TrashCanBossPro Blog — Trash Can Cleaning Software

Trash Can Cleaning Software in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK

Bin cleaning isn't only an American business. Wheelie bin cleaning is a familiar service in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Canadian companies clean carts on the same weekly rhythm as their US neighbors. The words change. The work doesn't.

The Same Habits, Different Words

In Common Mistakes Bin Cleaning Companies Make With Their Software, the biggest mistake was leaving out the trash day. That is just as true in Leeds or Brisbane, where it is called bin day. This article is for owners outside the US wondering whether software built for this trade fits their business.

Where TrashCanBossPro Works

TrashCanBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and it bills customers in their own currency. A company in Ontario bills in Canadian dollars. A company in Perth bills in Australian dollars. A company in Auckland bills in New Zealand dollars. A company in Manchester bills in pounds.

Bin Day Is Trash Day

Whatever your customers call it, there is a day the council or city empties the bins. In TrashCanBossPro that is stored on each address as the trash day, and it is the most important detail for planning.

The logic is identical everywhere: clean the bins right after they are emptied. Group due cleanings by bin day, send a trailer the same afternoon or the next morning, and the bins are empty and at the kerb when you arrive.

Bins, Carts and Cans

The software stores trash, recycling and yard waste counts on each address. In practice, that maps neatly onto the common setups:

• UK: general waste, recycling and garden waste bins
• Australia and New Zealand: general waste, recycling and green waste or garden bins
• Canada: garbage, recycling and yard waste or organics carts

Use the can location notes for anything specific: "bins down the side passage," "behind the back gate," "bin store at the front of the flats."

Alternating Collections

In many places, councils alternate collections: general waste one week, recycling the next. That affects which bins are empty on which day. A few practical approaches:

• Use every-other-week plans (14 days between visits) lined up with the collection you want to follow.
• Note the alternating pattern in the address notes so the tech knows which bins to expect empty.
• Use tags to group addresses on the same collection pattern so they are easy to route together.

For more on how plans and due dates work, see Recurring Plans in Trash Can Cleaning Software: Weekly, Every Other Week and Monthly.

Flats, Strata and Body Corporates

What Americans call HOAs and apartment complexes show up as strata in Canada and Australia, body corporates in New Zealand and Australia, and managing agents for blocks of flats in the UK. The software handles them the same way: one client with many addresses, each with its own bins and bin day, and Monthly account billing so the whole account gets one statement each month with every line labeled by address.

Texts and the Customer App

Reminders, on-the-way and arrived texts, two-way texting from the office and the customer app all work the same way outside the US. Customers choose their alerts: night before, when they're next, and when the tech arrives. Keep reminder wording local. "Please leave your bins at the kerb" reads more naturally in Sydney than "leave your cans at the curb."

Sales Tax, GST and VAT

Invoices carry line items and sales tax. Whether you charge GST, HST or VAT, set it up in your tax settings so invoices add it correctly. Check with your accountant about what applies to your business.

Addresses and Postcodes

Addresses drive the map, the Waiting List pins, auto-routing and the navigation button on the tech's phone, so they need to be complete wherever you are. Include the full street address, the town or suburb, and the postcode or postal code. For flats and units, put the unit number in the address and use the can location note for where the bin store is. When you import a customer list, check a handful of addresses on the map before routing anything, so a typo doesn't send a trailer to the wrong town.

The Takeaway

Bin day, wheelie bins and strata are just different names for trash day, cans and HOAs. TrashCanBossPro works in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK and bills in your customers' currency. For the full overview, visit the trash can cleaning software page.