Invoice...math that customer doesn't understand

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

2013
Lawn service price …37

Lawn service for empty lot (always every other week)…15

2015

Lawn service price…37

Lawn service price for empty lot (every other week)…20
Out of the goodness of my heart, I would cut the empty lot 4 times during the month, and charge $10 each* *(because I could cut through it real fast)
Customer is fine with the invoice looking like this:

6-3…Lawn service w/lot…47
6-10…Lawn service w/ lot…47
6-17…Lawn service w/ lot…47
6-24…Lawn service w/ lot…47

Total…$188

==========================================================

BUT

What should this total come to???
9-3…Lawn service …
9-10…Lawn service…
9-17…Lawn service …
9-24…Lawn service…
9-3…Lawn service (lot)…
9-17…Lawn service (lot)…

Total…

The response from customer after seeing the invoice.

However, I do not understand you charging me $20 for the lot on 9/3 and again on 9/17 when you charge me $47 for cutting the lot and yard together. Please explain…

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#2

Why are you showing this without prices?

And how the heck can we evaluate his response without knowing what he was billed?

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#3

I’m showing it without prices because I want to see what you all think the total should come to. I gave the pricing information above.

#4

37 * 4 = 148
20 * 2 = 40
Total = $188

#5

Thank you. Baffles the hell out of me that she thinks the total should be $168

#6

Were you not cutting the lot every week in September? If you were, why not continue to bill both as one weekly line item. If not, I understand the customer’s confusion. You were charging him $10 to cut the lot a few months ago and now you are charging $20.

#7

Customer is right.

Previously you charged $10 each time you cut the lot. Now its changed.

Why?

#8

I did NOT cut the lot weekly in Sept.
“Lawn service price for empty lot (every other week)…$20”

#9

I still charged her $40 for the month. The price for the lot has NEVER been $10 per cut on an every other week schedule

$10 for weekly (because I was being nice)
$20 for every other week.

#10

Both you and the customer are right.

You: the agreement was for $20/cut for the lot, every other week.
The customer: but in June you cut it 4 times and only billed him $20.

Do you have the quote you sent him for 2015? That might help him understand where you are coming from, especially if you have an agreement he signed.

On the whole, though, I think you caused the confusion by trying to be nice and cut the lot more often than agreed to, and made it worse by being inconsistent in the way you invoice from month to month. If you had invoiced for two lot cuts at $20 for June, even if you had cut it four times, I doubt you would be in this position.

If you were asking for advice I would suggest you apologize for the confusion and eat the $20 for this month, and clearly explain the agreed upon amount for next month.

ETA: I just picked up that the proper pronoun is “her”. Please excuse the gender assumption in my posts.

#11

Not 20, my info in the first post shows 40. 37 + 10 each.

*6-3…Lawn service w/lot…47
6-10…Lawn service w/ lot…47
6-17…Lawn service w/ lot…47
6-24…Lawn service w/ lot…47
*
I agree that some of the confusion comes from me showing $10, when I cut it weekly (as a good will gesture).

But, math is math. Either way it’s $188 total.

#12

I find it very confusing. Why are you billing the empty lot in two two week chunks billed once a month when you’re cutting it every week? $10 per cut would make a lot more sense to me, if you’re going to itemize it separately from the lawn cut.

I would understand it after you explained it to me several times, but I’d still walk away feeling a little disgruntled and confused and wondering just exactly how you were screwing me over, even if I was pretty sure you weren’t.

It would definitely make me think twice about recommending you to my friends and neighbors, because I wouldn’t want them to feel as confused as I feel and blame me for recommending you.

Either bill for the cut (the actual cuts you make) or bill for the month. It’s not a good will gesture to make your customers feel stupid.

#13

I did **NOT **cut it every week in September…it was every other week.
Maybe it should look like this.

9-3…Lawn service (house) …
9-10…Lawn service (house)…
9-17…Lawn service (house)…
9-24…Lawn service (house)…
9-3…Lawn service (lot)…
9-17…Lawn service (lot)…

#14

Sorry, yes, my post should have said $40 for June. You billed her $40 for four lot cuts in June. You billed her $40 for two lot cuts in September.

You think you did the extra two cuts as goodwill, but the invoice reflects that you billed for each one. The customer has no way to know that your rates hadn’t gone down since the original agreement, if she even remembers what she originally agreed to. She might just be comparing the current invoice to a recent one and noticing the price for cutting the lot has seemingly gone up without notice.

#15

And if you go back to cutting it every week for some reason, it should look like:

9-3…Lawn service (house) …
9-10…Lawn service (house)…
9-17…Lawn service (house)…
9-24…Lawn service (house)…
9-3…Lawn service (lot)… $20
9-10…Lawn service (lot)… $0 - I’m a nice person, but not obligated to be
9-17…Lawn service (lot)… $20
9-24…Lawn service (lot)… $0 - I’m a nice person, but not obligated to be

#16

^^^^^^ I like that. :slight_smile:
True. The goodwill part was me spending a little more time, cutting more often, and still changing the same for the month.

From here on out, I think the invoice for the lot will just show 1 line with the total for the month.

#17

As long as the amount doesn’t change month to month, and the customer is fine with it, not itemizing is probably the least hassle.

In my experience this is why it’s very important to have a clear and acknowledged agreement that expires and renews on a defined schedule. In a service like lawn care this could be a signed quote or even just an archived email conversation where the customer agrees to the monthly price and services provided for the year.

Another lesson you can learn from this is always be consistent with your invoicing. Either never include “free” services on the bill at all, or always include them with a price of $0 and document on the invoice why you didn’t charge. That way the customer doesn’t expect the free services to always be free.

#18

Thanks Nesta. Appreciate the comments.

#19

I definitely didn’t understand your invoice because I came up to over $200. What the heck did you actually cut in September?

#20

The house lawn 4 times. The lot 2 times.