[jonisondell]

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

[simon knight]

SAEs definately the best method. If your bank wants to charge you for paying in loads of cheques (hope you do ) then change your bank.

[Mr Cleannclear]

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

[RO-Sheen]

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!

[jefftemperley]

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

[Chris Galloway]

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.

[Rogue Trader]

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.

[djhaydn]

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.

[simon knight]

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 :

[Tosh]

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.

[trike]

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.

[Dean Taberner]

Paypal, SAE and collecting are the only ways.

Enjoy

Dean.

[LWC]

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

[williamx]

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.

[smearo]

so i have a paypal account how do i go about telling the customer how to pay in to my account

[LWC]

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

[smearo]

so do i have to have my own website lwc

[Chris Galloway]

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.

[LWC]

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

[Trotsky]

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?