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Collecting money, WTF?

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Idealtim 
#1 ·
:confused: Im not sure why but it seems like ive constantly been up people butt to pay up this year, seems like its more than other years. ive even started to take credit cards, which has helped but still slow. not sure why people are so confused to why they have to pay up after we complete a $1500.00 clean-up, i get " oh no 30 days" then i say read your agreement where it states right next to where you sign, payment upon completion. its actually gettin worse, and from talking to some of my friends in the business im not the only one.
 
#5 ·
i get that too. they think that they can pay what they want... i spend more and more time between seasons each year trying to get payed in court . i just went last thursday lol , i dont get people, they think that they can get away with it!!!! so far knock on wood, (knock knock) ive never lost a court case . i think im an honest person and i expect my clients to be!!! i would love for the non payers to be in our shoes for a month, while trying to collect, see how they like it!!!
 
#6 ·
I have 3 or 4 that are always two weeks late. They pay but always late. Then on the other hand I have one old man that comes out on the first mow of the month and hands me a check for the month. Then I have another lady that pays her invoice plus adds in the mowing from last date on invoice to current date. As for me I pay my bills either as they come in or one week before due date. My mowers and truck payments are paid up till october. Why cant some customers do this.
 
#7 ·
as my lawyer told me once, unfortunately, most people care more about paying the cable bill so they can watch tv then pay the lco that makes their home look great for them... we are spoiled, have you ever had the power go out, and you feel bored because the tv wasnt on? or just mad because you simply cant turn the lights on ? the key to this is to figure out how your invoice can get cable bill status, and not just on top of the microwave status... then i asked him how. and i got no response lol lol ...
 
#8 ·
Charge interest after 30 days, Just my 2 cents. I have a good friend that is a local bank loan officer... He says his best customers are the ones who NEVER pay their loan payments on time, but ALWAYS pay, even though its late... the bank gets a $5 late fee paid. (think about it, $5 for a 60 month loan nets the bank an additional $300 per loan) By charging interest, you probably wont make a killing, but maybe it will help to offset your court and PITA fees.
 
#9 ·
uh oh, I will probably get beat up from this but who cares.

tony I already sent ya my pm

Ok, my business mowes a ton of grass....I have figured (just like VISA, AM, MC) to lose a certain % of $$$ that I will not collect. It is a way of life and if you think it is gonna change, you are sorely mistaken.

In 05, it was only 4.1k...in 04 it was like 11K
 
#10 ·
Just so you know you can charge them for any court cost and colloections fees with in reason in most parts of this country. Oh yeah you can also charge them late fees and if they don't pay quick enough after you send them to collections. You can add interest on top of it. Don't give them a break just because you want them to use your service again. I mean come on do you really want to deal with collecting from them again. They don't pay send them to collections and let your collections company know that you don't want to do business with them again. They are alot more agressive this way.
 
#11 ·
rodfather said:
uh oh, I will probably get beat up from this but who cares.

tony I already sent ya my pm

Ok, my business mowes a ton of grass....I have figured (just like VISA, AM, MC) to lose a certain % of $$$ that I will not collect. It is a way of life and if you think it is gonna change, you are sorely mistaken.

In 05, it was only 4.1k...in 04 it was like 11K
Hey Rod, I've got a good friend with a tree service as a business, he does wonderful things when it comes to collections...............:dancing:
99.8%....................:waving:
Ya have to give him full authority to collect though...........:cool2:
 
#12 ·
General Grounds said:
:confused: Im not sure why but it seems like ive constantly been up people butt to pay up this year, seems like its more than other years. ive even started to take credit cards, which has helped but still slow. not sure why people are so confused to why they have to pay up after we complete a $1500.00 clean-up, i get " oh no 30 days" then i say read your agreement where it states right next to where you sign, payment upon completion. its actually gettin worse, and from talking to some of my friends in the business im not the only one.
beause you are a non-secured creditor my friend...you don't reply to the credit agencies so you don't exist when it comes to maybe damaging their credit if they dont' pay on time
 
#13 ·
We add a 10% late fee each month and some people actually pay it.
We used to have atleast half of our customer pay us late.
Now we are down to 8 that let it go for 2-3 months. They pay the late fee and we continue.
I wish they all payed that way. I would make an extra $2,000. a month in late fees.
 
#14 ·
lawnmaniac883 said:
I know, If you dont like paying me then tell me to stop mowing. I spend more money trying to F***in get paid than anything else.
AMEN TO THAT!!!!!
 
#15 ·
dvmcmrhp52 said:
Hey Rod, I've got a good friend with a tree service as a business, he does wonderful things when it comes to collections...............:dancing:
99.8%....................:waving:
Ya have to give him full authority to collect though...........:cool2:
it's not right Dave...it just happens
 
#17 ·
I have a customer that always pays 1 week after I send the next month's bill out. It's been that way for 3 years. I dont really get it. Why wouldnt they add the current payment into it, since they're writing a check to me anyways. strange. Oh well. so far collections are at 100%, but that's easy with only 24 lawns.
 
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