Calendars

[TerryNorfolk]

I use Outlook calendar for my round, if I set a monthly customer to repeat on every forth friday it sometimes will go over into 5 weeks, the other option is to do the day of the month, this would mean it falls on weekends and random days. What does everyone else use or do.

 

[ched999uk]

Squeegee as it also invoices my customers via email as soon as I mark the job as complete. It also helps me keep a track on quotes etc and makes doing your accounts a bit easier as you have income totals.

 

[spruce]

I use Outlook calendar for my round, if I set a monthly customer to repeat on every forth friday it sometimes will go over into 5 weeks, the other option is to do the day of the month, this would mean it falls on weekends and random days. What does everyone else use or do.

Not sure if I totally understand the problem. Outlook can be set to a Monday to Friday working week. Settings > calendar.

Not sure how well Outlook works for controlling your round schedule is. It gets rather complicated if you go away on holiday for 2 weeks. How do you move your jobs forward with a new schedule to fit your 4 weekly profile? I've never even considered a Microsoft calendar program to manage my round.

Surely your calendar will trigger the clean every 4 weeks even if you are 2 weeks behind. The window cleaning program we use will only trigger the next clean once after we have ticked the cleaned box and the date cleaned. So if our clean was scheduled for the 1st of September, but we only cleaned the house on the 15th of September, then the next clean date will be either 4 weeks or 1 month away, depending on the clean frequency we set the job up for.

 

[spruce]

@Pjj has his round/s on an Excel spreadsheet. I'm not clever enough to figure out how he works all the formulas for that.

Another local lad has only ever operated out of a notebook. He has blocks after the customer's address which he puts the date cleaned and one diagonal line for complete and a second diagonal line to indicate when he has received payment. He showed it to me about 20 years ago, so my memory of his exact recording method has faded with time @TerryNorfolk sorry.

 

[Pjj]

@Pjj has his round/s on an Excel spreadsheet. I'm not clever enough to figure out how he works all the formulas for that.

Another local lad has only ever operated out of a notebook. He has blocks after the customer's address which he puts the date cleaned and one diagonal line for complete and a second diagonal line to indicate when he has received payment. He showed it to me about 20 years ago, so my memory of his exact recording method has faded with time @TerryNorfolk sorry.

Neither am I Bruce the wife does it

 

[Dave B]

@Pjj has his round/s on an Excel spreadsheet. I'm not clever enough to figure out how he works all the formulas for that.

Another local lad has only ever operated out of a notebook. He has blocks after the customer's address which he puts the date cleaned and one diagonal line for complete and a second diagonal line to indicate when he has received payment. He showed it to me about 20 years ago, so my memory of his exact recording method has faded with time @TerryNorfolk sorry.

I still use excel ( google sheets but the same thing)
Formulas are easy when you look into it

When I used pen and paper if a job is done I put an I in the box
If paid cash turn it into a P if paid bank turn it into a B
Looks a lot neater and easy to understand with just the one letter not several lines

 

[P4dstar]

I have the upmost respect for anyone who can manage a round on an excel spreadsheet or similar. I must admit that I couldn’t.

That said it does feel like people resisting technology at this point. We spend over a grand with Squeegee every year (multiple subs and texts costs) but I strongly believe that it gives us more than enough benefit back in productivity to justify the cost.

 

[PC]

Not sure it’s always resisting technology. Sometimes it’s a case of if it ain’t broken don’t fix it.
I use an A4 sheet that I have made a template of (so I only have to draw the rows and columns once) with the 12 months at the top and the jobs on the left. Next to each job is the frequency and the price.
End of each day I enter into the relevant spaces what has been done and who has paid. Takes about a minute.
Every now and then I will check the bank statement and enter into the ledger who has paid.
I’ve done it this way for probably over 20 years.
Maybe not the most efficient way but it definitely works for me. And it never crashes and it’s free.
If a customer ever messages me and says when am I due I can scan the pages and see it instantly and let them know.
It’s all there at a glance.
I used the same system when I had 3 vans out. Was more admin of course but it still worked.
Now I work on my own it is so simple and second nature so don’t think I will ever change.
Each to their own as they say

 

[Dave B]

I have the upmost respect for anyone who can manage a round on an excel spreadsheet or similar. I must admit that I couldn’t.

That said it does feel like people resisting technology at this point. We spend over a grand with Squeegee every year (multiple subs and texts costs) but I strongly believe that it gives us more than enough benefit back in productivity to justify the cost.

I get that but having used various software like sap etc and understanding it completely it is second nature to do it how I do it
I can do everything squeegee does and more except for invoicing customers automatically
Which I don’t use gocardless anyway so irrelevant to me
Especially as I can produce reports etc easily to see how I’ve grown over time and when picked up new work etc
I had to do that for locog on the 2012 olympics including group calls with management etc when I had moved here from London and was quiet while building up my new window round so was stock and systems management for wincanton and we warehoused everything for the olympics and did the windows around it as did 4x12 hour shifts then 4 off
If you know how to use it it is a great tool
If you can use a pc to manage over 20000 pallet locations and deliveries to site etc it’s not a problem

 

[ched999uk]

I get that but having used various software like sap etc and understanding it completely it is second nature to do it how I do it
I can do everything squeegee does and more except for invoicing customers automatically
Which I don’t use gocardless anyway so irrelevant to me
Especially as I can produce reports etc easily to see how I’ve grown over time and when picked up new work etc
I had to do that for locog on the 2012 olympics including group calls with management etc when I had moved here from London and was quiet while building up my new window round so was stock and systems management for wincanton and we warehoused everything for the olympics and did the windows around it as did 4x12 hour shifts then 4 off
If you know how to use it it is a great tool
If you can use a pc to manage over 20000 pallet locations and deliveries to site etc it’s not a problem

I'm not knocking the way you manage things as we all work differently.
Squeegee invoices are not just for GoCardless but all customers, as soon as I click the done button, the invoice is emailed how ever they pay (cash, gocardless, bacs or credit card).
I bet Wincanton didn't use excel to manage their logistics?
Squeegee will do the reports very easily and also show you future income based on currently booked work.

Keep doing it the way that makes things easy for you.

 

[Part Timer]

I'm not knocking the way you manage things as we all work differently.
Squeegee invoices are not just for GoCardless but all customers, as soon as I click the done button, the invoice is emailed how ever they pay (cash, gocardless, bacs or credit card).
I bet Wincanton didn't use excel to manage their logistics?
Squeegee will do the reports very easily and also show you future income based on currently booked work.

Keep doing it the way that makes things easy for you.

I personally don't understand why a one band needs to spend money on systems to do very basic paperwork.
Then again I started in business when computers were fairly basic and learned via the pen and paper route. As you say each to their own.

 

[ched999uk]

I personally don't understand why a one band needs to spend money on systems to do very basic paperwork.
Then again I started in business when computers were fairly basic and learned via the pen and paper route. As you say each to their own.

Paperwork that is the thing that squeegee/cleanerplanner etc do away with. Legally you can't have customer names and phone numbers on unsecured paper as it breaches the GDPR laws - you can just have addresses though so that's an easy way round that.
Personally I find it very easy to sort my day out and after each job I just swipe it as done, customer gets an automatic email invoice and if they wish to use GoCardless or the credit card payment link it's an easy few clicks for them.
Yes it does cost - probably 1 clean a month covers it but I find it very easy to do, plus if a customer asks me to clean gsf etc and I've done it before it's easy to look up and see how much it was last time and add on an increase - as long as job not changed. Plus I use it to have coded notes on like which pole I need, if the gate is bolted at top, dogs etc. Mind you after a while I do know which properties need which pole or brush etc.
Don't get me wrong I do use paper as sometimes I find it easier to read off a paper copy than on a little mobile screen but that's not for my work.

When I was at school doing O levels the only people our school allowed to do computers where the ones not capable of doing O levels. I I wasn't allowed to learn computers, virtually all my computer knowledge has been self taught through necessity. So I do use computers where I feel it helps me be that organising or speeding things up.

I do find it very interesting to read about how others do things, be that round management or actually doing the work as I find I always learn something new or something to try.

 

[spruce]

I personally don't understand why a one band needs to spend money on systems to do very basic paperwork.
Then again I started in business when computers were fairly basic and learned via the pen and paper route. As you say each to their own.

I think that the majority of old timers still cleaning windows from before the 'computer age' will use a paper system.

Pocket George was the answer to the proverbial prayer for me. Trying to keep control of a growing round using a ledger just didn't work for me.

I only have 3 commercial left, and they are the only ones I produce an invoice and statement, which are sent via email. The rest are residential. If they aren't home, they get a 'windows cleaned slip' through the door, regardless of how they pay. If they pay by cash and are home, then they don't get a slip if they pay on the day.

 

[DansClearView]

I'm under 40 (just) & it's pen & paper all the way for me.
I know I over complicate it, I always do, but in my mind it's simple. I've got a ring binder with different dividers for each month & A4 sheet with the individual job details on. Do the job, move the sheet one month, 2 months ahead etc. Write the job & payment amount on a monthly income sheet. Use a diary for the job list .
I am trialling getsoapy (used my trial period up at squeegee before I knew what I was doing) but I'm not seeing a huge benefit - to me the customers just become a number on the app whereas I feel more in control with paper - it doesn't crash & doesn't matter if I'm somewhere with no signal.
That's just me though.

 

[spruce]

I'm under 40 (just) & it's pen & paper all the way for me.
I know I over complicate it, I always do, but in my mind it's simple. I've got a ring binder with different dividers for each month & A4 sheet with the individual job details on. Do the job, move the sheet one month, 2 months ahead etc. Write the job & payment amount on a monthly income sheet. Use a diary for the job list .
I am trialling getsoapy (used my trial period up at squeegee before I knew what I was doing) but I'm not seeing a huge benefit - to me the customers just become a number on the app whereas I feel more in control with paper - it doesn't crash & doesn't matter if I'm somewhere with no signal.
That's just me though.

When George was available, we just paid one payment of £50 for the software. I updated my desktop computer every day by plugging my pda in.

I now have a Microsoft Surface Go tablet which I carry around with me. It has Windows 10 on it, but the tablet is not updatable to Windows 11. It always had a very poor battery life, so this is the only negative.

I recently purchased a laptop with Windows 11 and have put George onto that. I will continue to use my tablet for now as it's easier to carry around.

I have an under driver's seat tray that is just a little too small to fit the laptop in without modifications, so that's a future project. I have also made up a security bar with padlock blocking access to this tray. My cash tin and tablet are protected from opportunist thieves.

 

[Iron Giant]

I personally don't understand why a one band needs to spend money on systems to do very basic paperwork.
Then again I started in business when computers were fairly basic and learned via the pen and paper route. As you say each to their own.

Because I'm a lazy sod and the automation it provides makes things a whole load easier for me.

 

[Crystalalan]

I'm under 40 (just) & it's pen & paper all the way for me.
I know I over complicate it, I always do, but in my mind it's simple. I've got a ring binder with different dividers for each month & A4 sheet with the individual job details on. Do the job, move the sheet one month, 2 months ahead etc. Write the job & payment amount on a monthly income sheet. Use a diary for the job list .
I am trialling getsoapy (used my trial period up at squeegee before I knew what I was doing) but I'm not seeing a huge benefit - to me the customers just become a number on the app whereas I feel more in control with paper - it doesn't crash & doesn't matter if I'm somewhere with no signal.
That's just me though.

I like this post. I`m 47 and like you I use pen and paper in the form off a week to view diary for the same reasons. I thought I was the only one left. Still use spreadsheets for my book keeping though.

 

[Part Timer]

Because I'm a lazy sod and the automation it provides makes things a whole load easier for me.

I concur