Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jonisondell on November 05, 2008, 12:09:12 pm
-
new to win cleaning approx 6 month, collection is getting to be a pain, what is the best method self addressed envelope?? the only thing ive thought about this is the implication of bank charges, would my bank see loads of cheques and want me to change my bank type?? if so how much do they charge?? cheers in advance
-
SAEs definately the best method. If your bank wants to charge you for paying in loads of cheques (hope you do ;D) then change your bank.
-
Lots of Banks now do free banking , open up a business account and get free banking .
I also use Paypal , they charge you a few pence for doing it . But its cheaper than going out collecting in all weathers
-
You can get 18 from banking if you open a biz account with lloyds and I think Barclays too. After that they charge 35p (I think) per cheque.
Alliance and Leicester have permanent free buisness banking. If you havent got a branch in your town you can pay cheques via the post office. Got a feeling the co-op offer the same service........
Alternatively, You can give your customers your sort code and bank account number and they can pay directly into your bank with no charge...ever!
-
get registered with freepost at royal mail. you can either print labels or have envelopes printed with the code and address, this way if they are not used you havent paid for a stamp you only get charged for whats used.
costs £70 for licence then £40 in advance on a reducing balance they then send you an invoice before our credits run out and you just keep topping up £40 each time
i think its about 22p-25p for each one
-
Get your customers into the habbit of paying via direct debit, online banking, PayPal, or sending you a cheque.
Advise you dont collect - as customers are not always in (wasted trip = fuel, time etc), save them from having to route round for cash while your at the door, save them from being disturbed in the evening by you collecting especially in the dark come the winter months. Safer for them and you!
Advise you charge extra for coming to collect monies, if you need to collect as added time & fuel expense etc.
You can think about SAE's, maybe start charging 50p - £1 extra to all your new custies to pay for the extra expense, stamp envelope etc.
-
I dont supply my customers with envelope or stamp and never collect ..... they accept that they find their own envelope and stamp , when i originally quote i tell them to send me a cheque and make a joke that it will only cost them the price of a stamp ..... no problems so far though cheques have been a bit slow of late (see other threads) this is the financial climate though rather than who pays for the stamp. Dont supply anything it is just more hassle and more cost to you.
-
I dont supply my customers with envelope or stamp and never collect ..... they accept that they find their own envelope and stamp , when i originally quote i tell them to send me a cheque and make a joke that it will only cost them the price of a stamp ..... no problems so far though cheques have been a bit slow of late (see other threads) this is the financial climate though rather than who pays for the stamp. Dont supply anything it is just more hassle and more cost to you.
im the same, they send me the money, unless its a custie on my doorstep.
i bank with A&L and pay it in at the post office, easy life.
-
I dont supply my customers with envelope or stamp and never collect ..... they accept that they find their own envelope and stamp , when i originally quote i tell them to send me a cheque and make a joke that it will only cost them the price of a stamp ..... no problems so far though cheques have been a bit slow of late (see other threads) this is the financial climate though rather than who pays for the stamp. Dont supply anything it is just more hassle and more cost to you.
Ooer! At the moment cheques are coming in later and later...and that's with an SAE!
Reckon I'd go skint if they also had to bother to write an envelope and stick a stamp on it. Half of them send a cheque with my name missing (for me to fill in)...and I've worked for them for F'ing years ::)
-
new to win cleaning approx 6 month, collection is getting to be a pain, what is the best method self addressed envelope?? the only thing ive thought about this is the implication of bank charges, would my bank see loads of cheques and want me to change my bank type?? if so how much do they charge?? cheers in advance
Everytime we have a post on 'collecting' there's always loads of posters going on about SAEs and how they don't collect! Good on them, but I wonder how many of these posters are older types with paid/small mortgages and grown up kids? Maybe their cash-flow isn't that important to them, or are they saying that they earn so much money that they don't really care when they get paid? Or that they've got great customer management skills? I'm not sure?
And I also know another window cleaner who says he doesn't collect, but he does; he does lots of shops, some small some big; and he spends a fair whack of time queing up with the customers, waiting for his turn to get paid.
But at present, just from five different commercial companies we are outstanding just over £800, which is a fair whack of cash to us (£400 of it from one residential type place for retired people who haven't paid us in three months; they're always slow to pay); hopefully I'll get it soon; I'd like it before Christmas; but chasing up money isn't fun. I'm also owed an 'unworked out amount' from rural residential customers who pay by cheque.
So I collect from two estate areas I clean in; on a Saturday morning, about twice a month. If they're not in I do leave a SAE and it's compact work, so easy to park the car up and walk around.
So collecting for us keeps the bills paid, mortgage covered and the family fed.
-
i have thourght about asking for cheques,and there are a few who still are waiting for a back log of cheques,so still will have to knock and ask for payment,i will rather collect my cash and dont have to wait for cheques to arrive then clear,but if it works for other peope great.
-
Paypal, SAE and collecting are the only ways.
Enjoy ;D
Dean.
-
i found SAE's were good, but am having a problem with them at the momment, really trying to push online bank transferss to be honest
-
I only every go out and collect from one customer and I only do that when its worthwhile doing so which at the moment is every 5 months.
The rest of my customers I telephone the night before and they always leave me the money for when I turn up.
-
so i have a paypal account how do i go about telling the customer how to pay in to my account
-
so i have a paypal account how do i go about telling the customer how to pay in to my account
go to merchant services
have a look on my website and click on payment, below the main click here is a paypal symbol, they click it and it takes them straight to paypal and it pays straight into my account
if you click and forward £10,000 to me ill let you know if its worked ok
-
so do i have to have my own website lwc
-
so do i have to have my own website lwc
No but its easier to have a web page or something to allow them to click a link to your paypal payment page.
-
erm i think it would help mate
but
another way to do it is if they already have paypal leave a note saying "send payment to ******(your email addy)"
because if you go to your paypal account there is a option "send money" i think and thats how they could do it
-
If your customers are mostly domestic
Then...
Addressed Envelopes with a chit enclosed saying date/amount/address
will suffice... as for stamps don't waste your money!
One thing is true through... this quote (below) is true ( I am one of these... sorry!)
Everytime we have a post on 'collecting' there's always loads of posters going on about SAEs and how they don't collect! Good on them, but I wonder how many of these posters are older types with paid/small mortgages and grown up kids? Maybe their cash-flow isn't that important to them, or are they saying that they earn so much money that they don't really care when they get paid?
-
Everytime we have a post on 'collecting' there's always loads of posters going on about SAEs and how they don't collect! Good on them, but I wonder how many of these posters are older types with paid/small mortgages and grown up kids? Maybe their cash-flow isn't that important to them, or are they saying that they earn so much money that they don't really care when they get paid?
im a young lad, 23, with plenty of bills and i leave sae's and i DO care when i get paid
-
so i have a paypal account how do i go about telling the customer how to pay in to my account
Put it on your ticket you put through the door.
IE Your windows have been cleaned today
Do you have a paypal account? Why
not pay online by sending your payment
to xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx any queries please
call xxxx xxxxx
-
Everytime we have a post on 'collecting' there's always loads of posters going on about SAEs and how they don't collect! Good on them, but I wonder how many of these posters are older types with paid/small mortgages and grown up kids? Maybe their cash-flow isn't that important to them, or are they saying that they earn so much money that they don't really care when they get paid?
im a young lad, 23, with plenty of bills and i leave sae's and i DO care when i get paid
That was MY post, not Trotsky's! >:(
-
And I also know another window cleaner who says he doesn't collect, but he does; he does lots of shops, some small some big; and he spends a fair whack of time queing up with the customers, waiting for his turn to get paid.
Ahh, this must be me! ;D
As many of my customers are shops I have no option but to collect them, unfortunately, when they are open and able to pay me I have to get in line like everyone else :'(
I don't bother with collecting residential accounts though, for the most part anyway, though I do have one account I have to call back on to collect, but as it is one where I am passing by quite frequently I don't mind.
Some of the commercial ones can take a while to get paid from, the bigger offices and so on, but by and large my cash flow is quite good.
After you have got into the habit of not collecting and of getting your customers to pay via post or online the cash flow is fine, there may always be some outstanding, but there will also be a constant flow of envelopes through the letterbox and payments being made online; the analogy being that it is like being paid a monthly salary and working a month in lieu.
Once you educate your customers to pay you without you having to call by and collect from them it makes life so much easier...
Ian
-
And I also know another window cleaner who says he doesn't collect, but he does; he does lots of shops, some small some big; and he spends a fair whack of time queing up with the customers, waiting for his turn to get paid.
Some of the commercial ones can take a while to get paid from, the bigger offices and so on, but by and large my cash flow is quite good.
After you have got into the habit of not collecting and of getting your customers to pay via post or online the cash flow is fine, there may always be some outstanding, but there will also be a constant flow of envelopes through the letterbox and payments being made online; the analogy being that it is like being paid a monthly salary and working a month in lieu.
Once you educate your customers to pay you without you having to call by and collect from them it makes life so much easier...
Ian
i find this to be true. i find as i grow my outstanding debt does to. it is normally about a one months turnover give or take.
-
i always have a few hundred quid outstanding, but if i go and collect for a whole evening i get alot of it and that is a nice little bit of spends, i am starting to leave a note when not in now asking to send a cheque :) A couple use online bank now too!
-
Even when I do collect many say,"oh I have no change right now, are you round tomorrow?"
I don't want to further their embarrassment by saying "well I can change a fifty". Skint is skint, and you can't get blood out of a stone.
I point out that my email address is on my ticket, and if they email me I will give them my bank details to pay on line. "Really, well OK we'll do that in future". To date I have not had one email for my details.
I do have half a dozen customers that pay on line, and some even forget to do that sometimes.
It's added work checking my account every day to see who's paid and tick them off debt list.
I do have to do some collecting and I really hate it, but the truth is guys that I must be one of the easiest people to forget, and forget is what many of them do, before I even shut the front gate.
-
Most of my domestics are either at home when their windows are done or they arrange to leave the money somewhere,but i do like to collect from customers.I like to show myself every now and again and at this time of year i make sure that collections are high on the list as i allways start getting tips from now through to mid january.I reckon if i didn't collect those tips would go right down.
:)
-
Very rare I collect any.
Just now and again if I need fast money, and it's around town.