Send 2 smaller bills or 1 large bill?

meanwhile · #1 04/27/12, 06:26 AM

My sons business is picking up to do Property Care Taker services. They are finding themselves asked to make several trips to some properties. We are wondering what to do about billing?

Would you rather get two smaller bills (for example this week there was a bill for $87.00 on one day / and a $185.00 bill on another day for the same home owner) OR would you rather have one larger bill?

Since most of their customers are out-of-town property owners, they are sent invoices along with photos and a list of the work done each time. We have been sending a bill/invoice and photos and an email with a list of work every time the boys go out to a property since, otherwise the email and list would be very long.

But, one property owner said he would rather get a bill only once per month. This is a challenge since the list of chores done will be two pages long!

How do others handle this? Do you invoice every time? Or save them up and bill once a month?

Since most of our work is done for people who are not even here, we have to keep sending the photos via email to get instructions and then to prove what work was done.

Suggestions and tips appreciated. Thank you.

Wanderer · #2 04/27/12, 06:53 AM

It would drive me nuts to get multiple bills for the same month. The only time I would see that as an option is if the landowner hadn't paid on-time. Then send a bill after a day's work and wait to do any other work until the bill is paid. Otherwise i would do once a month invoicing.

esugg · #3 04/27/12, 06:58 AM

I agree with Wanderer.

DAVID In Wisconsin · #4 04/27/12, 06:59 AM

I'd much rather be billed once a month. It would drive me crazy if my suppliers sent me an invoice for every single job.

countrygurl · #5 04/27/12, 07:13 AM

invoice as usual ( with details & pics), then once a month send a bill just with date of service & amount for that date then a total amount due & due date

invoice & bills are 2 different things in the business world, many times i will order and receive an "invoice" that came along with the product then receive a bill for that billing cycle just like if you have a store credit card you get a receipt at time of purchase then your monthly statement comes in

example of the montly bill:

?/?/???? address $0.00
?/?/???? address $0.00

Total amount due $0.00 by ?/?/????

I would send a seperate email explaing new billing procedure and how & when payment is expected. also you may want to give a future start start date of new billing procedure say 30 or sixty days from email of notice so the customer can have time to contact you with questions are adijust the budget and so forth

jwal10 · #6 04/27/12, 07:18 AM

My daughter and her SO do this same work, they bill each trip/job as the pictures are reviewed quickly to see what else needs done. 1st trip is usually outside trash cleanup to be able to mow/weedeat. Good/steady customers then are billed monthly, usually mow/weedy outside repairs as agreed on from pictures. A lot of this work is for banks on forclosed properties....James

mommathea · #7 04/27/12, 07:19 AM

We own our own Real Estate Photography business. Dh shoots between 1-6+ houses for agents. There are some that like being billed once a month. All of the others get billed once a week. And all of the jobs are billed on one invoice.
Sending multiple invoices guarantee lost bills, and confused clients

geo in mi · #8 04/27/12, 08:28 AM

Why not have each trip/job under a service order number, which authorizes and lists the work to be done, and then closed out afterwards? Then you can itemize a monthly billing by the service order numbers. Each new service order creates one line item on the monthly bill.....keep everybody happy, and you have better record keeping for income, and, you can set up a policy of payment terms that apply to everyone, like net 30 days, or 25th Prox, which is due on the 25th of the current month when you get the bill. Get the bill on May 1st, due by May 25th...... or whatever terms you choose.

geo

heavyrebel · #9 04/27/12, 09:07 AM

In our business we have found that it is best to offer two types of billing. Per Job or Monthly. We let the client decide. Some I know don't like to see a 700 dollar bill, but don't mind seeing two bill for 350 twice a month. I set it up in my reminders on my system. When these clients reach a certain amount i mail a bill. Sometimes its the spouse who doesnt like the other spending so much...lol.

tkrabec · #10 04/27/12, 09:18 AM

Remember that each bill you send out has a cost associated with it, from creating the bill, printing, folding, printing the envelope, postage, receiving the check(s), processing the bill in the accounting system, stamping & depositing the check.
With that being said, I would look at billing either On-site for on-off customers, weekly for semi-regular customers ( both at a slightly higher rate) then bi-weekly or monthly billing at a slightly lower rate ( the one you are billing now) for regular customers. Give them the choice on how to get billed.

NorthCountryWd · #11 04/27/12, 10:10 AM

My wife and I run the same kind of business and I bill just about everyone once a month. Payment due in 15 days. I have two property owners that get billed twice a year. Once in the fall after the rental season and once in the spring after winter maintenance and spring cleanup.

As long as you itemize everything, I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.

suitcase_sally · #12 04/27/12, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meanwhile

But, one property owner said he would rather get a bill only once per month. This is a challenge since the list of chores done will be two pages long!

I don't have a business, however I don't see the issue with how long the bill is. One page bi-weekly or two pages monthly is still the same number of pages in the end.

Harry Chickpea · #13 04/27/12, 11:59 AM

In general, monthly billing is the way to go. With many businesses, there is one day a month set aside for cutting checks.

The other side of the equation is that you keep customers for a longer time if you send multiple small bills, with no surprises. How many put any energy into thinking about a monthly utility bill or even an entertainment expense like netflix or cable?

I have just started to do PDF file documents and email billing rather than through the postal service.

goatlady · #14 04/27/12, 12:03 PM

"...list of chores done will be two pages long!" Totally unnecessary. The BILL should show labor and materials with possible dates for same and a total amount due. Included separately "could be" copies of the receipts for materials and a BRIEF listing of jobs completed, i.e. yard maintanence, plumbing work, carpentry work, appliance work, general cleaning. As a former property manager for out of state owners, I learned the owners ONLY want documents for tax purposes, not to be overwhelmed with detailed lists.

RedDirt Cowgirl · #15 04/27/12, 01:11 PM

I think you're wise to include as much detail as possible on your invoices. Too often the annual charges are viewed by someone who wonders what the hay they wasted all that money for.

The answer for your once a month folks is to issue them a Statement that merely itemizes the invoices. That way they have both, the paper that suits them for their own accounting style, and the invoices that denote the work and materials that suits your boy's business.

rambler · #16 04/27/12, 01:15 PM

As a farmer I'm used to monthly billing. Typoically the bill is a very short itemization of the work.

A job list can be longer with pics and all, emailed out whenever.

I'd prefer a monthly bill, easier for both sides I would think, but I'm sure some would prefer otherwise.

--->Paul

oregon woodsmok · #17 04/27/12, 01:25 PM

This is what I'd do. Send the emails with photos and a list of what was done. State "not a bill" on it.

Send a bill once a month that lists all the individual jobs and gives a total due for that month. Descriptions can be very brief on the bill because you already sent photos separately.

June 1 clean-up $30
June 10 weed $40
June 15 mow lawn $25
total due $95

That's all you need to send once a month. It'll make it easier to keep track of payments, too.

meanwhile · #18 04/27/12, 04:41 PM

Thank you everyone! Good ideas and points of view to consider. Right now we only send bills via email. No one has asked for a paper bill to get mailed yet. We only have three customers who have asked for a lot of work lately and so we will ask them which they prefer and go from there. The other customers, so far, are on a monthly or bi-monthly plan which is easy to keep up with.

Thanks!