PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Driver & Tech App

Getting Paid at Completion: Card on File and Invoices From the Driver App

The work is done the moment the tech pulls away. The money, at a lot of porta potty companies, shows up weeks later, after someone in the office types an invoice from a paper route sheet, mails it, and then chases it. The gap between finishing the job and getting paid is where cash flow goes to die.

Complete Starts the Billing

Arrival texts tell the customer the tech is there, as covered in The Arrived Text: Letting the Customer Know the Tech Is On Site. Completing the job tells the office it is time to bill. When the tech taps Complete in the driver app, the invoice is created from what is already on the job: the service, the units, the site, and the sales tax for that site.

If the customer has a card on file, it can be charged when the job is completed. No one in the office types anything, and the tech does not have to ask for payment.

Why Techs Should Not Collect

Plenty of small companies still have techs collecting checks or cash at the stop. It works, sort of, until a check is lost on the floor of the truck, a customer says they already paid the other guy, or a tech forgets to hand in an envelope. Collection at the curb also puts the tech in an awkward spot with customers they need to stay friendly with every week.

With card on file and automatic invoicing, the tech's only job is the work. The money side runs from the office, using the card the customer already gave you.

Getting Cards on File

The easiest time to get a card on file is at sign-up. Customers who sign up through your website sign-up form have their card captured with the form, and the office converts that sign-up into a client with one click. Customers can also update their card on file themselves in the customer app.

For existing customers, ask when you call to confirm their next service. Many would rather have the card charged than keep track of another invoice.

Rental Days on the Invoice

Porta potty billing is not just service visits. It is rental time. Each job tracks the delivered date, the picked-up date, the days included in the rental, and a per-day rate after that. The lists show something like "Out since 10/3 (12 days, 4 extra)," and the extra days are added to the invoice automatically as "Extra rental days."

That matters on pickup day. When the tech completes the pickup, the rental closes, and any days beyond what was included are billed without anyone counting on a calendar.

Monthly Account Billing for Contractors

Contractors and large accounts usually do not want a charge every time a truck stops at one of their sites. For them, set the account to Monthly. They get one statement each month covering every job at every one of their sites, each line labeled with the site address.

The tech does nothing different. They complete each job the same way, and the jobs roll up to the monthly statement. The contractor's accounts payable department gets one clean document instead of a stack of invoices.

Charge on Completion or on a Schedule

Card-on-file charges can happen on completion or on a schedule. Many companies charge weekly service on completion and bill monthly accounts on the statement date. Choose what fits each customer. A homeowner renting one unit for a party is a good fit for charge on completion. A builder with eight sites is a good fit for monthly.

Customers Who Pay Online

Customers without a card on file can see their invoices and pay online in the customer app. Past-due follow-up helps keep those from slipping. The office no longer has to make a stack of collection calls every Friday.

Taxes Per Site

Sales tax is set per site. A contractor with a job in one county and another in the next county over gets the right tax on each line. The tech does not need to know any of this. The site carries it, and the invoice uses it.

What the Tech Needs to Do Right

The tech's part in getting paid is simple, but it matters:

• Tap Complete when the job is actually done, not at the end of the day
• Note anything extra, like a unit relocated or an extra pump-out requested on site, so the office can bill it
• Take the photo, so any billing question has proof behind it

A missing Complete means a missing invoice. That is the one tap the office cannot do without. What the Office Sees When a Porta Potty Tech Completes a Job shows what happens on the office side.

The Short Version

Complete creates the invoice, the card on file can be charged, extra rental days bill themselves, and monthly accounts get one statement. For the rest of the tech's tools, go to the PortaPottyBossPro driver and tech app page.