Billing

[IrishHank]

I have been in the business for years, but I have decided to venture out on my own. I am located in Central Florida, where we provide year round services. Most of my accounts will be cut weekely, but I am finding that some months I will do 5 cuts, and the next only 4 cuts. What is a good method of billing, so that it is fair to both parties. Second, should I be billing after the 1st cut or at the end of each month? Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

[BRL]

Do a search (look toward the top right of the screen). Plenty of great discussions on this subject already here. Good luck.

[IrishHank]

New to the Game, Thanks for the info. I found lots of good ideas that I can incorporate into my business plan. Much Appreciated...

[GrassMaster]

Hello Everybody:

I had the same problem when I started & it was aggervating as Crap!

I finally just gave them a Flat Monthly fee & it really helped out a lot. It saved me a lotsa time, I never liked the Bookkeeping end of the Biz so I took every short cut possible!:D

I sent them bill & it stated that I mowed, hedged, edged, trimmed, weeded & blowed off all concrete surfaces at so & so address. Then I had my monthly fee below.

All my work that I mowed, hedged, edged, trimmed, weeded & blowed off all concrete surfaces was a flat monthly fee & all other work was done on a jobber basis, billed extra & this was included along with my monthly bill.

[kris]

I added up the weekly visits...for example May to Middle of October...Say that is 24 times in the 5.5 months...24 x weekly rate divided by 6 months ... 6 equal payments...(spring cleanup is extra in April) in our contract it is stated that invoices will be sent out at the start of each particular maintenance month...this gives me a head start on some slow payers...

[IrishHank]

Kris,

Do you make your accounts sign a 6 month agreement? Or do you keep them on a 30 day policy...If anyone else has suggestions on whether or not customers should sign a annual contract let me know! Is a discount of say 10% in order if a 1 yr is signed?

[kris]

Hank ..so far I only have one customer that has asked that i put a 30 day out in for them .... I will add it to the contract next year to give myself a out also.

[IrishHank]

Is a discount of say 10% worth it for a customer who will commit to a year's worth of maintenance? Or is good work at a fair price enough to keep them coming back? If there is not a high rate of turnaround on the customer base than the 10% will only be money out of my pocket...right!

[GreenQuest Lawn]

All my customers sign a season contract. I only give discounts for pre-pays. We mow 28 wks a year so I simply add all charges up and divide by 8 (I bill March - October). I do have a few customers that want to be billed each month for the services provided. This is a pain separating everything at billing time. Then it seems each month I get a customer calling wondering why last month they paid XXXXX amount & this month its different. I discourage this billing to my customers but there are a few that I still do that for. I also have started billing half my accounts on the 1st of the month and the other half on the 15th. This has helped with the steady cash flow.

[Fine Lines Lawn]

I give them a 10% discount if they pre-pay for the season, but for a commitment, they just get quality service:)

[Fantasy Lawns]

Hank ....in Orlando area ....I'm sure you see the lawn monkeys everywhere ....so the contracts are nice ...no doubt ....preferred ....but your selling a service ...which must be convenient & reliable ....the other will fall out ...and to pursue a broken contract WILL cost more than worth on resi's ..it's easy for them to show broken faith if you miss 1 day or forget to edge 1 bed ....missed some weed wacking or broke a riser without knowing it ...etc.

to keep em' year round ....express up front that the monthly charge is for approx 42-44 visits per year (weekly=> april-oct ...bi=> nov-march) ... which you spread the price out over 12 months ...3 out of 7 summer months they get 5 cuts (15) other 4 they get 4 (16) ...an 2 out of 5 winter months they get 3 (6)...the other 3 they get 2 (6) total of 43 events

price each event on your approx of your time ....for a simple say mow only account ......say your full time on site for each event at it's MAX is 60 min (add in a small buffer of drive time n' unload- load) ......so each year your on site 42 hours .....say you need $30 hour to survive or $1260 per year from that job or $105 per month ...each one's rate will vary according to THEIR COST of Living !


these ##'s are just sample's .....you need to set a min of say $65 or $70 per month even if its a 30 min job (a $65 min with 30 min. work is $37 per hour over the year ......but you need the job all year ......if they break early you rate will sink .....that's why you see so many new faces each year ....while others are dust in the wind)

down south these are near to real ##'s ....it's cheaper down here .....no state income tax ....either way the ##'s are just sample ......offer a discount for yearly contract .....but if you give em' great service they will keep you ......the dead beats are the ones with no lawn ...no irrigation ....and a beat up home or car .....if they both have jobs .....ask em' how much their weekend or free time is worth to them
Good Luck ;->

[joshua]

bill at tyhe end of the month, its the simplest. you never know if you'll miss someone when you cut. and why waiste all those stamps billing weekly. also you never know what extras they will want you to do during the month.

[KirbysLawn]

My $.02 worth. I invoice on the first of the month, mail'em, and include a self addressed stamped envelope. The payment is to be mailed back by the 15th of the month. This method allows the customer to "trust" that I will mow the last 2 weeks mowings after I'm paid; it also allows me to "trust" that after the first 2 mowings I will get paid. No huge debt built..EVER

I do not like working for an entire month, then look for a check. That leaves it wide open for you to have a sh** load of work done and then run the risk of no $$.

Special jobs require a 50% deposit, the remainder upon final inspection and approval.

I hate billing weekly for each mow, then remembering who paid and who was not home, who still owes and such. Heck I have customers that I have never meet, I prefer my money not be out stuck to the door or under the mat.

Have a contract and have them sign/read it. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/contrib/blackeye/deal.gif I have attached one of mine here for review. Right now I'm planning on going to a 10 day mowing schedule due to the lack of rain. If I mow 2-3-4 times I get paid the exact same. If you are getting paid by the mow, well you could be SOL.

Ray