PestBossPro Blog — Commercial Accounts

Getting Paid on Commercial Pest Control Accounts: Invoices, Cards on File and Past-Due Follow-Up

Commercial accounts pay well, but they do not always pay quickly. The person who let your tech in is not the person who pays the bill. The invoice goes to an office manager, then an owner, then an accounts payable clerk who wants a PO number. Meanwhile your tech has been back twice more. Getting paid on commercial work is less about chasing and more about setting the account up right from the start.

After the Tech Taps Complete

The tech's side of a commercial stop was covered in What the Tech Sees on a Commercial Pest Control Stop. When the tech taps Complete, the billing side starts. How it goes depends on how the account is set up.

PestBossPro gives you a few ways to bill a commercial client. Pick the one that matches how they want to pay, and set it on the client once.

Option One: Card on File, Charged on Completion

For a single restaurant, shop or office where the owner is the decision maker, the simplest setup is a card on file. When the tech completes the stop, the invoice is created and the card can be charged right then.

Small business owners often prefer this. They do not have to remember to pay, and you do not have to remember to bill. The customer app lets them see each invoice and update the card when it changes.

Cards on file can also be charged on a schedule rather than at completion, if the owner would rather be charged on the same day each month.

Ask for the card at the time the quote is approved, not after the first visit. Owners are most willing to set up payment when they have just decided to hire you. Waiting until the first invoice turns an easy yes into one more thing on their list.

Option Two: One Monthly Statement

For multi-location accounts, set the client to Monthly. They get one statement each month covering every location you serviced. Restaurant groups, property managers and companies with several buildings almost always prefer this. One bill to approve, one payment to make.

The statement can be paid online, or charged to a card on file. Line items show each location and service, which makes it easy for accounts payable to approve. The details are in Monthly Statements for Commercial Pest Control: One Bill That Covers Every Location.

Option Three: Prepaid Programs

Some commercial clients want to pay ahead for a program, like a year of rodent bait-station service or a season of fly service. PestBossPro records prepayments for programs and applies them as the visits happen.

Prepaid programs are good for both sides. The client locks in the service and often a better price. You get the money up front and a committed client for the length of the program.

Getting the Invoice Right

Slow commercial payments often come from invoices that raise a question. Avoid the questions and you avoid the delays:

• Clear line items. Each service from your service list, with the location if there are several.
• Sales tax where it applies. Set your rates to match your area. Check with your accountant if you are not sure which services are taxable.
• The right contact. Send invoices to the person who pays, not the person on site.
• PO numbers. If the client needs one on every invoice, keep it in a custom field on the client so it is never forgotten.
• Consistent dates. Monthly statements on the same day each month are easier for accounts payable to plan for.

Past-Due Follow-Up

Even well-run accounts sometimes pay late. PestBossPro sends past-due follow-up on its own, so the office does not have to keep a list of who owes what and send reminders by hand.

If an account stays past due after the automatic follow-ups, it is time for a phone call. Be direct and friendly. Often the answer is simple: the invoice went to someone who left, or the card on file expired. The customer app lets the client update the card themselves, which fixes that second one quickly.

Decide ahead of time how far behind an account can get before you pause service, and tell the client in your service agreement. Whatever you decide, apply it the same way to every account. A clear policy is easier to enforce than a case-by-case one.

Getting paid on time is one of the quiet parts of keeping a commercial account happy on both sides. Accounts that pay smoothly tend to renew smoothly, too. To see how billing fits with every other part of running commercial accounts, visit the PestBossPro commercial pest control software page.