SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Running a Solar Cleaning Business

Cash Flow in a Solar Cleaning Business: Getting Paid the Day the Panels Are Clean

A solar cleaning company can be busy every day and still be short on cash. Fuel, payroll, insurance and equipment get paid on time whether customers do or not. The fix is not working harder. It is closing the gap between the day the work is done and the day the money lands.

Different Customers, Different Payment Habits

Your mix of homes and commercial work shapes your cash flow, as covered in Residential vs Commercial: Finding the Right Mix for Your Solar Cleaning Business. Homeowners can pay the same day. Commercial customers often pay on statement. Plan for both.

The most expensive habit in a small service company is “I'll send the invoices this weekend.” By Sunday night the invoices are a week old, a few jobs are forgotten, and the money is two or three weeks away instead of in the bank.

Card on File, Charged at Completion

For homeowners, the simplest system is a card on file charged when the job is done. Explain it at sign-up: “We keep a card on file and charge it when the cleaning is complete. You'll get the invoice and the before-and-after photos.” Most customers prefer it to writing checks or remembering to pay.

In SolarCleaningBossPro, when the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created with line items and sales tax, and the card on file can be charged right then. You can also set auto-charge on a schedule if that suits your business better. Either way, the money moves on the day of the job instead of whenever someone gets to the paperwork.

Make Paying Easy for Everyone Else

Not every customer will put a card on file. For those who pay by invoice:

• Send the invoice the same day. It goes out when the job is completed, not at the end of the week.
• Let them pay online. Customers can see invoices and pay in the customer app.
• Follow up on past-due invoices. SolarCleaningBossPro handles past-due follow-up so nobody has to make awkward calls on every late payment.
• Ask for a card again. A customer who pays late twice is a good candidate for a card on file.

Monthly Statements for Property Owners

Property owners and businesses with many buildings do not want a separate invoice for every site and every visit. In SolarCleaningBossPro you set them to Monthly, and they get one statement each month covering every building or site, with each line labeled with the address.

One statement is easier for their accounts department to approve, which usually means faster payment. It also means one past-due follow-up instead of a dozen. Track these accounts closely, because a single large unpaid statement can hurt more than many small residential invoices.

Declined Cards and Unbilled Work

Two leaks drain cash in almost every solar cleaning business:

• Declined cards. Cards expire and get replaced. When a charge fails, follow up the same week and ask the customer to update their card in the customer app.
• Unbilled add-ons. The tech did bird proofing or added critter guards on site and nobody put it on the invoice. Make it a rule that every extra becomes a line item before the job is closed.

Both are covered in Profit Leaks in a Solar Cleaning Business: Unbilled Add-Ons, Missed Visits and Declined Cards.

Planning for the Slow Months

Solar cleaning has seasons. Depending on your climate, there may be months when rain, snow or short days slow everything down. Cash flow planning means setting money aside during the busy months to cover payroll and bills in the slow ones.

Recurring plans help. Quarterly commercial arrays keep coming due through the year, and twice-a-year homes can be spread so they do not all land in one month. More on that in Seasonality in a Solar Cleaning Business: Busy Months, Slow Months and the Cash Between.

Watch the big purchases too. A new truck, a larger water system or a second set of roof gear is easier to afford when you buy it after the busy season has filled the bank account, not on credit at the start of it hoping the work comes in.

Once a week, look at what is unpaid and how old it is. Once a month, compare what came in with what went out. Simple habits, kept every week, prevent most cash crunches.

Get Paid on the Day

Cash flow problems are almost always timing problems. Charge cards at completion, send invoices the same day, follow up on past-due accounts, and bill property owners monthly on one statement. SolarCleaningBossPro does all of this on every plan, from $59/month. For more owner guides, see the solar cleaning business software page.