TrashCanBossPro Blog — Billing & Payments

Billing Bin Cleaning Customers in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK

Bin cleaning is not just an American business. Wheelie bins in Australia, the UK and New Zealand, and roll-out carts in Canada, all get dirty and all smell in summer. If you run a bin cleaning company outside the US, your billing needs to speak your customers' language, starting with their currency.

The Same Billing, Your Currency

Everything in the guides so far, including how to close out a customer as described in Cancellations and Final Invoices in a Trash Can Cleaning Business, applies outside the US too. TrashCanBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and bills customers in their own currency.

A customer in Toronto sees Canadian dollars. A customer in Brisbane sees Australian dollars. A customer in Manchester sees pounds. The invoice, the card on file, the auto-charge on completion and the customer app all work the same way.

GST, HST and VAT

Outside the US, the tax on your invoices probably is not called sales tax:

• Canada: GST, or HST in some provinces, plus provincial taxes in others.
• Australia: GST.
• New Zealand: GST.
• UK: VAT.

Each country has its own rules on when you must register and charge it, often based on your yearly turnover. This article cannot tell you whether you need to register. Your accountant can. Once you know your rule, set it up so tax appears on every invoice as its own line, just like sales tax in the US. For the general approach, read Sales Tax on Bin Cleaning Invoices: Set It Up Once and Get It Right.

Use Your Customers' Words

Your service list sets the names on your invoices, so use the words your customers use. In Australia and the UK, that is usually "wheelie bin." In Canada, it might be "green bin" for organics or "blue box" for recycling, depending on the city. Line items like "General Waste Bin Clean" or "Green Waste Bin Clean" will make more sense to an Australian customer than "Trash Can Cleaning."

The client record stores trash, recycling and yard waste counts for each address. Map those to your local bin types, like general waste, recycling and green waste, and name your services to match.

Collection Day Instead of Trash Day

Every address stores the pickup day, which you might call bin day or collection day. The scheduling works the same way: clean right after the council or municipal truck empties the bins. Plans come due by days between visits, so a fortnightly plan is simply the 14-day plan, and it shows on the Waiting List when it is due.

Use "fortnightly" on your invoices and website if that is what your customers say.

Addresses and Phone Numbers

Postcodes, provinces and states all differ by country. Make sure customers enter addresses in the local format on your sign-up form so the address lands correctly on the map and in route order. Customer phone numbers need to work for texting, since automatic "on the way" and "arrived" texts, reminders and two-way texting all depend on them.

Strata, Body Corporate and Council Accounts

Outside the US, HOAs go by other names: strata in Canada and Australia, body corporate in New Zealand and parts of Australia, management companies in the UK. The billing works the same way. Set up the organization as one client, add every address under it, and set billing to Monthly. They get one statement each month covering every address, each line labeled with its address.

Keep Currencies Separate in Your Books

If you somehow operate across a border, such as a business near the US and Canada line, keep each currency separate when you look at reports and hand numbers to your accountant. Mixing currencies in one total makes the numbers meaningless.

Prices in Local Terms

When you advertise prices, write them the way local customers expect. In Australia, New Zealand and the UK, customers are used to seeing prices that already include GST or VAT, so check with your accountant how to show tax-inclusive pricing on your website while the invoice still breaks the tax out on its own line. Clear, local pricing on the website and a matching invoice keep the first bill from causing any confusion.

Seasons matter too. Your busy months may fall at a different time of year than a US company's, especially in Australia and New Zealand. Plan price changes, prepay offers and add-on promotions around your own summer, not the calendar a US guide assumes.

The Short Version

Bill customers in their own currency, set up GST, HST or VAT with your accountant's advice, use local bin names on your invoices, schedule around collection day, and treat strata and body corporate accounts like HOAs. For more billing guides, go back to the trash can cleaning billing software page.