[david wood]

its got to the point where iam leaveing way to many envolopes and stamps for customers to send me payment back i was thinking of saying there will be a 50p charge in future .i have tryed to leave the stamps of but they took a lot longer to send them if at all .its costing me a lot. so i think  this charge is fair what do you think? also what do you think about 50p charge for people who pay by cheque on the day aswell as my bank charges me 50p a cheque after i put so many in a month

[jonnyald]

envelopes havent worked for me . iv just developed the money under the plant pot method   , any forgetful types i always text them the night before and  ask them to confirm its beneath the pot or brick

[simon knight]

Hi David,  Window cleaning like all businesses incurs a certain amount of costs, and cheques and stamps are one of them and it's difficult to just pass the cost onto the customer.  Just claim it against tax.

[Steve CM]

thats why i don't leave stamps, they add them or us another method.

why don't you set up free post envelopes with royalmail? that way you only pay for what envelopes come through the postal system

[Perfect Vision]

Bit off topic hear, but steve iv noticed you do text alerts to your custys, hows that working out for you? how much does it cost to do and dont you get alot of custys replying to the message saying the windows arent dirty this month leave it?
cheers

[david wood]

i also ring/text the night before aswell on a lot of my jobs to leave the gate unlocked and still leave an envolope i just feel a lot are takeing them for granted

[GWCS]

Costs of cheque payments, envelopes and stamps should be reflected already in your price.

If you are losing money you obviously have not thought about the affect this has on your business and planned for it.


Window Washers late payment charge is the best method, rather than offering cheaper if they pay early.

Remember are you running a business or are you running a social-able service?

What this means is that if your running a business then run it properly like every other proper company, late payment charges, and debt collections with terms of service and stick to them.

OR

Phone your customers and be friendly and remind them they owe and go collect it or ask for it to be sent.

You cannot mix these types of business, you have to be either one or the other!

I feel you want to provide a sociable service, then you better phone them to remind them they owe, if they do not pay, then you have no choice but to stop turning up and replace them with paying customers..

[david wood]

yes cheers for that i charge good prices and iam not on a loss far from it but i do spend a lot of money on stamps and stuff .i just feel they take them for granted my fault for starting it 

[EZclean]

get their e-mail and send a paypal invoice

[leapstallbuildings]

Dear Customer,
I have been cleaning your windows for <x time> and in view of the current economic climate have not increased  prices for <y time>.  In order to hold down prices, it is necessary for me to reduce my business costs where possible.  Therefore, from <z date>, it will be the customers' responsibility to supply the stationery and postage required to send a cheque.  Like all other businesses, I depend upon maintaining a reasonable cashflow therefore payments should be made within <a> days from the date on the bill.  Should you wish to avoid postage charges, it is possible to pay online free of charge.  If you wish to start doing this, please let me know and I will supply my bank account details.


Any that don't go with this by the end of the year say, try to replace them is my suggestion.
I lost a few when I became more businesslike about things.  There is always some resistance when someone tries to make a change.  Sometimes, it is necessary to leave a few behind when you make the changes.

As for the 50p a cheque charge, have you considered either a) starting an Abbey account (not recommended as they can be a pain)  or (b) joining the FSB for £100 a year and starting one of their free business accounts with the Co-op.
Being an FSB member covers you for the accountancy charges incurred if you are ever investigated by the IR.  It's worth the money just for that but there are other benefits too.

[david wood]

hi thanks for that i will copy that info

[windowashing]

I've been thinking about setting up freepost, but then thought, 'Why?'  It's just another expense I'll have eating into my profit.  Besides, the custy's all pay send cheques or bacs anyway, I just leave a card with payment info on.

Talking about sending a text the night B4, I just sent out a load in preparation for tomorrow, and I got this sent back from one:



"They were cleaned last Wed thank u. forget tomorrow"



 

By who I wonder?   

I thought she was going to be a bit irritating!  I would drop her, but she's in the middle of row of houses I do, and I don't want to lose them all really!

I'll try and have a word with her tomorrow. 

[GWCS]

i would send back a reply of

"thank you for letter me know you no longer need my services, as you have someone else doing them now."

totally dropped mate.

[Sapphire Window Cleaning]

David I take this into account when I price a job, always add £1 to cover the cost of the stamp and envelopoes.
Also on my paypal business account, I get charged a percentage so this £1 extra pays for all of this.
You shouldn't have to pocket the cost of a way you receive your money.
But telling your customers there's a charge may put them off paying this method.