Starting a Handyman Business
Having your own home repair business can be a challenge. If you are an owner/operator, it means you do it all, the actual repairs along with the invoicing and billing. This can take up a good portion of every day and not leave you much time for anything else.
You will find that over time, actually doing the jobs is easier sometimes than keeping up with the paperwork. Invoicing and billing are an integral part of this type of endeavor as you are doing this to earn a living, not just for the fun of it. Most jobs are paid right on the spot once completed, but you may run in to the occasional client that needs to be billed later.
These are the ones that will fall through the cracks if you are extremely busy and not keeping up with everything. There are many different accounting and billing software packages available to help you organize this. A laptop in the truck or van allows you to input each one as the job is finished, thereby eliminating the possibility of forgetting a small job here and there.
Once this is done, you can easily print out the entire day of work once you are home and see exactly where you stand. This, along with a weekly report, will show just what was brought in and what is still owed. Then once a month, a quick printing of invoices to be mailed out makes short work of your accounts receivable.
Most homeowners will be more likely to pay as soon as the job is complete using a check or cash, depending on how big the job was. Looking into a credit card service is a viable option also as more people have ready access to these and some prefer it as a method of payment. Either way, make sure the paperwork is done daily, as this will pile up if you are not careful.
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