Being Self Employed, You Need This.

Hello You Tube, it’s Rob from Maxwells Grass Cutting Services, based in the North East of England.
In todays video I want to talk about getting paid and reducing the risk of not getting paid after the job has been completed. This topic is so important to all self employed workers.
How do you, ensure that you, receive payment in a timely manner?
I look forward to reading your comments and feedback.
Thanks for watching. Please like and subscribe.
Remember, when the green gold is growing, keep mowing.
All the best.
Rob.
Thank you for watching and supporting the channel. Please like and subscribe, this allows me to grow and move forward. Your support is appreciated.
Take care.👍

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you for watching and supporting the channel. Please like and subscribe, this allows me to grow and move forward. Your support is appreciated. Take care.👍

[@richshackleton8104]

Refuse to pay we'll take your car away. And I'm not kidding. Laid a lawn for a customer a few years back who after 3 weeks refused to pay us. 6am on the Sunday morning we drove my mates tractor to the house, hitched up his Lexus 4x4 and dragged it off the drive. He came running out the house in his underpants!

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Extreme but I like it. 👍🏻

[@grahamcolquhoun2295]

Yes Rob a Nugget, some of my costumers like to pay cash, as soon as I have done the job, it’s normally the older customers, the same customers who will make you a cup of tea and always with a biscuit or two , they love a chat , and I will always give them a bit of my time,

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Those type of customers are rare, hang onto them. They make you feel special and appreciated. It always makes my day after a nice chat and a biscuit . My wife once said that I might be the only person the customer has spoken too in a few days so be kind with your time. Lovely really. All the best.

[@JohnTCampbell1986]

I have a few mates who only pay bank transfer cos they don't like the idea of workmen fiddling taxes. As far as I'm concerned taxation is theft and personally I always offer my workmen cash on the day (might be a bit differant if I was having a 20k extension built or something like that though) Some take it, some prefer to email an invoice. Those who take cash, I don't care what they do with it. If I pay 300 and they wanna put 30, 50, 100, 150 or however much in their pocket and put the rest on their books that the taxman sees? Not my circus, not my monkeys.

[@phillipprestontrading]

Good video. I'm self employed been so for 9 yrs. Has its ups and downs, but on the whole, wouldnt EVER work full..time for someone else!

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you for watching and your comment.

[@adamstockton67]

Well said Rob. You’ve done the work should be paid straightaway.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I agree with you. Thanks 🙏

[@rh645]

Thanks again rob! Last year i increased prices where i could, inspired heavily by you. And already this year i have new target, this pay on same day thing would change my life!

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Pleased for you. Good luck going forward.👍🏻

[@user-ve7ou8qz9n]

We have a real mixture, some cash, some bank transfer, some pay on invoice. We have 10 rental house gardens through a property management company who pay twice a month. Another customer we do 4 gardens for, he pays through a business account, usually within 2 weeks. Had to chase him this month though. One lady transfers the money while we're working, love that!

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

As long as you’re happy and things are working well. All the best.

[@adamslawnandgardencare9403]

Rob. I’d say about 90% of my customers pay on the day and the remainder within a day or so. I have a few that have other arrangements which is generally every 2 Visits. Only diff is I’m mostly cash. Great post Rob your business your rules end of.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thanks Adam. Your right out businesses our rules. All the best to you.

[@stanionmowing]

Good advice. My customers are a mix of bank transfer or cash on the day. A few cash customers tried it on with I haven’t got enough I’ll pay you next time. Got a card reader so problem solved. As you say you couldn’t go to a supermarket and say I’ll pay you double next week.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I agree, thank you .

[@susanhancock7984]

I totally agree with you get paid on the same day x

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you , appreciated.

[@funkyduckproductions.8844]

13.5% plonk. I'd be pissed before you'd poured the first glass. Payment. I never stress over it. Regular customers get a friendly reminder after 24hrs if they have forgotten to pay. Commercial jobs. Pay at the end of that month. Not next month. One off jobs have to sign an agreement which sets out what I'll be doing and what I won't. Plus agree payment details. Simple. No stress.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Sounds like a great plan Gary. I too like to be paid quickly. 👍🏻

[@mariusmarius4832]

Spot on.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you .

[@LewisgardenservicesLtd]

Our uploads today are so similar but opposite ends🤣 you're right tho payments are not yours until they're in the bank. Nice one👍

[@tarmaralyndsey]

The money is yours once the job is complete, but it's not yours if you've to spend time chasing up to get paid.

[@marshman5319]

Not yours till it’s in your wallet or bank account… JMPO

[@tarmaralyndsey]

@@marshman5319 yes, you're right. My point being once the job is done- it's owed but those customers paying cash get too attached to what's in their wallet especially if they're skint. So, when the service provider comes knocking for payment- the customer may well say "can I square up next week/ month?". So, imo it's best to have electronic payment set up. Saves time too, no door knocking for cash. I think a couple of other s here have recommended other forms of payment. We use solely GoCardless. Would never turn back to cash. But...no matter what way the customer "pays", they have to pay! Nothing worse than a chancer!

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Yes they are! Great minds think alike. All the best Nathan.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I agree, thank you .

[@smartfactorgardenmaintenan4831]

I’m ruthless when it comes to payment regardless of how long they have been a client for

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Spot on. All the best.

[@bobbelsekwol]

Im so lucky as i get paid without even asking. Some put a little extra in. One off jobs, in my experience, can be a testing time for payments. Only had a couple were ive needed to chase it up but still...... Bank transfer seems to be the way forward. Cheques occasionally but can be awkward paying them in through the app. A slight mistake or fold the cheque or sweaty pockets and its a trip to bank. Cash is king as they say but ive lost money with the new notes as they are so slippy. Another nugget of wisdom, gained by experience and common sense.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thanks for sharing your experience, all the best.

[@kepadaservices1286]

Hi Rob. I use to run the service desk in a large German car dealership in London. One of my first jobs was chase late and non paying customers. I had to establish the rule that unless you have a special arrangement, you don't get your car back until the bill is paid in full. The arguments I had with customers who thought they could pay when it suited them. Try paying your mortgage late, or walking out of the shops saying "just post me the bill and I will pay it at some point". I don't see anything wrong with immediate or even an up front payment.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I agree with you 100 percent. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@defcon5i]

Great video as always Rob 👍.. have you done a video of your van regarding it's size/capacity, etc and how it's kitted out on a normal day? and if you pull a trailer?.. would be interesting. Thanks.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I am planning to do one soon, watch this space. Thanks for watching.

[@stuartdarch2966]

Well explained and I’m the same 👍🏻

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thanks for watching. All the best.

[@mr.tidygarden]

Rob with regular clients I am confident I will get paid but with a new client I make sure I get a 50% deposit to secure date and cover expenses. If I do not get a deposit I cancel that visit👊 Great topic Damien from Cork City

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

All the best Damien, very wise.

[@johnnyroadcrew3841]

Good advice Mr M .. .. ..

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Glad you enjoyed it👍🏻

[@markderbyshire5394]

Hi Rob I've been in our business for 18 years and its been my mantra from day 1 Its correct

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you Mark, it’s nice to know that I am on the right track.👍🏻

[@nrgdigital-garywilkie3997]

Well said 👍

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you .

[@MalteseMafia]

Great Video 👍 you're spot-on right though. 👍

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Glad you think so! All the best.

[@waynehammerton5698]

Absolutely bang on Rob

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you Wayne, have a great weekend.

[@waynehammerton5698]

My pleasure as always Rob and I hope you enjoyed your m&s bottle of wine bud

[@acutabovegardeningservices1957]

I say to the regulars within 24h of the visit and ive had other gardeners say that's too strict !! ....why when as you say we can pay people easier than ever. I'm 100% in agreement with you. Why should we wait to long for money ?

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you . I agree 100 percent. 👍🏻

[@Premier_lawns_official]

Get jobber, keep a debit/credit card on file. Mark the job complete and the system takes payment, sends the client a receipt and a few days later that money is my account.

[@Jordan.E]

Robbie how do you deal with the customers who don't want to save the card details on jobber? I have a few who still like to pay manually after receiving the invoice, obviously jobbers automatic invoice reminders still help but I would rather them all be set up for automatic payments.

[@Premier_lawns_official]

@@Jordan.E For people not on the card on file, I request payment after 5 days. The system sends them a reminder a week after that. The auto-reminder hoovers a lot of them up. But if I'm busy, I can often have a good chunk of change outstanding I used to worry about it, but these days I'm usually too busy to care that much. I did have around £500 outstanding at the end of year from some late payers who I may have to send one of two emails too. Lawn care isn't an essential service, and the odd late payment or forgotten payment isn't something to overly bother a client about (I am by no means saying forget about it all together) Get it, just, don't sweat it Repeat offenders that are late paying, I usually drop.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thanks for watching and your comment Robbie. My business isn’t big enough for jobber, I have looked at it and decided that it wasn’t for me. Plus it’s another expense I could do without. This year I am branching out into lawn care and lawn treatments. I have been spending time with my local green keeper and read plenty of books on the subject. Historically I have dipped my toe into the water, it’s now something that I would like to explore and expand further. There may be a time when something like jobber would work for me but not right now. All the best to you.

[@uniteallaction]

We do something very similar but with gocardless the days of bank transfers and cash collections or long gone.

[@Premier_lawns_official]

@@uniteallaction I used to use Gocardless, but it doesn't talk to jobber. Having all the jobs, invoices and payments in the one place is easier

[@realsteellawncare8167]

Got a new customer coming my way next week and need to up my fixed rates so a little bit nerves.As I go frue business I have to deal with being alone I have never had business friends growing up and some business people will try and make you fail.I wonder if other business people go frue the same thing being alone frue the hard times or even very bad.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Thank you for watching and your comment. Good luck with your business.

[@jameswyeth8223]

Too right Rob, you can't do a shop at Tesco and tell them i'll pay next week ! I have a few clients who are away a lot and they pay me up front. I had one a few years back who used to pay me 3 months ahead 🤑

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

That’s great, all the best Hames.

[@VeganRichPT]

Rob! LOVE your channel and really appreciate the advice you give. It's GOLD. Properly considering setting up a lawn care business and I'm trying to calculate costs. Fuel costs seems to be difficult to calculate for the petrol mower/strimmer/blower and I was hoping you could offer some help and advice? What I'm trying to calculate are my potential operating costs so that I can have a goal for the number of jobs I need to do per fortnight (assuming a fortnightly cycle) to earn myself a sensible income. I have so many questions I hope you don't mind 🙂.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

We are all very different. If you aim to take a set figure per day. Five days per week , 34 weeks of the growing season. Put 33 percent away for running costs. 66 percent is yours. Any winter money you earn is a bonus. Good luck with your new venture.

[@dogmangreengrass736]

i took on work through land management firm, 3 days to get paid.😊

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Pleased to hear that it’s a success. 👍🏻

[@martjadex]

Loving the videos !

[@martjadex]

All my customers pay monthly standing for 2 visits per month ! 12 payments a year , the grass cutting only jobs pay on invoice within 7 days. Don’t accept cash because most of my customers are not in and at work.

[@martjadex]

My accounting software will send a reminder within 7 days but I only have 2/3 customers that are late but pay within 3/4 weeks.

[@martjadex]

Card reader waste of time , no one is ever in and when someone is in most are working so invoice is nice and easy. I understand what you are saying but I don’t think you can expect a regular customer who you have had 2/3 years to pay time you get home lol people have lives etc I know I will get paid within the 7 days. One off jobs are different I would perfer bank transfer on the day as long as jobs completed. When I send a quote as well if accepted then the customer also accepts my T&C to pay within 7 days. But all long term regular customer are so easy to deal with and will 100% pay

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Glad you like them!

[@stephenhankey7065]

Hi Rob, great videos! With my regular customers i send them a invoice monthly. This way i don't have loads of invoices. Do you send them a invoices after every job?

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I send a text message/ invoice after each visit. Commercial work and large one off jobs get an invoice. I use pages on apple. All the best.

[@ched999uk]

Definitely tell customers money due on day of work. I always remind people after 5 days. No second job till first one is paid. Do you always message the customer when you receive payments? I tend to only reply to the ones who specifically message me to say paid.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I don’t message when a payment is received, unless they message me to say payment sent. Then I reply. All the very best.

[@BirdTwitch]

Hi Rob. Love the videos they are very helpful. Out of curiosity, what percentage of your jobs are only lawns? Thanks

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

About 70 percent. Hope that helps.

[@jakem7916]

Hi Rob, would having a card reader in the van and getting the customer to pay on the job be a good idea.

[@amgardening7963]

I personally have one, from SumUp. Makes life so much easier.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I am not sure as most of my work is regular. Maybe in the future.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Pleased to hear that it works out well for you.👍🏻

[@thebincleaner]

you don't need a card reader these days, most card payment apps now have a "tap it" option where your phone is the actual card reader...loads easier 😉

[@briankelly3646]

Is a setup of standing orders not the best way to get your monthly payments off all regulars

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

It’s not a system that I like. 👍🏻

[@daveraatz1328]

Have never had a payment issue. Must be my sweet, kind disposition. Or 6', 250 lb. ex-grunt appearance!😅

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

That will help. All the best.

[@drk6587]

Great video Rob. Do you routinely ask customers to sign a contract agreeing to all work to be completed before you commence the job?

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I don’t ask customers to sign a contract. They positively reply to the quote. That’s enough for me. Thank you 🙏

[@drk6587]

@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices Thanks for the timely response.

[@ciararespect4296]

Funny you're talking about this I was watching the big scandal with that big company greensill who gave money to small businesses with interest whilst they waited for payments from other companies. Cameron was mixed up in it

[@ExtensiveGardens]

your lieing.. no payments were made you

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I don’t know about that scandal. Many others are in the press. All the best.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Not sure what you mean Andrew?

[@ExtensiveGardens]

the username ciararespect is an idiot i dont like them. he/she is always leaving me negative comments. not aimed at you.@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

All the best Andrew.

[@andyhawker1]

Its stamped on the bottom of my invoice "payment on completion"

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

You’re so right. Thank you.

[@darrencarney6771]

Get paid bank transfers and money, cheques. Bank transfer take 3 days.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

Bank transfer is instant. All the best.

[@wagner251]

Cash on the day ,or i will send the boys round ! 😅

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

I like it. 👍🏻

[@uniteallaction]

Gocardless direct debit.

[@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices]

That’s not something I am ready to do . All the best.

[@uniteallaction]

@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices but why not it just means that once you customer signs up to their direct debit they don't need to do anything going forward and it hits your bank account 3 to 5 working days after every visit. Plus it's a lot more convenient for your customers. Plus what software are you using to organise your work are you just simply using pen and paper? Nearly 300 monthly window cleaning customers and they're all on gocordless.