PlumbingBossPro Blog — Plumbing Software

Invoicing and Card on File: Getting Paid When the Plumbing Job Is Done

Ask small plumbing shop owners what they like least about the business and a lot of them will say billing. The work is done Tuesday. The invoice gets typed up Saturday. It goes out Monday. The check shows up three weeks later, if it shows up. Every day between the work and the payment is a day the shop is floating the customer's bill. Plumbing software is supposed to close that gap.

Where Billing Starts

Customers who get clear texts from your shop, as described in Two-Way Texting and Automatic Alerts in Plumbing Software, also tend to pay faster when the invoice comes the same way and the same day.

In PlumbingBossPro, billing starts on the job. The services on the job, whether they came from an approved estimate or were added by the office, become the line items on the invoice. When the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created. Nobody has to remember to make it.

Invoices With Line Items and Sales Tax

Every invoice has line items from your service list and sales tax where it applies. A typical service call invoice might read:

• Service call — $89
• Kitchen drain cleaning — $189
• Sales tax, where it applies

Because the line items come from the same list you use for estimates, prices stay consistent. If the customer approved an estimate, the invoice matches what they said yes to.

PlumbingBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK and bills customers in their own currency.

Card on File

A card on file is the single biggest change for most shops. When a customer has a card saved, the office can:

• Charge on completion — the card is charged when the tech taps Complete. The job is paid before the van leaves the driveway.
• Charge on a schedule — useful for recurring plans and for customers who prefer to be billed at a set time.

Cards get on file in a few ways. Customers who sign up through your website sign-up form have their card captured there. Customers can add or update their card in the customer app. And the office can collect it when booking.

Billing automation features are on the Pro and Crew plans. See the pricing page for what each plan includes.

Online Payment

Not every customer wants a card on file, and that is fine. Customers can see their invoices in the customer app and pay online. That is still much faster than mailing a paper invoice and waiting for a check.

For many homeowners, getting the invoice on their phone the same day the work was done, with a button to pay it, is all it takes.

It also helps when the person who called you is not the person who pays. An adult child who booked a water heater replacement for an elderly parent, or a tenant who called about a leak in a house the landlord owns, can pass the invoice along. The payer opens it, sees the line items, and pays online without anyone in your office reading card numbers over the phone.

Past-Due Follow-Up

Some invoices will not get paid on time. PlumbingBossPro has past-due follow-up, so overdue invoices get followed up instead of sitting in a pile until somebody notices.

A simple routine helps:

• Look at past-due invoices once a week.
• Text the customer about anything that is more than a couple of weeks late.
• Ask for a card on file next time for customers who regularly pay late.

The aim is that no invoice is ever forgotten. Most late payers are not trying to stiff you. They just lost track.

Commercial Accounts and Monthly Billing

Homeowners are usually billed per job. Property managers, landlords and restaurants with many locations often want something else: one bill a month. PlumbingBossPro handles that with monthly account billing, where a client set to Monthly gets one statement covering every address. That gets its own article next: Monthly Statements for Property Managers and Restaurants: One Plumbing Bill for Every Address.

Tips for Getting Paid Faster

• Ask for the card at booking. “We'll charge the card when the job is done” is a normal thing to say.
• Let Complete do the work. Do not hold invoices to review in a batch on the weekend unless you have a real reason.
• Put prices on the estimate. A customer who approved the number online is not surprised by the invoice.
• Make maintenance plans card-on-file. A yearly flush plan with a saved card bills itself.

For how invoicing connects to estimates, the tech app and the customer app, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing software page.