Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: JSMC on August 26, 2008, 07:07:20 pm
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what do you all do to work out your work?
i use a diary at present but some days i forget to update it for future work and it gets me a bit mixed up sometimes.
any other ways?
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I use george but another way of doing it is ms excel. Or the way I used to do it was I would have a list of all my customers and then if say they were monthly I would list the months and cross them out as I did them and then I wrote the date underneath. Simple but effective!
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i have type dall my custys into Excel for reference but that is all
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I used to use excel and have all my customers and prices on paper from the excel sheet it would only need updating on the pc after every 4 visits just had there address and price then would put a \ in the box next to there address if they had been done and not paid and then i would turn it to a X when i recieved paypent i also had an area on the page next to the customers address for any notes etc like if they needed ringing the day before.
paul
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I have just bought Service CEO - its the mutts nuts - does all your invoicing, keeping track of payments, scheduling and routing, its not the cheapest solution but if your wanting to grow your business it will grow with you ;) Also included in the price is as much teaching as you need and your own coach too - the customer service has been fantastic.
It was daunting for the first couple of weeks but now it saves so much time its unreal.
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I have just bought Service CEO - its the mutts nuts - does all your invoicing, keeping track of payments, scheduling and routing, its not the cheapest solution but if your wanting to grow your business it will grow with you ;) Also included in the price is as much teaching as you need and your own coach too - the customer service has been fantastic.
It was daunting for the first couple of weeks but now it saves so much time its unreal.
Kev,
Whats the site address saves me looking in my saves links like a million of them.
and whats the price of it, have you found any pit falls yet to it ?
I am asking this because my set up with excel is getting harder each day with the influx of custom
Ian
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im stuggling now with excel
do tell
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I use the spreadsheet and database in MS Works. This seems adequate but I could do with more "reports" being allowed on a database. I may convert to the (free) Openoffice software at some point. It's supposed to be (mostly) compatible with MS Office so it probably allows a larger sheet and more reports.
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I used to use excel and have all my customers and prices on paper from the excel sheet it would only need updating on the pc after every 4 visits just had there address and price then would put a \ in the box next to there address if they had been done and not paid and then i would turn it to a X when i recieved paypent i also had an area on the page next to the customers address for any notes etc like if they needed ringing the day before.
paul
Oh yeah I forgot about the payments side, I used the / x System
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I use the spreadsheet and database in MS Works. This seems adequate but I could do with more "reports" being allowed on a database. I may convert to the (free) Openoffice software at some point. It's supposed to be (mostly) compatible with MS Office so it probably allows a larger sheet and more reports.
If you have never used open office I would recommend it - Works just as well as office and as you say is free software
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ok giv eme an idea on what to do with excel then.
list all jobs i take it on weekly, 2 week, etc etc and mark off as you go then ?
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Use George. It amazes me that people will spend hundreds on new poles etc, but jib on this ??? It is the best money I've spent on equipment. Of course if you want to spent hours with excel and then lose it when your computer crashes.. ;)
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I'm with Feen on this one..... cant believe you can not use George when you start getting busy....its a no brainer IMO.... ;)
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I have just bought Service CEO - its the mutts nuts - does all your invoicing, keeping track of payments, scheduling and routing, its not the cheapest solution but if your wanting to grow your business it will grow with you ;) Also included in the price is as much teaching as you need and your own coach too - the customer service has been fantastic.
It was daunting for the first couple of weeks but now it saves so much time its unreal.
Kev,
Whats the site address saves me looking in my saves links like a million of them.
and whats the price of it, have you found any pit falls yet to it ?
I am asking this because my set up with excel is getting harder each day with the influx of custom
Ian
No pitfalls as yet Ian - works like a dream, scheduling and rescheduling is as simple as drag and drop!!! I bought it because keeping track of all my commercial customers and their individual schedules was a nightmare - I was spending hours invoicing now I click complet and it eithe prints an invoice or sends it via email which is just so easy
It cost almost £1500 but its worth every penny and the support is fantastic with online lessons and an excellent video library.
Link here;
insightdirect.com (http://insightdirect.com)
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ok giv eme an idea on what to do with excel then.
list all jobs i take it on weekly, 2 week, etc etc and mark off as you go then ?
Perhaps you could work out what you do each day or take an area and make them into rounds and have a spreadsheet for each round. To be honest there is only so much you can do with a spreadsheet thats where i have to say George starts to help allot. I'm not sure what your exactly after but i can e-mail you an example of what i used to do on a excel spreadsheet if it helps it's nothing special but it worked for me for a few years until i started using george and my work is mainly monthly or 2 monthly
just give me your e-mail if you want it.
paul
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deleted
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JMSC - I have to agree with the others - just buy george! Yes it costs but it will save you time and effort. Think about it - If you were charging for the time that you will spend sorting the other systems out at WC rates then how much would that cost - More than the price of george i'll bet. Trust me get the free trial NOW and look at the benefits. Then you'll see the cost is nothing compared to the benefits of it and if you still dont like it just don't buy a licence. To try it will cost you nothing!
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have sent e-mail..
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cheers mate
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i have been using an ordinary notebook all my bussines years (14) different one for every year ofcourse and nothig goes wrong
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How do you get on with keeping peoples records on computer.
I thought you had to have a licence to do this?
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i have been using an ordinary notebook all my bussines years (14) different one for every year ofcourse and nothig goes wrong
Same here.
No problems whatsoever.
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i have been using an ordinary notebook all my bussines years (14) different one for every year ofcourse and nothig goes wrong
me too...fussing around with these fancy programmes just adds more work ::)
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Hi Squeeky,
Hows business?
Did you have a good holiday?
You seemed to be in a wright 2 and 8 before going.
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i have been using an ordinary notebook all my bussines years (14) different one for every year ofcourse and nothig goes wrong
me too...fussing around with these fancy programmes just adds more work ::)
Depends how busy you are innit ;)
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i use excel for the accounts but list my jobs using calendar in microsoft outlook. I then sych the calendar to a cheap palm z22 and carry that to work.
I spend about 1 hour per week typing in the work done for the accountant.
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this is what i have done for years
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/VWSaxon/workexample.jpg)
its good for 6 months, and you can see when you were last there. i tick E for envelope, when received the £ gets ticked
or just tick the £ if ive been paid on the day, simple but effect
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A diary, simple.
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How do you get on with keeping peoples records on computer.
I thought you had to have a licence to do this?
If you keep records of any description, paper or electronic that contain customers personal details then yes, there are legal requirements. Google the data protection act,.. its simple enough to follow. Simply put, you must get the permission of the customer (in writing) to keep these records, after explaining clearly the purpose of them, and what kind of privacy policy you maintain.
If you've an old round and want to update all your customer details without seeming too cheeky, telling the custie they need to fill out the new form as you are bringing your company into line with the data protection act is a great way to do it.
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Note book and the X system, seconds to learn, it will never fail you and you don't have to spend time updating it after work. Mind you if I had people working for us then I might do it different.
How do you get on with keeping peoples records on computer.
I thought you had to have a licence to do this?
The data protection law would count if you was going to start keeping peoples names and details as well.
Simon.