Why collect at the job
The best time to get paid is while the tech is still standing in the kitchen and the customer is looking at the water heater that works again. Every day after that, the invoice gets easier to put off. Collecting on site is mostly about making it easy: one screen, the customer's preferred way to pay, and no fumbling. The habits that go with it are in how to take payment on site and how to get paid faster.
One Collect screen, from every door
In SWITCHBOARD there is one Collect screen. It opens the same way from the job page, from an invoice, from the end of a live job and from the + button, so a tech learns it once. If the customer already said how they want to pay on the bill ("cash or check"), that choice is picked for the tech and not asked again.
The ways to pay
| Way | How it works |
|---|---|
| Her phone | Text the customer a secure pay link; they pay on their own phone |
| Card here | The customer enters their card on the tech's phone |
| Cash | Recorded on the spot, even with no signal |
| Check | Check number and a photo; the camera reads the number and amount |
| Bank | ACH bank transfer, when the shop has it set up |
| Over time | Pay-over-time options, when the shop turns financing on |
| Credit | Account credit the customer already has with the shop |
Ways the shop has not set up, or that need a connection the phone does not have, are shown as unavailable instead of failing halfway. For bigger tickets, offering customer financing covers when pay over time helps close the job.
All of it, or part of it
The tech picks All of it or Part of it and types the amount. A customer who pays part today and part next week has made two payments on one invoice, and the balance updates without counting anything twice. On jobs billed in stages, each stage keeps the job's number; see staged invoicing.
Checks without the paperwork
For a check, the tech takes a photo. The camera reads the check number and the amount and hands them back to the Collect screen, and the photo is kept privately with the payment. When the office deposits checks, the number and the photo are already there.
After the payment
The done screen says what happened, the invoice updates, and the customer gets a receipt. Invoices and payments sync with QuickBooks Online. If a payment needs to be undone, refunds and account credit have their own steps: lead techs, office and owners can give them, and a regular tech's request goes through an approval. Late balances get reminders that get firmer as the debt ages, covered in how to collect late payments.
See it
Collect is on the phone for techs, leads and the owner, and the office records payments from the desk the same way. Try it in the sandbox or book a 30-minute walkthrough.
Questions people ask
Can a customer pay on their own phone?
Yes. The tech can text them a secure pay link from the Collect screen, and they pay on their own phone.
Can techs take cash with no signal?
Yes. Cash and checks are recorded on the phone and post when the signal comes back, without being counted twice.
Can a customer pay part now and part later?
Yes. Pick Part of it and type the amount. The invoice keeps the balance until the rest is paid.
Does it work with QuickBooks?
Yes. Invoices and payments sync with QuickBooks Online.
Can customers pay over time?
When the shop turns financing on, pay-over-time options appear on the Collect screen.