Business owners/Sole Traders

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Muleymuel
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Full Name: Sam Lynas
Company Details: PCL
Company Position Title: Surveyor
Country: UK

Business owners/Sole Traders

Post by Muleymuel »

Forgive me if this is a basic question... Against a lot of good advice I am attempting to start up a surveying business. Though I know the way will be treacherous and fraught with perils, so far I believe it is going well. I am curious to know from any business owners what their payment terms are. Is it foolhardy to undertake works in good faith without a deposit? Do any of you take a deposit or card details prior to commencement of work? How do you bill thereafter? I dont want to appear untrustworthy to clients but I don't want to leave myself open to non or late payments or ruffle too many feathers. How are your payment terms communicated to the client and are they generally well received?
What is your experience of customers' preferences with regards to paying? Are most transactions by BACS or credit/debit card or do people like to use something familiar like Paypal? Which method has less associated fees?

Sorry, lots of questions...
Any guidance/advice/opinion is appreciated.

Regards,
Sam
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Sharas
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Re: Business owners/Sole Traders

Post by Sharas »

Hi Sam,

Generally business is based on trust and majority of clients pay their bills on time. So common practice would be to issue an invoice after the job was delivered and client been satisfied. It's best to have an email trail, so you have some evidence of what was agreed.

I suggest you seek advice from an accountant, they are well familiar with the whole process.

Kind regards,
Sarunas
Muleymuel
I have made 50-60 posts
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Full Name: Sam Lynas
Company Details: PCL
Company Position Title: Surveyor
Country: UK

Re: Business owners/Sole Traders

Post by Muleymuel »

Tahnk you for your response, it is most appreciated. My general feeling was that would be the best way so as not to alienate customers issuing drawings with passwords, etc. Hopefully everyone will pay on time!
jaredmatthews
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Re: Business owners/Sole Traders

Post by jaredmatthews »

You could always issue "draft" proof that the work on your side has been completed. And then once payment has been complete from the client, you can release the working drawings.

This can be tricky though, because some (scratch that....MOST) clients want the completed work like yesterday, so for them to wait until the payment goes through before they get their drawings will not go down well.

The next best thing as already mentioned is to keep an email trail as proof.
warren gunn
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Full Name: Warren Gunn
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Re: Business owners/Sole Traders

Post by warren gunn »

A client engagement contract specifying terms and conditions including payment terms, along with a specific scope of works and estimated fees or a quote if it's fixed price, will sort out who's serious and who's not in the majority of cases. If they aren't prepared to sign this or a similar letter of engagement, beware!

Cheers
Warren
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