You guys know my opinion on contracts for residential mowing clients, now what’s yours? Leave me a comment down below, how do you guys do it for your business?
Hi Brian. Speaking of contracts i got your email that the document never went through. I'll have my missus resend it soon. Been a hectic week here my friend.
Dude for a young lawncare business owner myself that's 25, married and with a kid on the way I take all the good advice I can get. Your channel is for sure legit and has helped me a bunch!
This is my first year and pretty much do the exact same thing as you Brian. I love that I can look at a property, call the customer with the estimate price, and within 10 minutes have them scheduled. I require a card on file and all lawn maintenance is prepay only and I charge the cards on Sunday each week unless they want to pay for the month upfront. I don't use contracts unless it's commercial. Seem's to work well for me and none of my customers had any issues with the way I do it. Great tips and Thanks for the video!
Thank you Brian. I started watching you when I had 0 clients. Now I have over 40 lawns! The whole "give em your shpeel" right off the bat thing works so good. The second I get an inquiry I try and tell them everything about how I operate and what to expect before I even attempt to give them a quote or meet them. Saved me so much time from dealing with clients I don't even want to work for
Telling people we do not use lengthy contracts is a great selling point. Like you said, everyone hates them. I tell my potential customers that we use the overhaul (initial clean-up) as an interview (we never take money down - we carry all the financial risk) to get you to sign up for our service, and then we have to use each monthly maintenance appointment as an interview for the next one. So, no contracts not only makes our potential customers feel a lot better, it lets them know that we have an immediate motivation to continue providing the best service available! What if they refuse to pay? Easy. They never see us again. Their loss! LOL Not using contracts is a great example of Simplicity Theory!
We do contracts! We love them! Like you said it guarantees Our company revenue in the slow season which is from November 1 to March 31. See we mow all year round down here in south FL. Last year when we were not doing contracts we lost about 30% of our clients when the slow season started. There’s also another benefit in reference to doing contracts that you did not mention which is a company who does contracts now has a tangible property that the company owns. Which in return makes your Company worth more! So if you ever needed to go for a loan it’s much easier to obtain.
I use a contract system that is spread over 12 months which covers all my off time in the winter we dont get a lot of snow so you can't bank on that. My customers love the spread payment plan.
This method only works when you’re starting out, staying small, or as an owner operator. Once you start to scale up and you’re running multiple crews, bigger more “professional” or commercial accounts, or removing yourself from out of the field, you HAVE to have contracts in place that outline the specific scope of work, areas, disclaimers, etc etc. Now, it doesn’t have to be a legal Mumbo jumbo with 20 pages of fine print. A simple contract like the one we have is 1 title page that includes all of our company info, insurance info, workers compensation info, license numbers, etc. , one Page that outlines the contractors info, the owners info, who were billing to, and the site address, 4 pages of outline stating the work that is done weekly for all services, 1 page for disclaimers, 1 page for terms and conditions, and 1 page for compensation amount and payment terms and signatures. Takes us 10 minutes to type it up as we have templates and we use Adobe Sign to collect signatures.
@@nicklebutt11 we wrote everything ourselves and had our attorney read through it. Contracts are an ABSOLUTE must!! Like I stated above, it doesn’t have to the 20 pages of fine print. Just a couple of pages that outline your company info with all your insurances and licenses listed, another page for the site address, billing addresses, clients info, etc. And some pages that outline the work, disclaimers, payment terms, holidays or company wide days off, etc. And finally signatures.
Trying to get into contracted service to cover my butt from the scammers out there. But so far i'm still prepay/ pay as you go. Either they pay me right when i start mowing or they pay ahead. It works for me mostly except with a few of the pickier ppl.
Although this is an older video it is extremely revelant! That's the main reason why I use the pay per cut service people hate contracts. I let them know when it's easier to sell that you only pay me per service. And yard book I've been using them for years simple to use and I do all of my stuff out in the field before I get home because I ain't touching that computer when I get there lol
I work mine as pay as u go. Alacarte services. I encourage everyone to prepay for future services as much as possible. Some do. Some dont. Seems to work well.
I have been charging per month but I am leaning towards full maintenance contracts starting next year. Including all mowing, fert apps and mulch broken into 12 payments. I think this will help them budget and keep people from asking me to skip to save money.
I do pay-per-service and it works well for me. For landscape jobs I draft up a service agreement that defines the scope of work, what is included and what is not included for the job and I require half up front and half when finished. I am a part timer and am very picky with customers that I accept. If they strike me at all as if they are gping to be a cheapskate or have a hard time paying I just tell them that I am not ideally set up for their type of property and refer them to a friendly competitor 👍
Hey that’s what it’s all about. Keep an eye on our training website www.lawntrepreneuracademy.com You may find some really helpful resources there. Rock on pal
I use contracts. We do monthly rates. Even if we have to double cut a couple times in the spring or skip a few weeks during the dry months, my customers still pay the same monthly price May-October. Contracts keep us covered and guarantee us consistent income. I also put in that the customer is free to cancel service anytime, but they are required to pay for the month in which they cancel. Has worked great for us. Great video!
I agree with you totally. That was one of the things that I notice when I first started using yardbook this year. Now I just input it info into the computer and Im ready to go. Just added a customer today while I was on the phone.
I have run my business in the same way as you and just started looking at contracts for the cashflow benefits, even if you don't have a contract but price an even cost fortnightly or monthly throughout the year doing more services in warmer months and less in the cooler IE. 80 dollar lawn X 21 cuts per year = 1680 ÷ 26 (fortnight's)= $64.61 per fortnight so you get a little less in summer but you don't have the winter cashflow dip if you can get enough clients on board...
I agree with you Brian i don't like contracts for residential lawn care customers. My billing system was i left a manilla envelope at your house and you would leave the money in it or check in a agreed upon place. I would leave you a receipt. The only time i used contracts was for committing accounts and major landscape work.
Another gem of information but I’m not sure how I missed this one before. The family st around tonight and watched an encore of the leaf blower contest with Liz. My wife and mother enjoyed watching Liz put you guys to shame. Keep sharing the great info brother 🥇
We just had a 3 week drought here in GA and I had a few clients (I do not use contracts) ask me to skip their lawn because it hardly grew at all. I missed out on a few cuts and lost some revenue that I would not have lost if I would have had them contracted but at the end of the day....the customer was right! Their lawn didn’t need to be cut! I’m sorry, but my conscious won’t let me cut a lawn that doesn’t need to be cut just because I don’t want to lose that revenue during the drought. I’d rather do what’s best for the customers lawn and my companies reputation. There are several other examples of why I prefer not to have contracts but this one was the most recent example.
Impressive lawn,very clean and blooming.Thanks for your ideas,people will have a beautiful lawn full of green accordingly, I like you video. Just for who need SEBOSS hardware cloth,1/2,1/4 opening ,19 GA, Hot dip galvanized after welding, double galvanized, strong and sturdy, delicate and beautiful, suitable as gopher wire, protect lawn/garden from all kinds of gophers.
I am like you, I do a 'word of mouth' contract. It is easy and quick. I have the customer jot down all their info on a piece of paper and I enter it in on Yardbook. Almost all of my customers are elderly and prefer to write me a check at the end of the month, which may, at times, be slow, but they pay within 5 days after the invoice is sent. I do have some that pay with a credit card which is better, but I am not going to drop a customer if they pay by check. I have a couple that pay me cash at the time that I mow, how great is that! Yardbook is great and I am glad that you turned me on to the program. I am still small potatoes compared to you "Big" guys, but I get a lot of 'side' jobs, taking out bushes, trimming bushes, major yard clean-ups. Which adds to the bottom line. I even have a buddy working for me this season. I got a job coming up weed eating the side of 3 dams in a wooded subdivision close to town. Not really sure how that is going to go, but will let you know soon.
What do you do with your customers for fall and winter ? Do you still go as after as the spring and summer ? Or you don’t go at all ? How you keep your employees for the winter ?
Nice vid! Keeping it simple yet efficient. I use the same method as you do almost exactly down to using yardbook, however I charge their card at the beginning of the month so I don't risk cutting a whole month and their card is declined. Has happened before, although I still got paid (eventually), but you never know who might rob you. Early on I got robbed by 3 different cash paying customers, so now I'm trying to play it safe.
I have 2 lawn maintenance departments for my business along with 6 install crews. One department has 4 crews for commercial mowing and HOA Maintenance. The other has 3 crews and is for residential contracts. Yes, I did say contract. I am based in Colorado and we offer top to bottom residential service (minus snow thank the lord. We only do commercial/HOA snow removal). We offer weekly mow, trim, blow, and bed care. Our crews can store and use commercial grade pesticides because of my license so we spray every time we are on site. We will aerate in the spring, activate/blowout the sprinklers, prune 3 times a year, complete a spring and fall cleanup, fertilize 3 times, and edge the property once a month. We only do business with clients who want the full package. I hate al a carte because it’s easier to grow when you know how much revenue you are going to bring in each month ahead of time. So if you are working your budgets in the spring and realize you do not have enough monthly revenue to justify a new mower, you know you need to make changes somewhere ahead of time, not after the fact. It is most likely my personality more than anything, but, I just like to know how much money I can expect to come in every month and not have to worry about getting more phone calls to make payroll this week.
I use a "Mutual Agreement" paperwork with 2 payment minimum upfront at a time (some pay more than 2) like 'Geek to Freak' did. This is a bit lighter paperwork that doesn't intimidate the potential new customer and there is no locked in season with someone that they may not know that much about. It does lock in payment details and it can be cancelled from either side. Any payment already made will have services rendered.
Create a "job"(in the sitemap area) in Yardbook as "Lawn Maintenance Agreement". Add all your clauses/terms in that. I have late fees,dog shit,if i cant get in backyard,etc.VERY basic terms there. Add them in to system,send that over as a job,they hit accept and we are good to go! Takes seconds to do and covers my end for everything i want it to. There are people out there that do not want to pay you,i can easily weed them out by making them approve that agreement. Not a contract,they can cancel anytime they would like to but it still nice that everything else is on my terms.
Also,by keeping card on file and just charging everyone do you pay the fees or make them pay the fees? What about tipping? i Get on average 150-300 a month in tips from customers by actually sending them an invoice and letting them pay it online.
Where I'm at I have lots of customers that just won't do the card on file. I have several that prepays for a month Service and several that pay day of Service. I also have a couple that I email an invoice to each month. People funny about credit cards. Also a couple that pays thru PayPal. I'm only doing 23 yards. As I grow into this I totally agree before I go full time (Next Spring) I've gotta streamline things.
Jackie Hall for sure. Every body is different. For my business model, that’s their only option. Pro’s and cons of course but that’s what seems to work best for me!
We added a stipulation in our contracts that say we can drop the client or sell the contract to another company at any time! This way we can still have the dependability and protection of a contract.
Great videos! I do have a question, I have John Deere, Scag, Exmark and Faris all within 30mins of me. Now I use to work on exmarks and talked my dad into a lazer Z 60” a few years back so I know how they cut. If you gad the choice of the above which would you go with? Just curious. Thanks again for the videos
Here in Rochester mi. I do basically the same thing with my customers however I send them 2 emails. One is a estimate off yardbook with the price per cut listed along with our service terms and policies so it’s in writing for them to read and understand. I also send them the card link. If their serious they will add the card and if they don’t we part ways from that point. Unless pre pay whole season of course
I dont use contracts either, I bill out at the end of each month. I've never not been paid. I'm a solo operation so I guess I have a more personal relationship with my customers. If I had multiple crews not sure how I'd feel.
Brian, I really enjoyed this video. Agree 100% on the contract thing. However, I have heard you say we typically cut a sub lot for $30 and a little more if its a corner lot or has a pool. I would advise you not to limit your income potential. I am in East Lansing where the income level is lower than Novi, and the burbs and most of our sub lawns are $35, $40, $45 and even $50. Simply stated, when I meet a potential client for the first time and we get to look at their lawn, I ask them one very simple question. YOU KNOW YOUR LAWN BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS A FAIR PRICE FOR MOWING, TRIMMING AND MAKING IT LOOK GOOD? Many times I've looked at a small sub lawn and Im thinking $30 and then have the client say, "I really think $40 is a fair price." They're happy because they got to set the price and Im very happy. However, on the other hand if the client says, "Well, I think a fair price would be $25". I simple say in a kind voice..... well you're not far off. We could do it for $30. Most of the time you will get a "I can do that price" from the client. Again, most of the sub lawns we are doing (80-90%) are either $35 or $40 and an additional $10 or $15 for a second pass. From your Kugo wearing bro near the state Capital...... thx for the great vids.
Thanks for weighing in pal. Unfortunately I’m in probably the most dense and shark infest waters where I live. 30 is a great price for a lawn we get. Most guys without getting into it charge 18, 20, maybe 25. So fighting for the extra $5 is doable, but usually where things top out. Even tho I agree with you 100%!
I have never used contracts for my customers. With a contract I would be committed to the customer and vice versa. I like the freedom of having the ability to opt out if the property is a bad fit, and same goes for the customer. I have had to drop several customers for this reason. I'm a one man band as well and have developed a close business relationship with my customers. I have all contact info including phone numbers and email. My method of payment with some of my customers is email at the end of month and leaving an invoice with others.
i do contracts. mainly for legal reasons. but they can cancel anytime as long as its 1 week before the next round. thats just so it gives me time to fill up a slot i lost. but i have had a customer that said they want this and this done and i do it they come back and said thats not what i wanted and then wanted me to pay for all this work done and not pay me or my crew for work done. and of course i had no scope of work in writing. i will take the time to save my butt. as my lawyer said its best.
I would love for you to do a video on tackling HOA Properties. For example, I live on an Army base and the lawncare company that does our yard absolutely sucks ass. I wonder how you would bid like an entire development.
For lawncare that might work but for landscape construction you need contracts to protect your business. You never wanna get ripped off for 5 or 15 grand. You need to add a litigation just in case theirs a problem mid job and you can make that customer pay for work that's been done up to the point of cancellation.
I currently have all customers sign into a lawn agreement. However it would be nice to have yardbooks capability to attach pdf of terms on each estimate. If you could also change the signature line to say be signing this you are agreeing to the terms. I have not had much luck with the dev team making any of these changes yet.
In the last few years I have been trying to optimize my business as a saleable asset. I have no intention of selling the business but through research you want your business to run itself not you. An asset that has clear metrics and process for distinguishable profit margins. I have always done pay as you go, but assuming you are selling your business or buying out a competitor how do you show the value of your customer list without a guarantee of high retention. I can say I have a $10,000 or $50000 or whatever but I cannot promise a buyer that those customers will pass over. A contract provides long term value. I can show a buyer or investor this information as proof of a long term asset. Let me know your thoughts. I am looking at contracts and pre monthly billing
Pay as you go i say is a good way because its easy and very simple. Nice vid Brian hope this seasons going well for ya where getting stuck alot haha cheers
For this yard book app is it free is there overhead expenses if so how much, and I know you said it smart phone compatible... but when I searched for it in App Store I got like 20 different one non of which said yardbook.
Hello Brian I'm new to the lawn maintenance team I got a question How you cash out for a client in the end of the month Did you use an app or what do you use
You guys make it look so easy. Over here where I live $40 is apparently way too much and I have my competitors charge $25 for pretty much everything I do. The only thing is they do such a crap job that the customers don’t seem to care. When they could be paying $40 for quality non scalping lawn service. My business is suffering greatly due to these low ballers working for free. Lost a customer because they had someone mow for $30. But they don’t edge or blow just mow. The amount of cheap ass people out here blows my mind.
Interested in why you cash out at the end of the month as opposed to after every service? Yardbook makes it super easy to generate an invoice from every job. Have you tried the auto generated invoices yet? I need to explore that feature more.
4 or 5 minutes?? 8. Lol these FAQ's Could you make an FAQ on buying your 1st lawncare truck? That should be a real juicy one. Like 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ,ton vs midsize truck, etc etc...
2 intros = 8 minute "5 minute" video. you said the same exact thing in the first 30 seconds before the intro as you did in the minute after the intro. just jump into it my dude! thanks for the content, love it. just a friendly critique! :)
Great video man! It’s the simple stuff that makes it so good! You better just drop the 5 min or less video series and call it the 10 min or less video series!! Lol
Brian personally I think contracts are a good however I havent used contracts yet. I usually would go per month but with certain people generally the 80ish year olf elderly they do best paying weekly. I noticed when I presented a larger bill I instantly get a negative response in attitude and verbal response. I know logically it shouldnt matter buy it really does.
We don't let the tail wag the dog mate! If your system is working, that's great. For me personally, we've always billed EOM, never really had any issues. Keep up the hard work!
I actually really agree with this… I will start to bill EOM in the future but I do notice that if I collect weekly it seems a lot less to the customer than if I collect EOM or even all at once at the end of a season, even though it shouldn’t matter as you stated. It’s actually very interesting psychology
Do you feel that the processing fees are worth it? I know that you save time by not going to the bank and chasing money but seams 3% of total sales is throwing away money. I’m just curious your thoughts because I’m thinking of researching a processing company because a lot of my younger customers have alternate methods of payments as opposed to traditional checks.
Brian how do you charge for hedging when you already have the account? I want to bid Right, that being said is there a Right way?? I could use some help on bidding in General. I’m open for advice from anyone reading this as well. I love this kind of work been doing it for a long time just never the Business side... I live in Oregon and only doing maintenance. I work a lone and I’m starting to study for plants and turf test. Thanks
Shane Street we charge by the job and it’s very dynamic, hard to give an easy answer. Just depends how long you’re there for, how much you prune, and how much you haul away. Hope that’s a start.
Brian's Lawn Maintenance thank you for replying yes that does help! So man hours plus Removal depending on how big the bushes how much you could remove. That’s kind of how I’ve been doing it man hours plus removal. Keep sharing The knowledge! Thanks again!
I think keith kalfas charges per shrub. Some like brian charge by the job. I charge $65 per hour labor (minimum one hour) and any disposal fees are applied where applicable. That means if it takes me a 1/2 hour im still getting my hour price minimum. And if they dont have a place on property to dispose of debris, provided it is a substantial amount i can charge to dispose of it.
To my knowledge it’s illegal to do residential contracts in PA ? Commercial accounts is a different story but that’s what I was told. I’ll have to look into it but I wouldn’t do a contract anyway🤷🏻♂️
@@smithservices2882 here in South Carolina it doesn’t snow every year... but now I started a tree service company so we can make some extra money and be a little more busy in the winter time.
when you say credit card is that actually credit or is that debt to i want my cust. to be debt free. no one every just says card other videos people say credit to thanks for the great videos be great help for me and my life
I do contracts for everything verbal agreements do not hold up in court if you have to go after them to get your money plus they can't say all I thought you agreed to do this service or this service if it's in writing there is no argument I have been in business for 30 years
Imagine cutting someones lawn for a month, not getting paid, then mowing their lawn 2 more times without payment before dropping them... 6 free cuts... Idk about that
Have you ever done a job for a customer and they are as happy as could be with your work. Only to hear through the grape vine that they are bad mouthing your work to your competitors?
Text messages don't get erased on smartphones that's an iPhone thing. I have messages on my phone threads going back 6 years through different generations of Samsung phones. Its time to step your business phone game up.
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You guys know my opinion on contracts for residential mowing clients, now what’s yours?
Leave me a comment down below, how do you guys do it for your business?
Hi Brian. Speaking of contracts i got your email that the document never went through. I'll have my missus resend it soon. Been a hectic week here my friend.
Hey brian idk how to get In touch other than comments have a few questions for you
Email us anytime
Dude for a young lawncare business owner myself that's 25, married and with a kid on the way I take all the good advice I can get. Your channel is for sure legit and has helped me a bunch!
Thanks man! Wish you the best
Emanuel Quintero hey bro was it hard starting up? Like how did you get your customers ?
This is my first year and pretty much do the exact same thing as you Brian. I love that I can look at a property, call the customer with the estimate price, and within 10 minutes have them scheduled. I require a card on file and all lawn maintenance is prepay only and I charge the cards on Sunday each week unless they want to pay for the month upfront. I don't use contracts unless it's commercial. Seem's to work well for me and none of my customers had any issues with the way I do it. Great tips and Thanks for the video!
Thank you Brian. I started watching you when I had 0 clients. Now I have over 40 lawns! The whole "give em your shpeel" right off the bat thing works so good. The second I get an inquiry I try and tell them everything about how I operate and what to expect before I even attempt to give them a quote or meet them. Saved me so much time from dealing with clients I don't even want to work for
That’s awesome pal, keep it up
Bri., you ain't no Lawn guy.... You're a business man through and through!!! Great video bud!! Dirty Jersey out!!!
Telling people we do not use lengthy contracts is a great selling point. Like you said, everyone hates them. I tell my potential customers that we use the overhaul (initial clean-up) as an interview (we never take money down - we carry all the financial risk) to get you to sign up for our service, and then we have to use each monthly maintenance appointment as an interview for the next one.
So, no contracts not only makes our potential customers feel a lot better, it lets them know that we have an immediate motivation to continue providing the best service available!
What if they refuse to pay?
Easy. They never see us again.
Their loss! LOL
Not using contracts is a great example of Simplicity Theory!
We do contracts! We love them! Like you said it guarantees Our company revenue in the slow season which is from November 1 to March 31. See we mow all year round down here in south FL. Last year when we were not doing contracts we lost about 30% of our clients when the slow season started. There’s also another benefit in reference to doing contracts that you did not mention which is a company who does contracts now has a tangible property that the company owns. Which in return makes your Company worth more! So if you ever needed to go for a loan it’s much easier to obtain.
I use a contract system that is spread over 12 months which covers all my off time in the winter we dont get a lot of snow so you can't bank on that. My customers love the spread payment plan.
I actually was thinking about doing this. Do you just charge a fixed fee per month for the entire year ?
This method only works when you’re starting out, staying small, or as an owner operator. Once you start to scale up and you’re running multiple crews, bigger more “professional” or commercial accounts, or removing yourself from out of the field, you HAVE to have contracts in place that outline the specific scope of work, areas, disclaimers, etc etc. Now, it doesn’t have to be a legal Mumbo jumbo with 20 pages of fine print. A simple contract like the one we have is 1 title page that includes all of our company info, insurance info, workers compensation info, license numbers, etc. , one Page that outlines the contractors info, the owners info, who were billing to, and the site address, 4 pages of outline stating the work that is done weekly for all services, 1 page for disclaimers, 1 page for terms and conditions, and 1 page for compensation amount and payment terms and signatures. Takes us 10 minutes to type it up as we have templates and we use Adobe Sign to collect signatures.
This is great. Where are you getting the contract templates
@@nicklebutt11 we wrote everything ourselves and had our attorney read through it. Contracts are an ABSOLUTE must!! Like I stated above, it doesn’t have to the 20 pages of fine print. Just a couple of pages that outline your company info with all your insurances and licenses listed, another page for the site address, billing addresses, clients info, etc. And some pages that outline the work, disclaimers, payment terms, holidays or company wide days off, etc. And finally signatures.
Trying to get into contracted service to cover my butt from the scammers out there. But so far i'm still prepay/ pay as you go. Either they pay me right when i start mowing or they pay ahead. It works for me mostly except with a few of the pickier ppl.
Although this is an older video it is extremely revelant! That's the main reason why I use the pay per cut service people hate contracts. I let them know when it's easier to sell that you only pay me per service. And yard book I've been using them for years simple to use and I do all of my stuff out in the field before I get home because I ain't touching that computer when I get there lol
I work mine as pay as u go. Alacarte services. I encourage everyone to prepay for future services as much as possible. Some do. Some dont. Seems to work well.
I have been charging per month but I am leaning towards full maintenance contracts starting next year. Including all mowing, fert apps and mulch broken into 12 payments. I think this will help them budget and keep people from asking me to skip to save money.
How has that worked for you? I have been thinking about doing this
I just got screwed out of $1300 doing that
I like prepaid yards, pay as you go. Anything other than that having a card on file. Love mow as you go.
I agree . Customers pay a week in advance or a minimum of 72 hours prior if they don’t pay we don’t show up. Lol
Great video Brian, I do a contract for commercial and a signature for residential! But for landscaping I do all contracts!
I do pay-per-service and it works well for me. For landscape jobs I draft up a service agreement that defines the scope of work, what is included and what is not included for the job and I require half up front and half when finished. I am a part timer and am very picky with customers that I accept. If they strike me at all as if they are gping to be a cheapskate or have a hard time paying I just tell them that I am not ideally set up for their type of property and refer them to a friendly competitor 👍
You know I’m starting lawn care business and this video will help me a lot. Thanks for the great content.
Hey that’s what it’s all about.
Keep an eye on our training website www.lawntrepreneuracademy.com
You may find some really helpful resources there. Rock on pal
Are there any coupon codes you’re offering at the moment?
I use contracts. We do monthly rates. Even if we have to double cut a couple times in the spring or skip a few weeks during the dry months, my customers still pay the same monthly price May-October. Contracts keep us covered and guarantee us consistent income. I also put in that the customer is free to cancel service anytime, but they are required to pay for the month in which they cancel. Has worked great for us. Great video!
I agree with you totally. That was one of the things that I notice when I first started using yardbook this year. Now I just input it info into the computer and Im ready to go. Just added a customer today while I was on the phone.
I have run my business in the same way as you and just started looking at contracts for the cashflow benefits, even if you don't have a contract but price an even cost fortnightly or monthly throughout the year doing more services in warmer months and less in the cooler IE. 80 dollar lawn X 21 cuts per year = 1680 ÷ 26 (fortnight's)= $64.61 per fortnight so you get a little less in summer but you don't have the winter cashflow dip if you can get enough clients on board...
I agree with you Brian i don't like contracts for residential lawn care customers. My billing system was i left a manilla envelope at your house and you would leave the money in it or check in a agreed upon place. I would leave you a receipt. The only time i used contracts was for committing accounts and major landscape work.
Another gem of information but I’m not sure how I missed this one before. The family st around tonight and watched an encore of the leaf blower contest with Liz. My wife and mother enjoyed watching Liz put you guys to shame. Keep sharing the great info brother 🥇
Brian's Lawn Maintenance... Can you please go into more detail about how you do the "card on file" ? Thank you
Ken Lynn google "yardbook card on file". They add their card via an email you sent, then you can create invoices to charge their card
We done a few videos on Yardbook now. But Christian is right down below.
We just had a 3 week drought here in GA and I had a few clients (I do not use contracts) ask me to skip their lawn because it hardly grew at all. I missed out on a few cuts and lost some revenue that I would not have lost if I would have had them contracted but at the end of the day....the customer was right! Their lawn didn’t need to be cut! I’m sorry, but my conscious won’t let me cut a lawn that doesn’t need to be cut just because I don’t want to lose that revenue during the drought. I’d rather do what’s best for the customers lawn and my companies reputation. There are several other examples of why I prefer not to have contracts but this one was the most recent example.
Wish you ran a daycare like that. Sign me up
Impressive lawn,very clean and blooming.Thanks for your ideas,people will have a beautiful lawn full of green accordingly, I like you video.
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I am like you, I do a 'word of mouth' contract. It is easy and quick. I have the customer jot down all their info on a piece of paper and I enter it in on Yardbook. Almost all of my customers are elderly and prefer to write me a check at the end of the month, which may, at times, be slow, but they pay within 5 days after the invoice is sent. I do have some that pay with a credit card which is better, but I am not going to drop a customer if they pay by check. I have a couple that pay me cash at the time that I mow, how great is that! Yardbook is great and I am glad that you turned me on to the program. I am still small potatoes compared to you "Big" guys, but I get a lot of 'side' jobs, taking out bushes, trimming bushes, major yard clean-ups. Which adds to the bottom line. I even have a buddy working for me this season. I got a job coming up weed eating the side of 3 dams in a wooded subdivision close to town. Not really sure how that is going to go, but will let you know soon.
Mines a quote contract. But its mainly just staying price, cutting day, what im doing for that price and some caveats about payment and such.
What do you do with your customers for fall and winter ? Do you still go as after as the spring and summer ? Or you don’t go at all ? How you keep your employees for the winter ?
We do leaf clean up and snow. And my guys are just seasonal help.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance what happens when you cant find help the following season and stuck with alot of work?
Nice vid! Keeping it simple yet efficient. I use the same method as you do almost exactly down to using yardbook, however I charge their card at the beginning of the month so I don't risk cutting a whole month and their card is declined. Has happened before, although I still got paid (eventually), but you never know who might rob you. Early on I got robbed by 3 different cash paying customers, so now I'm trying to play it safe.
Hey that works too
I have 2 lawn maintenance departments for my business along with 6 install crews. One department has 4 crews for commercial mowing and HOA Maintenance. The other has 3 crews and is for residential contracts. Yes, I did say contract. I am based in Colorado and we offer top to bottom residential service (minus snow thank the lord. We only do commercial/HOA snow removal). We offer weekly mow, trim, blow, and bed care. Our crews can store and use commercial grade pesticides because of my license so we spray every time we are on site. We will aerate in the spring, activate/blowout the sprinklers, prune 3 times a year, complete a spring and fall cleanup, fertilize 3 times, and edge the property once a month. We only do business with clients who want the full package. I hate al a carte because it’s easier to grow when you know how much revenue you are going to bring in each month ahead of time. So if you are working your budgets in the spring and realize you do not have enough monthly revenue to justify a new mower, you know you need to make changes somewhere ahead of time, not after the fact. It is most likely my personality more than anything, but, I just like to know how much money I can expect to come in every month and not have to worry about getting more phone calls to make payroll this week.
I use a "Mutual Agreement" paperwork with 2 payment minimum upfront at a time (some pay more than 2) like 'Geek to Freak' did. This is a bit lighter paperwork that doesn't intimidate the potential new customer and there is no locked in season with someone that they may not know that much about. It does lock in payment details and it can be cancelled from either side. Any payment already made will have services rendered.
Create a "job"(in the sitemap area) in Yardbook as "Lawn Maintenance Agreement". Add all your clauses/terms in that. I have late fees,dog shit,if i cant get in backyard,etc.VERY basic terms there. Add them in to system,send that over as a job,they hit accept and we are good to go! Takes seconds to do and covers my end for everything i want it to. There are people out there that do not want to pay you,i can easily weed them out by making them approve that agreement. Not a contract,they can cancel anytime they would like to but it still nice that everything else is on my terms.
Also,by keeping card on file and just charging everyone do you pay the fees or make them pay the fees? What about tipping? i Get on average 150-300 a month in tips from customers by actually sending them an invoice and letting them pay it online.
Where I'm at I have lots of customers that just won't do the card on file. I have several that prepays for a month Service and several that pay day of Service. I also have a couple that I email an invoice to each month. People funny about credit cards. Also a couple that pays thru PayPal. I'm only doing 23 yards. As I grow into this I totally agree before I go full time (Next Spring) I've gotta streamline things.
Jackie Hall for sure. Every body is different. For my business model, that’s their only option. Pro’s and cons of course but that’s what seems to work best for me!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance I'd love to implement CC on file. I have converted most of mine to paying monthly, so I guess 1 step at a time.
good video that helps lawn maintenance customers easier with payments and lawn service!!!!!!!!
Hey Brian I've been keeping up with your videos and love watching them
Thanks for the support!
Contracts not only commit the customer, they commit you as a provider. I like having the freedom to add/drop at my choosing.
We added a stipulation in our contracts that say we can drop the client or sell the contract to another company at any time! This way we can still have the dependability and protection of a contract.
Oh nice! Def something to consider🙂
MAY I HELP YOU? Lawn Care Services I can’t tell you how much it has helped us!
@@Jerrxx1128 perfect! Thanks for the info👍
Hope you see this…… but what do you do if that person cancels the card before you can charge it?
Love it!! Thanks for all the info. I need to add the charge card on file for the end of the month billing. Do you do any checks from clients?
We do not anymore, no sir! All charge card on file. Except for one customer Peter who is 92. I didn’t have the heart to cancel him, ha
Great videos! I do have a question, I have John Deere, Scag, Exmark and Faris all within 30mins of me. Now I use to work on exmarks and talked my dad into a lazer Z 60” a few years back so I know how they cut. If you gad the choice of the above which would you go with? Just curious. Thanks again for the videos
Also I know you are team Exmark but I also saw where you liked the scags lol
Here in Rochester mi. I do basically the same thing with my customers however I send them 2 emails. One is a estimate off yardbook with the price per cut listed along with our service terms and policies so it’s in writing for them to read and understand. I also send them the card link. If their serious they will add the card and if they don’t we part ways from that point. Unless pre pay whole season of course
I dont use contracts either, I bill out at the end of each month. I've never not been paid. I'm a solo operation so I guess I have a more personal relationship with my customers. If I had multiple crews not sure how I'd feel.
Is LLC the best way start your lawn business? Or s Corp? What is best way in your opinion
Brian, I really enjoyed this video. Agree 100% on the contract thing. However, I have heard you say we typically cut a sub lot for $30 and a little more if its a corner lot or has a pool. I would advise you not to limit your income potential. I am in East Lansing where the income level is lower than Novi, and the burbs and most of our sub lawns are $35, $40, $45 and even $50. Simply stated, when I meet a potential client for the first time and we get to look at their lawn, I ask them one very simple question. YOU KNOW YOUR LAWN BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS A FAIR PRICE FOR MOWING, TRIMMING AND MAKING IT LOOK GOOD? Many times I've looked at a small sub lawn and Im thinking $30 and then have the client say, "I really think $40 is a fair price." They're happy because they got to set the price and Im very happy. However, on the other hand if the client says, "Well, I think a fair price would be $25". I simple say in a kind voice..... well you're not far off. We could do it for $30. Most of the time you will get a "I can do that price" from the client. Again, most of the sub lawns we are doing (80-90%) are either $35 or $40 and an additional $10 or $15 for a second pass. From your Kugo wearing bro near the state Capital...... thx for the great vids.
Thanks for weighing in pal. Unfortunately I’m in probably the most dense and shark infest waters where I live. 30 is a great price for a lawn we get. Most guys without getting into it charge 18, 20, maybe 25. So fighting for the extra $5 is doable, but usually where things top out. Even tho I agree with you 100%!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance WOW, that is Shark infested.....Your gunna need a bigger boat....lol
I have never used contracts for my customers. With a contract I would be committed to the customer and vice versa. I like the freedom of having the ability to opt out if the property is a bad fit, and same goes for the customer. I have had to drop several customers for this reason. I'm a one man band as well and have developed a close business relationship with my customers. I have all contact info including phone numbers and email. My method of payment with some of my customers is email at the end of month and leaving an invoice with others.
i do contracts. mainly for legal reasons. but they can cancel anytime as long as its 1 week before the next round. thats just so it gives me time to fill up a slot i lost. but i have had a customer that said they want this and this done and i do it they come back and said thats not what i wanted and then wanted me to pay for all this work done and not pay me or my crew for work done. and of course i had no scope of work in writing. i will take the time to save my butt. as my lawyer said its best.
I would love for you to do a video on tackling HOA Properties. For example, I live on an Army base and the lawncare company that does our yard absolutely sucks ass. I wonder how you would bid like an entire development.
For lawncare that might work but for landscape construction you need contracts to protect your business. You never wanna get ripped off for 5 or 15 grand. You need to add a litigation just in case theirs a problem mid job and you can make that customer pay for work that's been done up to the point of cancellation.
Thank you so much man! You’re show has been money to me!
Hey Brian, good idea to can customers who are consistently late on paying invoices? Some of mine are always up to 10 days late before I get payment.
When, if at all, do you follow up after giving an estimate? What is your experience with customers responding after an estimate?
I currently have all customers sign into a lawn agreement. However it would be nice to have yardbooks capability to attach pdf of terms on each estimate. If you could also change the signature line to say be signing this you are agreeing to the terms. I have not had much luck with the dev team making any of these changes yet.
Contract commercial but quick sign for residential yep yep 👍👍🍪🍪👏👏🍺🍺
In the last few years I have been trying to optimize my business as a saleable asset. I have no intention of selling the business but through research you want your business to run itself not you. An asset that has clear metrics and process for distinguishable profit margins. I have always done pay as you go, but assuming you are selling your business or buying out a competitor how do you show the value of your customer list without a guarantee of high retention. I can say I have a $10,000 or $50000 or whatever but I cannot promise a buyer that those customers will pass over. A contract provides long term value. I can show a buyer or investor this information as proof of a long term asset. Let me know your thoughts. I am looking at contracts and pre monthly billing
Looking to upgrade my exmark e series to the x series. Is it worth it? Seems the 52” with 25hp engine is a little under powered. What you think?
Awesome video as always, Brian!
Pay as you go i say is a good way because its easy and very simple. Nice vid Brian hope this seasons going well for ya where getting stuck alot haha cheers
For this yard book app is it free is there overhead expenses if so how much, and I know you said it smart phone compatible... but when I searched for it in App Store I got like 20 different one non of which said yardbook.
There isn’t an apple app for it yet sorry.
Hello Brian I'm new to the lawn maintenance team I got a question How you cash out for a client in the end of the month Did you use an app or what do you use
We use Yardbook just like we talked about
Contracts I only use for commercial accounts. Residential I do a recorded conversation and handshake.
Don Hanson that’s smart
You guys make it look so easy. Over here where I live $40 is apparently way too much and I have my competitors charge $25 for pretty much everything I do. The only thing is they do such a crap job that the customers don’t seem to care. When they could be paying $40 for quality non scalping lawn service. My business is suffering greatly due to these low ballers working for free. Lost a customer because they had someone mow for $30. But they don’t edge or blow just mow. The amount of cheap ass people out here blows my mind.
don't lower your prices mate know your worth!
Great video Brian... I like your way of doing it.... credit card on file and bill at the end of the month😁😁😁
Interested in why you cash out at the end of the month as opposed to after every service? Yardbook makes it super easy to generate an invoice from every job. Have you tried the auto generated invoices yet? I need to explore that feature more.
4 or 5 minutes?? 8. Lol these FAQ's
Could you make an FAQ on buying your 1st lawncare truck? That should be a real juicy one. Like 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ,ton vs midsize truck, etc etc...
Good idea buddy
Only buy what you can afford
2 intros = 8 minute "5 minute" video. you said the same exact thing in the first 30 seconds before the intro as you did in the minute after the intro. just jump into it my dude!
thanks for the content, love it. just a friendly critique! :)
Carl Bearse lol my bad
@@BriansLawnMaintenance 😂😂😂
Great video man! It’s the simple stuff that makes it so good! You better just drop the 5 min or less video series and call it the 10 min or less video series!! Lol
Lol 😝
Brian, I just bought a contract from you to use for my business. Now you are saying not to use contracts.
Literally my thoughts exactly feels like I can’t trust any info given now.
Brian personally I think contracts are a good however I havent used contracts yet. I usually would go per month but with certain people generally the 80ish year olf elderly they do best paying weekly. I noticed when I presented a larger bill I instantly get a negative response in attitude and verbal response. I know logically it shouldnt matter buy it really does.
We don't let the tail wag the dog mate! If your system is working, that's great. For me personally, we've always billed EOM, never really had any issues. Keep up the hard work!
I actually really agree with this… I will start to bill EOM in the future but I do notice that if I collect weekly it seems a lot less to the customer than if I collect EOM or even all at once at the end of a season, even though it shouldn’t matter as you stated. It’s actually very interesting psychology
100% agree with everything you said
Helpful video
How would you deal with a client dropping you halfway into the season? Isn’t a contract suppose to prevent that ?
I mean very unlikely you're going to be able to rebuttal and keep it going. I'd just cut your losses and move on, unfortunately.
Thank you Brian great video.
Great video! I do the same way. Keep strong pal! 👊🏻
We let the customers choose if they want a contract or not. As long as they paid, it doen't make a difference.
yea but are they prompt on payment how long do you give them
Great video Brian! 👍
Who processes your credit card payments and what fees go along with each transaction.
Yardbook and Stripe. I believe it’s 2-3%
Do you feel that the processing fees are worth it? I know that you save time by not going to the bank and chasing money but seams 3% of total sales is throwing away money. I’m just curious your thoughts because I’m thinking of researching a processing company because a lot of my younger customers have alternate methods of payments as opposed to traditional checks.
Anyone just dislikes the video even doe u know this video a banger?
Hugo Garcia I think they just dislike that the video isn’t longer. 😊
How do you get customers with out a email account win the they don't want to give you a debit card or credit card
I don't have contracts for residential, unless it's a body Corprate unit complex type set up :-) too many variables in residentials
in saying that, we don't have access to yearbooks in Australia so I don't believe it's as simple to have cardsnon file(new to it all)
Brian how do you charge for hedging when you already have the account? I want to bid Right, that being said is there a Right way?? I could use some help on bidding in General. I’m open for advice from anyone reading this as well. I love this kind of work been doing it for a long time just never the Business side... I live in Oregon and only doing maintenance. I work a lone and I’m starting to study for plants and turf test. Thanks
Shane Street we charge by the job and it’s very dynamic, hard to give an easy answer. Just depends how long you’re there for, how much you prune, and how much you haul away. Hope that’s a start.
Check out Keith Kalfas he goes into detail on shrub trimming pricing and other landscaping pricing
Brian's Lawn Maintenance thank you for replying yes that does help! So man hours plus Removal depending on how big the bushes how much you could remove. That’s kind of how I’ve been doing it man hours plus removal. Keep sharing The knowledge! Thanks again!
ian schmidt thanks For that! I will
I think keith kalfas charges per shrub. Some like brian charge by the job. I charge $65 per hour labor (minimum one hour) and any disposal fees are applied where applicable. That means if it takes me a 1/2 hour im still getting my hour price minimum. And if they dont have a place on property to dispose of debris, provided it is a substantial amount i can charge to dispose of it.
I agree but snow you gotta
How often are you in contact with your customers? I bought 100 accounts and my phone has been blowing up.
Uhh maybe once a month, tops. Usually twice a year maybe ha
Nice video man!
To my knowledge it’s illegal to do residential contracts in PA ? Commercial accounts is a different story but that’s what I was told. I’ll have to look into it but I wouldn’t do a contract anyway🤷🏻♂️
Never heard that but sure every region and place is different. Always double check!
I only work great in the summer and spring, but in the fall and winter I only work 1 or 2 days a week.. how can I keep myself busy ?
You can so leaf clean-up or snow removal services, Thats what we do
@@smithservices2882 here in South Carolina it doesn’t snow every year... but now I started a tree service company so we can make some extra money and be a little more busy in the winter time.
Do you still implement your service agreements?
when you say credit card is that actually credit or is that debt to i want my cust. to be debt free. no one every just says card other videos people say credit to thanks for the great videos be great help for me and my life
Nice 👍🏽 Brian
Funny the only two clients that asked for for contacts pay $50 and $65 an month for one visit . My top paying clients never asked for any contacts
I do contracts for everything verbal agreements do not hold up in court if you have to go after them to get your money plus they can't say all I thought you agreed to do this service or this service if it's in writing there is no argument I have been in business for 30 years
John Laborde smart man
Imagine cutting someones lawn for a month, not getting paid, then mowing their lawn 2 more times without payment before dropping them... 6 free cuts... Idk about that
Mow on the Go👍
Have you ever done a job for a customer and they are as happy as could be with your work. Only to hear through the grape vine that they are bad mouthing your work to your competitors?
Derek honestly.. no.. that’s awkward. I’d confront the customer professionally and respectfully and just ask. Always an opportunity to make it right.
Dont always trust your competitors either, if thats the grapevine you heard it through
It’s came from someone I consider a friend
I don’t use contracts either
I found contract is only as good as the legality behind it so better have one good expensive lawyer on the other end of it
Yea I don’t do contracts either
Smart thinking id rather no contact 💯
Text messages don't get erased on smartphones that's an iPhone thing.
I have messages on my phone threads going back 6 years through different generations of Samsung phones. Its time to step your business phone game up.
my dad runs John deer mower and he mower 150 yard
... with no contracts do you ever get customers who will drop you mid-month or do the number of customers you service fluctuate up and down monthly?
Nope. I can’t recall that ever happening. And our lawns mostly get cut 26 weeks straight ha
At least have a MSA(Master Service Agreement) this outlines how your business operates, your rates, response time, warranties, etc.
Great tips