PlumbingBossPro Blog — Billing & Payments

Invoicing Drain Cleaning, Main Lines and Hydro-Jetting So the Customer Sees the Difference

To a homeowner, a clog is a clog. They do not see the difference between snaking a bathroom sink, clearing a main line from the cleanout and running a hydro-jetter through a sewer line full of roots and grease. You do, and your prices reflect it. The invoice is where you show the customer why the numbers are different.

Drain Invoices Get Paid Many Ways

Drain calls come in at all hours and from all kinds of customers, so they get paid every way described so far: card on file at completion, online payment as in Online Payment From the Customer App: Letting Plumbing Customers Pay From Their Phone, or a line on a monthly statement. Whatever the payment method, the lines need to be clear.

Separate Services, Separate Names

In PlumbingBossPro, invoice lines come from your own service list. Set up drain work as distinct services, not one “drain cleaning” catch-all:

• Drain cleaning — fixture drain. A sink, tub, shower or floor drain, cleared with a hand or small machine. For example, $189.
• Main line clearing. The building drain or sewer line, usually from a cleanout, with a larger machine.
• Hydro-jetting. High-pressure water to scour a line, for grease, scale or root buildup.
• Camera inspection. Running a camera to see the condition of the line and find the problem.

Each one has its own name and price, so the invoice shows exactly which service the customer received.

Say Where and What

Add short notes on the job so the line reads like a real description of the work:

• “Drain cleaning — upstairs hall bath tub, hair clog cleared, drain flowing.”
• “Main line clearing from front yard cleanout. Roots found about forty feet out.”
• “Hydro-jetting — kitchen line to main, heavy grease removed.”

A homeowner who reads “roots found about forty feet out” understands why the tech recommended a camera inspection or jetting, and is more likely to approve it.

The Cleanout Lives on the House

PlumbingBossPro saves equipment on every property, including the sewer cleanout, with its location and access notes. The first time a tech finds a hidden cleanout behind the shrubs, they note it. Every future drain call at that house shows “Cleanout: front yard, left of walkway, under the shrubs” on the job card.

That saves time on the next visit, and it makes the invoice more accurate. The tech knows where they are working from, and the note on the line can say so.

When One Visit Becomes Two Services

Drain calls often escalate. The tech clears a main line and recommends a camera inspection to find out why it keeps happening. Or the camera shows heavy buildup and jetting is the right fix. Handle that cleanly:

• If the customer agrees on the spot, add the extra service as its own line on the job before completing it. Send a quick text through two-way texting from the office if you want it in writing.
• If it is a bigger job, send an estimate. The customer approves online, and the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job.

Never add jetting or a camera inspection to an invoice the customer did not agree to. That is the fastest way to a dispute on drain work.

Photos for Drain Work

Drain problems are underground or inside pipes, where the customer cannot see them. Photos from the tech app help. A picture of the root mass pulled out on the cable, or the grease that came out of the cleanout, makes the invoice believable. Before-and-after photos stay with the job, so the office can point to them if the customer asks.

For restaurants on a recurring jetting schedule, the same photos and notes show the account the work is being done, visit after visit.

Over time, your drain lines also tell a story in your billing reports. Consistent service names let you see how much of your work is fixture drains versus main lines and jetting, which helps you decide whether a second jetter or more drain training is worth it.

After-Hours Drain Calls

Many drain calls are emergencies: a backed-up main on a holiday weekend. Keep the after-hours charge on its own line, separate from the drain service, so the customer sees the drain work priced the same as any other day.

Drain work often ends with a recommendation and an estimate. Keeping the approved price all the way to the invoice is covered in From Approved Estimate to Plumbing Invoice: Keeping the Price the Customer Said Yes To. For the full billing picture, see the plumbing invoicing software page.