Lawn care and landscaping companies regularly have unpaid bills from customers who do not fulfill their promise of making timely payments once the work has been completed. They do not have time to follow up on these unpaid bills effectively.
Lawn care contractors struggle to keep their accounts in “green” because they employ too few resources to manage the business’s administrative side since it is considered a cost center. These past-due accounts quickly become a huge problem, impacting cash flow in this fiercely contested industry.
Contact us if you need a collection agency to recover your unpaid bills.
Landscaping companies face numerous business challenges:
- Seasonality: This industry is highly seasonal in many regions, with demand peaking in spring and summer. This seasonality can make cash flow management difficult. Companies need to budget effectively to maintain their business operations during the off-season.
- Labor Issues: Landscaping is labor-intensive work and finding reliable, skilled, and affordable labor is a major challenge. In many areas, there’s also a high turnover rate in the industry, which can lead to increased costs related to hiring and training.
- Competition: The landscaping industry is highly competitive. It’s fairly easy for someone to start their own business, resulting in an oversaturated market in some areas. Companies have to work hard to differentiate themselves from competitors and attract new customers.
- Regulations and Compliance: Landscaping companies must comply with various local, state, and federal regulations. These might pertain to pesticide usage, waste disposal, water conservation, and more. Navigating and complying with these regulations can be challenging and costly.
- Climate Change and Sustainability: As climate change becomes more pressing, many customers demand eco-friendly landscaping solutions. This requires investment in sustainable practices, new equipment, and training.
- Equipment Costs and Maintenance: Landscaping requires a variety of equipment, which can be expensive to purchase and maintain. This can be particularly challenging for small businesses or startups with limited capital.
- Technology Integration: The integration of new technologies, like landscaping design software, automated irrigation systems, or project management tools, can be challenging but is increasingly necessary to stay competitive. Some companies may struggle with the cost of these technologies or the learning curve associated with their use.
- Marketing and Customer Acquisition: With the growing competition, effective marketing is more important than ever. Small businesses in particular, may struggle with creating an effective online presence or leveraging social media to attract customers.
- Price Pressure: With so much competition, there is often pressure to keep prices low to attract clients. However, low prices can impact profitability if not managed carefully.
- Health and Safety Risks: The industry often involves physically demanding work, and companies need to manage health and safety risks to protect their employees and avoid potential liability.
Need a Collection Agency?
A professional debt collection agency works as an extended branch of your business. They are experts in debt collection. They will diplomatically approach your clients whose payments are late and employ various tactics to recover money from them. Collection agencies follow the laws of “The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)”. Their staff knows how to negotiate patiently and handle common debtor excuses. Since lawn care and landscaping companies do not have a good enough system for overdue accounts receivables and unpaid bills, hiring a collection agency becomes mandatory. You must provide a copy of your signed contract to your collection agency if your customer disputes the debt.
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Check this: Cost of hiring a collection agency
Your options include trying to collect by first sending low-cost “Collection Letters” followed by “Collection Calls” or going for “Collection Calls” directly. Collection agencies are licensed, insured, and bonded. They do various checks to minimize risk for your business and attempt to maintain a good relationship with your clients by using a diplomatic approach to recover money. If requested, they will even report the debt to the Credit Bureaus and may even file a Legal Suit to recover money. For credit bureau reporting SSN or DOB of your customer is needed by law.
The housing market has seen new buyers since 2015. We hope all these new families are generating good revenue for you. While you make the world go greener, a collection agency will work aggressively to keep your accounts receivables healthy and green.