Plan on submitting a Copy of your License, Certificate of Liability Insurance, Certificate of Workers Comp. & a W-9. Most larger corporations will not process your payment until those documents are on file with them.

Sometimes they will refuse payment if you do not have the proper level of Liability Insurance, so make sure you find out what limits they require PRIOR to starting a project. It is not uncommon for the local guy to schedule the work and have no clue as to what requirements will be requested of you in order to get paid.

Those that require a bunch of hoops, or dog and pony shows, get charged an appropriate fee to put on a private performance! I only run into a couple of those each year and the additional fee is nominal, but certainly deserved, if they will likely be a one and done client.

I had a client earlier in the year that sent me a twelve page contract to trap and remove a single beaver!!!! They also required insurance that exceeded my coverage by three times. I added a clause to my proposal that made them responsible for any coverage exceeding my current limits. They waived the excess insurance requirement pretty quick. MAKE SURE YOU READ THOSE CONTRACTS!!!!

Dirk brings up a good point about just how much insurance you need for a particular company. Ive got the standard 1mm/2mm general liability and I know for a fact that there are some national chain stores which require more. Where they tend to be at odds with my insurance is the number on my commercial auto policy. One national chain store requires a 5mm policy on your auto--- that is until they are in a huge bind, there is a muskrat running around their store full of customers, and Ecolab cant get their till tomorrow although they have a 2 hour response contract.... Then when they are begging in my phone and I bring up the insurance thing they don't care about it at this time... lol Funny how that works.


Throwback- I mean no disrespect to you at all and this isn't meant towards you at all but ill guarantee you money mismanagement and no business skills have closed the doors of more wildlife and pest control companies than all other mishaps combined. anyone can kill an ant and anyone can trap a gopher, but to keep it all together especially when it grows takes dedication and perseverance.

I wish you the best

80-c- those were all 3 pigeon jobs. 2 exclusions one crap collection...

Lots of good info. here, folks. Dirk, what do you call the additional "jumping through hoops" charge?

Again I agree with Dave. I'm just glad that we have three secretaries because trying to figure out just the insurance forms, drives

me up a wall. I did appreciate the 12 page form to trap a single beaver. How long did it take the beaver to fill out all those pages,

Dirk?

I don't know that I can agree with this. What ever the price is, we need to do all within our power to collect.

Had a lady try to stiff me on a small bill once. $117.00. I tried to collect for about three weeks. I'd call and she'd tell me to come by and she would pay me but when I got there, she was never home. Finally, I showed up unannounced and surprised her. That's when she told me just what I had already figured. She had no intention of paying me and was hoping I'd just give up.

I told her then that I had to collect or I would have to take her to court. That's when she got all huffy and asked, "You would take me to court over just a hundred and seventeen dollars?" She continued, "It will cost you more than you'll get!"

I told her, "Yes, Mam. But it' not fair to my customers who DO pay me."

Begrudgingly, she wrote me a check.

But that's the thing. Yes, we would be better off just to forget some of these non payments, but it's not fair for the ones who do pay. They are paying us in good faith that we're not making up someone else's slack on them.