Getting started

Hi thinking of starting up as my friend is into the pole cleaning any advice, work away a lot and nights so window cleaning would keep me near home I know you have to put work into it to get rewards

Welcome, I would suggest the best person to ask would be your friend as he will know your area better then us. There is good money to be made but it takes time and a lot of effort to get where you want to be. You even have to spend hours on here everyday. 

Yes he is a good friend and is giving me advice, I have a decent amount of money saved so could buy a van and kit out right to start and have some put away as obviously you won’t be earning reasonable wages straight away like you said it’s about putting the work in to get the rewards 

If possible, see if you can cut your hours down gradually at your other job whilst building your round up. I was a carer before and had the luxury of reducing my hours first to all weekend every weekend, then to just Sundays, then eventually to nothing. Any spare time should be used yo leaflet drop, and better still, canvass. Be prepared to sift through a lot of **** work. I work in an area full of windies so found that I was picking up a lot of **** to begin with. As you build your round up you can be more picky.

Best of luck! 

I didn't realise we cant write cr*p on here! 

Thanks Brian much appreciated, work on rail at moment so would be pretty hard as I am direct employed could possibly do few shifts with agencies I suppose to keep few pound coming in until I build up, out of interest what would be a good number for customers say every 4 week ? I know it depends on what you charge and how much you want to earn but I was guessing 250 to 300?

thanks

brianbadonde said:

I didn't realise we cant write cr*p on here!

Click to expand...

? is what you need

Stedon said:

Thanks Brian much appreciated, work on rail at moment so would be pretty hard as I am direct employed could possibly do few shifts with agencies I suppose to keep few pound coming in until I build up, out of interest what would be a good number for customers say every 4 week ? I know it depends on what you charge and how much you want to earn but I was guessing 250 to 300?

thanks

Click to expand...

My advice is to start off with focusing on an achievable customer target base. If you aim too high then you will just get despondent. Window cleaning has 'immediate' financial rewards as you clean and get paid either on the day or shortly afterward. But it can take many years before it becomes a truely viable business. This also depends on the local area you are working in and what the 'going' rate for window cleaning is.

You might get some valid responses from cleaners on the forum who are Manchester area based.

If the going rate in your area is £10 for a 3 bed semi, then achieving 250 to £300 a day is a big ask, especially if your round isn't compact. In our area, with easy access we target to complete a 3 bed semi in around 20 minutes.We find that it gives us enough time to do the job to the standard we have set ourselves. With a bit of travelling time we aim for 2 semi's an hour. But even that isn't always achievable. We do spend time talking to our customers and have found that they like us enough to recommend us to family and friends. We estimate that the majority of our business is built on recommendations.

But if your working area can sustain £25 a 3 bed semi then £250 to £300 is a reachable target.

For me personally I set out with a figure of 250 x £10 houses give or take, to give me £2500 per month. However, it's not about the amount of houses you do, it's the £s you're bringing in. Within a year I'd reached my target and have since then surpasses it. You just have to be prepared to either door knock a lot, or buy your round. I've always hated the idea of buying work, but at the end of the day it's about making money, so do what you have to do. 

I only ever got to 180 or so houses but I have some large jobs so don't need any more. 

Part Timer said:

? is what you need

Click to expand...

Yeah spot on ?

brianbadonde said:

For me personally I set out with a figure of 250 x £10 houses give or take, to give me £2500 per month. However, it's not about the amount of houses you do, it's the £s you're bringing in. Within a year I'd reached my target and have since then surpasses it. You just have to be prepared to either door knock a lot, or buy your round. I've always hated the idea of buying work, but at the end of the day it's about making money, so do what you have to do. 

I only ever got to 180 or so houses but I have some large jobs so don't need any more. 

Yeah spot on ?

Click to expand...

Add ons such as conservatory roof cleaning, gutter clearing and FSG cleaning are a good way to increase daily earnings as a newcomer.

There are a couple of cleaners in our area who have gone into gutter clearing as their main source of income as they say its more financially viable, harder work but better earnings.

Thanks guys

Gents another question as I would be starting off was considering buying a small van like connect , combo, partner, doblo, say £3000 then the kit 300 litre cold tank and poles few ladders say another £1000 maybe more ?

list to do is after I have bought my plant

set up my company

get public insurance 

get buisness cards

set up business account

set up maybe Facebook page

And obviously hard work of knocking on doors and trying to win work

payments method could be either

cash

online banking into my account 

been told another method not sure of name but allows me to take money out of clients account one job is done

regarding tax, I know you can earn I think £11500 tax free then £11500 to £43000 is at 20% this is for a normal employed job. So now that I have my own buissness as a sole trader does this work the same ? But am I right in saying any expenses involved to run the buissness eg fuel, products etc I keep all records and put that against my earnings so it brings down the tax ?

so eg if I earned £25000 but my expenses was £5000 would I be right in saying I would be taxed on £20000 as that is my profit 

Any advice please thanks all

Gents another question as I would be starting off was considering buying a small van like connect , combo, partner, doblo, say £3000 then the kit 300 litre cold tank and poles few ladders say another £1000 maybe more ?list to do is after I have bought my plant

set up my company

get public insurance 

get buisness cards

set up business account

set up maybe Facebook page

And obviously hard work of knocking on doors and trying to win work

payments method could be either

cash

online banking into my account 

been told another method not sure of name but allows me to take money out of clients account one job is done

regarding tax, I know you can earn I think £11500 tax free then £11500 to £43000 is at 20% this is for a normal employed job. So now that I have my own buissness as a sole trader does this work the same ? But am I right in saying any expenses involved to run the buissness eg fuel, products etc I keep all records and put that against my earnings so it brings down the tax ?

so eg if I earned £25000 but my expenses was £5000 would I be right in saying I would be taxed on £20000 as that is my profit 

Any advice please thanks all

Click to expand...

You have a personal tax free allowance of something like 12000 (it goes up slightly year on year) so if you earned 25000 with 5000 expenses, 20,000 - 12000 for your personal allowance, you would be taxed on 8000 at 20% which is roughly £1600, + your national insurance contributions.

I’m not completely in tune with this but i think i’m somewhere along the right lines. This is why i have an accountant [emoji848]

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

Yes Incheck your right I forgot to take off the £11500 or £1200 thanks for advice

You will also be allowed, in your first year, to write off, or depreciate which is ongoing, all your capital expenditure, van, tank, poles etc. This is where an Accountant will pay for himself as it depends on how much you earn, in year 1, to write everything off or just depreciate it. Gets complicated running your own business. 

Thanks Part timer ?

I won't worry about a business account just yet. Try to stick with your personal account to begin with. If anyone wants to pay by cheque then get them to make the payee your bank account name rather than your business account name.

Natwest tried that with me years ago - would have cost £80 a month to pay run my business as it currently is.

At one time we could take a capital expense we paid cash for, say our van, and use the receiver's write down allowance. This finished a few years ago. Currently you have to write down the whole amount in the tax year you purchase it. This is a new twist as any residual can't be carried over into the following financial year. Its called AIA.

So if you bought a van for £12,000 and the rest of your equipment costs were £5000 and expenses for that trading year where £3000, your claim for Annual Investment Allowance would be £17,000 and £3000 expenses total £20,000. If your turnover was £25,000 for that year, you wouldn't pay any tax as your tax allowance would clear that. If your tax allowance was £12000 you would loose the £7000 of claimable allowance.

If this was me I would try to ensure I was registered as a self employed this tax year ending 5th April 2019 as this expenditure (van and equipment) will help to reduce some of your tax bill from your current employer.

I would also be very careful when buying an old van @Stedon. Please get it thoroughly checked out before you buy it. Transit Connects are notorious for rust where Citroen/Peugeot products are galvanised dipped.

Thanks Spruce

Stedon said:

Thanks Spruce

Click to expand...

I've just added a bit more to my previous post as I've done a bit of investigation

Regarding the tank and pole set up if I am think of van like partner or doblo, or Berlin go, I heard a 300 litre tank would be ok as long as pay load is approx 650 kg .

Any advice on where to buy?

is it worth investing on professional fit out service that I am getting quotes of approx £1900  plus vat

Any advice appreciated ?

Stedon said:

Gents another question as I would be starting off was considering buying a small van like connect , combo, partner, doblo, say £3000 then the kit 300 litre cold tank and poles few ladders say another £1000 maybe more ?

list to do is after I have bought my plant

set up my company

get public insurance 

get buisness cards

set up business account

set up maybe Facebook page

And obviously hard work of knocking on doors and trying to win work

payments method could be either

cash

online banking into my account 

been told another method not sure of name but allows me to take money out of clients account one job is done

regarding tax, I know you can earn I think £11500 tax free then £11500 to £43000 is at 20% this is for a normal employed job. So now that I have my own buissness as a sole trader does this work the same ? But am I right in saying any expenses involved to run the buissness eg fuel, products etc I keep all records and put that against my earnings so it brings down the tax ?

so eg if I earned £25000 but my expenses was £5000 would I be right in saying I would be taxed on £20000 as that is my profit 

Any advice please thanks all

Click to expand...

Go Cardless seems to be the way forward for most window cleaners. There is also the option of having a card reader.

spruce said:

Currently you have to write down the whole amount in the tax year you purchase it.

Click to expand...

Are you sure about this @spruce, not saying you're wrong but last year my Accountant wrote off a few things that were being depreciated.

 https://smallbusiness.co.uk/a-small-business-guide-to-capital-assets-2465662/