[Jack Harris]

Just wondering how you got your customers to sign up to go cardless? Did you send letters to them? or just tell them face to face? I really want to get away from Bacs payments and onto go cardless so any tips with how to get my customers onto it smoothly will be appreciated

[bobplum]

im finding the best way is to have the pay button on your website,use a iphone / tablet and do it on the doorstep while they are there

[Jack Harris]

Bob, Do you then just take the payment each month then without having to speak to them?

[Soupy]

Yup.

[8weekly]

I can't see the point in it. Yes, I have a debtor list, but in 5 years I have had to write off two small debts. I don't stress about being paid. Certainly I have no desire to pay a fee to get quicker a week or two sooner.

[Rogue Trader]

For me the issue is cash flow. All well and good that you will be paid at some point, but because of these haphazard payments you have no consistency in turnover/income. Some weeks I struggle to cover expenses other weeks there is excess after everyone/thing is paid. This is an issue for me that GC could solve. My only issue is to convince my customer base it is good for them as well as me.

[Spursboy1972]

My understanding is that its all done by email??
Also that you/we can just take the payment once the job is completed without customers permission?
Hopefully someone will tell me I am wrong because if I were a customer there is no way I would sign up to that..

[Jack Harris]

Rouge Trader thats the exact same reason I'm looking into it, Sick of waiting for Payments, sending reminders etc now

[Rogue Trader]

It is a direct debit facility. It enables your company to put your customers on a direct debit option the same as your telcos and utility companies. The difference is you only take the payment when you have done the job so the benefit for the customer is if you are late one month the payment doesnt automatically come out without the windows being cleaned. If you use Cleaner Planner not only does the customer pay you as soon as the job is done but it is automatically registered as paid in your database.

[duncan h]

So how does it work that they only pay once work is done

[Jack Harris]

Rouge, Are you using the go careless system now? if so how did you get your customers to sign up?

[bobplum]

Bob, Do you then just take the payment each month then without having to speak to them?

yes once it is set up that is the last you need to contact them, you just activate when you have cleaned, you can set it up for set dates

[PoleKing]

It is a direct debit facility. It enables your company to put your customers on a direct debit option the same as your telcos and utility companies. The difference is you only take the payment when you have done the job so the benefit for the customer is if you are late one month the payment doesnt automatically come out without the windows being cleaned. If you use Cleaner Planner not only does the customer pay you as soon as the job is done but it is automatically registered as paid in your database.

You don't have to do it like that though.
All my GC customers pay on the first if the month. Even if their clean isn't done until the 31st.
I love it.
Just 'cause you wouldn't be happy with a method if payment, doesn't mean your customers wouldn't.
I'm now up to 118 customers paying GC.
For some people, it's great!

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Rouge, Are you using the go careless system now? if so how did you get your customers to sign up?

Hi Jack - not sure if you're asking how to convince customers GoCardless is a good idea or how to physically sign them up, but if it's the latter first thing you need to do (if you haven't already) is sign up to www.gocardless.com. You then get a link to a page that looks very much like a paper direct debit mandate. You can put that link on your website or your payment slips or email it to your customers (or email them from GoCardless). Once a customer has filled out that form they become a customer within your GoCardless account and you can start taking payments from them for works done.

First step is to get a few customers signed up to your GoCardless account, I can then show you how to link and sync it to your Cleaner Planner account and start taking payments directly from CP. Drop me an email once you've got a few customers signed up and I'll walk you through it

[8weekly]

For me the issue is cash flow. All well and good that you will be paid at some point, but because of these haphazard payments you have no consistency in turnover/income. Some weeks I struggle to cover expenses other weeks there is excess after everyone/thing is paid. This is an issue for me that GC could solve. My only issue is to convince my customer base it is good for them as well as me.

Your cash flow problems would be solved with more customers, better prices or reduced outgoings. Gocardless is a red herring.

[Soupy]

For me the issue is cash flow. All well and good that you will be paid at some point, but because of these haphazard payments you have no consistency in turnover/income. Some weeks I struggle to cover expenses other weeks there is excess after everyone/thing is paid. This is an issue for me that GC could solve. My only issue is to convince my customer base it is good for them as well as me.

Your cash flow problems would be solved with more customers, better prices or reduced outgoings. Gocardless is a red herring.

Nope.

[p1w1]

For me the issue is cash flow. All well and good that you will be paid at some point, but because of these haphazard payments you have no consistency in turnover/income. Some weeks I struggle to cover expenses other weeks there is excess after everyone/thing is paid. This is an issue for me that GC could solve. My only issue is to convince my customer base it is good for them as well as me.

Your cash flow problems would be solved with more customers, better prices or reduced outgoings. Gocardless is a red herring.

yep ..rubbish

[8weekly]

For me the issue is cash flow. All well and good that you will be paid at some point, but because of these haphazard payments you have no consistency in turnover/income. Some weeks I struggle to cover expenses other weeks there is excess after everyone/thing is paid. This is an issue for me that GC could solve. My only issue is to convince my customer base it is good for them as well as me.

Your cash flow problems would be solved with more customers, better prices or reduced outgoings. Gocardless is a red herring.

Nope.

For a sole trader with mostly domestic customers, there should be no need for Gocardless. My current debt value is £1,700 but everyday money trickles in. That's the nature of lots of domestic customers and me not collecting. If I had lots of commercial work I doubt they would use Gocardless. If I employed people and some weeks I didn't have enough to pay everyone I would realise I needed more customers or fewer employees. You are talking about Gocardless as a type of factoring and in my opinion if with a simple business like this you need to use factoring, something ain't right.

[Soupy]

Factoring has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

It's simple:

1. No need to collect
2. Customer can't 'forget'
3. Customer retention generally increases when there is a direct debit in place.
4. If you have it set up through cleaner planner or another automated system it removes any time whatsoever processing payments.

Domestic window cleaning should have no cash flow issues.

[8weekly]

Factoring has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

It's simple:

1. No need to collect
2. Customer can't 'forget'
3. Customer retention generally increases when there is a direct debit in place.
4. If you have it set up through cleaner planner or another automated system it removes any time whatsoever processing payments.

Domestic window cleaning should have no cash flow issues.

So why type "nope" to my point above which was in relation to Rogue Trader saying that Gocardless would solve his cash flow issue?