[harleyman]

So iam getting fed up of collecting I only have a couple of hundred  customers  some I collect on the day the rest  2 night's per week .what will be  the best method of collecting the rest 

[nathankaye]

This is my experience and others prob will dissagree!

I used to be 100% collecting in the evenings; 2 or 3 times a week, each week.
As my circumstances changed, I initially tried getting customers to pay via bank transfers, preferably via a standing order. Unfortunately for me, i only had a handfull willing to set up  a standing order.  Others had it in their heads that they didnt want to give me their bank details and I got tired of explaining it to the idiots that I dont get their bank details. That I supply mine to them!  I also had the problem of waiting for them to get round to paying me and many still took a couple of months to get round to doing so.
PayPal:- came out and I thought this would be ideal. However I was able to convince a hand full to use this method.  Yet PayPal take quite a commission for doing so.
Sum Up:-  card reader for payment is quite new and I thought again this is a great method of collecting once finished as everyone has cards and not many (supposedly) keep cash in the house and SumUp's fees are very small and the cash is in your account 2 days later!


So for me, I have a very small amount who pay via standing order. I dont use BACs anymore as I dont want to be reliant on waiting for the customers to get round to paying.  The ones who pay via paypal are regular payers and so they fine but again I dont offer this anymore.   I have a handfull who are always in when I clean and they pay via cash or SumUp.
However the vast majority and especially new customers (as they are not given a choice!) pay via GoCardless.
Gocardless is quick to sign upto. I havent had any new customers complain that they have no other options. Infact I have gained customers from recommendations simply because of the direct debit set up!

[Smudger]

When i stopped collecting ( the loss of my family evenings and the excuses of no cash, interrupting their dinners etc ) I simply and politely told the customers that I will no longer collect after the clean, please leave payment in a secure location send a cheque by post (at their cost) or pay by bacs this also coincided with price rises and those who took up bacs didn’t get a price increase - from here it took around 4 months for customers to fall in line (but they did) - the same tactic applied when go-cardless came along

I would say about 60% use go cardless (90% of all new customers take this option) 25% either bacs or pay over the phone the rest are retired and are always in and prefer cash on the day

So in short in can be done, but you need to sell the benefits to the customer for making the switch

Darran

[Dry Clean]

Other than using Go Cardless I had a similar experience to Darran, its all about winning trust in an profession that hasn't always been that trustworthy.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Most of my customers who are never at home go onto GoCardless or BACS.   If they are home, they just pay by card using SumUp.   No excuses anymore.

[dazmond]

BACS is by far the biggest percentage of payments for me these days....its great,no extra charges,no collecting and most customers pay up within 14 days of clean.....i have the odd one or two on standing orders too....

card payments(contactless and chip and pin) have virtually replaced cheques although i still have a few  i leave SAE if not in after a few cleans(not many and dwindling all the time)and of course i still get cash payments.....

all in all im happy to get paid whatever the method......although i dont miss the twice a week mon and fri evening collections i used to do(around 4 hours a week!).....i dont even collect 4 hours a month now!its down to around 3 hours a month usually on a monday evening....

[Paddy1984]

I've stopped telling them anything else other than GC. Happy to pay the extra few pence to be in control of how the bill is paid.

[Stoots]

In an ideal world BACS would be best due to zero charges but in reality Go Cardless is probably the best method due to never having to chase people.

I still accept paypal or cheque from maybe 50 or so older customers but no longer offer either.

[chris turner]

Just stop collecting and get new receipts printed with your bank details and address on, with clear wording stating you no longer collect and to please by bank transfer or send a cheque within 7 days of recieving said receipt. Job done, they will all fall in line over the coming weeks months.
Of course you have to wait a bit longer for payment but it all comes in the end.

[Stoots]

Well most of it comes in the end, I must dump 1 customer a month on average for non payment.