[Paddy Woods]

Hi guys

Going to start changing few things in 2012 but wanted views on it before I change pls
I plan on telling ALL custy's that from April I only do standing orders on payments that is dd every month!
Going to prepare them for changeover in jan-march
Benefits to them ;
1 no looking for ££ when I arrive
2 no double up on payment or did I pay you last month!
3 no increase in coming year

My benefits;
No Collecting hence saving on fuel
Knowing exactly what I'm earning
More time to family

Ok all sounds ok to me but pls tell me if u approve r not & why  :

[rscleaningservices]

that sounds great but what about the old folks who dont have computers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck tho !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[daniel worgan]

Also what about the personal service that you provide your customers?
I like to talk to my customers,i think they like the fact that i show them that time,it also brings in the extra work that without facing them i know for certain that i wouldn't pick up the gutter clean or the connie clean etc etc.

Ok i can understand having to streamline your payments/collections if you are employing or just have rounds all over the place,but if like i suspect the majority of wc's your round is managable and fairly compact then personally i would still gtive that personal touch.....but hey i am a sole trader with a sh 1tty little business so maybe thats where i am going wrong....

[Blue Frog Systems]

If you feel you coud do it, then go for it i say.

To date i have 3 customers on standing order... they love it because i clean, they pay and there is no messing about - oh and i love it too.

If i was you i would get a load of standing order forms from various banks and carry them on you. Then they just have to send it to the bank or you could offer to take them to the bank.

Good luck with it and let me know how you get on as i think this will be really interesting to find out how you got on. I'ts something i would personally do in the future.

[Paddy Woods]

Thanks guys

Was going to tell custy's ahead of time also on slips wen cleaned in jan-march highlight it on them
Was going to do up a standard form (will hve to look very professional!)with my bank details on etc with them just needing to fill in their details & either have them post to bank or hand to me to do soon!

Only fears are sounds messy to start off so I have to b convinced can't b wishy washy! Also with all other business they already do this so not strange to them ie elictricty etc but may give some opportunity to say going to leave the windows for now due to ££ etc

[g.brookes]

i get most of my customers to do bank transfers.  i refuse to collect and no ones ever had a problem with it.  The problem with standing order though is that you always have to be there on the same day.  if you get caught by bad weather, or equipment problems etc then the customers paid you before you've even been to clean the windows and it causes a lot of hassle.  either you have to come early next time to catch up with the standing order date, or they have to edit the date of the standing order.
whereas with bank transfers, yes they can still be delayed but you dont have to do any collecting and can just text, email them as a reminder

[AS Window Cleaning]

i get most of my customers to do bank transfers.  i refuse to collect and no ones ever had a problem with it.  The problem with standing order though is that you always have to be there on the same day.  if you get caught by bad weather, or equipment problems etc then the customers paid you before you've even been to clean the windows and it causes a lot of hassle.  either you have to come early next time to catch up with the standing order date, or they have to edit the date of the standing order.
whereas with bank transfers, yes they can still be delayed but you dont have to do any collecting and can just text, email them as a reminder

my thoughts exactly. picked up some customers whose previous windy collected via direct debit, they were concerned/confused when he didn't turn up or it got out of sync. I would be reluctant to pay anyone via that method, other than traditional items as gas, electric. with these services you often pay in arrears and its easier for the customer to keep track without relying pc memory as to whether you turned up or not.

I think online banking is a good compromise tho. for those who have internet access that is. which is prob most of round. might b gud to maybe not expect all customers to convert?

[Paddy Woods]

Thanks AS ....I think I may have to hit at trying to convert 80% & not b too dogmatic
Also good point g brookes on the standing order but either I go with 1 week after their due date for cleaning with their standing order which gives some breathing space (I find only think with bank transfer etc is that people like myself Forget r don't get around to do it & it becomes another thing on their mind while direct debits cuts all that out )

[Pope vader]

i use on line payments, and they are a waste of time,  most dont pay on line, as they forget, so i dumped all on line payments and gone cash only

[dazmond]

online,SAE,cash on the day or collection on very compact work.works for me.

i dont think standing orders is a good idea because you cant guarantee you ll clean them the same time next month.it puts added pressure on you to get round when this jobs  about flexibility and freedom(well i think so anyway!).

some customers will get confused and think your trying to pull the wool over their eyes.others will just get another window cleaner and cancel your services IMO.


it might work for a few here and there but not for most of your work.i find most elderly customers like to pay by cash or cheque.

[simonr]

whats a bank transfer & how does it work
does it cost anyone

[SunShineCleaning]

I have about 25% on bank transfer which works well. I have just started offering SO's. I have bundled in a gutter clean and up to 10 cleans a year. Total it and divide by 12 gives them the monthly amount.

The monthly SO ones are a bit tight to get done sometimes but my 'monthly' customers get an average of 10 cleans anyway so that works out ok.

I think a small incentive such as price freeze may help to stimulate interest.

[bobplum]

i have a lot of customers on standing orders unless you clean on a monthly basis then there is not a lot you can do if you are like me i clean to a 4 weekly cycle and i point out i clean 13 times a year and they pay 12 that's the incentive i use to get them on SO( a free clean) but if i miss once during the year we are all equal

the trouble with BACS is that people can forget to do it or they put it off till the week end or when they pay all there bills on pay day,could two weeks after you have cleaned? and so on and so on, i now find i am chasing more people who pay by BACS then cash customers,to remind them( i put a slip thru the door).

I think i will always have  certain amount of cash customers i feel this is a safety net
cheers bob

[mlscontractcleaner]

I think that you'll lose customers who can't be arsed with the hassle. You're not BT, you're the window cleaner. I have customers who pay on-line but nowhere near as many as I'd like. In an ideal world thay'd all pay that way.

[Paul Coleman]

IMO anything that ties me down to a particular date (or close to it) on more than a small amount of my work is a potential liability.
BACS transfers are fine as the customer can activate the payment when they are ready.  Waiting for payment can be a pain but once a reserve fund has been built up it shouldn't be a problem (says the guy who sometimes does the self employed version of living pay cheque to pay cheque) 

[bobplum]

whats a bank transfer & how does it work
does it cost anyone

 you give them your bank account details they then thru their internet banking pay you,no cost involved

[SunShineCleaning]

I have SO mandate form on my website I will post  link if anyone interested.

[Paddy Woods]

please sunshine   

[simonr]

whats a bank transfer & how does it work
does it cost anyone

 you give them your bank account details they then thru their internet banking pay you,no cost involved

cheers mate that sounds tidy i'll look into it

[Richard iSparkle]

hey pod,

we've had some customers on SO payments from the start and are now going through the process of getting everyone onto them.  most of them are quite happy to do it, some will do it with a bit of persuasion, and some we will loose because they are anti them.  so far its going very well.  we are up to about 75% of clients on standing orders.

we make them monthly payments but we charge for all 13 cleans a year, we just average out the payments over the months.  there's no need to start giving out free cleans i dont think.  a lot of people say they prefer to pay by SOs as it saves them the bother of posting us a cheque.

the other advantage of SOs is it means the customers pay you every month without needing to do anything.  that means they dont notice the cost of their WC and are less likely to cancel.

we give all our clients a due date for their next clean every time we clean, so they always no when we're coming.  we clean all weathers provided its not absolutely impossible.  its rare for us to miss a due date.