Getting paid on time is a challenge faced by most window cleaners. Whether you have a number of customers that consistently pay late, or you seem to be investing more and more time into collecting payments, customer debt can become a problem that can have a serious impact on your cashflow and profit margins.
CleanerPlanner window cleaning software has been designed to improve, if not eliminate, the problem of debt for window cleaners, and save you time in the process. We take a look at 5 ways it can do that:
1) GoCardless integration
GoCardless is a service that allows you to take direct debit payments from your customers – not the kind that come out on a fixed date each month, but a direct debit you can initiate each time you complete the job. As a result, you can use GoCardless to control exactly when you get paid – eliminating issues with late or non-payments as well as the need to spend time and money chasing the customer. You get paid on time, every time.
GoCardless integrates seamlessly with CleanerPlanner, meaning you can process multiple GoCardless payments directly from the system, in bulk, at the click of a button. CleanerPlanner then automatically updates who has paid, meaning the payment method is not only more convenient for your customers, it’s even easier for you than being paid by bank transfer.
2) Stripe integration
CleanerPlanner also integrates with Stripe, allowing you to take credit and debit card payments. This is incredibly useful when collecting debt, as the card payment can be taken over the phone – which is not only convenient for the customer, it’s also far more time and cost -effective than physically visiting customers to collect payment. They don’t need to be at home, meaning it’s far more likely you’ll catch them and take payment with minimal effort.
3) Dedicated “Debts” tab
CleanerPlanner has a dedicated “Debts” tab that has been designed to keep you on top of who owes you money. Every single outstanding debt is itemised, along with the age of the debt, meaning you always know exactly who owes you money and how long for. You can order the debts based on their age or amount, allowing you to prioritise your debt collection. Each debt has quick access options to email, text message (more on that later) and invoice making it quick and easy to communicate with and chase your customers by various means.
4) Mobile app
The CleanerPlanner mobile app has a “Debts” tab that allows you to take a live copy of your debt list out with you if you do go out collecting payments. Not only do you know exactly what you need collect and where, but you can also update your progress in real time. The need to take out paper lists is eliminated, and there’s no need to do any manual admin on your return – it’s all done!
5) PDF invoices
CleanerPlanner gives you the ability to generate professional, personalised PDF invoices in a matter of seconds. You can then email invoices to your customers straight from CleanerPlanner and multiple jobs and transactions can be added to the same invoice. As a result, you save a huge amount of time raising invoices over more manual methods, meaning it’s easy get an invoice to your client as soon as you’ve done the job.
6) SMS and email messaging
As we’ve mentioned, CleanerPlanner allows you to send SMS (text) and email messages to your customers, individually or in bulk, straight from the system. As a result, it’s quick and simple to send out debt reminders and stay on top of your customers, saving you substantial amounts of time over manual methods.
If you’d like to trial CleanerPlanner and see if it can help you reduce your customer debt, you can sign-up for a 30 day free trial here, with full access to all features and no credit card details required.
