[dustycorner]

Hi Lion ,

 i appreciate your point re impact on family life , but i only collect on 1 night which suits me, secondly my rounds is large enough to support 3 full time staff plus 1 part time i get at least  90% payment on the day which leaves collection minimal . Also and i know this is sad but winter really doesn't bother me i like the cold weather personally i struggle with weather in the summer due to the fact i'm fair skinned and suffer alot of headaches due to the heat. Still it would be a boring world if we all took the same approach.

Enjoy your bank holiday all

Cheers Mark

[Duke]

unless they are in.....all of mine pay by cheque and SAE. If they dont, they get a reminder note or call....if still no pay.....they gradually get dirtier until they do...or in the worst case...I dump them. 99% are brilliant and  a cheque arrives in a few days. I will not go back to work twice in one day ! ...(and anyway, it's a 25 mile round trip...waste of diesel...and they STILL might not be in..sod that)

[danny mckim]

 Thanks 2 all that have answered my problem i think i will try the sae and wait 2 see if the cheques are posted, only problem is young Jamie is claiming any tips that are sent.

[Ian Rochester]

Although I am still all for getting people to post out their payments or pay it on line, I have been sitting here tonight trying to work out how much cash we have received this week from windows, how much back money has been paid in cheques through the post and how much has been paid through BACS, how much from carpet cleaning and what invoices need to be raised, it has totally puggled my brain!!

I convinced myself I had lost close on £150 in cash!!  In the end got my better half to sit down and work it out, turns out I've got enough left over for a pint or two tonight!!

We normally bank twice a week, but with this week being only 4 days I didn't bother, however once a day or two has past it is easy to lose track.  Never again, I need to come up with a better system.

Have a good weekend, we're out cleaning gutters all day tomorrow and they are blocked solid!

[windows_chepstow]

This evening was my collection night.  I left at 5.00 pm and returned at 7.30 pm.

I then go out for an hour on Saturday morning.  I don't have to mind; I've got what I want; but I alway leave a 'Will be back tomorrow morning' chit.

I've resigned myself to it being part of the job.  Maybe, when my earnings increase, I'll see if I can employ someone to collect for me.  I've heard of this being done before.

Does anyone here employ someone to collect for them?

[TERRY AB]

Since day 1, I have left at all customers that where I cant
collect the money straight away an envelope SA and
a note saying please pay me per cheque.
Have never had a problem, money comes in usually
within a week, bad payers NONE.
Luck, no ! do a good job on time and you will get
your cheque quick.

[Duke]

same here, ...I suppose I get the odd one who swings the lead...but mostly it seems to be a good system, at the end of the day, if they havn't paid by the next due date...they don't get done and have a note or phone call....might lose a tenner or something...so what....

[windows_chepstow]

do a good job on time and you will get
your cheque quick.

I do a good job; and on time; but I tried cheques and it just didn't work.  I got perhaps 70% of them within a couple of weeks, but at the time I really needed it quicker and the other 30% I had to wait for.  Sometimes two or three cleans.

I'll probably re-try cheques in the future, but at the moment it's a Friday evening and a Saturday morning collection.  If I don't get the cash on the second call, I do leave a note saying 'send a cheque to me, blah etc', and give some of them credit; I do receive the majority of these.  But they know I've already called twice before.

[Duke]

blimey Tosh, seems like you are working too hard to get your dosh.

[thewindowcleaner1]

Does anyone here employ someone to collect for them?

I Do
The Missus, I pay 20% of what she collects, well worth it

for that 20% she puts her own petrol in her own car has money in her pocket (no need to dip into mine)
I have peace and quite for a couple of hours three nights a week,
When one of the kids askes for cash she takes them with her to help and gives them a cut.(again save the strain on my pocket)
works really well,
But since being on this forum have started the leave envelopes for payment,

[windows_chepstow]

blimey Tosh, seems like you are working too hard to get your dosh.

Brute strength here, mate; rather than intelligence!

I've said it before but I think my original problem with cheques was that I hadn't enough slack between covering my bills and the money I was making.  Remember, I started my business from scratch two and a half years ago, and I used the cheque method after only about eight months into window cleaning.

In the end, I just needed the cash, so I abandoned the cheque system and got out there and collected.

Today I made just under £180.  Two years ago I was struggling to make £80.00.

I think before you go to the cheque system, you need enough business to take a restricted cash-flow; abiet if it's only for three weeks or so till the cheques arrive and clear in your bank.  At the time I didn't.  So it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I'm considering trying again, but I've got a brilliant cash flow with my method, and it's only one evening per week.  And I don't mind the Saturday morning thing either.  

So, I'll stick with it for the time being.  Maybe I'll just call round on a Saturday morning in future and if they're not in leave a note saying 'post a cheque'.  I'll have a think.

[Duke]

Yeah, know what you're saying.  it's hard at first...but once it's rolling, the cheque's come in every other day or so...and it's miles less in petrol/diesel...and your quality time...

[Ian Rochester]

We have eventually got it running like a dream now, everyone seems to have taken to it well, cheques come through the post every day (12 today) and I check the bank account each evening for any payments into there, no problem now. 

The main benefit is that I now have every evening free to do other things non work related.

[Paul Coleman]

I am 34 now and have been cleaning since i was about 15. My dad (also a windowcleaner) used 2 get me 2 help him collect and it was murder. Now my own son is 14 and a great help with collecting but 2 nights isnt enough. Therefore most nights in our house its an argument. I know how he feels cos ive been there but at the same time he halves my collecting. He gets plenty of tips and gets on well with the customers but this is not fair on any of us.His mate comes out as well and they do a brill job (im always there).To cut down we manged to get some bigger estates to pay every 3rd time(this has been going on for 13 monthe and we have only lost one customer) But we still need ideas to cut down more collecting.Mon Wed n Fri night til 9 is like having a second job. Dont say DD its people wont do it for a fiver.P.S this is my first post

Ok this thread is a bit old now and I'm new here.
Basically, if they are out when I clean, I leave a bill requesting a cheque in the post within 14 days (Ok so they may be away on holiday or a bit skint till they get paid but as long as I'm paid before my next (6-weekly) visit, I'm OK with that).  I send a payment reminder after 30 days if I am owed more than £15.00.  If the job is less than £15.00 per clean, I send a payment reminder 30 days after the second unpaid clean in the hope that I will be paid before the third visit.  If I am still unpaid when I'm in the area for the third clean, I leave a reminder for them to pay.  I don't clean in those circumstances.  If I'm still not paid, I let it go as the hassle of small claims court is not economical for such an amount.  I might leave a reminder each time I'm in the area for a while after but that's more to p them off rather than a genuine expectation of being paid.
I have found that the honesty of customers has been very good and it's rare for me to have to dump a customer for non-payment.  A large chunk of my income does come through the post but I'm OK with that.

[clearview window c]

i do no collecting at all. i have a rubber stamp with my address on to stamp envelopes. a rubber stamp to inform the customer to send the cheque, including my name to adress the cheque to, which i stamp on a postit. and buy 100 2nd class stamps at a time (tax deductable) it will cost u no more than 15 - 20 quid a month tops, and no more collecting. and if u can get your lass to do all the stamping etc.. wot cud be easier.

[Duke]

I agree totally....except the bit about second class stamps.....no way, always use first class...(using second class sais a lot...don't devalue the importance of prompt payment by doing that) My envelopes and invoices are pre-printed...so no rubber stamping...but the principle is sound.

[Paul Coleman]

I agree totally....except the bit about second class stamps.....no way, always use first class...(using second class sais a lot...don't devalue the importance of prompt payment by doing that) My envelopes and invoices are pre-printed...so no rubber stamping...but the principle is sound.

I must have trained my customers pretty well.  I let them supply their *own* stamps and envelopes  :-)
My reasoning is that if *I* have to pay a bill to someone, *I* have to pay postage myself.  If they don't cough up, I can always send the boys round :-)

[Duke]

Ok, fair point...on my part it's probably just a 'nice touch'.....but believe me...it's all included in their overall cost....(It really doesn't cost me anything...and they seem to like it)

[Paul Coleman]

Ok, fair point...on my part it's probably just a 'nice touch'.....but believe me...it's all included in their overall cost....(It really doesn't cost me anything...and they seem to like it)

I did supply the stamped envelopes for a while during the first year.  I found that many people didn't use them anyway so I started doorstep collections.  Once I had a cashflow going, I did the "payment within 14 days please" bit and stopped the doorstep collections.  Once I had built up my workload, if somebody was a persistent non-payer, I would cancel the job or pass it on to someone else (I would warn the new cleaner of course).

[rosskesava]

We've never had a problem from day one with the SAE thing apart from one customer.

All we lost was £10 and 20 minutes work plus about 10 minutes driving time .

If they don't pay then good bye.

Cheers