18
Mr and Mrs Jones
26
Mr and Mrs Smith
34
Mr James Adams
42
Mrs Brenda Davis
59
Mr and Mrs Brown
67
Ms Susan Baker
Then
you indicate what services you perform and assign a simple code for each
service. Here are a few examples of what your services and codes might look
like:
1
Weekly Maintenance
2
Fertilizer
3
Lime/Fertilizer
4
Weed Control
5
Grub Control
6
Bush Trimming
7
Aeration
8
Topsoil
9
Spring Cleanup
10
Fall Cleanup
11
Snow Removal
Then
you use the GRA$$ terminal to record charges. You can record the charges at the
job site using the terminal in your truck, or you can enter the charges at the
end of the day in your office or at home. The terminal has a calender/clock so
the date is recorded automatically. The terminal has a special button for
"Weekly Maintenance" since it is the most common charge. You simply
press the "Weekly Maintenance" button and the terminal will ask you
for the account number of the customer. The terminal then asks you for the
amount of the charge. You can respond to this in one of three (3) ways:
1) If the amount of the weekly maintenances varies each week or you want
to have direct control of the amount for this customers weekly maintenance, you
simply enter the amount.
2) If you charge this customer the same amount for each week's weekly
maintenance, and you do not want to have to enter that same amount each time you
are at that customer, you just press the "ENTER" button and the system
will insert the amount that you set up for that customer at the beginning of the
season. (The amount can be changed if you want).
3) If this customer is on an "Annual Program" where you want to
bill them the same amount each month, regardless of the number of visits, you
would simple press the "ENTER" button and the bill will show the date,
"WEEKLY MAINT" and a zero amount for each visit. The "MONTHLY
FEE" will appear on their bill automatically. With customers on
"Annual Programs" if you do not want the customers bill to show each
visit, you can simply not use the "Weekly Maintenance" button, and let
the system generate the "Monthly Fee".
Other
charges are recorded by pressing the "MISC. CODE" button and then
entering the appropriate code for the service you performed and amount to be
charged. At the end of the day the terminal contains the charges for that day.
Then, plug the terminal into a standard telephone jack in your home or office
and press the "SEND" button, and the terminal will send the charges to
GRA$$ for processing. You can send charges whenever and where ever you want. The
terminal will continue to store charges until you send them in. After the
charges have been sent, the terminal resets its memory and is ready for the next
set of charges.
At
the end of your billing period, we process your bills. We print, fold, insert
with a return envelope, seal, apply first class postage, and mail your bills.
The bills look like the sample shown in the [Bill Sample Link]. Our name does
not appear anywhere. The bills are very professional looking and look like they
came from you.
When
your customer receives the bill, they tear off the payment stub and insert it,
along with their check, into the return envelope that we send with the bill. The
return envelope has a window that allows your address to show through. When you
receive the payment, you go to the terminal and press the "PAYMENT"
button and indicate the customer number and amount of the check. You do not have
to worry about how much they owe, just how much they paid. We keep track of the
amount due. If the customer still owes you money we will show that on their next
bill as a remaining balance. We will keep billing unpaid amounts until they are
paid.
At
the same time we send your bills out, we send you two reports. One is the
Account Register. It shows complete
information about each of your customers. It shows their previous balance, all
their charges, and payments, date of last payment, total amount due, and any
amounts overdue for 30, 60, 90 days and beyond. The other report is the
"TOTALS REPORT". This report gives you all your totals: number of
customers, total amount of charges, total amount of payments, and opening and
closing accounts receivable balances. The report also shows you what you
charged, for the current month and for the year, for each of the charge codes
you use. Samples of these two reports can be requested, and will be mailed to
you, by clicking [Request Information].
The
terminal has many useful functions in addition to the ones that have been
discussed in this document so far. For example, here are some popular functions:
1) Hourly rate charges: you can tell the terminal that you performed a
particular service by the hour and tell the terminal the number of hours and the
hourly rate, so all that information will be shown on the customer's bill.
2) Debit and Credit adjustments: allows you to make accounting
adjustments to accounts.
3) Totals: allows you to see how many transactions (charges or payments)
and the total dollar amount that is in the terminal.
4) Scroll: allows you to look at all the transactions that you put into
the terminal.
5) Change and Void: allows you to make changes or to void out any transaction that was put into the terminal in error.
6) Bill Immediate: Charges entered using this button on the terminal, will
be invoiced within two days of when the batch is sent. This is ideal for spring
and fall cleanups, special and installation jobs, and snow removal, where you do
not want to wait until your monthly bills are sent.
7) Bridge: This button allows you to enter charges for work done on an
earlier day. It allows you to “back date” a charge.
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