Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ray hatter on February 16, 2014, 09:20:52 am
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Hi just starting up and would like advice on collecting payments. Have heard various methods and obviously would like not to go back to collect so looking for some advice what works well. Appreciate some we will have to go back to any tips most welcome
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Ray
Set your stall out on your slips of paper,
Options for them;
1 standing order each month
2 Bacs (most popular!)
3 PayPal (so easy for you to set up)
Collecting is such a waste of time & resources,some don't do these options for me so I tell them to leave under mat etc as I will in the area in nxt day or so (I know still collecting but not several trips in try & catch me in game )
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No need to offer Paypal. Waste of money. No one has ever asked me for it. All seem quite happy with bank transfers.
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Forget PayPal. Gocardless.
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You have to make it easy for people to pay, so use all the above, and do have paypal because some do prefer to pay this way, it also looks more professional on your website.
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
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Make it easy for people to spend money with you.
GoCardless, PayPal, cheque stuck to a window if you've texted the night before (be wary of cash left out) BACS, standing order. Offer discount for advance payment. A load of flats I do take as long to get paid as to clean. In January I offer 12 cleans for the price of 10 if paid in advance.
Never ever go just collecting-It cuts your hourly rate right down.
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nothing wrong with collecting,takes he me half hour 3times a week
most of my work is within 2 miles of home.I get to touch base
with customers and i cant count the amount of jobs i have picked up
whilst out collecting
Plus i like to dictate the terms i get paid,48hrs is the longest
i have to wait and i am owed very little. :)
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nothing wrong with collecting,takes he me half hour 3times a week
most of my work is within 2 miles of home.I get to touch base
with customers and i cant count the amount of jobs i have picked up
whilst out collecting
Plus i like to dictate the terms i get paid,48hrs is the longest
i have to wait and i am owed very little. :)
That's an hour and a half a week! 6 hours a month....... Three full (24 hour)days a year!
And that's with a very compact round like yours. Most of us don't have that privilege.
I think if I still had to collect I would have packed in all together. I was fed up walking around my work a second time to get paid.
Start as you mean to go on ray.
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nothing wrong with collecting,takes he me half hour 3times a week
most of my work is within 2 miles of home.I get to touch base
with customers and i cant count the amount of jobs i have picked up
whilst out collecting
Plus i like to dictate the terms i get paid,48hrs is the longest
i have to wait and i am owed very little. :)
That's an hour and a half a week! 6 hours a month....... Three full (24 hour)days a year!
And that's with a very compact round like yours. Most of us don't have that privilege.
I think if I still had to collect I would have packed in all together. I was fed up walking around my work a second time to get paid.
Start as you mean to go on ray.
i spend longer than that on here. ;D
Im not that obsessed with the constant breaking down of time
thankyou very much.
I started out with the s.a.e. and payments to bank and would of starved
if i had carried on,customers are dictating to you when payment is made
im very much of the mind that i have done the job and want paying as soon
as poss ;D
I also like the banter and yap with customers,beats walking round
sainsburys with the missus,i normally drop her offand do some
collecting ;D
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Fair enough mate. ;D
I suppose I'm just lucky, about 90% of my customers pay me within a couple of days.
My round is more spread out, and was spending 2-3 hours, twice a week so was a no brainer.
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
+1 PayPal charges 11% for money going in and they charge about the same again for taking money from your PayPal account . Mike
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
I think that too.
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
+1 PayPal charges 11% for money going in and they charge about the same again for taking money from your PayPal account . Mike
Seriously 11% to pay in and a charge for withdrawals!! Wow - glad I don't deal with PP.
That's like ripping yer pants down and spanking ya
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whatever you do dont volunteer that you can collect later if it makes it easier [ in the rush to please a new customer] ,you will live to regret it . i did that in the early days,a big mistake
cash under a doormat is ok ,cheque or cash in the post is also ok by me,but mostly i get paid by bank transfer online as said by the other posters ,its the best and modern way
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As long as i can, i will always collect money.
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
+1 PayPal charges 11% for money going in and they charge about the same again for taking money from your PayPal account . Mike
Seriously 11% to pay in and a charge for withdrawals!! Wow - glad I don't deal with PP.
That's like ripping yer pants down and spanking ya
That's not the case.
I offer paypal through my website but charge them 5% for using it.
5% always covers my paypal. costs.
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I still collect all mine, some on the day, and the rest later in the week or the next time. Keeps me in touch with my customers, and doesn't take that long.
John
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
+1 PayPal charges 11% for money going in and they charge about the same again for taking money from your PayPal account . Mike
Not quite:
3.4% + 20p. (only comes to 11% if you're charging £2.60 for a clean, in which case their fees are the least of your problems)
No charge for withdrawing funds.
Apart from that, you're spot on...
Vin
Sources:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-withdrawal-fees-outside
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I stand corrected i was pretty sure i was charged a bit more , Just checked on last custy who paid £7.00 i was charged £0.44 .
So may consider pushing PayPal more as a lot of people use PayPal and they wont have to divulge their bank details to a company such as Go Cardless if they dont feel happy about it .
But i do have custys who would be happy to use Go Cardless as i have been testing the water as such when explaining current and future payment options .
I am a little sceptical about Go Cardless just incase something happens with their business so i want to strike the right balance for me and custys , But i want to almost do away with collecting so i spend more time at home instead of going out 4-6 hours a week collecting . Mike
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I have to disagree. PayPal is very expensive and I think it looks amateurish.
+1 PayPal charges 11% for money going in and they charge about the same again for taking money from your PayPal account . Mike
I've never been charged to transfer money from my PayPal acct to my current acct.
not sure why you're being charged?
And it's not a flat 11%.
On a £100 payment I actually get £96.
£20 payment-£19.12.
£15 payment-£14.29
It's staged charging.
If it's the only way you get paid, it's expensive.
Few payments here & there and it becomes negligible.
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We offer them all, custys seem to prefer b/t and p/p to go cardless
but would love everyone to choose go cardless ;D
Would be fantastic not needing to collect.
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Cheers for that Darren , I have been mulling things over for a while and just want to strike the right balance .
I may save money on Diesel by hopefully doing away with collecting but that money saved will be spent on transaction fees .
But when i have weeks that i dont have to collect as much or at all its nice to be at home with my wife which is my biggest reason for trying to switch custys over to online payments .
I have had custys that i always collected on , Then last week on my payment cards i put a cross through the cash collection details and some custys paid me within 2 hrs so defo not putting evening cash collection option on new payment cards .
Still got a load of cards left so will just get website updated with a dedicated payment page soon the decided on new card layout . Mike
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Cheers for that Darren , I have been mulling things over for a while and just want to strike the right balance .
I may save money on Diesel by hopefully doing away with collecting but that money saved will be spent on transaction fees .
But when i have weeks that i dont have to collect as much or at all its nice to be at home with my wife which is my biggest reason for trying to switch custys over to online payments .
I have had custys that i always collected on , Then last week on my payment cards i put a cross through the cash collection details and some custys paid me within 2 hrs so defo not putting evening cash collection option on new payment cards .
Still got a load of cards left so will just get website updated with a dedicated payment page soon the decided on new card layout . Mike
No worries.
If you want to stop collecting just be honest with your customers, it cost you to collect. It does. Time and money.
You could always offer for them to pay by another method instead of a price increase.
Something like, "my prices have to go up, cost of living etc... But I'd like to keep yours at the same price if I can-you've been a great customer for x years. Instead of your price going up, I can move you over to gocardless (or whatever) and your price will stay the same. Exactly the same money spent for you with less work all round'
I find offering a change instead of a price increase (even if you weren't putting them up) almost always works.
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Thanks again Darren will try your approach of increase our change of payment method . Mike
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Cheers for that Darren , I have been mulling things over for a while and just want to strike the right balance .
I may save money on Diesel by hopefully doing away with collecting but that money saved will be spent on transaction fees .
But when i have weeks that i dont have to collect as much or at all its nice to be at home with my wife which is my biggest reason for trying to switch custys over to online payments .
I have had custys that i always collected on , Then last week on my payment cards i put a cross through the cash collection details and some custys paid me within 2 hrs so defo not putting evening cash collection option on new payment cards .
Still got a load of cards left so will just get website updated with a dedicated payment page soon the decided on new card layout . Mike
No worries.
If you want to stop collecting just be honest with your customers, it cost you to collect. It does. Time and money.
You could always offer for them to pay by another method instead of a price increase.
Something like, "my prices have to go up, cost of living etc... But I'd like to keep yours at the same price if I can-you've been a great customer for x years. Instead of your price going up, I can move you over to gocardless (or whatever) and your price will stay the same. Exactly the same money spent for you with less work all round'
I find offering a change instead of a price increase (even if you weren't putting them up) almost always works.
I used that before aswell. Works a treat.
People like to feel as though there getting a good deal.
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Cheers for that Darren , I have been mulling things over for a while and just want to strike the right balance .
I may save money on Diesel by hopefully doing away with collecting but that money saved will be spent on transaction fees .
But when i have weeks that i dont have to collect as much or at all its nice to be at home with my wife which is my biggest reason for trying to switch custys over to online payments .
I have had custys that i always collected on , Then last week on my payment cards i put a cross through the cash collection details and some custys paid me within 2 hrs so defo not putting evening cash collection option on new payment cards .
Still got a load of cards left so will just get website updated with a dedicated payment page soon the decided on new card layout . Mike
No worries.
If you want to stop collecting just be honest with your customers, it cost you to collect. It does. Time and money.
You could always offer for them to pay by another method instead of a price increase.
Something like, "my prices have to go up, cost of living etc... But I'd like to keep yours at the same price if I can-you've been a great customer for x years. Instead of your price going up, I can move you over to gocardless (or whatever) and your price will stay the same. Exactly the same money spent for you with less work all round'
I find offering a change instead of a price increase (even if you weren't putting them up) almost always works.
I used that before aswell. Works a treat.
People like to feel as though there getting a good deal.
They are. ;)
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Me and you are the same!
Any customer who has us as their window cleaner is already getting a good deal, regardless of price!
;D ;D ;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
Shup you. George Foreman wannabe. :P
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try to get , say £100 per week, assuming 4 weekly round, of Standing orders, that way you have a regular stream of money coming in.
All the other methods depend on you actually being able to get out and clean
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try to get , say £100 per week, assuming 4 weekly round, of Standing orders, that way you have a regular stream of money coming in.
All the other methods depend on you actually being able to get out and clean
I've done similar.
I'm aiming for 100 customers on GoCardless.
At 86 now. Not far to go...
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
Shup you. George Foreman wannabe. :P
Dirt you are headshot ;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
Nuff said....cant argue with your mother ;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
Lol. My mum says do one and don't come back ;D
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
Lol. My mum says do one and don't come back ;D
Well you will insist on changing her £10 per window and putting her on go cardless.
;D ;D :D
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With Gocardless is their a space for a customer to add a payment reference such as first line of address in order to identify payment . Mike
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Yes
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CHEERS ;) ;)
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i must admit collecting has been cut down drastically in the last 5 years or so.SAE,BACS and standing orders are all becoming more popular esp with bigger domestics and commercial jobs.
i still have runs of very compact domestic that i collect from.great for cashflow and i do like to see my customers and ask how they are,sort any problems out.i pick up new jobs as well.
i dont want to become a total "faceless" window cleaner.building trust and loyality and keeping good relations is top priority for me.sharing a laugh,a little chat and a coffee from time to time is also good!
maybe its old skool but it works for me.
collecting is normally around 1-2 hours a week these days on a monday. ;)
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
Lol. My mum says do one and don't come back ;D
Well you will insist on changing her £10 per window and putting her on go cardless.
;D ;D :D
She can afford it.
Charity starts at home and all that too.
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Self Appraisal is no recomendation ladies ;D
My mum says I'm a GREAT window cleaner. So there!
;D
Lol. My mum says do one and don't come back ;D
Well you will insist on changing her £10 per window and putting her on go cardless.
;D ;D :D
She can afford it.
Charity starts at home and all that too.
;D
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thanks appreciate all the feedback :)