Undervaluing our work

[ched999uk]

I think there is a balance. On the one hand if a custy sees you arrive to quote in a new van they might think you are charging a very high rate to pay for the van. On the other if you turn up in a dirty rust bucket a custy might think you are not very conscientious and wont care how good a job you do.

Then there is the potential customer who sees you cleaning a house and then sees your van. A respectable looking van might encourage them to ask you for a quote or for them to take your details. A dirty, rusty van might give them a poor impression and they might not contact you.

I believe that as long as your van looks respectable and is clean then it will help gain customers. It doesn't need to be new just look respectable.

 

[Davy G]

I think there is a balance. On the one hand if a custy sees you arrive to quote in a new van they might think you are charging a very high rate to pay for the van. On the other if you turn up in a dirty rust bucket a custy might think you are not very conscientious and wont care how good a job you do.

Then there is the potential customer who sees you cleaning a house and then sees your van. A respectable looking van might encourage them to ask you for a quote or for them to take your details. A dirty, rusty van might give them a poor impression and they might not contact you.

I believe that as long as your van looks respectable and is clean then it will help gain customers. It doesn't need to be new just look respectable.

Totally! I bought my van before the current situation. Before everyone and their uncle started doing parcel deliveries. I guess that's one of the things that contributed towards the scarcity and price inflation of vans. If I were looking for a van now I'd be exploring the options in the current circumstances and considering a new vehicle for the first time in my life to see if it was a more cost effective option. Other than that I think I'd prefer a smart van with a few years on the clock as I'm predominantly domestic and some customers would be less than happy to see me turning up in a brand new one. That's a given for a window cleaner, I'd say. People take less notice of a brand new vehicle when it's a more recognised skill trade such as a plumber or electrician. Different of course for commercial, a new van portrays a better business image.

 

[Part Timer]

I think there is a balance. On the one hand if a custy sees you arrive to quote in a new van they might think you are charging a very high rate to pay for the van. On the other if you turn up in a dirty rust bucket a custy might think you are not very conscientious and wont care how good a job you do.

Then there is the potential customer who sees you cleaning a house and then sees your van. A respectable looking van might encourage them to ask you for a quote or for them to take your details. A dirty, rusty van might give them a poor impression and they might not contact you.

I believe that as long as your van looks respectable and is clean then it will help gain customers. It doesn't need to be new just look respectable.

The first thing we did with both new vans was put a private plate on so the jealous custys didn't know they were brand new.

 

[Davy G]

The first thing we did with both new vans was put a private plate on so the jealous custys didn't know they were brand new.

Good idea.

 

[Part Timer]

The new van was actually cheaper then? Wasn't it £17K +vat = £20.5K? Or was it £18k used £20.5k new both + Vat? Either way new was no brainer.

No it was £15k + VAT compared to £17.1k + VAT. But in 7 years time I'm selling a 7 year old van not a 10 year old van. I have also had 3 years warranty and 3 years without an MOT

 

[Part Timer]

Good idea.

Sad though, if they thought I'd bought a brand new van because I was charging them £10 to clean their windows they were miles away

 

[Iron Giant]

My accountant said to me either you buy a new van and you benefit from the expense or you dont buy one and the tax man will benefit from your hard work .  This is a very emotive subject years ago I had a van that worked fine and was always kept clean and had nice sign writing on it , but it was rusty around wheel arches and bottoms of doors on a light blue van this did stand out , I had two of my large commercial clients say that the van was letting my business down and looked tatty and didn’t represent the standard that I worked to and I should get a new one , after a lot of thought I listened to them and bought a new van , and from that point on picked up far more lucrative work as people view you as more successful with a new van , I know many will poo poo this and disagree and that’s fine but that’s my personal fundings , and we are still picking up lots of nice jobs and many comment that they phoned us as our vehicles look good and kept nice and that gave them confidence that we would look after there properties the same , one evan said that he had two other firms quote for his hotel and they were a fair bit cheaper than my quote but they felt the other firms vans looked tatty And uncared for that they felt that if they couldn’t keep there van looking good they had no pride in themselves or their standard of work . I have had a meeting this evening with the regional manager of a very large firm we do a lot of work for and he commented on our vans in the car park saying they sold my services to there company he also stated that when selecting firms to do work for them that it is one of the things that they want is decent contractors with nice signed vans , so the customers do notice these  things 

Please note this isn’t a rant or saying you need a brand new 50k plus van to get work but in some cases it does help win contracts , as I found out tonight . 

I get what you are saying, no different to what @Davy G was saying really, I had no issue in picking up work when I worked out of a 35k L200, but I don't need a new a van and my bills are more focused elsewhere in renovating our house

I always did look after my motors but haven't for some time now, my steels look battered even with wheel trims on and it's well overdue a wash and detailing, but I'm still gaining work my plan from today is order some alloys and wash and detail the van this weekend,

an old motor that is very well looked after can look as good as new brand motor that isn't, just take a look around when you are out and about over the next few days I have seen 30-50k motors look like ? because they ain't been cleaned in weeks and see 10 year old+  motors that look pristine look a whole load better and at a glance not as old as they are because they are very well looked after.

 

[spruce]

I think that's the case for us who are not Vat registered.

I understand what he is saying, but ...... it's that musical instrument you can play any tune you want to on.

If as a non VAT registered business you buy a van for £8000 + VAT, you claim the full price of £9600 against tax. That £1600 becomes an expense as does the rest of the cost of the van. When you are VAT registered you can claim back the full amount of £1600, where we can only claim a portion of it as our tax bracket rate also comes into play.

Either way, VAT registered or not, you still have to find that £1600 to begin with. 

When you lease a vehicle you are basically renting that vehicle's depreciation plus interest and other charges levied by the finance house. The motor industry love leasing as it's easier to find a small deposit (upfront rental) for a replacement new vehicle than it is to pay the outstanding balance off. It also keeps the new vehicles sales going.

Finance legislation also stipulates that you can't buy the lease vehicle you were leasing and re-register it into your name and continue using it. It has to be sold to a third party.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I understand what he is saying, but ...... it's that musical instrument you can play any tune you want to on.

If as a non VAT registered business you buy a van for £8000 + VAT, you claim the full price of £9600 against tax. That £1600 becomes an expense as does the rest of the cost of the van. When you are VAT registered you can claim back the full amount of £1600, where we can only claim a portion of it as our tax bracket rate also comes into play.

Either way, VAT registered or not, you still have to find that £1600 to begin with. 

When you lease a vehicle you are basically renting that vehicle's depreciation plus interest and other charges levied by the finance house. The motor industry love leasing as it's easier to find a small deposit (upfront rental) for a replacement new vehicle than it is to pay the outstanding balance off. It also keeps the new vehicles sales going.

Finance legislation also stipulates that you can't buy the lease vehicle you were leasing and re-register it into your name and continue using it. It has to be sold to a third party.

Leasing is good for big companies with many drivers swapping and changing vehicles on a daily basis. They don't tend to get looked after very well which I have seen in my public employment. I tend to keep a vehicle for 10 years and look after it but that means spending money on it every year. My vehicle isn't worth much as its 12 years old but to me its priceless with only 80k on the clock and on my third timing belt and pulley, fan belt and water pump. Put in a few cans of Catclean yesterday and went for long drive, just waiting for fully synthetic oil to arrive and give it its yearly service which I now do myself as mechanic is too busy.