Billing Question

This question is for you experienced guys that have time to be on here right now, so that means you Paul.

I am not planning on going out and buying an I-phone right now and doing the Square-up thing, so I will be billing online over the phone. My questions are, can I process payments, say for a service call, before leaving the house? Can I leave it up to the client and maybe take payment when I show up? How do clients react to this? What are the ethics of accepting payment before services are rendered?

Unfortunately that is Mrs. Paul's territory. My guess is that we've probably done that a number of times. If there's a problem, you can always cancel or refund. We recently had a case where the wrong customer was charged. We make mistakes just like everybody else. What we try to do is fix those mistakes faster than anybody else. That's what keeps customers happy.

Thanks Paul, that question actually came from Mrs. Andy. That's why it sounded intelligent. After all money is their main area of expertise, not grunting and scratching, like us.

Why is it that if most of us took an IQ test, we would beat the Mrs. easy. And yet we sound like a bunch yahoos and they sound intelligent.

We don't use none of them new-fangled iphones or Squares, but we do insist on getting a CC number before we start on an emergency job. We did this mainly becuz we were getting called out and would get ten minutes from the job only to have the customer cancel, and we never saw a dime. It drove me nuts, becuz I wouldn't think of asking a service person to come running, and then cancel, even if the problem was solved. But it happens. We haven't done it yet, but if that happens, we will ABSOLUTELY charge for emergency response. Some folks want to pay with a CC, too.

Excellent idea. I have had that happen to me before!