deposits for large jobs

[skyhuck]

What about chippers, vehicles, equipement, fuel, insurance, pensions,mortgages,rent,electricity,gas,spares, phone, internet, paper, pens,staplers,furniture holidays, sick days, pensions the list is endless. These all need payed for.

So many Small businesses use their own rules based on their own morals.

Tescos dont wait for you to call them up to say the milk was nice in their cereal before they send you a bill. They have written on the side telling you what it does, and what is in it, then they charge you, you pay and if it is un satisfactory you have to go down a route of complaint.

It is up to the company representative to make everything clear to the customer and make sure the picture in each others heads of what the out come is going to be is the same and follow it through. Taking a deposit or an advance is not un professional as long as it is done professionally.

Just because there are some unruley folk out there it doesnt mean you should run your own business in fear of being tarred with the same brush, it isnt the payment that is usually at fault with the cowboys, its the workmanship and quality of their job:sneaky2:

 

True, but you take the milk home with you when you pay .

 

I have been offered money up front on occasions and normally turn it down, I say to them "I could be hit by a bus before I get back to do the job", if they insist I don't cash the cheque until I have completed the job to their satisfaction

 

If you do ask for payment up front do you ask for cash?? as a cheque can soon be stopped, even after its been cleared.

 

For me its all about trust, they must trust me to do a good job and I must trust them to pay me.

 

Personally I think asking them to sign things or pay up front sets off the alarm bells!!. If I was asked to do this I would be thinking, "what are they worried about?? They seem to be expecting a problem, they must know their work is poor and I going to be unhappy with it"

 

I've even stopped asking people if they are happy with a tree or hedge after I've cut it, this puts a seed of doubt in their minds and they start thinking theres something wrong with it. Now I just say " It look great doesn't it!!!" My confidence gives then confidence and they are happy.

[treequip]

Yeah I see ur point but its a attempt to control actions of that odd pain in the arse client

 

I wouldn’t take a dipper of a client I thought wouldn’t pay, how could I be sure they would pay the balance?

 

The fee would need to be the entire amount paid pro forma or left in escrow at the clients expense.

[Taupotreeman]

True, but you take the milk home with you when you pay .

 

I have been offered money up front on occasions and normally turn it down, I say to them "I could be hit by a bus before I get back to do the job", if they insist I don't cash the cheque until I have completed the job to their satisfaction

 

If you do ask for payment up front do you ask for cash?? as a cheque can soon be stopped, even after its been cleared.

 

For me its all about trust, they must trust me to do a good job and I must trust them to pay me.

 

Personally I think asking them to sign things or pay up front sets off the alarm bells!!. If I was asked to do this I would be thinking, "what are they worried about?? They seem to be expecting a problem, they must know their work is poor and I going to be unhappy with it"

 

I've even stopped asking people if they are happy with a tree or hedge after I've cut it, this puts a seed of doubt in their minds and they start thinking theres something wrong with it. Now I just say " It look great doesn't it!!!" My confidence gives then confidence and they are happy.

 

Same here. I refuse to take money until the job is done but then I wish some people would cough up a little more promptly when the job has been completed to their satisfaction. Unfortunately it isn't always a two way street. Still, I'll hold firm to my principle of not accepting payment until the job's one.

[likeitorlumpit]

I've never asked for money up front, only on completion. Only once had to call in solicitors- he paid up instantly after receiving the letter

I do agree though- with private customers they think they can sit on your invoice too long IMO.

Not much you can do

If you make a scene they won't recommend you in future so defeats any benefit.

Often they are not about when you finish the job either so posting an invoice seems the best solution.

You just need enough liquidity to ride the cash flow storms.

[pward]

All valid points see this isn't for every job more for the high paying, my quotations get signed by the client to be clear on price and the task at hand, this s just to stop that one in a million that cancels at the vey last second and non payment

[eddiegts]

If the job is a over £15k I ask for 10% before I start I also use credit focus (credit check from barclays) but this is only for commercial work i also draw up a contract.

 

for private work I get them to sign the quote before I start also I can normaly tell if they are going to be a pain in the bum!

[skyhuck]

If its one in a million why bother??????

[pward]

at the moment its a thought and not put into practise, just there are a few people i know running into problems with coustomers and well just thinking of ways to over come this and stop it from happen to me

[dangerous brian]

Its your call paul if you can impliment the idea go for it,and the end of the day something is better than nothing,especially when your starting out.

[gensetsteve]

I used to have this problem supplying large gensets to large customers. The set would cost 20k and the margin would be £2000. They were not prepared to pay for the set upfront, I was not prepared to wait 5 months for my money on the off chance they were still in business. What we used to do is charge 75% of the total quote which included the installation. This would be due when the set was offloaded and a cheque due that day. This would cover the material element of the job. With the credit crunch no one has any money and cant borrow so thats the end of installing gensets hence we spend time producing logs. We get a cheque the day they are off loaded. We have alot of service agreements and have noticed companies taking longer and longer to pay up.