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Getting Paid - How to & Options

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Green Pro Clean Ltd

Well-known member
Messages
8,103
Location
Nottingham & Derbyshire
One of the biggest banes of this game is getting paid (quite often)

A big thing that is over looked when it comes to collections is that it actually COSTS YOU MONEY to get paid.

I will be 100% honest, when I get a sizable bill through the door I deal with it, when I get a bill for a few quid I think 'I'll sort that later' So I can't really whinge at clients for thinking the same.

Now before I go on, this is all based on information I have gathered in phone calls to Paypal, GoCardless and my bank manager at Santander.

There is no right way or wrong way to go about getting paid and which ever options you choose for you are entirely your choice and only you can decide what works right for you.

Lets begin with getting paid in cash:

Plus side: It's cash

Negative side: If your client is not home and has not left it out for you then you will need to spend time and fuel to return later to collect the cash. Some time back we calculated that collections was actually costing us 20% of our business in fuel and hourly rates for lads collecting.

Cheques - A bit outdated but still valid:

Plus side: If the customer has no cash they can still pay you on the spot. (Or post it to you should they not be home on the day)

Negative side: You will have to make a trip to the bank to pay it in and await cleared funds.

Paypal (This is a 3 part option) so let's start at the begging:

Paypal Online (through phone tablet or PC)

Plus side: Instant funds

Negative side: The charge for this is currently 3.4% PLUS 20p. Lets use a £15 payment as example :-

3.4% of £15 is 0.51p and then there is the 0.20p charge on top - total to Paypal 0.71p per transaction leaving you £14.29p

PAYPAL HERE:

Using paypal here and just keying in the card details on your smart phone or taking payments over the phone the comissions are the same as online methods.

IMO - That 0.71p is a lot less than it would cost you to return later to collect the cash.

IMPORTANT NOTE -- I am writing this with a regard to the fact that you use Paypal in the spirit it is intended, we all know that if the customer sends payment as 'Gift' or 'Friends and Family' then you don't get hit on the commission - HOWEVER - I personally would not put a note on any receipt asking a customer to help me avoid fees as that speaks volumes about the sort of person you're coming across as.

Paypal Here: - Using Chip and Pin Card reader

Plus side: You can take on the spot payments.

Negative side: You need them home to use the card reader. Commision is 2.75% (there is no 20p charge on top) Example :- A £15 payment. 2,75% of £15 is 0.42p (0.4125p but they will round up) So after 42p cost cost to Paypal you are left with £14.58

Paypal will reduce your percentage to a flat 1.4% across the board should you choose do over £6000 per month business through your paypal account.

GoCardless:

This is a method we are favoring as it does automate much of our administration.

Plus side: Pretty hassle free and payment pretty promptly - Also less likely a customer will cancel on a whim.

Negative side: Like Paypal there is a commission to pay. GoCardless is just 1% commission per transaction HOWEVER there is a minimum charge of 20p but at the other end of the scale there is a maximum charge of £200.

Example of a £15 Payment - At 1% the charge would be 0.15p but due to the minimum charge it is actually 20p (1.39%) Moving the example up however to say a £30 payment the fee is only 1% so hence 0.30p The new minimum does not screw you that badly unless you are doing lots of £5 & £6 jobs.

The maximum charge of £2 in nice if you have a good SFG with a conny perhaps at £250 that means you collect £248 and it only cost you £2 to get your money in.

Admittedly the only clients that are likely to pay large jobs on GoCardless are the existing clients you have set up already on a regular clean.

B.A.C.S.

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

PAYM:

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

We have also investigated Android Pay but at present you need an app (as in your own app) to collect this way)

A note on banks - you can use a personal account all you like that's up to you. We use a business account with Santander and pay a monthly standing charge of £7.50 for the first £1000 of cash paid in and then 50p per £100 there after.

You will if starting out be amazed at how much it actually costs you just to walk out of the door in the morning.

No do please note that this post is correct at date of publication and is for your general information purposes only, it is not telling you any right or wrong way to collect your money, just to help inform you of some options out there.

A MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: When it comes to getting paid IT'S YOUR MONEY, YOU EARNED IT - Never be embarrassed or afraid to ask for it,

I hope some of you find some useful information in this.

 
Good all round info. I get cash, cheques n Bacs, I personally don't collect if not in n hope they are in next time. Thought about PayPal n do think it's a good option for customers, as safe for them to pay, but all those 20p+ all add up.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 
One of the biggest banes of this game is getting paid (quite often)
A big thing that is over looked when it comes to collections is that it actually COSTS YOU MONEY to get paid.

I will be 100% honest, when I get a sizable bill through the door I deal with it, when I get a bill for a few quid I think 'I'll sort that later' So I can't really whinge at clients for thinking the same.

Now before I go on, this is all based on information I have gathered in phone calls to Paypal, GoCardless and my bank manager at Santander.

There is no right way or wrong way to go about getting paid and which ever options you choose for you are entirely your choice and only you can decide what works right for you.

Lets begin with getting paid in cash:

Plus side: It's cash

Negative side: If your client is not home and has not left it out for you then you will need to spend time and fuel to return later to collect the cash. Some time back we calculated that collections was actually costing us 20% of our business in fuel and hourly rates for lads collecting.

Cheques - A bit outdated but still valid:

Plus side: If the customer has no cash they can still pay you on the spot. (Or post it to you should they not be home on the day)

Negative side: You will have to make a trip to the bank to pay it in and await cleared funds.

Paypal (This is a 3 part option) so let's start at the begging:

Paypal Online (through phone tablet or PC)

Plus side: Instant funds

Negative side: The charge for this is currently 3.4% PLUS 20p. Lets use a £15 payment as example :-

3.4% of £15 is 0.51p and then there is the 0.20p charge on top - total to Paypal 0.71p per transaction leaving you £14.29p

PAYPAL HERE:

Using paypal here and just keying in the card details on your smart phone or taking payments over the phone the comissions are the same as online methods.

IMO - That 0.71p is a lot less than it would cost you to return later to collect the cash.

IMPORTANT NOTE -- I am writing this with a regard to the fact that you use Paypal in the spirit it is intended, we all know that if the customer sends payment as 'Gift' or 'Friends and Family' then you don't get hit on the commission - HOWEVER - I personally would not put a note on any receipt asking a customer to help me avoid fees as that speaks volumes about the sort of person you're coming across as.

Paypal Here: - Using Chip and Pin Card reader

Plus side: You can take on the spot payments.

Negative side: You need them home to use the card reader. Commision is 2.75% (there is no 20p charge on top) Example :- A £15 payment. 2,75% of £15 is 0.42p (0.4125p but they will round up) So after 42p cost cost to Paypal you are left with £14.58

Paypal will reduce your percentage to a flat 1.4% across the board should you choose do over £6000 per month business through your paypal account.

GoCardless:

This is a method we are favoring as it does automate much of our administration.

Plus side: Pretty hassle free and payment pretty promptly - Also less likely a customer will cancel on a whim.

Negative side: Like Paypal there is a commission to pay. GoCardless is just 1% commission per transaction HOWEVER there is a minimum charge of 20p but at the other end of the scale there is a maximum charge of £200.

Example of a £15 Payment - At 1% the charge would be 0.15p but due to the minimum charge it is actually 20p (1.39%) Moving the example up however to say a £30 payment the fee is only 1% so hence 0.30p The new minimum does not screw you that badly unless you are doing lots of £5 & £6 jobs.

The maximum charge of £2 in nice if you have a good SFG with a conny perhaps at £250 that means you collect £248 and it only cost you £2 to get your money in.

Admittedly the only clients that are likely to pay large jobs on GoCardless are the existing clients you have set up already on a regular clean.

B.A.C.S.

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

PAYM:

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

We have also investigated Android Pay but at present you need an app (as in your own app) to collect this way)

A note on banks - you can use a personal account all you like that's up to you. We use a business account with Santander and pay a monthly standing charge of £7.50 for the first £1000 of cash paid in and then 50p per £100 there after.

You will if starting out be amazed at how much it actually costs you just to walk out of the door in the morning.

No do please note that this post is correct at date of publication and is for your general information purposes only, it is not telling you any right or wrong way to collect your money, just to help inform you of some options out there.

A MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: When it comes to getting paid IT'S YOUR MONEY, YOU EARNED IT - Never be embarrassed or afraid to ask for it,

I hope some of you find some useful information in this.
Am I right in thinking that all the costs & commissions are tax deductible though? If so it technically costs you next to nothing

 
Am I right in thinking that all the costs & commissions are tax deductible though? If so it technically costs you next to nothing
Yes and no.

Yes they are deductible but they do still cost.

Example: You can earn £11k per year before you pay tax.

Your fees and expenses are £1k per year to collect in your money.

You can now earn £12k per year before you start to pay tax.

One way or another you arent going to hold onto it so just send me a cheque instead! :whistle:

 
There seems to be a big push to get everyone onto go cardless by some people, this I can't quite grasp, if a customer pays by bacs and is happy to and does pay without being chased for it. Why move them onto a commission charging method

 
Nice post Green, very informative [emoji106] on a side note....just how much does it cost to walk out the door in the morning?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 
I have a good few on gocardless now but they are all my new customers over the last 2 months (don't give any other option now) and any bad payers but as i don't use cleaner planner i am happy for my good customers to pay by bacs or cash if in

I use my own spreadsheet which is all singing and dancing with formulas etc so have no need for cleaner planner as it takes no more than 5 minutes admin per day

Did just over £200 today and got paid £25 by the one customer who was in but they will all pay within a week (i state 5 days on my slips) any who don't play ball are now on gocardless

 
If you have to ask you cant afford it so just stay home instead! /emoticons/smile.png)
Sorry what I meant was how much does it roughly cost to turn up to a customers house and clean their windows?

Obviously there are multiple variables such as size of house, time taken and distance from other customers but on average?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Another title I've mis read. I thought it said getting Laid. How to and the options. My bad. Off to the opticians I think
They do say too much of it makes you blind mate

Maybe you do need to get laid:rofl:

 
One of the biggest banes of this game is getting paid (quite often)
A big thing that is over looked when it comes to collections is that it actually COSTS YOU MONEY to get paid.

I will be 100% honest, when I get a sizable bill through the door I deal with it, when I get a bill for a few quid I think 'I'll sort that later' So I can't really whinge at clients for thinking the same.

Now before I go on, this is all based on information I have gathered in phone calls to Paypal, GoCardless and my bank manager at Santander.

There is no right way or wrong way to go about getting paid and which ever options you choose for you are entirely your choice and only you can decide what works right for you.

Lets begin with getting paid in cash:

Plus side: It's cash

Negative side: If your client is not home and has not left it out for you then you will need to spend time and fuel to return later to collect the cash. Some time back we calculated that collections was actually costing us 20% of our business in fuel and hourly rates for lads collecting.

Cheques - A bit outdated but still valid:

Plus side: If the customer has no cash they can still pay you on the spot. (Or post it to you should they not be home on the day)

Negative side: You will have to make a trip to the bank to pay it in and await cleared funds.

Paypal (This is a 3 part option) so let's start at the begging:

Paypal Online (through phone tablet or PC)

Plus side: Instant funds

Negative side: The charge for this is currently 3.4% PLUS 20p. Lets use a £15 payment as example :-

3.4% of £15 is 0.51p and then there is the 0.20p charge on top - total to Paypal 0.71p per transaction leaving you £14.29p

PAYPAL HERE:

Using paypal here and just keying in the card details on your smart phone or taking payments over the phone the comissions are the same as online methods.

IMO - That 0.71p is a lot less than it would cost you to return later to collect the cash.

IMPORTANT NOTE -- I am writing this with a regard to the fact that you use Paypal in the spirit it is intended, we all know that if the customer sends payment as 'Gift' or 'Friends and Family' then you don't get hit on the commission - HOWEVER - I personally would not put a note on any receipt asking a customer to help me avoid fees as that speaks volumes about the sort of person you're coming across as.

Paypal Here: - Using Chip and Pin Card reader

Plus side: You can take on the spot payments.

Negative side: You need them home to use the card reader. Commision is 2.75% (there is no 20p charge on top) Example :- A £15 payment. 2,75% of £15 is 0.42p (0.4125p but they will round up) So after 42p cost cost to Paypal you are left with £14.58

Paypal will reduce your percentage to a flat 1.4% across the board should you choose do over £6000 per month business through your paypal account.

GoCardless:

This is a method we are favoring as it does automate much of our administration.

Plus side: Pretty hassle free and payment pretty promptly - Also less likely a customer will cancel on a whim.

Negative side: Like Paypal there is a commission to pay. GoCardless is just 1% commission per transaction HOWEVER there is a minimum charge of 20p but at the other end of the scale there is a maximum charge of £200.

Example of a £15 Payment - At 1% the charge would be 0.15p but due to the minimum charge it is actually 20p (1.39%) Moving the example up however to say a £30 payment the fee is only 1% so hence 0.30p The new minimum does not screw you that badly unless you are doing lots of £5 & £6 jobs.

The maximum charge of £2 in nice if you have a good SFG with a conny perhaps at £250 that means you collect £248 and it only cost you £2 to get your money in.

Admittedly the only clients that are likely to pay large jobs on GoCardless are the existing clients you have set up already on a regular clean.

B.A.C.S.

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

PAYM:

Plus side: Straight into your bank. - No commission

Negative side: Relying on customers to press a few buttons on their phone,

We have also investigated Android Pay but at present you need an app (as in your own app) to collect this way)

A note on banks - you can use a personal account all you like that's up to you. We use a business account with Santander and pay a monthly standing charge of £7.50 for the first £1000 of cash paid in and then 50p per £100 there after.

You will if starting out be amazed at how much it actually costs you just to walk out of the door in the morning.

No do please note that this post is correct at date of publication and is for your general information purposes only, it is not telling you any right or wrong way to collect your money, just to help inform you of some options out there.

A MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: When it comes to getting paid IT'S YOUR MONEY, YOU EARNED IT - Never be embarrassed or afraid to ask for it,

I hope some of you find some useful information in this.
If you have a £15 job and use any of the services charging 20p etc why not add 50p on to al of your prices/quotes if paying online I'm sure they won't mind an extra 50p as cash they will have to get change but online it doesn't matter?? It covers the costs of the charges and makes it easier to receive/pay the bill

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
Good post. I only have gocardless on my site now and that's all new customers will have the option of paying by.

 
Sorry what I meant was how much does it roughly cost to turn up to a customers house and clean their windows?
Obviously there are multiple variables such as size of house, time taken and distance from other customers but on average?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Without being glib - if you've just quit the rat race as I know one lad on here has, bought a new van, all the gear from one of the more epensive suppliers, hired a canvassing team and got some training you can be into an easy £20K plus before you've even cleaned a window.

However on the assumption you have all the gear you need and a client base of around 300 clients within a 5 mile radius then it costs approx £1.40 per client (not allowing for any staff wages on top) Before you ask, no I am not going to type out hours worth of how I arrived at that, it was a study I did 3 years ago before switching from trad to 100% WFP

Green iv heard rumours about these barcode stickers , what you stick in custys window , zap the barcode with mobile or machine and it takes payment from custys account . I think they are called q r codes has anyone else heard of these

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
Don't know a thing about them.

 
Without being glib - if you've just quit the rat race as I know one lad on here has, bought a new van, all the gear from one of the more epensive suppliers, hired a canvassing team and got some training you can be into an easy £20K plus before you've even cleaned a window.
However on the assumption you have all the gear you need and a client base of around 300 clients within a 5 mile radius then it costs approx £1.40 per client (not allowing for any staff wages on top) Before you ask, no I am not going to type out hours worth of how I arrived at that, it was a study I did 3 years ago before switching from trad to 100% WFP

Don't know a thing about them.
Okay thanks for that. No I don't expect you to, I'm sure you have a life off of the forum /emoticons/wink.png So if I wanted to work it out myself, I'm assuming you'd work out mileage to and from customers and calculate that based on the cleaning frequency. What other variables did you include in your hypothesis? Resin use, advertising, accounting, website, vehicle maintenance etc?

If anyone else has any info on this I'd be very grateful. Don't wanna put all the questions on Green.

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
@Brandon you don't need to know all this info to be honest. Knowing it is costing anything should be justifiable enough for us all to use gocardless for ALL new customers.

No messing about with anything else.

The very fact you can see if they cancel a mandate *another positive, means you don't go cleaning a house who has cancelled. A standing order on the other hand, you wouldn't see cancelled online until it just doesn't come in.

 

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