Customer's not paying - or taking ages to pay

[chip_y2kuk]

hi all,

as i've mentioned before i'm a small IT compnay.

i went to a customer last night did some work for him and at the end of it he said.... do i owe you anything (i am a business!) and i said yeah just give us £10. To which he replied i haven't got any money

now every time he phones me up i know he's up to know good and always starts the conversation with since you've looked at my computer i can't..........

i've had a few other's like this but not many.. (all have paid!, except this one who assures me he will pay in 2 weeks)

before it happens again what do i do in the future?

i know £10 is a small sum but it's the principle. i couldn't go to asda walk out with a load of stuff and say i haven't got any money i'll pay you later.

Thanks

joe

 

[corporatefin]

It is impossible to know whether a customer will pay or not. I would tell him that you cannot help him at the moment and maybe recommend someone else. And at the end of the conversation, I would try to remind him about the money he owes. Maybe that will send some signals. And if that does not help, send him an invoice.

 

[SillyJokes]

he'll never pay you. Cheap lesson. Forget it and move on. Don't go back.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

hi all,

as i've mentioned before i'm a small IT compnay.

i went to a customer last night did some work for him and at the end of it he said.... do i owe you anything (i am a business!) and i said yeah just give us £10. To which he replied i haven't got any money

now every time he phones me up i know he's up to know good and always starts the conversation with since you've looked at my computer i can't..........

i've had a few other's like this but not many.. (all have paid!, except this one who assures me he will pay in 2 weeks)

before it happens again what do i do in the future?

i know £10 is a small sum but it's the principle. i couldn't go to asda walk out with a load of stuff and say i haven't got any money i'll pay you later.

Thanks

joe

SillyJokes is probably right. Forget about that customer. If he won't give you £10 then it won't give you a thing.

You need to establish yourself as a proper professional business. If you come across as some lad who wonders around fixing friends of friends computers, then people will take you for a ride.

Don't take any crap. Give them written quotations prior to the work and give them receipts. Take payment up-front if necessary.

 

[I, Brian]

Thank him for his call, but you're busy, need to get an existing project done - damn, computer is crashing, will have to call you back...

Some people will leech on your time because you give it for free.

 

[Rainbow Chasers']

'Sorry Sir, Your account is on hold until paid in full, we are unable to assist until this is cleared'

Job done! If he IS willing to pay, he will - if not, he will go elsewhere (which is no loss really is it?)

He cannot complain to anyone, since he hasn't paid for the job, or the aftercare he has had!

 

[Fuzzy]

I don't think he has had any intention of paying you and never will, taking advantage of your good nature. Learn from his damn cheek and move on

 

[chip_y2kuk]

Hi folks,

thanks for your replies,

i was just wondering what people recommend to stop this happening in the future (i know there's no 100% way). this guy has been a pain from day one, the thing is getting payement upfront can be hard because you turn up to people's houses and do small jobs (configure a router for their broadband) and get paid and go home. the bigger jobs are better.

thanks all

joe

 

[keepitsecret]

From personal experience, dont bother with home stuff. there more hassle than there worth. Thats why I never decided to take it any further. The £20.00 you make one min can be a life-time of phone calls saying "Oh, i cant do this since you was on my computer" or "why is this not working now".. it makes you feel like ripping your hair out and they think you are their own personal IT guy.

 

[Lukejenx]

Tell them the costs upfront, print an invoice to give them, and tell them that a recipt can be arranged when payment is received. Make yourself look and act like a professional, scare them with prosecutions, all the crap.

 

[Gary Stevens]

Hi Joe,

I know that feeling all to well. I am owed money close on £2,000 and as each month goes by I am constantly assured I will get it. It's not fair especially when you have provided a service, sadly its a story you hear so many times. Even going to small claims courts would not help and often it means throwing good money after bad and of course risk never getting the money period because relations could turn sour. It really is so tough out there.

Gary

 

[extremedistro]

£10?????? What job is worth £10...., you should have a minimum charge or callout for clients like this.

After they have refused to pay the first time, DO NOT carry on doing jobs for them. Put account onhold until payment has been made.

 

[Nick_or_Jon]

This is why I require upfront payment lol.

 

[SillyJokes]

To be honest I'm getting deja vu. Anyone else?

 

[GRDCredit]

(i am a business!) and i said yeah just give us £10.

My immediate thought when I read this was are you really a business or is this a bit of a hobby. Chargin £10 when you had to travel just seems silly and gives the impression that you are not serious.

 

[patientlady]

hi all,

as i've mentioned before i'm a small IT compnay.

i went to a customer last night did some work for him and at the end of it he said.... do i owe you anything (i am a business!) and i said yeah just give us £10. To which he replied i haven't got any money

now every time he phones me up i know he's up to know good and always starts the conversation with since you've looked at my computer i can't..........

i've had a few other's like this but not many.. (all have paid!, except this one who assures me he will pay in 2 weeks)

before it happens again what do i do in the future?

i know £10 is a small sum but it's the principle. i couldn't go to asda walk out with a load of stuff and say i haven't got any money i'll pay you later.

Thanks

joe

Joe
£10 is not enough to charge. Put this one down to experience and work out how much you are prepared to work for. If you are having to do house calls (although not recommended) then add in the time for them having a chat, the compulsory cuppa, travelling time and so on. If you do not you will be out of pocket and having the wrong type of customer recommending you! Mention your charges on the phone before going to the appointment and do not be embarrassed if you then have to ask for the money. Ask for the money five/ten mins b4 you have completed the job and if its not forthcoming then I am sure that perhaps the last ten minutes may be crucial to the job completing lol!
Be strong and stick to you guns I think this is the only way forward... x

 

[Geoff T]

What about having a clipboard, with a watch on it, time yourself in, time yourself out, and charge per hour at a resaonable rate...and remember to check it regularly...and have a blank invoice to write out there and then.

That should keep the cosy chats etc to a minimum - I'm certainly not going to spend £x per hour to chat about the weather!

 

[chip_y2kuk]

Hi folks,

the £10 was for travelling no more than half a mile (he lives quite close to me) and spending 20 mins with him. (which i thought was a pretty reasonable charge).

what do people recommened i should be charging?

at the minute i tend to weigh up the job and try to work for no less than £10 per hour (sometimes more, depending on the job)

i've worked for companies and such but never really dealt with the financials (and only recently started working for myself) business has been good and i know i'm cheap (people tell me all the time!), but you are right i don't want to be too cheap and attracting the wrong type of customer.

i know it would be easier to stay away from home's and always do commercials under contracts. But most of my customers are pretty good and pay on time when i ask no questions asked and are happy.

thanks

joe

 

[Simon Johnson]

First Hour £45 Second Hour £30 - Something like that!?

 

[chip_y2kuk]

oh no i really am trying to make this a business (i've covered my startup costs so far) and am doing my best, but i suppose as most companies do,
i don't want to come across as too expensive, but i do realise i am too cheap

and i know the going rate in the area is £35-40 per hour (from some other IT companies)

so people reckon £30-40 Per hour is reasonable and would pay that much?

thanks for everyone's help

joe

 

[Geoff T]

£30 per hour sounds OK - maybe think about a minimum charge of 1/2 hour too? "call out" fee-type of thing

 

[saxondale]

oh no i really am trying to make this a business (i've covered my startup costs so far) and am doing my best, but i suppose as most companies do,
i don't want to come across as too expensive, but i do realise i am too cheap



joe

you`d have been better off not charging for the job, the trick is making sure you charge his friends

 

[Simon Johnson]

B2B IT will happily charge out engineers at £70-£90 / Hr

 

[chip_y2kuk]

i am aware that B2B IT services will charge out at anything from 40 per hour to £1,000 per 8 hour day

but i wanted to be "reasonably priced" and not what i think is expensive, i guess that's what i get for working for minumum wage for my working life (only about 8 years, im 23)

i'm deffinately going to restructure my pricing, however i do have No fix no Fee and no call out charges (these are plastered all over my vehicle, advertising material), i did this because i know the local plumbers charge up to £60 just to turn up.

thanks for everyone's help, i really appreciate it.

joe

 

[quikshop]

the £10 was for travelling no more than half a mile (he lives quite close to me) and spending 20 mins with him. (which i thought was a pretty reasonable charge).

I wouldn't change the channel on my TV for £10 an hour

As you've decided not to charge a call out fee, you're in a difficult position. If you get someone else refusing to pay then re-instate the problem with their computer and walk away...

 

[saxondale]

As you've decided not to charge a call out fee, ..

true - you really need to reconsider this.

 

[patientlady]

Sorry just a further point. You are trying to set up the business I understand but if you are too cheap to start with you will have different problems! Like for a call back if you have put up your rates your now regular customer will get cheesed off! Get your rates correct to begin with. Work out what you need to survive for the week (to cover mortgage or whatever) on a normal say 40 hour week! to work out an hourly rate which must inlcude your tax/na/travelling and any other overheads incl accountancy etc... £10 -£15 an hour may not cover it when you work out the time you are taking & calling back people, the bookings, looking in the diary and the hours you may not have work! just my two penneths worth...

 

[Esk247]

listen to what everyone on here is telling you. you need money to survive, you're running a business after all and you're a human being! you can still charge smaller amounts than your competitors as long as it doesnt put you out of business.

i did exactly what you're doing, charge tiny amounts, hoover up the low-budget projects..it doesn't work. the guy you're talking about won't pay, or when he does pay he'll then complain a few days later when he breaks something else and demand his money back. these people are more than just bargain hunters, they're after FREEBIES! and you don't have time for FREEBIES!

work out your expenses then what it will take to operate at a profit, keep the good customers happy and drop the customers who never pay or try and knock you down on price.

Charge a small call-out fee, even if its £10 (better than the minus figures you're going in to at the moment).

 

[chip_y2kuk]

this is something i'm starting to realise (that being too cheap is attracting the wrong type of people) and that was the reason for the 1st post i made.

the problem i do have is i don't really have a proper pricing structure apart from not working for less than £10 per hour ( i know the going rate in the area is £30-40). I have charged £60 for re-installing an operating system and installing all the windows updates and service packs (that included picking it up and dropping it back off)

the problem i have with charging call out fee's is that a lot of IT companies (even the local ones!) don't charge call out's (which is originally why we said we wouldn't charge call outs!)

the business is running well and we have had many good customers (you do the job they pay and are happy!), but increasingly i am getting the rediculous. The guy mentioned above is a prime example, i fixed his PC (it wouldn't boot at all, he'd tried to fix it himself) 4 months ago i reformatted it and left him too it(i had to wait to be paid then aswell), i've been back (more recently) and he hasen't got any money (again!)

I'm deffinately increasing my prices to help avoid this in the future ( i will also clearly state my prices, make sure the last two minutes are the most crucial and ask for payment before i finish)

Thanks

joe

Thanks for all your help

 

[saxondale]

just knock up a service sheet with tick boxes etc and a slightly bigger "total due" section to fill in and get the customer to sign when finished

saves the embarasment of asking for it.

 

[Rhyl Lightworks]

When I had a business repairing such things as washing machines (which I sold about 6 years ago) we had a minimum charge of £15 to go out, irrespective of whether the repair was done or not. We made sure the customer understood this when they booked the call. This covered the inspection of the machine, after which we would give them a quotation for the full repair, which they could accept or not. On the rare occasions the customer would not pay the £15, we disabled the machine completely by removing a vital part, and leaving it by the machine.

Barrie