall clean up etc. you get the idea.
I started doing it about 7 years ago Brian . And yes I did lose a few people at first but picked up new customers so there was not really any loss.
My lawn guy bills me right after the last service of the month. I get an email with the total. It varies because sometimes I have him do extra stuff. The day I get his email invoice is the day I electronically pay him. It's never been a problem for either of us. Same day pay is not that hard. There's really no need to give a client two weeks to pay.
Even though I’m a small business, I still have a payment plan, being payment at the time of service. Whether that’s coming out and paying me, or leaving a note on the door with my name on it, as long as it’s at the time of service. Pre payment sounds like a good idea, and I might try it out in the future. Thanks!
Bought my 6'3" 240lb. cousin a black suit black shirt black tie and black Fedora Hat gave him a $10 cigar and sent him out to collect past due bills.... That was 2yrs. ago and I haven't had any late payments since, as word got around very quickly...lol Sometimes you just have to get creative...!!!!!
I love that. LOL
That's the best/funniest way I've ever heard of anyone making sure that customers pay on time
Did he spoke like Joe Pesci too?
Isn't that strong arming?
Good video Brian I do is bill every 3 cuts with a 10 days to pay this has worked good for me because generally the money rolls in before my own bills do. I have 3 customers that pre pay for the entire year 30 cuts, 1spring and 2 fall cleanups they pay by March 15th which makes a nice buffer coming out of winter.
Good video! Myself i get paid by the cut. if they miss a week i expect it there the next time i cut the lawn. Ive never had issues over 2 weeks.
Great Video, Great Question!
We do a combination of:
-Annual Program (contract) only customers for weekly mowing frequency.
40 mowing visits (48 if they need leaf vacuuming) multiplied by their mowing rate, say $45, = $1800 (or $2160), amortized over their 12 month cycle, $150 (or $180) per month. Then, we only do PrePay monthly, quarterly and semi-annually. PrePay Annual to receive discount, all with CC on file regardless of frequency. Once this service is established, other stand alone labor items such as: shrub trimming along with Irrigation Startups/Shutdowns, are also amortized and added. Other stand alone items with material cost and labor we can put in the 12 month program are: Monthly Lawn and Tree & Shrub Apps, we do the same formula as above.
Items to be A La Carte, per year:
-leaf vacuuming(s) if extra.
-4 Turf Fungicide Summer apps.
-1 Flea & Tick Turf app.
-1 long term Grub Turf app.
-2 Pine Needle refurbishments for beds/ natural areas.
-1 Mulch refurbishment per year for beds/ natural areas.
-2 Flower installments per year, cool and warm season.
-1 Soil Test.
-1 Seeding Package in Fall, Aera-Vation, Seeding, starter fertilizer and lime.
All services mentioned above can be included in the Annual Program only when PrePaying Annually. Under this umbrella, discounts are given for mowing service and all other services listed. PrePay discounts/specials/deals start at 5% with possibly a freebie for the first service visit for some items.
We are currently using Jobber found at GetJobber.com. After several years of Jobber we are now transitioning to RealGreen.com Real Green System’s new cloud based SA5, the C.A.W. And absolutely everything else they have to offer. Really looking forward to the next level with them for many years to come and all their products within their wagon wheel of services offered. No more duplicate, triplicate entry for anything ever again. Using several different programs that do not sync up will make you crazy🤪.
Looking forward to Real Green Systems🚗🎉!
Excuse the ton-o-info. Hope you enjoy!
-Lee
I bill weekly. 2nd Mow doesnt happen until 1st Mow is paid for. 2nd option is I encourage everyone to prepay for as many "Mows" as they like. I let them know when they have 1 Mow left so they can prepay ahead again. Works well. I have over 150 clients.
Mark Schmaus how do you keep track of how many mows they have paid for?
Skyler_7485 I use a ledger for each client. Pmts vs Services provided. As we move thru the seasons i roll any overages in pmts to the next season. I.e.....leaf vacuum. Snow removal. If a client wants proof i can show them their ledger page.
Mark Schmaus
Mark, when you say ledger is it like a paper ledger? If so can you tell me what brand/info that you use? Thanks
Ousama Abdu 3x5 index card. 1 card per client
Mark Schmaus
Thanks for the info. I haven't set up any lawn care software for my company get. Do you do use any software in addition to the index card system for your 150 accounts?
Violin is playing. Been there doin that. Billing is tuff turf. Credit card numbers fail sometimes so don't believe having one on file works always. Being a solo guy I prefer monthly billing as it saves much time with office work. Last year sucked as I had one customer that did not pay. The way I am looking at it is, my tips from other customers has more than covererd that outstanding invoice. As far as making sure I get paid, that depends on my gut feeling when doing the mandatory walk walkaround discussing how I might can help before trading signatures. Some have to pony up and prepay, some don't. You know the feeling. Peace.
If you only had 1 customer fail to pay that's doing pretty well. Tips are always a great bonus to your job well done, and something to note on the customer's account that they tip and be sure and send them a Thank you card every season to let them know you appreciate their business. I've even seen a few that do a little discount for those who are repeat customers and/or refer a new customer.
We have about 25% of our customers credit card saved and we charge after service same day. Amazing!!! Will eventually get all our customers like that
I always got paid on demand right after services were done and all of my customers were fine with it!
Problem solved.
if i don't know you, no more than 2 cuts out for small properties, one cut for large properties. eventually i may go credit card on file, but thankfully i don't have to chase alot of money.
I have always worked pre pay. It works. You pay for the services before you get them just like you pay for your cable before you use it or your gasoline at the pump. You have no worry because of Any of my customers gets rained out you get a rain check for the next month on your service and that's credited to service that you've already paid for. Would you like to set that account for your monthly payment up on check or credit card I take American Express Visa Mastercard and discover. All your information is safe because I use Square card reader and all your information is incryptid. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Yeah I hate chasing money so I decided to go with those two options pre payment or card on file and I even explain why if they don't understand why then I don't mind not having them as a customer because at the end of the day we are operating a business so don't let it bother you
Great video! We all share these problems. You have some good solutions
And thats why all our accounts pre pay. We have a number of custmers who even pay for the whole year in advance. I did not think that would ever work but we have over 300 accounts . I will never go back to the old way pay at the end of the month. You are right but then I do not have our trucks wrapped and we only go by word of mouth. So when some new comes along they already have an idea we only do prepay.. the great side is we do not even look for new customers but get more every year. But then again your a kid just starting out Brian yes I said kid. I have been doing this since I was 8 well im in my 70s now so been there done that . Prepay or go away !
Haha, how long have you been doing pre pay?
That’s funny. And, Yes, he is right!
We are large 400+ , Prepayment on residential accounts i have found has been safe, consistent and sellable. A Very good alternative to a contract
Wow, i suppose if i had been in business for 60 years I wouldn't need advertisements either...
CountryBoy85 never needed to do advertisements just word of mouth .
I switched to pre-pay. I'm so much happier now. I lose 1 job for every 20-30. Most of the ones I lose give me the feeling of a customer I don't want. Non payer or even the nock on the door & I will pay you cash types. Both you don't really want if you have grown to the level your describing. Your time is incredibly valuable at this point. Especially with employees on the clock. The nock on door pay you when I see you types are not reliably there & try to tell you it doesn't need it. Then you just paid all your guys to burn some of your fuel to drive to a house, eating the very limited day light for nothing.
What normally works for me is pay as soon as service is completed. If they want to pay every 2 weeks fine but i need payment in hand before i mow again after that. If week 3 rolls around and they havent paid, i skip them.
When a client signs up, I send them a credit card authorization form. They fill it out, sign it, and send it back before I even put them on the schedule. As soon as the yard is serviced the card gets ran.
You just hope they haven't cancelled the card or that the form they filled out was fake.
@@wildbill23c Nothing would be better of recorded proof for the police & your lawyer.
I used to leave the money under the hood of the bbq. When working away would prepay a Month in advance.
I also use yardbook and require a credit card on file for lawn and snow service... it gets automatically charged after 7 days of non payment and it works great... the down fall is that I lost/lose (potential) clients (not a significant amoun lost ) because this system is not yet common for “the lawn guy”... but the convenience factor for myself and my customers is amazing. emailing invoices saves so much in time, gas, envelopes, paper etc... it will be easier when it’s a common request for our service but it is The best option I have come across.... so often I hear the words “can you just charge my card”😁
You didn't really lose any customers. You just didn't get the ones who aren't going to pay.
Right !!!!
When I had my company and we were mowing about 110-120/week we had a pretty good split of weekly and monthly paying customers. Fuel costs were crazy high and having a good chunk of customers paying weekly really helped with cash flow. Granted I was getting checks in the mail pretty much 5-6 days/week but I'd rather deal with that than chasing 4-6 weeks of mowing on 120 customers. I sold my business back in '08 but started doing some side work in '17.
I just started last year in 2017 I got paid same day when finished mowing. I did do 3 one time mows and never got paid got my regular customers that pays when I finish but this year all new customers I’m going to require prepay
Prepay and credit card on file are great and so is reporting to the Big Three Credit Agencies of a non-paying consumer. This is also why we have three other tools in our arsenal, #1. Slingshot, #2. Water Balloons, and #3. 2/4-D which makes a wonderful pattern, LOL. No! seriously, if they don't want to pay, this is what small claims court is about. The best thing you can do is advertise a cheapskate in the local paper so others don't get screwed like you did, and stop mowing them without an increase in rates.
You are absolutely right,👍👍👍✌😎
My customers either pay each visit, or monthly. I haven't had any issues with nonpayment, but I am only dealing with about 35 to 40 customers. I may change when I have more clients but I haven't had any issues with my present setup.
Hey Brian! I use yardbooks also, and have had alittle trouble due to having osme customers wanting to pay different ways... I am hoping to switch to credit card billing next year though to make the whole process alot easier!
I get my money upfront Big guy!! been doing it for 13 years. People have screwed me to much lol
I used to do it per mow. But, I have since quit mowing yards due to moving to an apartment, and no long being able to keep a mower around.
My customers pay monthly. Some may use the cash app. But mostly everyone pre-pays. It just helps me out in the long run.
After many years in the lawn care nusiness....my customers pay at end of weekly service or prepay
I have had very little resistance. If theres an issue then they're not my customer.
My customers either prepay or pay at time of service never ever have to chase money down. Just set it when you get the contract. If the person is real they should have no issue with it . Remember it's your business ! Best of luck
Yeah I hate when that happens. Not many people like the idea of prepaying over here though so that puts me in a bit of a difficult situation.
2017, all customers paid, 50 accounts. I bill per cut. Loyal customers will prepay for next cut or more. I accept credit cards, checks, PayPal and cash of course.
10yrs in business, month in advance billing from day one, can't recall anyone ever having a problem with it...rarely ever have to chase money. Guess I'm lucky that way
Great video. I am still trying to figure it out after 5 years now. I have never had someone actually not pay but I have a couple or 3 that pay slow. Thing is some of those slow people are wealthy so its not like they dont have the funds they just give you the whole thing and maybe then some after a couple months. I also allow them to pay many different ways but I am starting to miss getting paid right away compared to monthly as I have been doing last 2 years. Hate the paperwork. In the old days I would have quit service for slow payers but then later realized how much I was making from them. Should not have done that. I am way to easy. Let us know what you come up with I think that two week thing you have been doing sounds pretty good.
I'm shooting for prepaid or CC on file. Going to just start off with that right off the bat. Too much stress chasing down people that owe me money!
I offer a discount for year payed in full some go for that. I offer prepay as an option. I also send proposals with print that explains unpaid invoices will be subject to a collection agent which is legal now/that works best of all I found
I hate it. It's only happened once, but for a teenager like me trying to grow my business, its a pain. I just keep telling them to pay it, and if they still dont, I just put them on a "Do not service list". Prepay would make me have less customers, and mostly the unpaid amount is not big. If it is a big unpaid amount, I would have to go further. But it hasnt come to that yet. I do also use the 2 week due date.
I have a guy who comes when needed and has become a friend. From the first I would give him $100 (tiny yard). He always got gas money. If he does the back yard (1/3 acre) I give him $250. But he also built steps for me and voluntarily repaired a walkway to make it safer (we are elderly). Plus he's a fabulous human being.
I do the prepaid and I implemented Greg's (G2F) system of getting paid two cuts upfront. First cut I leave a receipt following the cut and the second mow I leave a self-addressed envelope reminding them that another payment for two services is due. I really don't get very many customers doing the weekly cut, so this system seems to work great for me.
I also give the option for them to get a onetime 'trial service' (prepaid as well), if they are a little bit skeptical.
I think that I really don't scare away any customers going prepaid, I explain that they as a dissatisfied customer can write a bad review for my website, where I as the service provider don't really have much recourse to take action against a non-payer and that is why I get prepaid first before a job. It is usually agreed by a new customer as a smart move on my part.
In still just a small company and decided to offer various forms of payment and actually a slight discount depending on method. I have pre-pay either monthly quarterly or for the year, billed at the end of the month or billed by service most new customers go pay as you go but I usually get them switched over within a month or so. I use "quickbooks" and can keep a card on file and then I'll accept cash cheque credit or debit, I use a "Square reader" for in field/same day transactions.
I do credit card on file and I bill the credit card after every service so I’m paid the next day in my checking account. I do it every night when I get home and I have 57 weekly lawn accounts.
right now with mowing residential invoicing at the end of the month and might add this year a 25 dollar late after 14 days. landscaping payment at the time it is completed and if it big some prepayment. but commercial will be all at the end of the month which what i am going when i graduate college
I collect after a mow every time
Since I bill monthly for mowing i put on my invoices due upon receipt. I feel like people pay me faster because of that. Of course I still have slow payers but I usually get paid by everyone within 2 weeks
I will be using the square app and have automatic payments every week or two.
21 years monthly billing. I have been taken a few times but I am under 600 bucks in 21 years.
Johnny Mow Good to hear from you Johnny. $600 over 21 yrs is pretty darn good. Hope your do well buddy!
Johnny Mow my man. Good to see you at leat in comment section.
Also sir I've been thinking. Would you be able to give me a few hrs of your time obviously for a charge. I want to get into fertilizing and all that staff. I know I get the licenses. Easy but I really would like to learn from someone that has actually do this fir costumers.
Let me know what do you think.
We process payments before we pullout the driveway .I don't have time run loan agency .If your card fails you get 24 hr grace period and then off to collections.
Most of the seniors pay 1 week ahead and some pay me cash more pay me with Zelle
I give my new customers the option to pre pay if they want and i bill most of my customers monthly mostly and put on all my invoices a net due date and a late payment fee of $5.00 and say may also result in taking them to collections if not paid by the due date.
I do monthly billing. I've often thought to myself how unfair it is i have to wait 6 weeks to get paid. However, 75 percent of my customers pay on time, the rest pay in a reasonable amount of time. In 5 years, I've had one customer not pay (2 months worth of mowing).
Prepay or leave a check in a secured location.
Good points Brian ...like the scag hat 😎
I get paid every mow cash or check .. only accounts that don't pay me that way are commercial accounts that I bill monthly.. granted I only have 25 accounts and I've groomed it to be this way over the past 4 years since I started it up .. but I totally agree with the whole credit card deal with a business as big as yours
I use yardbook as well. I do charge card on file for all recurring services and send an invoice with two weeks until due for all other services. I’m currently re evaluating this as I have a big job ($1000+) that I feel I may not get paid for. We’re already on week 3 a week past due. I may need to change how I do larger jobs. Perhaps do a percentage down upon arrival.
Are you able to do auto draft? From NC
I always left the check every week in the grill.
With yard books does the customer have to authorize payment when they get the email or does it automatically get drafted
I switched to using jobber and paying. Invoices are automatically created and sent with push of button. Some clients are on monthly deals. Invoices 20th, due on 20th of next month so you can cancel service on the last week
All of them have the pros and cons. If you owe me big $ and don’t want to pay I’ll take a lien on your property and then you incur all the extra fees and time I have to put into the lien process. But that’s only if you owe more than couple hundred dollars. 👍🏻 Bryan
Our policy: Cash is King. Credit cards also accepted. Sorry, No checks or billing.
I use Paypal Here and have the app on my phone plus a external card swiper. The CC number is input directly by me, card can be swiped or customer invoiced by email or message app for pre-payment. Annual customers provide a CC number and are charged after each service plus a small paypal convenience fee, usually before I leave the location. 1 time or infrequent customers pay at the end of a job if they are going to be onsite, otherwise they can leave cash or I will send them a invoice that is going to be prepaid before I will schedule the job.
Lawn Stars NOLA that’s all good until you go to retire and didn’t pay into Soc Security. I pay taxes on every job I do. It’s also better when you go to the bank and want to expand your business.
Whoa there! Billing and taxes are two different things. Accepting cash or credit cards doesn't eliminate taxes,payroll or etc. It simply assures payment and eliminates billing. Also Paypal provides a detailed ledger of your annual transactions for tax purposes.
Pre pay customers get "Rain Day" priority with me, it sorts most people out and i know who to do first.
gives them a reason to prepay.
So,we charge a flat rate by the month,wether its a 4or5 week month. We bill at the 1st of month and is due by the end of the month. We cut biweekly in the spring and fall ,weekly in summer. It all averages out to about 3 cuts a month over the season. Been doing this for 5 years, only got shafted a few times billing this way.
I do a pay upon receipt and if customer is not home i email an invoice as soon as i finish. Take 2 minutes tops and get paid regularly.
Not sure on percentages but I only had one potential customer turn me down last year because of prepayment.
You probably saved yourself a headache. Prepay has been an awesome screening tool for me. So far whenever my gut told me that something wasn't right about a potential client, the prepayment requirement would show me that they were not a good fit. Most would complain, "How do I know you will do the work?" And I would think to myself, "How do I know you will pay me after the work is done?"
That's was probably a good thing. Usually if they don't agree to prepay, they wont planning on paying anyway.
Luckily I have not had to deal with non payers yet, but if I did, I would probably bug the crap out of them. Call, text, and in person visits. Depends on how much owed. I know in my area no one would go for having a card on file or prepaying. My area is a very low income kind of area full of lowballers and hardly anyone uses much technology. If they do use the internet, it is for Facebook more than anything. So it's not likely a program like yardbooks could work for me. Nice video Brain looking forward to more
We email a bill after service. If its not paid before next service is due...tough luck. And if they pay late..and its rainy season here (im in fl) a overgrown charge will be added to the next service. Bc most likely..it will be a little extra work. So far..it has worked out...and i always have cash flow. No more financing services.
I mow my own yard, it costs roughly $1.25. Looks fantastic.
I use job made job paid. Customer saves their credit card and I automatically charge their account. I haven't gotten an issue. I use Yardbook and Square Register. On yard book I use it on commercial properties that requires photo and for regular customers I use Square I love it. Plus the advantage having square if you made 20k less or 200 less transactions in my state is tax free. I have encounter customers today days people are looking more electronically than leaving money under the door mat. I still do have some in cash customers but is one big struggle and the fat struggle what I have is dogs in the backyard. I have to do their yard last until they are home, almost dark. I wish their dog was friendly.
Sounds good to me. leaving money under the mat just seems like a lot of hassle to organize all that with each customer but if it works it works i guess.
Collect after every job. No exceptions.
I charge £20 an hour in the UK one time somebody didn't pay for six hours of work so after another month I started dumping loads of garden rubbish on their driveway until I was paid up basically in the UK you have to pay to empty your vehicle of garden waste which is £20 for a full load of my truck dump truck so you can imagine how much rubbish was on their driveway and they still didn't pay me but at the end of the day I still made my money back by dumping it on their drive they tried to call the police the police came and the cop just stood there and laughed he said to me I would have done the same thing if they didn't pay lol
Prepay and pay at time of service is only way we do it. Just north of 145 clients. We didn't start that way. I had to wait until we had a decent revenue stream. Once we developed that, I was able to set my terms and it has been surprising how many actually are ok with it and even prefer it that way. We also offer a discount if prepaid by March 31st for the year. More like that option than I thought would as well.
what state are in and how many mows are in your season?
went from cash cause people forgot , went to invoice which i bill them as soon as job is complete. however that doesnt really work either as they seem to think they can take as long as they want and i want same day payment i mow fortnightly / bi weekly they have 2 weeks to know im coming and have payment ready. ive thought about pre payment option as well as late payment fee of $25 if it 7 days late . but general consensus was they wouldnt like pre payment .as for credit card on file wonder if that works for general bank cards as i highly doubt my clients have them cc i dont have one.
Prepay with a 5% discount with option to CC on file and autobill after service.
Good points here, I still do the monthly billing for mowing. But for one time jobs, even if it is for a mowing customer. I collect payment at the time of completion. I've got a few people who NEVER pay on time, I have some that pay in a few days. I've got some that give me the run around " oh the check is in the mail" blah blah blah. I also have a few that have CC on file with me. I like this the most, but I also like the idea of pre-payment. My only worry would be scaring customers away, specifically some of the older clientele. Older folks normally work on the good ole boy trust system and want to see your work before paying anything. Its a lose/lose battle, but it can be fought well I suppose. I don't have too many issues with chasing the money, as I keep close tabs on the invoicing. As soon as it is past due I'm on people relentlessly until they pay. Obviously you have to be kind but stern here. I had to go as far as showing up at a ladies work this summer because she wouldn't reply to any form of communication even when calling her work. Needless to say, chasing the money rightfully owed to us will always be a battle, but I do like the thought of pre-payment and just might consider trying it out!
I'm with you on the pre payment but guys that use it swear by it. I think cc on file will be my method of choice this year. I hate having to chase people down. It's a waste of time and extra money.
Cash or credit. Payment required upon job completion. No billing. You don’t pay. We don’t come back. Payment to be settled before final clean up.
Otherwise there is a written contract signed by both parties.
Always photograph damage to home / property / etc. before beginning any job. Log any pre discovered damage & be sure the customer is aware of any logged damages & signs the summary before beginning. Be insured & bonded.
Anyone who doesn’t appreciate how thorough you are is probably going to try to scam. You.
Imagine being hired by a homeowner who has the intention of taking advantage of the fact that you are insured & bonded. They want you to not document things damaged prior to your service & wont hire you if you insist on their acknowledgement of pre damages via their signature on a contract. They want you to mow & then blame & sue.
Always document. Always take pics & vids prior to every job. Even the repeat ones. Protect yourself.
I put pre payed envelopes in my bills so all they have to do is right a check put it back in the mailbox they love it and I use the postage as a write off
Have you had to put a lein on a client? Or thought about it? With my tractor work, I normally get paid the same day. Unfortunately not always the case.
I give them back the grass clippings same with the snow dump the snow back in the parking lot works every time
I Bill every 2 weeks but I like the idea of a credit card on file so I don’t have to chase my money 💰
Been lucky so far I guess but I've never gotten burned doing monthly billing. No way I'd prepay for lawn service. But I wouldn't pay for it with a credit card either!
Brian do u incorporate a tip fee in your yearbook when your done
Absolutely, I haven’t checked lately but probably close to $500 in tips this year.
Cash up front or no service. The last thing you want is provided service and they don't pay you.
Roundup nonpayers, tell em you're fertilizing
James Wright LOL!!!!
Nice
Dirty, I always wanted to write "I don't pay my bills" in the yard with round up.
I get paid by the cut, right now I get a check or cash, I don't give 30 days some will pay up front.