big jobs money up front

[kyles landscape]

Just started thinking about this again I bid a 22 yard mulch job (did not get it) last year and was wondering since I would be dropping quite a chunk of money on this job how would some of you guys appproach it?

Would you get a percent up front
Would you have them pay for materials from supplier then labor to me
Any other ideas?
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[Patriot Services]

Always 50 percent up front for perishable or non returnable materials. Don't seperate it. The customer doesn't need to know what you paid or are getting paid in labor. I always have and always will price the job. People think they should profit from your bulk discounts and chew you down on labor figures.
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[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by Patriot Services

Always 50 percent up front for perishable or non returnable materials.
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Pretty standard practice down here. The only exception is if I have a long relationship with the customer then it might be completed without a deposit, but even then we are talking smaller jobs.

[kyles landscape]

Okay thanks man ya I didn't want to tell them what I pay for mulch cause that always gets marked up. Do you take credit cards at all I was debating adding that to the business for next season?
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[Patriot Services]

Paypal and square. Now that I have a paypal card swiper for the smart phone I won't be using square anymore. No complaints with them its just easier with one system.
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[alldayrj]

I get a third up front. Half would be better. I also started usin square and people love it. It makes paying fun
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[kyles landscape]

What is square ?
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[Patriot Services]

Square is an app for your smartphone. A small swipe reader jacks in the side and you sign with your finger. For an additional charge you can manually input the numbers too. Paypal now offers it as well. Paypal is great in that the customer can use a card or any bank account and you can generate an invoice easily. It let's my customers maximize their reward points. Funds are immediately available on my paypal visa debit card or they are transferred to your bank account. Its how modern business is done. I love waking up on the 15th and having 150+ emails from paypal that say "you have money"!
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[grandview (2006)]

What was the cost of the mulch? About 3-400 bucks. Not that big a deal.

[kyles landscape]

Originally Posted by grandview (2006)

What was the cost of the mulch? About 3-400 bucks. Not that big a deal.

double that.....and it wasnt aa regular customer.