SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Tech App

Charging the Card on File When the Solar Cleaning Tech Taps Complete

A clean array is only half of a finished job. The other half is getting paid. For a lot of solar cleaning companies, that second half happens days or weeks later: invoices written up at night, mailed or emailed in batches, and then chased. SolarCleaningBossPro moves payment to the moment the tech taps Complete, so the job and the payment finish together.

The Last Tap of the Stop

The tech arrives, and the customer gets the text covered in The Arrived Text: Letting the Homeowner Know the Solar Panel Cleaner Is Here. The tech taps Start, takes before photos, cleans, takes after photos, loads the truck and taps Complete. That last tap is where billing begins.

When the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created from the job's line items. If the customer has a card on file and the account is set to charge on completion, the card is charged right then. By the time the truck pulls away from the curb, the job is cleaned, invoiced and paid.

What the Tech Does and Does Not Do

The tech does not handle money. They do not ask for a card number, take a check, or make change. They do not need to know the price of the job. All they do is tap Complete when the work on the card is done.

That is a good thing for everyone. Techs are not stuck in awkward money conversations on a customer's doorstep. Customers do not hand card numbers to whoever happens to be on the roof that day. And the office does not have to reconcile a pile of checks and handwritten receipts at the end of the week.

Getting the Card on File

Cards on file come in a few ways:

• The sign-up form. New customers who sign up through your website form enter their card as part of signing up. One click in the office converts the sign-up into a client.
• Approved estimates. When a customer approves an estimate online, it becomes the scheduled job, and the customer can add a card.
• The customer app. Existing customers can add or update their card in the customer app at any time.

Customers on twice-a-year or yearly plans benefit the most. A card added once covers every cleaning after that, so nobody has to think about payment again until the card expires.

Customers Without a Card on File

Not every customer will put a card on file. For them, Complete still creates the invoice. The customer can see it in the customer app and pay online. Past-due follow-up handles the ones who forget. The tech's side is exactly the same either way: tap Complete and move on.

Commercial Accounts and Monthly Statements

Property owners and businesses often do not want a charge for every building. A business set to monthly billing gets one statement at the end of the month covering every building or site cleaned that month, with each line labeled with the address. The tech still taps Complete at each site, and those completions build the monthly statement. More on running commercial sites from the phone is in Commercial Array Stops on the Phone: Running Rooftops, Carports and Ground Mounts in the Solar Cleaning App.

Invoices carry line items and sales tax, and customers are billed in their own currency, so the same setup works whether you clean arrays in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the UK.

Make Sure the Card Matches the Work

Because Complete starts the charge, the job on the card has to match the work done. A few habits keep it that way:

• Check extras before you tap. If bird proofing or an inspection is on the card, make sure it was done.
• Note anything not done. If one array was not reachable, write a note before tapping Complete so the office can adjust the invoice.
• Do not add work on your own. If the customer asks for something extra on site, note it and let the office add it as a line item at your own price, or send a quote.
• Tap Complete at the job, not at the end of the day. Payments, office views and customer invoices all depend on it happening when the work finishes.

Paid Before the Next Driveway

Moving payment to the moment of completion changes the rhythm of the business. Cash comes in as the work is done, not weeks later. The office spends its time scheduling and quoting instead of chasing invoices. And techs never have to ask anyone for money. For the rest of what the tech app does, see the SolarCleaningBossPro solar cleaning app page.