The aim of any business is to offer a good product or service, and make money doing it, and the same applies to window cleaners. It’s important for any business owner to stay at the forefront of their field, fully aware of what modern developments and technology can offer their business. Many window cleaning businesses survive, but do all window cleaners utilise technology to maximise their profits and run an efficient, professional business? We decided to take a look at 5 ways you can bring your window cleaning business up to speed, at the same time as boosting your turnover and profit.
Switch to the water fed pole system
How will that help you improve the profitability of your window cleaning business? In short, the water fed pole system allows you to complete more work in less time, making it possible to develop bigger rounds and increase turnover. Not only that, but it allows you to offer new services that open up new revenue streams – more on that to follow. The system does require an initial investment, but this is quickly offset by the benefits it will bring to your business. Oh, and did we mention – it’s a lot safer too!
Diversify your services
As we’ve just highlighted, the water fed pole system gives you the ability to offer services beyond just window cleaning. Products that can be cleaned with the water fed pole system include solar panels, gutters, fascias and soffits, conservatory roofs, velux windows along with commercial signage and cladding amongst others. This provides you with the opportunity to substantially boost yearly revenues that are related to but not reliant on window cleaning – and you already have a reliable client base to which many of these services will be of definite interest. In addition, some of this work can be carried out in all weathers, making it possible to maintain your earnings during winter periods that traditionally pose challenges for ordinary window cleaning.
Move over to dedicated window cleaning software
CleanerPlanner window cleaning software has been designed specifically for the window cleaning industry. Its aim is to save you time and make the process of managing your round more efficient, giving you more time to spend on cash-generating activities like carrying out your window cleaning round and developing new business. How does it save you time? Just a few examples include CleanerPlanner’s ability to automate the process of scheduling your round based on your individual job frequencies (4 weekly, 8 weekly etc.), generate automated work lists on a daily basis for you or your staff, allow you to bulk email or text message your clients and keep track of who has or hasn’t paid you.Â
Allow your customers to pay by card or direct debit
Increasingly, customers are relying on credit and debit cards as a means of payment along with electronic banking, whilst cash and cheques tend to be more and more a thing of the past and at times, an inconvenience. Setting your customers up to pay by direct debit is quick and easy through providers like GoCardless and the benefits are huge. Not only is it immensely convenient for the customer (they don’t have to do anything after signing up) it also puts you in control of when a payment is made – eliminating the need to collect or chase for debts. Even where customers are not comfortable paying by direct debit – offering a facility where they can securely pay by credit or debit card online provides a very convenient alternative. CleanerPlanner window cleaning software integrates with GoCardless as well as as well as Stripe, a leading credit card payment gateway, allowing you to offer these payment options to your customers whilst also automatically tracking when they use them – eliminating time spent matching sums that have arrived in the bank to individual customers.
Go mobile
These days, most of us own and use smartphones and tablets, and the technology is readily and cheaply available. You can use this technology to remotely manage your window cleaning business. Whether it’s updating the status of your work as you do it or recording who has paid you, the CleanerPlanner app allows you or your staff to keep your round up to date while on the move – eliminating any time spent updating records at the end of your working day and preventing inevitable errors that result from going by memory or using written records. In addition, CleanerPlanner is also a web-based platform, meaning you are not tied to a specific computer and can manage your round from anywhere in the world where there is access to an internet connection.
Putting even one of the above suggestions into place in your window cleaning business is certain to improve the efficiency of what you do, better enabling you to make more money from your business and well as offer a better service to your customers.
