PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Event Rentals & Booking

Church Picnics, Revivals and Community Events: Porta Potty Bookings for Repeat Organizers

Churches, civic clubs, schools and nonprofits hold a lot of outdoor events: picnics, revivals, vacation Bible school, homecoming, trunk-or-treat, fall festivals, community clean-up days and charity fundraisers. They are rarely the biggest jobs on your calendar, but they repeat every year, the organizers know each other, and they are loyal to the company that makes their lives easy.

Community Events Are Repeat Business

Many of these organizers are the same people you might serve for small private events, as described in Backyard Parties and Graduations: Small Event Porta Potty Bookings Done Right. The difference is that a church or civic club books again and again. The same picnic happens every June. The same fall festival happens every October. If you serve them well once, you can plan on their business for years.

That makes record-keeping worth more on these jobs than on almost any other. What you write down this year is what saves you time next year.

Who You Are Dealing With

Church and community events are often run by volunteers. The person who calls this year may not be the person who calls next year. The pastor may approve the expense, the facilities volunteer may meet the truck, and the treasurer may pay the bill.

Put the organization in as the client, and add each person as a contact so you know who to call about what. Put the event location as a site, with access notes: "Enter by the gravel lot behind the fellowship hall. Key to the gate is with the facilities volunteer." The next time anyone from that church calls, the history is already there.

Guiding the Unit Count

Volunteers often guess low because they are spending donated money. Give them your company's guidance for the expected attendance and how long the event runs, and explain it. Hand wash stations matter a lot when there is food, and church picnics are mostly food. If seniors attend, recommend an ADA accessible unit.

If they choose fewer units than you suggest, note it on the estimate. Next year, when they say the lines were long, you can show them what you recommended.

Quotes and Approval

Build an estimate from your service list and send it. A volunteer can approve it online from their phone, and the approved estimate becomes scheduled services. If the church board has to vote, the estimate sits waiting until they do, and you can see which estimates are still pending.

Some organizations need a written quote for their records or their treasurer. An estimate with clear line items is exactly that.

Delivery and Placement

Churches and parks often have parking lots, playgrounds and grass fields where the event happens. Write placement notes that keep units out of the way but easy to find: "Two standard units and a hand wash station at the edge of the parking lot by the pavilion, on the asphalt, away from the playground." The note shows on the driver's phone.

Deliver the day before and pick up the day after, as with most events. If the church has Sunday services, ask whether a Sunday pickup is welcome or whether Monday is better. Put the answer in the notes.

Billing Nonprofits

Some churches and nonprofits pay by card. Others pay by check after a treasurer signs off. Card on file is simplest for both sides, and the invoice is created when the pickup is completed. If they pay by check, send the invoice and let past-due follow-up remind them if it slips.

Sales tax rules for nonprofits vary by state and province. Invoices carry sales tax per site, so set the site up the way your accountant tells you to for that customer.

Remembering Them Next Year

Tag these clients as Events, and use a custom field for the event name and month: "June picnic," "October fall festival." In late winter, pull the list and reach out before their committee meets. A text or email that says "We have you down for the June picnic again, same setup as last year?" turns a repeat customer into a booked job in one reply. We cover this in more detail in Repeat Event Customers: Rebooking Annual Porta Potty Events Without Starting Over.

Being Part of the Community

Many operators support local churches and charities in small ways: a discount for nonprofits, or a free hand wash station on the community clean-up day. That is a business decision for you to make. Whatever you decide, good service at a community event is seen by everyone in town. For the full picture of event rentals in PortaPottyBossPro, visit the event porta potty rental software page.