[giftedk]

Hi all, At present I have two collection dates, wed night and sat morn. Im currently thinking of going back to leaving envelopes for the customers to send in their payments, like i did before.
What id like to know is how many of you fellow window cleaners rely on customers sending in their payments, and how do you make them send payments in on time?
Before i used to put please send payment in within 7 days, but am thinking about putting something a bit sterner this time and saying all bad payers will be dropped.
Its really putting me off changing back to the envelopes system, any advice how i can make them pay on time ?.

[Chris Cottrell]

saying all bad payers will be dropped.

I think by saying this you may alienate some of your good customers they then may just drop you thinking cheeky git or similar

Chris

[pylofm]

I have to admit that being a noob, I have a few late payers....but it is the same accounts pretty much without fail who pay late....for me these are just a means to an end and the moment I have a round where I believe it is where I want it...I shall search for better paying jobs to replace the 'messers'...I hate being paid late but at the moment I have to wear it....

As for your late payers, why not just use this year to find better customers . . .

[jeff1]

Hi all, At present I have two collection dates, wed night and sat morn. Im currently thinking of going back to leaving envelopes for the customers to send in their payments, like i did before.
What id like to know is how many of you fellow window cleaners rely on customers sending in their payments, and how do you make them send payments in on time?
Before i used to put please send payment in within 7 days, but am thinking about putting something a bit sterner this time and saying all bad payers will be dropped.
Its really putting me off changing back to the envelopes system, any advice how i can make them pay on time ?.

To enable us to keep up continuity on your property and keep our costs down, can you please forward a cheque for £xx:xx made payable to (company name)within seven days.
Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Sounds a little better than going around there with a sledge hammer

[williamx]

What wrong with calling your customers the night before and asking them to leave the money in some sort of hiding place, you will find that your collection rate will increase to over 95%.

[Tosh]

Hi all, At present I have two collection dates, wed night and sat morn. Im currently thinking of going back to leaving envelopes for the customers to send in their payments, like i did before.
What id like to know is how many of you fellow window cleaners rely on customers sending in their payments, and how do you make them send payments in on time?
Before i used to put please send payment in within 7 days, but am thinking about putting something a bit sterner this time and saying all bad payers will be dropped.
Its really putting me off changing back to the envelopes system, any advice how i can make them pay on time ?.

Why don't you go half way?  I collect once on a Saturday morning, and if they're not in I leave an envelope.

For my larger, more distant accounts, I only leave and envelope and don't collect.  But these are for large houses and the customers are spot on.

100% envelopes didn't work for me and my present method means my cashflow is spot on.

[Londoner]

Envelopes work better if you put a stamp on it. Some idiots put cash in them and an evelope with a load of pound coins in it is just asking to go missing in the post.

Also you get loads of small cheques and it gets hard paying them into a personal account at the bank. They say you are using it as a business account. They want you to open a business account so they can charge you 60p per cheque to pay them in.

Make a note on the back of the envelope which address you have given it out to because cheques don't always have the same name on them as the name you know the customer by.

[craig jwc]

I let my customers send payment and don't leave a SAE.

Yes it can be longer to wait but i usually get it in the end.

I have recently opened a Business Account with the Abbey as it's FREE Business Banking.

I just switch accounts every now and then depending how many cheques i have come through.

Craig