My rout work has now become 70% working and 30% billing and collecting. Sometimes even more for billing. I have some that I only charge 12$ takes, only takes 5 minutes work and much longer to track down the manager and get paid. How do you guys bill smaller stores without taking up so much time?
We use an app that has professional looking invoices which gives you the ability to email or text the invoice right to the manager or whoever is paying you. If we get paid right after the service is done, we send it to them a few minutes before we start the job (so they can see us out there doing them) Usually most customers have a check or cash waiting for us right when we are ready to leave. Hardly anytime lost collecting. That might help a little.
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I had the same issue, so years ago I established a new policy. We highly recommend that any customer we do at least monthly and is less that $50.00, pay on a quarterly basis ( post service ).
This has saved so much time not handling billing and collecting in the field. We have a daily route sheet that we print from our scheduling / billing program and the customers are required to sign the sheet after each service to document we were there. THIS HAS SAVED TIME !
Only about 12% continue to pay monthly ( on the last service of the month ). I would estimate that this policy and practice has increased our average hourly gross by about 20%. Hope this helps.
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Use Invoice to Go have the customer sign and let them pay online. Saves you lots of time waiting around to collect n
Collecting each time you clean could get laborious., An this isn’t a one size fits all for sure
Some people pay out of the register so collecting quarterly won’t work for them , so see if they can mail a check ,
What happens with Check mailing is some , nit all fall behind more than the quartet therr suppose to pay. So it’s a double edge sword, but you could always stop in an say didn’t revive Check can I please get payment.
Anything is better than collecting each clean.
Having someone sign something to me is just as worse. You sill jace to hunt them down , they could be busy , an you end up waiting for a signature
I collect everyone 1x a month, an I also collect quarterly we’re applicable.
I’ve had some incidintences with customers who make me wait. Those are the ones I just jace mail me a check
One guy says “ Waht you want me to mail you a check who pays for the stamp “
An he was serious , not joking !!!
So for me it’s. Some collect every month. Some collect quarterly. Some mail checks.
A buddy of mine said he wants to try to get everyone on automated payment. Like a gym membership. Great Idea !
But let’s see if it can be viable !
Consider having them prepay? I’ve got a couple that pay upfront for the year to avoid a minimum charge for each cleaning to make it worth my time to collect each visit.
Very rare … There is usually someone that’s willing to do that. It’s not a one size that fits all. Never will be!!!
This is the one part of route work that will drive you crazy. Collections 
i would like to see a dample route sheet. Working on outting one together
Ty
You said you were in process of making one up. Feel free to use this as a template, but why not just down load the program that this sheet is printed from ? Its specific to window cleaning.The specific routes are printed automatically when they are due.
Sample Route Sheet.pdf (633.5 KB)
TCF (the customer factor) has a 1 month “free” no cost sample. Just use it. You’ll be so happy when you need an answer and an actual ex-window cleaner answers the phone and tells you the in’s and out’s of a program HE has had written just for the service industry.
