PressureWashingBossPro Blog — Pressure Washing Software

Invoicing and Card on File: Getting Paid for Every Wash

Washing the house is the fun part. Getting paid for it is where small companies leak money. Invoices written up on Sunday night, sent a week late, forgotten after a busy stretch, or never sent because the owner thought the customer paid in cash. Every one of those is work done for free.

Billing Starts With the Job

Texts and reminders, covered in Two-Way Texting and Automatic Alerts in Pressure Washing Software, get the customer ready for the visit. Billing is what happens when the visit is done.

In PressureWashingBossPro, the invoice comes from the job. The services on the approved estimate are the services on the job, and the job becomes the invoice when the crew taps Complete. Nobody has to remember to write it up.

Invoices With Line Items and Sales Tax

Each invoice has line items from your service list, like a house wash, a driveway and a rust removal add-on, each with its own price. Sales tax is applied where you charge it. The customer sees exactly what they are paying for.

Clear line items cut down on questions. “What was the $95 for?” is answered on the invoice: gutter brightening, front and back. If the operator added a surface on site, the office adds that line before the invoice goes out, using the price from your list.

Card on File

Card on file is the single biggest help for getting paid on time. When a customer has a card saved, you can:

• Auto-charge on completion. The operator taps Complete, the invoice is created and the card is charged before the rig leaves.
• Charge on a schedule. Useful for recurring customers who prefer to be billed at a set time.

Cards get on file in a few ways: the customer adds one through the customer app, a sign-up form captures one when they sign up for a service, or the office enters one with the customer's permission. When a card expires, the customer can update it in the customer app.

It is worth asking every new residential customer for a card at the estimate stage. Plenty of people are happy to save one when they know they will only be charged after the work is done.

Online Payment

Not every customer wants to save a card. For those, the customer app shows their invoices and lets them pay online. A link to pay is far easier for a homeowner than finding a checkbook, and it gets you paid days sooner than waiting for a check in the mail.

Charge on Completion or on a Schedule?

Both options have their place. Charging on completion suits one-time residential work: the house is washed, the customer has seen the rig in the driveway, and the charge lands the same day. There is no gap for the job to be forgotten.

Charging on a schedule suits customers who want predictable billing, like a homeowner on a recurring plan for the house and driveway who prefers being charged on a set date. Pick whichever makes the customer most comfortable, and set it once on the account.

Past-Due Follow-Up

Some invoices still go unpaid. PressureWashingBossPro sends past-due follow-up on open invoices, so customers get reminded without you writing awkward messages. You can still step in personally on the bigger balances, but the routine reminders go out on their own.

A weekly look at what is still owed is a good habit. Reports, covered later in this series, show the money billed and what is still open, so nothing old sits forgotten.

Commercial Accounts Are Different

Homeowners usually pay per job. Commercial customers with several locations often do not want an invoice for every visit. A shopping center, restaurant group or HOA set to Monthly gets one statement each month covering every location, with each line labeled with the address. That is covered in Monthly Statements for Commercial Pressure Washing Accounts.

Practical Billing Habits

A few habits that help a washing company get paid:

• Get the card early. Ask for it when the estimate is approved, not after the wash.
• Complete on site. Have operators tap Complete at the property, so the invoice and charge happen right away.
• Photograph the work. Before-and-after photos on the job answer most “did you really do the back?” questions.
• Price extras clearly. Add-ons are easier to collect when the customer approved them on the estimate.
• Watch the open list. Small balances add up over a season.

International Billing

PressureWashingBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and bills customers in their own currency. Invoices, card on file and online payment work the same way wherever you operate.

To see how invoicing connects with estimates, the crew app and commercial statements, visit the PressureWashingBossPro pressure washing software page.