[bobplum]

evening every one
i am asking this question as i have just got home,7.30
done the days work finished for about 4.00pm then had to collect,some pay online etc but the bulk still needs collecting,i collect twice a week.
i suppose whats at the back of my mind it appears to be all work work work,collect collect
no time for the paper work,washing scrims for the next day etc,so how do some off you organise your days or weeks work
i do have a lad with me and we get thru roughly 25 houses aday
so some constructive answers would be nice to cheer me up
bob

[FREEMANSCLEANING]

well i started 6/7 years ago doing what you do now............but only do about 15 houses a day now but more big commercial contracts and also carpet cleaning after doing the course at prochem.....i never start before 9 in the morning and finish most days no later than 4 but thats my choice ...........today i started at 9 am i finished at 1 pm cladding clean and window cleaning for a company that makes sports cars so it wa a nice earner and the invoice was paid at 2 pm by bacs ..tomorrow im cleaning my inlaws carpets ....thats it week finished ...monday i have a big office i clean every month windows out and in.......front of building cladding .............front entrance carpet clean..........up the stairs..........then the downstairs ground floor corridor has a polish......i do this every month .last week i cleaned windows for 3 days mon - wed but i did 130 flats ...i dont wash scrim or fibre cloths as i dont use them much............ i did do lots of window cleaning but not much anymore ........... indoors maintence carpet cleaning at care homes etc but i started them all cleaning their windows

[creggan]

 Bob personally i used to use a diary.houses on week 2 of year would be week 7 next as i clean every 5 weeks.keep list on page and handy to see who has or hasnt paid.now i use calendar on computer as it gives auto readout

[cozy]

If you collect twice a week and do about a 5/6 hour day, it sounds about the same as me. My wife works with me and does the bookwork and banking. We work windows,carpets & upholstery, so sometimes work till 7pm if we have to.

We end up with about 10 days off a month. I'm not the youngest anymore, but I don't feel over worked mate. To cheer yourself up, look at your bank balance. Works for me.

[davids3511]

Bob, I use George to organise the diary, who owes, who has paid (when and how), what I have paid out and so on. Allt eh information is there at teh click of a buttong. You can get it with fifty uses for free and it is £50.00 one off payment for lifetime usage after that. It is an excellent program

I also leave an envelope for every customer who is not at home. At worst it can be £3.00 a day for second class envelopes, but I would rather pay that thango out collecting. I collect about once every two months, forhte really stubborn non payers.

[LWC]

Window Cleaner Pro runs my day to day work.

Dont have to think about it. Just do what it tells me.

[FREEMANSCLEANING]

yep i dont collect anymore just leave sae when i clean i have the same customers now as i did 6 years ago.......who dont pay...i dont clean again

[kenaltobelli]

same here do them if they pay i clean or do them when in no pay ;
me no clean but like to get more big stuff more wfp

[brianbarber]

 I was advised before I started by an old neighbour who was doing windows fir over 20 years to leave self stamped addressed envelopes. Sadly Rob died suddenly last November.
I took his advice and it's brilliant.

Mr B

[pingu]

I have George to organise the work..all work is scheduled on a 8 weekly basis with the odd 12/16/24/48 weekly cycle.

No collecting at all..all payments are via online bar 6 customers that pay cash.

Have 1,5 weeks off at the end of each 8 week cycle and there is still plenty of scope to put extra work in those 6,5 weeks if really required.

Most days I leave the house at 09:00 and get back around 3....have the odd day that is a proper days work 8+ hours but not many.

It's all down to planning..I plan everything to do with my business...I review it monthly and this gives me the ability to change things where required.

As for collecting ...I appreciate that this is takng so much time out of your free time....plan to phase it out over the next year...it'll give your loads more time for yourself and family. But with that said some like to collect as it gives them the opportunity to 'network' with their customers.

Cheers
Dave.

[bobplum]

thanks everyone i think i was in a bad mood
i am on george and i must admit it works well
i think i will have to start steering the customers to paying by cheque by using a satmped self address envelope and the website more probably
 best if i select one week out of the four and use them as the guinea pig once i get that week sorted start on the next week so on and so on so hopefuly after a couple of months everyone is on the same system of paying
thanks for the advice
bob