MaidBossPro Blog — Running a Cleaning Business

Declined Cards and Lockouts: Protecting Cleaning Business Revenue on the Day of the Visit

Two problems cost cleaning companies money on the day of the visit itself. A declined card means the clean was done and not paid for. A lockout means the team drove to the home, couldn't get in, and lost the slot. They look different, but they have a lot in common. Both are usually preventable, both get worse when nobody follows up, and both are much easier to handle with a policy decided ahead of time.

The Day-of-Visit Leaks

Missed Recurring Visits: The Quiet Way a Cleaning Business Loses Regular Clients showed how a skipped visit can turn into a lost client. A lockout is one of the most common causes of a skipped visit, and a declined card that isn't followed up can quietly end a relationship too. Fixing both protects more than one day's revenue.

Why Cards Decline

Most declines aren't about a customer refusing to pay. Cards expire. Banks replace cards after a fraud alert. A card hits its limit near the end of the month. The customer changed banks and forgot to tell you. In each case, the customer is usually happy to pay once they know.

Preventing and Fixing Declines

A few habits keep declines small:

• Card on file from the start. MaidBossPro's sign-up form captures the card when the customer signs up, and the card on file can be charged when the team taps Complete or on a schedule you set.
• Let customers update their own card. In the customer app, customers can update their card without calling the office. Point them there in your first message about a decline.
• Follow up right away. Past-due follow-up goes out automatically in MaidBossPro. The owner or office should also look at declines every few days and send a friendly personal text to anyone who hasn't fixed it.
• Decide before the next visit. Have a policy for what happens when a card is still declined on the next visit day. Many companies ask for an updated card before the team goes back.

Keep the tone light. “Hi, your card on file didn't go through for Tuesday's clean. You can update it in the app any time.” Most customers fix it within a day.

Why Lockouts Happen

Lockouts are just as predictable:

• The door code or lockbox code changed and nobody told the office.
• The customer forgot it was cleaning day and locked a deadbolt or took the key.
• The alarm code is wrong or missing.
• A gate, garage or building door the team needs is closed.
• A new team didn't know about the side door.

Preventing Lockouts

Most lockouts come down to entry information and reminders:

• Current entry notes. In MaidBossPro, entry and notes for the lockbox, key or door code and alarm live on the job and show on the team's phone. Each new job at a home fills in from its last job, so when a code changes, update it once and every future visit shows the new one.
• Night-before reminders. A reminder the night before gives the customer a chance to leave the door open for the team, the key out or the alarm off. More on reminders in Customer Communication for a Cleaning Business: Reminders, Texts and Day-Of Updates.
• On-the-way texts. An automatic text when the team is heading over catches the customer who is home but about to leave.
• Read the card in the driveway. Teach teams to read the entry notes before they knock, so they try the right door first.

When a Lockout Happens Anyway

Give teams a simple routine so they don't have to guess:

1. Check the entry notes again and try every listed way in.
2. Text the office, which texts or calls the customer through two-way texting.
3. Wait a set time, for example ten or fifteen minutes.
4. If there is still no way in, tap Skip in the team app with a clear note: “Lockbox code didn't work, no answer, waited 15 min.” A photo of the closed door helps.

The office then follows up with the customer the same day, updates the entry notes if anything changed, and schedules the home again.

A Lockout Policy Customers Agree To

Many cleaning companies charge a lockout fee for a trip where the team couldn't get in, because the slot and the drive are lost either way. Whether you charge one, and how much, is your decision. What matters is that the customer knows the policy before the first visit, that it is written down, and that it is applied the same way every time. Add it to your service list so it can go on an invoice like anything else.

Applied kindly, a lockout fee rarely costs a good customer. It mostly makes sure the door is open next time. For more on running a cleaning company, see the cleaning business software page.