How do you keep track?

[Lawnshark]

I am having trouble finding a good system of scheduling our yards for the week/month. Does anyone have a really good system of scheduling so you don't forget? I am an organizational nut but I can't seem to find one that will work. Thanks.

[Charles]

I just keep a log of what i do every day in a note book and what they owe and if they have paid and the date they were cut. I just scan that notebook at the end of the day and the beginning to see who is due for a cut

[Fantasy Lawns]

I use "Microsoft Access" to create a data base with my own fields ...like "grass type, height, access issues, date, name, phone, price, day, route etc." ..helps to print a daily schedule for crew leaders to check off ....write notes.....or for my self to tighten up a route as we gain new accounts.......from there I can switch things around or gather info based on a single field ...

when we get a new account I fill in the fields ...print out a single copy and send it to my CPA so she has all the info she needs for quick books ...and I have a handy reference sheet with all customer info

[Scott H]

I agree with charles, I keep a log of who was cut on which date and if they paid or not. You can look at the log and tell if the yard needs to be cut, just by how many days it has been.

Scott

[Getmow]

Buy a program. Click on one of the sponsers and check out a sample. I use CLIP.

[TJLC]

I just keep 3x5 index cards in a box with customer's name, address,phone #, when they were cut, and if they paid or not. It's simple and seems to work ok.

[Roger]

I believe the process depends on how many accounts. I work solo, so only have about 35 accounts. I used to use the index card system. Now I use a little different scheme. After I got started, I too was having trouble, "...did I forget somebody?"

The index card system I used was pretty simple. I took 3X5 cards, punched a hole in upper left corner, drew a line down the middle. The top line has customer name in right upper corner, in big letters. All cards are put on a ring, say 1 1/2" diameter. The lines on the card are used to record the next mow time, and the actual mow time. They are sorted on the ring according to next mow time. IOW, all those schedule for a Mnday are grouped together. AFter finishing a job, the actual date of doing the work is recorded, and the card is moved on the ring, sliped between other cards with an earlier date, and later date. AS work progresses over the days, every card must be handled. The cards just continue to be rotated backward, and when "their" day approaches, they will be "on top." I'm sure there are some variations on this scheme, but it is sure to work because EVERY card must be processed, and it will show up with other work scheduled for that day.

Now, I work a bit differently. I have a homemade calender in my three ring notebook, with my journal. It has six days per week (I don't work on Sunday), along with six openings below the date (usually, I can schule no more than six mowings per day). I made the calender with WordPerfect columns, landscape format. I worte a program to develop the calender dates, and DOF, then merged them into making the final form. At the end of every day, I check off those I completed that day, AND write the name of the customer into a slot for the next mowing on another calender page. It is a simple appointment scheme, nothing complicated. The key is to always write the name of every customer completed today into another date (the next week for weekly customers). This isn't quite as fail safe as the index cards discussed above.

Also, I have a program to create an ageing report every night after logging in my work on the PC. I have written a program that reads a report from Quicken and reports on EVERY customer the number of days since last mowing. This provides a check for me to be sure I've entered all the present day's work (days since last mow = 0). As days pass, the names will propogate their way to the top of the list (I sort the list in the program, descending on days since last mow).

I do have a fear of forgetting somebody!

Sorry for the long explanation...

[cos]

I use the old notebook method and then mark them paid as I go. I want to know who pays their bill before I cut them. I always flip back through to see who is next in line to cut. After about a couple weeks, you get to know where to go next.

I am considering getting a software program to make it easier on billing and processing complaints and phone calls. I hate it when customers tell me they told me this and that on the phone and I never right it down in a ledger.

[parkwest]

Quit wasting your time and money and invest in a good program. We've used lawn monkey since '99 and the way they're going we sometimes feel like little kids at Christmas when we hear they have a new feature added to the program coming out.

[leeslawncare]

Well i bill monthly an i've got a palm pilot.that seems to work well with us. we us quick books pro.

[Stonewall]

Do you use palm pilot with Quickbooks Pro? I didn't think they were compatible.

[KirbysLawn]

I use Lawn Monkey 2001. http://www.lawnmonkey.com

[1MajorTom]

We use the index card system which is color coded.
5 different colored index cards, green, blue, yellow, pink, and purple for each different run.
I generate labels on the computer with the customers name, address, and phone number, and we put them in a index card box which we keep in the truck. When we cut a lawn, I mark it on the back of the customers card.
The box stays in the truck.

When I come home, I log everything in the computer.

But the index box with cards makes things really simple for us.

[Runner]

What's the DEAL with Lawn Monkey? I ordered the demo, and I can't make heads or tails from it. It keeps givnig reference back to Quickbooks. If I have to use Quickbooks with it, most of what I do can just be done with Quickbooks itself.

[dhicks]

Lawn Monkey is a great program and I have tried the demo version. For me, I like using Outlook and my Palm Pilot. My life is in my Palm.

[HOMER]

Mine are set up on a route. Starting this month we do not leave the route like I did last year. If I pass a seasonal customer and they didn't ask for a cut they wait until I get back in the neighborhood-----------or get somebody else. I have struggled for the last 2 years keeping everybody cut like I should and that was one of the reasons.

I keep a record of who was cut on what day in a super duper ledger. I write the customers name on the left side and fill the little squares with the date they were cut. It's a very fast way to tell how many times they were cut and on what day. My invoice program also has a customer "notes" section I fill in by typing serviced beside the date. It's a checks and balance kinda thing that has helped me out more than once. I know who has paid by printing out a receivables report.

[lawnman_scott]

I keep track on ms works, sue databases or spreadsheets for my customer lists and billing. ill have to look at lawnmonkey

[cclllc]

Clip and Quickbooks works best for me.

[eslawns]

I use CLIP. If you don't want to spend the $$$ just get a dry erase calendar and make projections for a month. It will keep you from making a mess if you need to change something. Make a daily list and update customer records at the end of the day.

I used to do it this way until I analyzed the times and saw where I was making and losing money. Use your computer. You can buy a bookkeeping software like Quickbooks or Peachtree for about $100, and a scheduler for a few hundred.

[tinman]

I found a good simple program for just scheduling at http://www.calendarscope.com/
It's free to download & try for 30 days & $30 to buy it. Lets you view 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, or 6 weeks. And you can print out in these different views as well as a detailed list of "to do".

[Team Gopher]

Hi Lawnshark,

If you get a chance, try out Gopher. It will help you with your scheduling and billing.

[tiedeman]

we use microsoft calendar for keeping track of dates of service..but everything else we use excel, quickbooks, etc

[Ax Man]

You can do that with MS Outlook which most everyone has too.

[Dan1944]

My Wife:blush:

[Likestomow]

Jeff - email me and I'll send you what I use. ~Ron.

likestomow@yahoo.com

[hunter]

try gopher it's what we use and it's easy to learn and use. Great for scheduling. I found it best for scheduling.