[lee_dewing]

Just done this letter, as -4c outside, going out midday

What do you think (oh forgot this is for the 5% of custies that pay late all the time
everyone else is cash, cheque+by post, internet transfer and am happy with
If I lose the 5% oh well, do you think letter is polite though, guys? (not done spell check yet )
Ps. will alter start date as I give or post to custies but always 15th.

From : Lee your window cleaner.
Dear Customer,

Just to inform you as from January 2013,  I am changing over to Standing Order, for payments.

At present to clean the windows of your property is  £_____ .

I call on a 5 week basis, so 10 cleans a year.

So could you please set up a standing order for my services of

£_____,  a month.  (Annual cost  £_____ divided by 12 = monthly charge.)

My  Bank Account, Sort Code: Account No:

Please could you set up the standing order before the date :  January 15th 2013.       
and continueing for the  15th  every month.

(I have choosen this date for all my customers so it is easy to check everyone online
at once, sorry but I can not alter date.)

I would appreciate it if you could email me comformation of doing this,

I hope you continue with my service but if I do not receive an email or text confirming set up of your standing order before January 15th 2013  then I will take this as cancelation of my sevices. 

Many thanks Lee your window cleaner.

[Window Washers]

Just done this letter, as -4c outside, going out midday

What do you think (oh forgot this is for the 5% of custies that pay late all the time
everyone else is cash, cheque+by post, internet transfer and am happy with
If I lose the 5% oh well, do you think letter is polite though, guys? (not done spell check yet )
Ps. will alter start date as I give or post to custies but always 15th.

From : Lee your window cleaner.
Dear Customer,

Just to inform you as from January 2013,  I am changing over to Standing Order, for payments.

At present to clean the windows of your property is  £_____ .

I call on a 5 week basis, so 10 cleans a year.

So could you please set up a standing order for my services of

£_____,  a month.  (Annual cost  £_____ divided by 12 = monthly charge.)

My  Bank Account, Sort Code: Account No:

Please could you set up the standing order before the date :  January 15th 2013.       
and continueing for the  15th  every month.

(I have choosen this date for all my customers so it is easy to check everyone online
at once, sorry but I can not alter date.)

I would appreciate it if you could email me comformation of doing this,

I hope you continue with my service but if I do not receive an email or text confirming set up of your standing order before January 15th 2013  then I will take this as cancelation of my sevices. 

Many thanks Lee your window cleaner.

there is no benifit for them at all in that mate,

make it in thier interest to do it.

Avoid a price increase of something

[formb]

For Over due customers I go with:



Account:34254

Date: 06-Dec-2012



Mrs Customer
123
Customer Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB

ACCOUNT NOW £** OVERDUE

Dear Mrs Customer

Your account is overdue, in order to keep our costs down it is vital that our customers pay their bill within 30 days. Your account is ________________ overdue.

Attached at the bottom of this letter is a standing order mandate which you can complete and send to your bank, this will mean that you no longer have to worry about forgetting to pay the window cleaner. Alternatively you can use the details provided on the mandate to pay your bill with internet banking if you have that facility available.

We also accept card payment over the telephone (***********).

If you think that you are not due this money please contact me ASAP.


Regards


Stuart Souter


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDING ORDER MANDATE

Account to be debited:

Name of account-holder
____________________
Account Number
_______________
Sortcode
_______________


Please pay: **********
For the credit of: **********
Account:********
Sort Code:**-**-**
Reference:34254

The sum of : (in words)________________________________ (£______)

On the__________ (day), ________________ (month), ______________ (year)

And thereafter every month until further notice and debit my account accordingly.

Signed _____________________ Date ___________

[formb]

there is no benifit for them at all in that mate,

make it in thier interest to do it.

Avoid a price increase of something

I would not give different prices depending on how you are paid. The benefit for them is that they don't forget to pay you.

Keep it simple.

[Window Washers]

there is no benifit for them at all in that mate,

make it in thier interest to do it.

Avoid a price increase of something

I would not give different prices depending on how you are paid. The benefit for them is that they don't forget to pay you.

Keep it simple.

hes talking about are late payers, play to thier needs and not yours they are more willing to do as you want them to. (this is my thinking on it thats all)
find a fear and offer a solution to that fear. paying late is not a fear for them they already do that and really dont care to much.
if there is an price increase happening that they can avoid then thats a benifit for them to change to standing order,  we all do it differently (I do like the way you put yours, I would just add to it (but that just my preference Stuart) i do like simple but I question the uptake that way it can possibly get better results for the future.

[Dominic Carnell]

I like the sound of your letter SS - when I had a window cleaner it was always a bit of a pain having cash to hand, a standing order option would have made it a lot easier. PayPal would have been great as well.

[Window Washers]

I'm going to keep it much simpler.
My persistent bad payers are about 5% of my round.  When Spring is around the corner (late Feb/early March), I intend to canvass about 70 new customers over a 2 month period.  The 5% will be dropped as soon as they are up to date with the payments.  I'm getting better.  I will probably write to inform them after the event.  I'm sick and tired of chasing them or waiting for them to decide that it's OK for me to be able to pay my bills on a given month.  My money in their pocket is no good to me.

and you dont think getting them on standing order would be a better option Paul.

when it comes to dropping a customer let them cancel you not the other way round without at least trying they could turn into the best customer in the world if only you had tried something different. Dropping them takes away this option.

[formb]

there is no benifit for them at all in that mate,

make it in thier interest to do it.

Avoid a price increase of something

I would not give different prices depending on how you are paid. The benefit for them is that they don't forget to pay you.

Keep it simple.

hes talking about are late payers, play to thier needs and not yours they are more willing to do as you want them to. (this is my thinking on it thats all)
find a fear and offer a solution to that fear. paying late is not a fear for them they already do that and really dont care to much.
if there is an price increase happening that they can avoid then thats a benifit for them to change to standing order,  we all do it differently (I do like the way you put yours, I would just add to it (but that just my preference Stuart) i do like simple but I question the uptake that way it can possibly get better results for the future.

In my experience 90% of bad payers are not doing it on purpose, we all do it. The bill gets stuffed in a drawer to deal with later and later never comes.

I have had consistent bad payers who have been my customer for more than 20 years. Most are now signed up to standing orders and are currently in credit.

The other 10%; get rid asap.  

[Window Washers]

there is no benifit for them at all in that mate,

make it in thier interest to do it.

Avoid a price increase of something

I would not give different prices depending on how you are paid. The benefit for them is that they don't forget to pay you.

Keep it simple.

hes talking about are late payers, play to thier needs and not yours they are more willing to do as you want them to. (this is my thinking on it thats all)
find a fear and offer a solution to that fear. paying late is not a fear for them they already do that and really dont care to much.
if there is an price increase happening that they can avoid then thats a benifit for them to change to standing order,  we all do it differently (I do like the way you put yours, I would just add to it (but that just my preference Stuart) i do like simple but I question the uptake that way it can possibly get better results for the future.

In my experience 90% of bad payers are not doing it on purpose, we all do it. The bill gets stuffed in a drawer to deal with later and later never comes.

I have had consistent bad payers who have been my customer for more than 20 years. Most are now signed up to standing orders and are currently in credit.

The other 10%; get rid asap.  

what % are paying by standing order ?

[formb]

what % are paying by standing order ?

Around 20% (by turnover) of my customers now pay by either bank transfer or standing order. They are both set up the same way so I can't really distinguish between the two.

I will be looking to up that to around 50% by the end of next year.

[lee_dewing]

find a fear and offer a solution to that fear

Ian: the fear is will i come back and clean the windows if they don't go standing order?
Solution: Setup standing order for windie, so guarantee he does

Thanks everyone for your comments

[PoleKing]

Don't 'offer' to cancel. THEY JUST WILL.
Put a 10% charge or something if they don't change to SO.

www.laneswindowcleaning.com rutland

[lee_dewing]

Just thought that makes it bright and clear if i don't see your standing order online by that date i won't be back.

Incase i'm contacted in the future "why i haven't you been?"
It's in letter black and white.

[dave0123]

Around 20% (by turnover) of my customers now pay by either bank transfer or standing order. They are both set up the same way so I can't really distinguish between the two.

I will be looking to up that to around 50% by the end of next year.

This has always interested me this way of payment but what happens if your late? it does happen now and then or you go on holiday for a week!

[james peters]

I dont have many bad payers because I have in the past binned them....

but over the past few months I have worked saturday mornings, and enjoyed it....I have found that on a saturday I have picked up work also...

so I tend to do bad payers on a saturday when they are normally at home////this has worked well for me....

[lee_dewing]

This has always interested me this way of payment but what happens if your late? it does happen now and then or you go on holiday for a week!

Hi  Dave, i went through george and worked out 10 cleans a year is average over last 3 years.

Spoke to others on here and basically if you manage less cleans then stated you refund the custie at end of the year, not great i know but if your monthly then 10 cleans a year i think is right.
Plus you don't want custie altering standing order.

Knock off 2 weeks bad weather, 2 weeks illness and bank hols, 4 weeks holiday.

[Window Washers]

This has always interested me this way of payment but what happens if your late? it does happen now and then or you go on holiday for a week!

Hi  Dave, i went through george and worked out 10 cleans a year is average over last 3 years.

Spoke to others on here and basically if you manage less cleans then stated you refund the custie at end of the year, not great i know but if your monthly then 10 cleans a year i think is right.
Plus you don't want custie altering standing order.

Knock off 2 weeks bad weather, 2 weeks illness and bank hols, 4 weeks holiday.

we are all different but no way do we lose 2 weeks being ill , 3 months a year I would have a heart attack if that happened in my business maybe a week but 3 months 

[lee_dewing]

sorry Ian I don't understand the 3 months?

Do you mean you clean 4 weekly so = 13 months. (or should i say 13 cleans)

I included 2 weeks illness with bank hols, should have worded 1 week illness 1 week bank hols=2 weeks then as said 4 weeks hols(2 summer, roughly 2 weeks xmas)

That leaves 2 weeks lost to bad weather heavy rain days and snow (usually 1 week lost here)

Maybe it is me but that's how it works for me.
Even if windies on here are 4 weekly so 13 cleans a year in theory, can't see'em doing that.
I'm just saying 1 man bands not people who employ.

Maybe i'm wrong.
Just my experience.
Lee

[formb]

Around 20% (by turnover) of my customers now pay by either bank transfer or standing order. They are both set up the same way so I can't really distinguish between the two.

I will be looking to up that to around 50% by the end of next year.

This has always interested me this way of payment but what happens if your late? it does happen now and then or you go on holiday for a week!

The customer goes into credit. It is not an issue. I have lots of customers (literally hundreds) who have paid in advance of getting their windows cleaned.

They could not care less.

It is NOT an issue.

[lee_dewing]

Soapy do you refund em, at the end of year.

How long do you let their credit run for?

Do you self appoint an xmas tip to clear credits

thanks lee