Trouble with a contract

For the last 4 years, I have been cleaning for a commercial client that equates to about 25% of my business each year. They let the initial contract expire without renewal 2 years ago choosing to go "month to month" instead despite my disapproval.

Well, they have remained a steady source for work and have even increased there activity over the last year, but they also had to replace the Facilities Manager 8 mos ago and that is where the problems lie. This person is very disorganized...especially compared to the person that she replaced.

Simple things like scheduling has resulted in problems where I would be scheduled for evenings that coincided with an after-hours event causing last minute cancellations and reschedules. Communication has also been poor with other departments where I show up and nothing has been arranged (chairs put away, vacuumed, lighting, etc.).

To add to the above problems, the worst sin of all. She keeps screwing up payment. Invoices keep getting lost or else not submitted to accounting. In some cases, she has even re-submitted old invoices where I had to return checks once I discovered the error.

Right now is a prime example. I have been awaiting payments for work down as early as July 14 to the tune of over $4,000, so I contacted this manager to find out why there was such a long delay as normally it hits in 2-3 weeks. I was told that she never received any invoices....she remembered that work was done on a couple of buildings, but said there has been no invoices and to just re-send them.

Before I could get home to re-send the invoices, she said that she found them in her email inbox....unopened and would submit it right away, followed by wanting to schedule a few more jobs this weekend.

I need the work so I will schedule them this weekend, but I am about out of patience and not sure what path to take right now. Her boss has been receiving emails from accounting about the sloppiness of this manager for months (I get the carbon copy of those emails) so I know that the issue is known, yet not fixed. I don't think that I have any help coming there.

Their new budget will be drawn up in Sept. and I am planning on insisting both a written contract with increases across the board as well as a penalty structure for last minute cancellations or late payments. I am worried that it might be too strong of a play at a time when I need to keep this customer if I am going to survive the winter with my doors open.

Just frustrating....

I don't know Rob being that account is 25% of your business and your first year running full time it may not be a good time to give them an ultimatum by insisting on a written contract.

I would change the invoice to net 15 and add a late fee. If its not paid on time I would email late invoice to manager and cc accounting as well as mailing the invoice to accounting.

That's my concern as well Mo, but I am getting abused on a routine basis. Even today, after all the invoices left unpaid were pointed out, I received an email from accounting that they only received one of them from this Manager (the smallest one) at this point.

Having the work is saving my butt, but only if they pay the bill. They have never stiffed me, but if I wasn't so diligent, I would never get paid. Just last month I finally got paid for work down all the way back to May.

I am going to ask for a meeting to discuss a contract. How hard I push for it or the terms for that matter, I am not certain. I was hoping to net far more residential so that I had better leverage, but it just didn't happen.

I guess I need to seek even more commercial this week.

Good point Mo. On invoices add it Big print "net X, with a penalty or late fee....
So you email your invoices??? CC HER boss, accounting dept and anyone else. So multiple people realize the invoice has been sent. Have a follow up contact.2 weeks after the invoice was sent.  Email, postcard, letter; "We recently sent invoice for services... Performed on 8/x/x.. Thank you for your business xoxo.
Don't let them forget you.
I've though about doing a postcard reminder; of work performed, now pay me.(jk). Send it out 5-7 days after I mailed the in voice.  
Invoice can (honestly) get misplaced or forgotten. So don't give them the opportunity to forget it.

I had a customer that would drag out this invoice. Misplaced, can't read the invoice #, faxed copy is unreadable... Blah, blah..
She is the farthest away customer for the smallest invoices.
So she calls to get another copy of theinvoice AND asks can you inspect a carpet to see IF its cleanable.
Over the weekend I decide she's not profitable enough. Called Monday am, told her "she's not profitable enough and she should seek other bids"!.
Then I pick up a complex that pays good and a couple to several units a month. Pays fast.

That is a great idea Matt on sending multiple copies of the invoices as are the follow-ups.

I normally hit them up after 2 weeks to try for additional work, but don't mention the invoice status. I should start doing that as well.

Thanks gang...some new ideas.

I personally would encourage them to pay you directly by you going to their office and present the invoice to their accounting department, just tell them that your payment policy has changed, I would consider getting those CC slider thing on your phone and just offer CC payment to them, all my commercial customers are grateful for us to process CC transaction because they usually have a charge card for all of their expenses, it costs you a couple of percent but it avoids those issues of delayed payments.

Will consider all advice...thanks.

You are self employed for a reason Rob....don't let your customers run you...you run them. I do things on my terms, and when said with great confidence, it works!....they understand, you need to mention your concerns with great reason and being very respectful.....BUT, let them go if they want to control you and not be professional. Reminds me of a contract I had in my younger days....I sure could not afford losing a government contract I had and they knew it....they abused it too....then one day, I said kiss my A** and it was over.....$2800 a month for an easy janitorial gig with carpet cleaning twice a year was very hard to lose (back in the 80's)....BUT I learned it was that very job that kept me from earning twice the money and no BS.

I agree with your points Mo, and we have come to an understanding....not perfect, but things are better.

I did have to laugh tonight though. Normally, there is a security escort involved with working this contract, but tonight there was nothing. They told me that when the morning meeting was held to arrange the daily activities, the CEO asked why they were wasting security resources on me.

The statement I heard was to the effect of "It's Bob, what the hell is going to do.....make things look like new?"

I guess I am becoming one of the family these days.

Thats the perfect contractor relationship Rob. When you become an important and trusted extension of the company your performing a service for

I had an old girlfriend that used to tell me that my autobiography should be titled "It's okay, it's just Bob".

She may have been correct.