PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Billing & Rental Invoices

Billing Portable Toilet Customers in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK

Portable toilet companies run the same kind of routes everywhere. A builder in Ontario, an event in Queensland and a construction site in Manchester all need units delivered, serviced and picked up. What changes from country to country is the currency, the tax and sometimes the words people use.

Same Work, Different Money

Moving Porta Potty Invoicing Off Paper and Spreadsheets walks through switching from paper to software. If your business is outside the US, this article covers what is different about billing where you are.

PortaPottyBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and bills customers in their own currency. The tools are the same everywhere: invoices with line items, sales tax per site, card on file, auto-charge, online payment in the customer app and one monthly statement for contractor accounts.

Local Currency on Every Invoice

A Canadian customer should see Canadian dollars. An Australian customer should see Australian dollars. A UK customer should see pounds. Invoices in a foreign currency confuse customers and create awkward questions at payment time. Billing in the customer's own currency keeps invoices familiar and easy to approve.

Tax Works Differently

Sales tax is figured per site, which matters because tax systems vary so much. Canada has GST, and in some provinces HST or a provincial sales tax on top. Australia and New Zealand use GST. The UK uses VAT. Rates and rules for rentals and services differ, and some customers are exempt or handle tax differently. Confirm the rules with an accountant who knows your area, then set each site's rate to match. See Sales Tax by Site on Porta Potty Invoices.

Different Words, Same Units

In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, customers often say "portable toilet hire" or "portaloo" rather than "porta potty rental." Your service names should match what your customers call things. Name your services in the words your customers use, since those names appear on their invoices and the sign-up form. "Weekly service — standard portable toilet" reads fine anywhere.

Addresses and Phone Numbers

Job sites, customer addresses and site contacts work the same in every country. Gate codes, access notes and placement notes go on the site just as they do in the US. Make sure customer phone numbers are entered correctly so service alerts and two-way texts reach them. Texting availability and allowances depend on your plan, which includes a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received on Start, Pro or Crew.

Card on File and Online Payment

Cards are stored through Stripe, and customers can pay invoices and update their card on file in the customer app. Charging cards on completion or on a schedule works the same way in every country. For contractor accounts that pay by bank transfer, monthly statements give their accounts team one document per month, with every site labeled.

Contractor Accounts Abroad

Construction billing looks remarkably similar across countries. Builders want one statement a month, every site labeled, tax shown clearly. Set the account to Monthly and the statement covers every job at every site, each line with its site address. The same advice about terms and follow-up applies wherever you work. See One Monthly Statement for Contractor Porta Potty Accounts, Every Site Included.

Pricing the Software

Plans are Start at $59, Pro at $89 and Crew at $199 per month, every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and you are never billed per user.

Cross-Border Customers

A few companies work near a border and have customers on both sides, or national contractors with sites in more than one country. Keep each customer's billing in their own currency and make sure each site carries the tax rules for where it sits. When the same contractor has sites in two countries, ask whether they want separate accounts for each country's office. Most do, because their own books are kept separately.

Time Zones and Alerts

Service alerts like the night-before reminder and the arrival text should go out at the right local time. Set your company's time zone correctly when you start, especially if you run routes across a large province or state. An alert that arrives at the wrong hour confuses customers and leads to calls that the alert was meant to prevent.

Check alert timing during your first week by sending a test reminder to your own phone.

One System, Wherever You Work

Whether your trucks run in Texas, Alberta, Victoria, Canterbury or Yorkshire, the billing problems are the same and so are the fixes. Learn more on the porta potty billing software page.