[MrWindowClean]

I'm currently working alone out of a 350l tank, I'm pretty much fully booked now I make on average 1k a week, some long days for that.

I've got the money for the 2nd van but financially it's going to take me back to when I first started out a year ago.


I'm picking up apx 10 new customers a week so I feel with my methods I should get back on track quite quickly.

Just worried about having no work for a while while I employ someone to do the current work I have.

Any advice?

[Soupy]

Yes. Stay off my patch.

[High-Tower]

Be prepared for VAT.

[Crystal-clear]

To be fair he's way off VAT especially when he goes on holiday or takes some time off due to sickness.
The bank holidays as well.

Now 1k turn over or profit ? If it's turn over you will have to add for example £500 a week as an wage expense +the other expenses I don't think it will be profitable enough for you to justify it?.
Also you mentioned long hours people who work for you won't be doing that so turnover could be even less.
I would say work on your profit which is the most important and then go from there

[Lee Pryor]

You will need way more turnover per week to take someone on. At least £1500-£1700 which also probably means a bigger tank, My team will each do around 600L a day to produce the sort of figures required to pay them a decent wage, cover all expenses and leave someting for me.

i dont think you are ready yet, another year of building I would say. Its way more expensive than you think to employ someone. I actually think its almost impossible to do and expect to stay under the VAT limit.

Good luck, I hope you deal with stress well.

[MrWindowClean]

To be fair he's way off VAT especially when he goes on holiday or takes some time off due to sickness.
The bank holidays as well.

Now 1k turn over or profit ? If it's turn over you will have to add for example £500 a week as an wage expense +the other expenses I don't think it will be profitable enough for you to justify it?.
Also you mentioned long hours people who work for you won't be doing that so turnover could be even less.
I would say work on your profit which is the most important and then go from there

By long hours I mean 9 till 5 😂 and my turnover is apx 4.6k a month £760 is for current expenses. I have someone that's willing to work for £10 an hour out of my van 5 days a week.

[Crystal-clear]

To be fair he's way off VAT especially when he goes on holiday or takes some time off due to sickness.
The bank holidays as well.

Now 1k turn over or profit ? If it's turn over you will have to add for example £500 a week as an wage expense +the other expenses I don't think it will be profitable enough for you to justify it?.
Also you mentioned long hours people who work for you won't be doing that so turnover could be even less.
I would say work on your profit which is the most important and then go from there

By long hours I mean 9 till 5 😂 and my turnover is apx 4.6k a month £760 is for current expenses. I have someone that's willing to work for £10 an hour out of my van 5 days a week.

It's not enough turnover really well how motivated do you think this person will be to continue to bring in that amount of turnover for very little return to himself? And a lot of hours.
Stability is everything it's better that you can pay more. Work on your profit build more then but if those numbers add up for you fine..

[MrWindowClean]

You will need way more turnover per week to take someone on. At least £1500-£1700 which also probably means a bigger tank, My team will each do around 600L a day to produce the sort of figures required to pay them a decent wage, cover all expenses and leave someting for me.

i dont think you are ready yet, another year of building I would say. Its way more expensive than you think to employ someone. I actually think its almost impossible to do and expect to stay under the VAT limit.

Good luck, I hope you deal with stress well.

Unfortunately I'm limited by the tank size I have, I'm sure I dont want to get rid of this van as it runs perfect and I dont want to get stung buying another that may get issues I want to keep it for back up atleast.

So my next step really has to be getting a 2nd van even if I hold off on employing, although like I said further up I have a lad who helps me every now and again and hes happy at £10ph so I think why not use him while I can and get another van and build up more while getting apx 2.2k income off that van.

[Stoots]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

[Lee Pryor]

You are not limited by tank size you are limited by your mind telling you not to change it. Sorry to be blunt.

Trust me it needs to change.

Sadly most people like to learn the hard way. What I see here is your guy earning £10ph and who knows how much turnover he will generate for that. Then we can factor in his Tax and Ni your need for employers liability insurance, his 28 days a year paid holiday, vehicle and equipment maintainance....... The list is actually endless and WILL cost you more than you currently think it will. You will just have to trust me on that, I have a little experience in this area.

Put it this way. If you want a good worker you need to pay them right. After you have paid them right that amount should not exceed 30% of turnover, the most mine get to is about 32% some days.

[Stoots]

£10 ph for an 8 hour day plus holiday and n.i cost is £95 per day

£10 a day fuel
£5 a day water

There's £110 a day without employers n.i. Cost of van and insurance, any allowance for sick pay, downtown, uniform, equipment replacement etc.

Oh and when customers skip cleans or forget to unlock gates etc that all takes its toll, if he does a poor job and loses customers or doesn't get round them all etc.

£200 a day just isn't enough turnover unless you want all the extra stress and admin involved for maybe £300 a week profit?

[Plankton]

On the topic of second van,  I'd only be looking at the figures and then you'll see what it'll cost you before getting anywhere near buying it. (I'm sure you have already) and not everyone runs around in shining new vans!
I work these "long 9-5 hours" (only shiners think it's long) but I'd be looking to take on another chunk of work and more stress before putting another van on the road. Insurance is for the second van will double and then there's the issue of parking, filling, charging, keeping it from freezing etc.

[Plankton]

Remember you get a 3k allowance for employers ni per annum so don't need to worry about that.

[MrWindowClean]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

[MrWindowClean]

You are not limited by tank size you are limited by your mind telling you not to change it. Sorry to be blunt.

Trust me it needs to change.

Sadly most people like to learn the hard way. What I see here is your guy earning £10ph and who knows how much turnover he will generate for that. Then we can factor in his Tax and Ni your need for employers liability insurance, his 28 days a year paid holiday, vehicle and equipment maintainance....... The list is actually endless and WILL cost you more than you currently think it will. You will just have to trust me on that, I have a little experience in this area.

Put it this way. If you want a good worker you need to pay them right. After you have paid them right that amount should not exceed 30% of turnover, the most mine get to is about 32% some days.

Yes your definitely correct about tank size I'm going to upgrade to a 650l tank I think then an go from there building more with the money I get from my current van I'll spend on advertising.

[Smudger]

so when you do a "500" day where do you refill your tank?

Darran

[dazmond]

I'm currently working alone out of a 350l tank, I'm pretty much fully booked now I make on average 1k a week, some long days for that.

I've got the money for the 2nd van but financially it's going to take me back to when I first started out a year ago.


I'm picking up apx 10 new customers a week so I feel with my methods I should get back on track quite quickly.

Just worried about having no work for a while while I employ someone to do the current work I have.

Any advice?

i work part time hours for roughly the same money...but use more water than you......(500L tank)

do you still do a fair bit of trad work?..... as a 350L tank seems small for a 9am-5pm day or do you nip home to fill up at lunchtime?

how do you earn £500 in a day window cleaning?do you look for valuables to steal at your customers houses to make it to £500?

[MrWindowClean]

so when you do a "500" day where do you refill your tank?

Darran

At home waters ready to go just pump straight into tank

[MrWindowClean]

I'm currently working alone out of a 350l tank, I'm pretty much fully booked now I make on average 1k a week, some long days for that.

I've got the money for the 2nd van but financially it's going to take me back to when I first started out a year ago.


I'm picking up apx 10 new customers a week so I feel with my methods I should get back on track quite quickly.

Just worried about having no work for a while while I employ someone to do the current work I have.

Any advice?

i work part time hours for roughly the same money...but use more water than you......(500L tank)

do you still do a fair bit of trad work?..... as a 350L tank seems small for a 9am-5pm day or do you nip home to fill up at lunchtime?

how do you earn £500 in a day window cleaning?do you look for valuables to steal at your customers houses to make it to £500?

Univalve has been a godsend and nipping home to fill up has become a regular occurrence

[Crystal-clear]

I'm currently working alone out of a 350l tank, I'm pretty much fully booked now I make on average 1k a week, some long days for that.

I've got the money for the 2nd van but financially it's going to take me back to when I first started out a year ago.


I'm picking up apx 10 new customers a week so I feel with my methods I should get back on track quite quickly.

Just worried about having no work for a while while I employ someone to do the current work I have.

Any advice?

i work part time hours for roughly the same money...but use more water than you......(500L tank)

do you still do a fair bit of trad work?..... as a 350L tank seems small for a 9am-5pm day or do you nip home to fill up at lunchtime?

how do you earn £500 in a day window cleaning?do you look for valuables to steal at your customers houses to make it to £500?

Univalve has been a godsend and nipping home to fill up has become a regular occurrence

Ok pal that's quite a jump in turn over for the hours I take it some works much better priced then some other to make it that different for the same hours?.

Anyhow obtaining a second van will only give you an extra overhead if you haven't got the workload.
Don't forget you can run that van on a Saturday and Sunday at your days off and your employee can cover you 2 full days a week.and you can work the others that could be more of a viable option for you while you build.

[S.A.J]

Why not start off employing him part time? 2 days a week? You’ll save some money doing it that way and as you build you can offer more hours.

If it don’t work out it will be easier getting rid of a part time guy and coping with the work.

Always a big step employing and good luck 😎

[Smudger]

how much time does that take out of your day returning to base, filling up then back to your area your working in ?

Darran

[Plankton]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

[dazmond]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

with a 350L tank too! .....haha......

[KS Cleaning]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

Because you can’t do it don’t mean others can’t.

[Smudger]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

Because you can’t do it don’t mean others can’t.

Can you ?

[KS Cleaning]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

with a 350L tank too! .....haha......

Daz you have talked openly of making £80 an hour on some work, £200 + for 3 hours work, etc,etc, etc, etc, etc, etc......so I don’t know why you’re mocking a guy doing £500 of work and re-filling in 7-8 hours.

[KS Cleaning]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

Because you can’t do it don’t mean others can’t.

Can you ?

On two of my routes yes.

[Plankton]

Thinking of starting up in Jan 2018 and now doing 500 a day.... Well done!
How much work did you buy?

[Stoots]

I don't think £500 a day is beyond the realms of possibility.

I mean £20 average house at 25 houses a day must be do able in some parts of the country ?

I can clean 25 a day in 6 hours some days, so if you were dedicated and worked 8 hours and had good prices then why not.

The hardest part would be forcing yourself to do a 40 hour week.

[Dry Clean]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

Because you can’t do it don’t mean others can’t.

True, but on CIU everybody can which is strange because the majority of them aren't VAT reg even though they would have passed the threshold at week 35. lol

[Dry Clean]

I don't think £500 a day is beyond the realms of possibility.

I mean £20 average house at 25 houses a day must be do able in some parts of the country ?

I can clean 25 a day in 6 hours some days, so if you were dedicated and worked 8 hours and had good prices then why not.

The hardest part would be forcing yourself to do a 40 hour week.

The hardest part would be getting an employee to do the same for £10 an hour and be stupid enough not to realise he could get better money working one day a week for himself.

[Plankton]

Good point from Crystal Clear about running the van at weekends. I used to all the gutters at the weekend and the very odd day on (domestic) windows on a Saturday but I wouldn't do windows on a Sunday too many would be like wtf!
It's a lot more convenient with a second van though.

[Crystal-clear]

Good point from Crystal Clear about running the van at weekends. I used to all the gutters at the weekend and the very odd day on (domestic) windows on a Saturday but I wouldn't do windows on a Sunday too many would be like wtf!
It's a lot more convenient with a second van though.

Absolutely it's all about profit end of the day.!
An extra van is technically an overhead unless both the vans are being used.
Just think 2 vans running 7 days a week  is pretty much 3 vans for the price of 2

[Dry Clean]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

Being able to do £500 a day means nothing unless you can do it everyday and do it with ease, its your average that counts.

[Splash & dash]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

Being able to do £500 a day means nothing unless you can do it everyday and do it with ease, its your average that counts.

Depends how much work people want to do £500 per day may be enough for some for the week , you don’t have to earn that every day , some earn double that per day on commercial work , , and view it as a bonus but couldn’t do it every day , earnings are a very personal thing we all have different needs and  if we earn what we need per month it doesn’t matter what you earn per day provided you end up with a total to cover everything

[Stoots]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

Being able to do £500 a day means nothing unless you can do it everyday and do it with ease, its your average that counts.

Depends how much work people want to do £500 per day may be enough for some for the week , you don’t have to earn that every day , some earn double that per day on commercial work , , and view it as a bonus but couldn’t do it every day , earnings are a very personal thing we all have different needs and  if we earn what we need per month it doesn’t matter what you earn per day provided you end up with a total to cover everything

That's the problem with money, it never ends and enough is never enough

If I could do 500 a day I could work 2 days a week and have more than enough money to lead a happy life.

But I wouldn't because I'd say well if just worked 3 or 4 or 5 days a week I'd have more, or if I just employed 1 guy or 10 or 20...where does it end.

It's hard to just be happy with your lot whatever your level.

Look at Lee Pryor, he posted for ages about stopping at 10 vans now he's on about 20 lol he can't stop. None of us can.

[Simon Trapani]

Yeh but Lee's done it/doing it. Most of the rest of us on here just sit around talking about it. He's walking the walk.

[Splash & dash]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

Being able to do £500 a day means nothing unless you can do it everyday and do it with ease, its your average that counts.

Depends how much work people want to do £500 per day may be enough for some for the week , you don’t have to earn that every day , some earn double that per day on commercial work , , and view it as a bonus but couldn’t do it every day , earnings are a very personal thing we all have different needs and  if we earn what we need per month it doesn’t matter what you earn per day provided you end up with a total to cover everything

That's the problem with money, it never ends and enough is never enough

If I could do 500 a day I could work 2 days a week and have more than enough money to lead a happy life.

But I wouldn't because I'd say well if just worked 3 or 4 or 5 days a week I'd have more, or if I just employed 1 guy or 10 or 20...where does it end.

It's hard to just be happy with your lot whatever your level.

Look at Lee Pryor, he posted for ages about stopping at 10 vans now he's on about 20 lol he can't stop. None of us can.

It depends what your priorities are in life I could easily expand with the business , I have  very little competition and am currently turning a lot of work away I want to be doing less work not getting more 3 vans  is enough in fact I want to cut back and over the next couple of years will be getting rid of a lot of work , ime not interested in building an empire like lee is doing

[dazmond]

Where abouts in the country are you ?

1k a week if working Monday to Friday 9-5 is only 200 a day

Or £25 - £30 an hour ish ?

That's not enough to employ and really make it profitable. I think you need at least £250 a day to make it worthwhile.

I would sack the employing idea off for now and work on making the round more profitable per hour.

For an 8 hour day I would think unless you are in a really poor area you should be able to do 300 a day.

Dont get me wrong I'm not hitting 250 a day doing 9to5 some days I'm doing 9 to 5 hitting 500 I'm just saying averages this month I'm on target for 6k this month but my average is approximately 4.5k a month.

Being able to do £500 a day means nothing unless you can do it everyday and do it with ease, its your average that counts.

Depends how much work people want to do £500 per day may be enough for some for the week , you don’t have to earn that every day , some earn double that per day on commercial work , , and view it as a bonus but couldn’t do it every day , earnings are a very personal thing we all have different needs and  if we earn what we need per month it doesn’t matter what you earn per day provided you end up with a total to cover everything

That's the problem with money, it never ends and enough is never enough

If I could do 500 a day I could work 2 days a week and have more than enough money to lead a happy life.

But I wouldn't because I'd say well if just worked 3 or 4 or 5 days a week I'd have more, or if I just employed 1 guy or 10 or 20...where does it end.

It's hard to just be happy with your lot whatever your level.

Look at Lee Pryor, he posted for ages about stopping at 10 vans now he's on about 20 lol he can't stop. None of us can.

Seriously Adam.....I'm happy with my lot.....no need to be greedy......which means for me around £30-£32k a year profit AFTER all expenses,insurances and tax have been deducted.....

[dazmond]

when i reached a comfortable level of  income(for my needs) theres no incentive for me to work harder or longer to earn more money as it simply wouldnt be good for my health and work/life balance IMO....

so im happy with a slight modest raise in income year on year (to cover inflation) these days.....

[KS Cleaning]

FFS ciu this is taking it too far, £500 per day for one man on the windows?
I smell sh!t

Because you can’t do it don’t mean others can’t.

True, but on CIU everybody can which is strange because the majority of them aren't VAT reg even though they would have passed the threshold at week 35. lol

Very true, but when I decide to do a £500 day it’s usually to free up some time at the end of the week, for instance I done £500 last Monday, I then completed my weeks work by earlyThursday afternoon.

[Crystal-clear]

I think pushing way forward is not only motivated by financial gain.. it can't be because of higher expenses and countless reinvestment...there will be a sweet spot and I think generally if you find it that should be enough..

There has to be a line drawn at some point.
Even Alexander the Great had to be forced to not cross the river beas considered the end of the world everything went backwards afterwards!
So find your sweet spot wherever it could be
Life is short we need to be sensible and learn to balance it all out   

Ironically I'm typing this out while working but still lol!

[dazmond]

I think pushing way forward is not only motivated by financial gain.. it can't be because of higher expenses and countless reinvestment...there will be a sweet spot and I think generally if you find it that should be enough..

There has to be a line drawn at some point.
Even Alexander the Great had to be forced to not cross the river beas considered the end of the world everything went backwards afterwards!
So find your sweet spot wherever it could be
Life is short we need to be sensible and learn to balance it all out   

Ironically I'm typing this out while working but still lol!

to some people the deadly sin thats most prominent in their life is greed(disguised as ambition)........some people are never happy with their lot......ambition and whats perceived as "success" is often like drinking salt water....it just makes them thirstier(by the way im not pointing fingers at anyone on here).its just my take on things.....

[AuRavelling79]

I went to a funeral of a 51 year old last Monday.

Her older brother gave some of the service and he quoted her (she arranged the service as she knew it was coming down the pike) as saying "Tell anyone that bothers to turn up on the day I said the last thing you will say when you know your time is up is that you wish you did more work."