[sunshine windies]

I dont do any collecting but usually get my money though it can be slow at times,

however a couple of custys havent payed for 5 cleans now starting to get pretty peed off about it, i  usually let them get to 3 then send as reminder text and get the money,
how many cleans doyou do before chasing them up?

[Steve Sed]

Not 5!!! Mind you I am 8 weekly. The most is 3, but for new customers just one clean.

[king marko]

New customers = 1 clean (for a period of about 4/5 months)
Any other/existing customers = 2 cleans

I don't mind a bit of grace, but I find anymore than two cleans and they will be less likely to pay up - leaving you well out of pocket

Make sure you offer as many different options for payment as you can - I've found this helps

Also, put on your slips "please don't ask for credit as refusal often offends"  

[sunshine windies]

Think i might put something on my cards like payment due within 14 days ,

i currently offer bacs and i even leave a self addressed envelope for cheques, i think it just boils down to laziness in most peoples cases........

[king marko]

Think i might put something on my cards like payment due within 14 days ,

i currently offer bacs and i even leave a self addressed envelope for cheques, i think it just boils down to laziness in most peoples cases........

You need to keep on top of them mate - I put payment within 28days on my slips but some still go to the next month
Just call/text the night before and ask them to leave the money out for you - most of mine are so apologetic for forgetting  they pay online that night or will leave it out for me

[robertphil]

after 2 cleans out the reminders go.  then i drop  if  the pay up isnt quick. 
  This year i got stiffed by a few very loyal customers who slowly paid half what they owed and i know they hoped id carry on,getting paid by dribs n drabs  . some of these had been with me 5 yrs of normal paying and tips at Xmas , so it hurt when they didnt pay up despite several reminder letters

[SB Cleaning]

Letting the debt go to  5 cleans is madness 

I will let it go to 2 cleans after that they're dumped!!

[Blue Frog Systems]

2 cleans and stop.

[bobplum]

1,dont understand anything above this

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

We ask for payment within 7 days, and most do pay within that time.
We never allow customers to go beyond two cleans without paying up.

[richard jagger]

I do one clean no payment in 10 days the get a reminder and add 2 quid onto the price 30 I will call on them is person and ask face to face. No more cleans after a house.I will call once more and hand over for collection. The more crap you take the more you will get.It is important to apply this from day one. I get 99% payment,  with  a good payment record.

[Granny]

1 Clean and no more cleaning until paid but I have only been going since May so nearly all customers are considered "new".
Keep on top of it too.
I am owed nothing ATM
G.

[Mike #1]

Depends on price on residential 2 cleans max moneywise is £15:00 , commmercial totally sometimes they get up to 3 cleans without payment which is nearly £200 but i know i will get paid if i ring finance dept to chase it up they sort it out and i get my money via bacs same day. Mike

[roundbuilder]

If you dont go out collecting chasing your money once or twice a week your going to run into problems. I collect when i can or my debt list gets sky high, as it is i have an over 2k.
Collecting is part of the job. Anyone who owes more than twice i collect from, all custies who send cheque or pay online asap i dont worry about.
I dont drop if they dont pay online in time or send cheque we just knock them up for cash so it doesnt mount up to another clean.

[formb]

3 cleans for an established customer. No more. 1 for a newish customer.

[james peters]

1 clean.....if they havn't paid by next clean, instead of cleaning again , I leave a reminder....
if it happens again, thats them done with!

if a first clean fails to pay within 2 weeks, I never do therm again! they will be a pain in the but.....

harsh? maybe , but I have a round where no one takes longer than 2 weeks to pay! 
give custies an inch and you will have continued problems.....

[combat1]

just changed to one clean only, was losing about 4% of turnover. Getting a few soldiers marching out owing just lately.
Sent one a text: we notice you have marched out of ..... you now have 7 days to settle the account before our accountants pass the debt to other agencies for collection with the associated costs and consequences.
On day 7 got a text ' we sent a cheque will send another'
They had always been poor payers but heh ho got the cheque... result!

[kaz and pete]

hi we never let our customers go more than a week without payment, we collect every thursday evening for any outstanding money, this can sometimes take a couple of hours at most but due to this we sometimes never have money outstanding makes life so much easier

[H2GoKent]

I never collect, people always pay pretty quickly.
For new cleans I wont clean again until they have paid for the first one.
For long standing customers I'll leave for two then thats it.

Only ever had one bad customer, moved house on me, scumbag owed 3 cleans never again. That must 5 years ago now but if I find him he'll get some eggs on his windows, and maybe a bit of WD40 for good measure.