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Taking Holiday leave.

Panorama window cleaning

Active member
Messages
170
Location
Surbiton
Just a quick question about holiday.

Lets say for argument sake you are a 1 man band and your max capacity you can handle is 10 customers a day and you work Monday to Friday. Whether you have 200 monthly customers or 400 8 weekly customers....how would you manage to take a decent (say 1 or 2 week) leave period without having to Completely flog off those customers for that period?

Do you make up for it somehow?

Also, how do you approach all your customers to let them know that you'll be closed for this period and how do they take it?

Do you all take leave just once during the year and then for Xmas or is it easy enough to plan a few breaks throughout the year (as you would if you were employed)

I'm nowhere near having to worry about this problem just yet but its something thst intrigues me.

Cheers

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Buy a 5yr diary and put in all your cleans in advance. If you plan a holiday then you fill in the week so that nothing can fit in there. The more you plan the better it becomes. Best advice is to try and get all customers to agree to monthly cleans.

 
I clean on a 6 weekly basis and have nearly five weeks worth of Window Cleaning on the books. I use this spare week to catch up on add-on services or - as it’s been great weather - I have been having a week off. Obviously this wouldn’t suit everyone but have worked this way since I started and it’s been a god send (especially with all the van issues I’ve had!!). Make sure everything is priced well and as compact as possible and you still earn a very decent wage with the opportunity to earn more with add-ons, have holiday or take the odd sick day if needed.


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Buy a 5yr diary and put in all your cleans in advance. If you plan a holiday then you fill in the week so that nothing can fit in there. The more you plan the better it becomes. Best advice is to try and get all customers to agree to monthly cleans.
Oh i see , that makes sense.

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I clean on a 6 weekly basis and have nearly five weeks worth of Window Cleaning on the books. I use this spare week to catch up on add-on services or - as it’s been great weather - I have been having a week off. Obviously this wouldn’t suit everyone but have worked this way since I started and it’s been a god send (especially with all the van issues I’ve had!!). Make sure everything is priced well and as compact as possible and you still earn a very decent wage with the opportunity to earn more with add-ons, have holiday or take the odd sick day if needed.


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Cool Thanks...When you say as compact as possible, i am struggling to find custys in my immediate area so have been booking them in as and when i can but they are all a mile (ish) to 2 miles apart. In all honesty i only have a handful of customers so far so i think as i get more in each area ill try move them together. I am trying to work in a 3 mile (max) radius from base.

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Ultimately you take a hit money wise, as there is no way around it if I take a 10 day holiday that puts me 2 weeks behind.

Once I get back to work my 4 day week becomes a 5-6 day week to try and get people get caught up as best I can, as I for letting clients know I don't bother unless I see them whilst cleaning before I go away.

County Durham Lad

 
Was away 12 days myself and then off a few days public holidays . I got caught right up and then was playing catch up by working later . Still about a week behind and now my worker is away for 2 weeks . People won’t mind , the windows are clean anyway , just the odd house beside the sea or with bird **** on them . Good lot of my customers are away there selves also 

 
It's quite simple - If you make £200 per day cleaning windows and you decide to take vacation time say 5 days that's £1000 of LOST earnings -- you didn't work those days, they're gone, you'll never get them back you'll never be able to create days out of thin air to replace them.  

Playing 'catch up' is OK if you have enough hours spare in a day.  We work 8 am till 4pm - so even if I do an extra 2 hours per day the week before I leave and the week after I get back then I still only manage to salvage 2 days money.  

All this getting caught business is a bit of a myth, Sure if your round is Monday to Friday and you miss Thursday due to a doctors appointment you can get caught up by working a Saturday but that's about it. 

I recently took a 3 week trip to Asia, as I explained to my friend the cost of the tickets etc is not the issue the cost of lost revenue is what hurts for those days that don't get worked.  

A 5 year diary?  @scottish cleaning service lad but aren't you only doing two days a week at present or did I read that wrong somewhere?  

Here's what I very recently figured out.  

Each van turns over just shy of £1300 per week Monday to Friday -  So I take a three week trip I lose £3900 of revenue. Simple as that and I also have a good few customers on my case....' When are we getting cleaned again?'

Now our workers take £8 per hour contracted to a 35 hour week - so in short their calendar month gross £1213.33  

Now I take two trips per year for around 3 weeks a time to visit family in Asia.  So my lost income is £7800 for the year. 

Lets take £7800 and divide by £1213.33 and the answer is 6.42 months.  

Don't forget as a regular employee he gets 28 days (5.6 weeks) paid vacation every year (based on 5 day weeks as weekends aren't included) 

So in short I lose lets say the 1.4 months per year of salary I am paying him whilst he is away.  £1213.33 x 1.4 = £1689.66 

So my loss for vacation = £7800  BUT and here's the big BUT!  

By having a full time worker those six weeks of have cost me NOTHING - they are now earning me money - his salary for six weeks - around £1820 and lets include his holiday pay as well at £1689 so £3509 total -- I am £4291 better off -- lets put all that £4291 into his salary (remember we already paid the six weeks and his annual holiday pay so that leaves us £4291 / £1213.33 which gives us 3.5  so a total of 3.5 months.  See where we're going here?  

Now I'm going to make this perfectly clear

Six weeks vacation losses me £7800 in revenue

Hiring a full time helper at 35 hours per week £8 per hour = £1213.33 per month. 

£7800 / £1213.33 = 6.42  

So that revenue I never had before of £7800 because I wasn't here to clean the windows is still coming in because the worker manages it fine now and because he manages it fine and that revenue continues to come in it covers some 6.42 (more than 50%) months of his annual salary.  

Biggest point is no reshuffling of rounds, no playing 'catch up' and so on.  

In effect by going from 1 man band to hiring 1 employee you are basically able (due to revenue saved) have a full time worker that in real cash terms is costing you £4 per hour!!  

Now there's something to consider! 

 
It's quite simple - If you make £200 per day cleaning windows and you decide to take vacation time say 5 days that's £1000 of LOST earnings -- you didn't work those days, they're gone, you'll never get them back you'll never be able to create days out of thin air to replace them.  
 
Playing 'catch up' is OK if you have enough hours spare in a day.  We work 8 am till 4pm - so even if I do an extra 2 hours per day the week before I leave and the week after I get back then I still only manage to salvage 2 days money.  
 
All this getting caught business is a bit of a myth, Sure if your round is Monday to Friday and you miss Thursday due to a doctors appointment you can get caught up by working a Saturday but that's about it. 
 
I recently took a 3 week trip to Asia, as I explained to my friend the cost of the tickets etc is not the issue the cost of lost revenue is what hurts for those days that don't get worked.  
 
A 5 year diary?  [mention=6216]scottish cleaning service[/mention] lad but aren't you only doing two days a week at present or did I read that wrong somewhere?  
 
Here's what I very recently figured out.  
 
Each van turns over just shy of £1300 per week Monday to Friday -  So I take a three week trip I lose £3900 of revenue. Simple as that and I also have a good few customers on my case....' When are we getting cleaned again?'
 
Now our workers take £8 per hour contracted to a 35 hour week - so in short their calendar month gross £1213.33  
 
Now I take two trips per year for around 3 weeks a time to visit family in Asia.  So my lost income is £7800 for the year. 
 
Lets take £7800 and divide by £1213.33 and the answer is 6.42 months.  
 
Don't forget as a regular employee he gets 28 days (5.6 weeks) paid vacation every year (based on 5 day weeks as weekends aren't included) 
 
So in short I lose lets say the 1.4 months per year of salary I am paying him whilst he is away.  £1213.33 x 1.4 = £1689.66 
 
So my loss for vacation = £7800  BUT and here's the big BUT!  
 
By having a full time worker those six weeks of have cost me NOTHING - they are now earning me money - his salary for six weeks - around £1820 and lets include his holiday pay as well at £1689 so £3509 total -- I am £4291 better off -- lets put all that £4291 into his salary (remember we already paid the six weeks and his annual holiday pay so that leaves us £4291 / £1213.33 which gives us 3.5  so a total of 3.5 months.  See where we're going here?  
 
Now I'm going to make this perfectly clear
 
Six weeks vacation losses me £7800 in revenue
 
Hiring a full time helper at 35 hours per week £8 per hour = £1213.33 per month. 
 
£7800 / £1213.33 = 6.42  
 
So that revenue I never had before of £7800 because I wasn't here to clean the windows is still coming in because the worker manages it fine now and because he manages it fine and that revenue continues to come in it covers some 6.42 (more than 50%) months of his annual salary.  
 
Biggest point is no reshuffling of rounds, no playing 'catch up' and so on.  
 
In effect by going from 1 man band to hiring 1 employee you are basically able (due to revenue saved) have a full time worker that in real cash terms is costing you £4 per hour!!  
 
Now there's something to consider! 
 
 
No holiday for me until I hire someone then LOL. Jokes aside though , thats very helpful and insightful - definite food for thought there. I have always had In the back of my mind that getting an assistant on board will be the way forward...got a long way to go but have No intentions of being a 1 man band forever.

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I Never tell anyone what dates i’m going away, they’re window cleaning customers man...they’re not gonna care if you’re a week or 2 weeks late, the way they see it they get to hold on to their money for a little bit longer [emoji4]
You don’t know half of them from adam, so all it takes is for them to go yabbering “ooo the window cleaners going on holiday” next thing you know your house is getting broken in to.
Agree with green pro, catching up is a myth, you can’t create time. Just run as normal from the date you return to work. When business is closed business is closed mate you’ve got to live some sort of a life without worrying about playing “catch up” or will my customers ditch me etc. if they ditch you for being late then they’ll suffer the same with the next window cleaner when they have their holidays.

Taking the micky is when window cleaners show up more often than they should in the summer months and go missing in the winter. (Beer token window cleaners)
Also if you’re thinking about shooting off to australia for 3 or 4 months to “see the world” and all that, it’s a bit different & you can’t really expect to come back to a business after that length of time.
Golden rule, don’t worry about being late, but never show up early. People don’t take kindly to that when they have finances to juggle. So sit back, relax and take your holiday [emoji4] the sky won’t fall if it’s only for a week or two.




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Darren you should have been a mathematician with all those figures. I'm just playing at window cleaning because I do 4hrs two days a month. If I was younger I could do one 8hr day a month and still make £130 for that day. What I am trying to get into is PW & Softwashing but I think you all know that. Last week I had a £420 job which took me all day and a few hours the next day to sand it. £30 petrol as revs were too high and £20 sand so I made £370. I am away to see a big job tonight, I would be very happy to get one of these jobs a week now that my van is kitted out. I think its only seasonal but time will tell.

 
It's quite simple - If you make £200 per day cleaning windows and you decide to take vacation time say 5 days that's £1000 of LOST earnings -- you didn't work those days, they're gone, you'll never get them back you'll never be able to create days out of thin air to replace them.  
 
Playing 'catch up' is OK if you have enough hours spare in a day.  We work 8 am till 4pm - so even if I do an extra 2 hours per day the week before I leave and the week after I get back then I still only manage to salvage 2 days money.  
 
All this getting caught business is a bit of a myth, Sure if your round is Monday to Friday and you miss Thursday due to a doctors appointment you can get caught up by working a Saturday but that's about it. 
 
I recently took a 3 week trip to Asia, as I explained to my friend the cost of the tickets etc is not the issue the cost of lost revenue is what hurts for those days that don't get worked.  
 
A 5 year diary?  [mention=6216]scottish cleaning service[/mention] lad but aren't you only doing two days a week at present or did I read that wrong somewhere?  
 
Here's what I very recently figured out.  
 
Each van turns over just shy of £1300 per week Monday to Friday -  So I take a three week trip I lose £3900 of revenue. Simple as that and I also have a good few customers on my case....' When are we getting cleaned again?'
 
Now our workers take £8 per hour contracted to a 35 hour week - so in short their calendar month gross £1213.33  
 
Now I take two trips per year for around 3 weeks a time to visit family in Asia.  So my lost income is £7800 for the year. 
 
Lets take £7800 and divide by £1213.33 and the answer is 6.42 months.  
 
Don't forget as a regular employee he gets 28 days (5.6 weeks) paid vacation every year (based on 5 day weeks as weekends aren't included) 
 
So in short I lose lets say the 1.4 months per year of salary I am paying him whilst he is away.  £1213.33 x 1.4 = £1689.66 
 
So my loss for vacation = £7800  BUT and here's the big BUT!  
 
By having a full time worker those six weeks of have cost me NOTHING - they are now earning me money - his salary for six weeks - around £1820 and lets include his holiday pay as well at £1689 so £3509 total -- I am £4291 better off -- lets put all that £4291 into his salary (remember we already paid the six weeks and his annual holiday pay so that leaves us £4291 / £1213.33 which gives us 3.5  so a total of 3.5 months.  See where we're going here?  
 
Now I'm going to make this perfectly clear
 
Six weeks vacation losses me £7800 in revenue
 
Hiring a full time helper at 35 hours per week £8 per hour = £1213.33 per month. 
 
£7800 / £1213.33 = 6.42  
 
So that revenue I never had before of £7800 because I wasn't here to clean the windows is still coming in because the worker manages it fine now and because he manages it fine and that revenue continues to come in it covers some 6.42 (more than 50%) months of his annual salary.  
 
Biggest point is no reshuffling of rounds, no playing 'catch up' and so on.  
 
In effect by going from 1 man band to hiring 1 employee you are basically able (due to revenue saved) have a full time worker that in real cash terms is costing you £4 per hour!!  
 
Now there's something to consider! 
 
 
Mind blown!!![emoji95]?

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Been on this forum for years and on this day, on this subject I’ve never read so much cobblers.

All this ‘catching up’ and ‘five year diary’ ?

We get round every 6-7 weeks. So 6-7 weeks before I’m going away, I just tell the customers I’m going on holiday and will be late round next time.

We never try to ‘catch up’, just pick up where you left off.

As Darren commented, it’s lost earnings but that’s the price you pay for being self employed.

Remember, a lot of the time we pay a lot less tax than PAYE, so look at that as your holiday money.

I been abroad twice this year without a single complaint from a customer.

All this ‘got to be on time, or on a certain day’ just puts unnecessary pressure on yourself. Relax, take holidays, the customers won’t die because of dirty windows ?

 
Been on this forum for years and on this day, on this subject I’ve never read so much cobblers.
All this ‘catching up’ and ‘five year diary’ [emoji849]
We get round every 6-7 weeks. So 6-7 weeks before I’m going away, I just tell the customers I’m going on holiday and will be late round next time.
We never try to ‘catch up’, just pick up where you left off.
As Darren commented, it’s lost earnings but that’s the price you pay for being self employed.
Remember, a lot of the time we pay a lot less tax than PAYE, so look at that as your holiday money.
I been abroad twice this year without a single complaint from a customer.
All this ‘got to be on time, or on a certain day’ just puts unnecessary pressure on yourself. Relax, take holidays, the customers won’t die because of dirty windows [emoji846]
Thanks mate, sounds good

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