How to bill lawn care customers and collect payments

You launched your lawn care business because you loved the idea of being your own boss and working outdoors. In all of the excitement of burgeoning entrepreneurship, you may never have considered the complexities involved in collecting payments from your customers. 

The time has come to stop pulling your hair out about delinquent bills and to get the information you need to efficiently bring in the money you deserve for all your hard work.

Keep your customers happy.

There is no doubt that it’s frustrating when you don’t get paid on time for a job well-done. However, the key to ultimately resolving the situation to everyone’s satisfaction involves a constant focus on projecting a cordial, business-like attitude — even when you are reminding a client that they owe you. 

This approach needs to be consistent across your brand regardless of whether you send online invoices, request payment by mail, by phone, or in person.

Send an invoice after every job.

There are several ways to optimize your invoicing process, and this is the most straightforward. Receiving payment immediately ensures that you have immediate access to your money, and it reduces the likelihood of a customer forgetting or claiming that the job was not completed. 

This approach is especially effective if you do work for the person one time per month or less such as for jobs like applying fertilizer or weed killer.

The downside of this strategy is that you may end up doing more paperwork than you would like. This is especially true if you do more frequent work for a client but continue to bill after each visit.

Monthly flat rate billing.

Sending out a single bill each month at a flat rate can be particularly useful for those larger properties. Take time to determine an amount that will ensure you are making a profit no matter what season or weather you are experiencing.

One advantage of flat rate billing is that you will have less paperwork. However, be aware that customers may ask you to do additional work because they know they will not be charged extra for it. 

To combat this tendency, specify what services are under your contract before the customer signs it. Then if they want something that is not covered, you can modify the agreement and the price list accordingly.

Invoice monthly for multiple visits.

Instead of sending a bill for each service, combine everything into an invoice statement that you send out each month. 

This reduces your paperwork and administrative load, provides a clear record of what you have done and improves the chances that the bill will be paid on time.

Your payment processing for landscaping companies technology can make this task into a matter of just a few clicks. The software has a batch invoicing feature that easily collects and organizes a month’s worth of charges even if the month happens to extend into the fifth week.

The power of recurring payments.

In recent years, businesses of all types have come to embrace the advantages of the subscription-based recurring payments model. Once primarily found in daycare centers and health clubs, this payment method now allows business owners of all stripes to set up agreements with their customers. 

All that needs to be done is to specify the amount to be withdrawn, the bank account or credit card, the date that the withdrawals will occur, the frequency, and the duration of the arrangement.

Once the contract has been signed, the customer will know exactly when payments will be deducted. So will the merchant, enabling the business owner to make more accurate spending decisions. 

Once you set up recurring invoices and configure your technology to generate regular communications with your client about upcoming and received payments and details about approaching account expiration dates, you can pretty much consider this to be a set-it-and-forget-it process.

Reduce the possibility of customer confusion.

We can’t emphasize enough the importance of this final landscaping invoicing tip. 

When clients understand exactly what they are being charged for, they are far more likely to send in their payment sooner because there is nothing to wonder about or question at some later date when they have the time to get in touch with you.

To that end, your invoices should detail any charges, fees, taxes, and discounts. Furthermore, the virtual or paper document should feature specific notes for the job as well as any guarantees or policies you want customers to bear in mind. 

If you have some extra space on the page, you might even furnish some general maintenance tips that will help clients optimize their lawns between services.

Professional, friendly invoicing is one of the key ways you communicate with your customers. After all, they might never be at home when you or your staff complete your work. 

Implementing thoughtful, efficient billing will definitely please customers and help you to rise above your competitors.