It is standard in the house cleaning service industry to receive payment in advance or upfront at the time of cleaning.
Reasons Why You Should Receive Payments Upfront
It offers peace of mind through knowing that you have already been paid for the work you are about to do.
It prevents customers (especially first-time or one-time customers) from not paying you.
You don’t have to waste time by tracking down payments from your customers.
It helps you pay for your business expenses before they occur.
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How to Receive Payments
There are 3 ways that you can receive payments from customers: cash, check, or credit cards. If you are just starting your cleaning business, the easiest way to get paid is by having the customer pay you by cash or check. Make sure to tell them that you accept payment in advance or upfront at the time of cleaning.
For first-time or one-time cleanings, I have the customer pay in cash. This is so I don’t have to worry about them writing me a bogus check or a check that bounces. You can also use Paypal or any other merchant account to collect payment.
Paypal allows you to email an invoice to your customer so they can pay you in advance by credit card, debit card, or from a checking account. A merchant account also allows you to collect credit cards over the phone.
For regular cleanings, you will have already established a relationship with your customer and they have proven that they can pay you. You can have regular customers pay by cash, check, or credit card.
Decide Which Payments You Will Accept
I am currently only taking cash or check as payment, but might consider taking credit cards especially for one-time or first-time cleanings, and maybe for regular cleanings. I rarely have problems with collecting cash or checks.
Accepting credit cards can be another convenient way to receive payments, but there are fees involved. If the convenience for you and your customer outweighs the costs involved you may consider using credit cards as a form of payment.