[Shaun_Ashmore]

I worked out that my average job ticket domestically for 2008 was £125 ( I've rounded it but it seems correct to do so)

It's down on 2007 by £30

My point is I have had to work harder to get more jobs albeit I have done the same turnover so what does this year hold? if it goes down by £30 again I'll have to find even more jobs, what's your job average??

Shaun

[derek west]

£92 average. i think!. we worked out our average a few weeks ago and i'm sure it was in the low 90's.
is that where youve been shaun, doing your sums.
wish it took me that long. 
derek

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I've been on teh Xmas slimfast diet on 'that' special porcelain chair for 2 weeks and a stone lighter for my troubles.

Join a gym to get rid of excess weight, pah!!

Shaun

[craigp]

Supprised to say mine's the same £125 last year, thought you was more expensive than me Shaun

Your slipping

[Jim_77]

Combined residential & commercial - £142 last business year, £132 this year so far (my business year ends 28th Feb).

Like you Shaun, turnover-wise I think I'm going to end up about the same as last year or maybe slightly under, having done a few more jobs than last year.

Only one answer - heads down and plough on with the marketing!

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Time isn't right for a price increase although I have got a good week for a January, taxman needs paying first.

Shaun

PS I bet my prices are no different from yours Craig.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Happy New Year Jim,

My next question is

What % of customers do you go out to see when giving quotes?

Shaun

ME I'd say 10% (v lazy sod)

[craigp]

Thats where im slipping, it is a pain I did start going out quoting every job for a while, but now only big ones eg. 4 rooms and stairs plus

prob 5%

Unless of course the customer actually wants you to come out to quote which does happen sometimes, normally these are high end so im happy too.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

2007 about mid summer my average was £190+ but I went out to quote 75% (I think ) but it was busy and everyone wanted alot doing, I get the calls nowadays but people just book the minimum, if you are there you can point the coversation but I just got fed up with going out after work or squeezing them in between jobs.

Cake and eat it comes to mind.

Shaun

[Jim_77]

Season's greetings to you too Shaun

The vast majority of old customers just book me in and I send the bill afterwards.

I always seek to quote in-home 100% of the time for new enquiries, but will probably end up going to 75% of them.  The others will want a phone estimate and may or may not take it further.

There's only a few exceptions where I won't try to get my foot in the door, such as obvious price-shoppers or low-cost jobs that are a fair old drive away.

I only work a fairly small area so I will even sometimes try to book an in-home quote with a price-shopper from an area I know is a bit "low end", I do this for a bit of sport to be honest, in an effort to hone up my sales skills a bit!

Success rate for in-home quotes is roughly 75%, but my prices are probably in the top third of what cleaners would charge if you took a cross-section of pricing from all sectors of our industry.  I can afford to lose a few stragglers with moths in their wallets

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think you have it spot on with the in home quote but I hate 2 things, 1 is wasting my ever so precious time on price shoppers and also going out to work after I have done a full day (even I like to see the little angels sometimes!)

The internet does cast a wider spread of customers some good some not so but I do believe the Joe Polish style info adverts can screen customers but the 'inbetweenies' do need selling to, I think I may don a new clip board and new tape measure.

Shaun

[Jim_77]

Give it a go for a few months, like a proper go, 100% committed, and measure results.  If you don't find it gives you any benefit stop doing it.

You mentioned recently you might be putting a 2nd van out on the road, this may free up more of your time to do the quotes.  Could work out good

[Nigel_W]

Just worked my job average out for the last 4 months and it is 308.23 plus V.A.T. . The streets are paved with gold here

Nigel

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Average job ticket is still only half the question.

If I did only one job in the last quarter and it was for £1000, then my average job ticket for the last quarter would be £1000! QED.

Two other parts of the equation need to be looked at. Firstly how many jobs a day and secondly how many days a year do you work. If you charge a high ticket price but don't get many jobs but are happy with your income then your work/life balance is fine. Conversely charging too little per job and working 24/7- well, lets just say "busy fool". I suspect most of us are between these extremes.

So for example I tend to do about 4 jobs a day on average across a full working year, but I usually manage about 8-10 weeks of not cleaning carpets/directly working on my business a year. And I'm the only bread winner in our household.

My biggest problem at the moment is that my marginal rate of tax is 100%

As vat is payable on all t/o once you go above £68000 then assuming normal VAT levels and that any of us one-man-bands are on the flat rate then

....until you are earning about £76000 the difference in t/o from £68000 to £76000 goes fully, 100%, absolutely everything, in VAT payments.


Talk about a barrier on wanting to expand your business.

[Jim_77]

I charge VAT, my figures are ex VAT so would be roughly £167 last year and £155 this year, disregarding the change in rate since 1st December (I put my ex VAT prices for carpets up a little bit to compensate for this )

[clinton]

Think i am around the 80 pound mark with my average ticket

I dont go and quote many jobs so i guess am lazy like shaun

This year might be diff.

[craigp]

Nigel thats great, I appreciate your clients are very high end, but do you not get one room jobs?

Do you price per sq ft?

Craig

[mark_roberts]

Doctor Carpet

Coud you run that past me again as Im on the flat rate scheme and often wonder if its worth it.

thanks
Mark

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Certainly Mark.

If you're on the flat rate scheme then in normal times you should be paying VAT at 11.00%. (The special arrangements now applying have marked it down to 9.5%.) VAT kicks in at £68000 and is payable on all t/over generated, not just the t/over above the £68000 threshold.

If you turn over £69000 then vat at 11% is £7590. So t/o after vat and before o/heads/income/corporation tax is (69000-7590) £61410.

T/o £76000, vat £8360. T/o after vat and before o/heads/income tax/corporation tax £67640.

If however you remain below vat threshold, say £67000 then t/o before o/heads/income tax/corporation tax is STILL £67000.

So do the maths, turn over £76000 and you still only have £67000 to play with or stay below vat and still have £67000.

How long would it take you to earn £8000 vat? Probably about 5 to 6 weeks turnover?

Only once you are generating t/over considerably above £76000 do you find your marginal rate of tax starts to fall again from 100%. But between £76000 and £68000 you are heavily penalised.

Sounds like a good reason to take more holidays....if you can predict exactly what jobs are going to come your way in the next 12 months.

Mark, does that explains sufficiently?

Roger



Jim

What on earth are you doing messing around on the computer at 2.17 in the morning when you should be getting sufficient beauty sleep to keep your good looks prior to a hard days work?

[Nigel_W]

Craig,

I do get one roomers and alot of stain removal visits. However they are offset by many other jobs that are £500 to £2000. You also have to remember that a one roomer can be £150 - £250  if you are working in large enough houses.

In general I price per sq metre but with small jobs I tinker to make it worthwhile. I charge £4.00 per square metre plus V.A.T. which is not excessive,  but it quickly adds up in larger properties where you have alot of rooms over 25 square metres.

The V.A.T. issue is interesting. You either hold back and restrict yourself to a lifestyle business with lots of spare time or you smash through  the V.A.T. threshold and make good money. I can see a valid argument for each approach.

 I am VA.T. registered and I hate the fact that I am 17.5% more expensive but in reality it doesn't seem to have any impact. Maybe if your clients are more price sensitive it will be a problem.




Nigel