PestBossPro Blog — Running a Pest Control Business

Unbilled Re-Services: Keeping Track of Callback Work in a Pest Control Business

A customer calls a few weeks after their quarterly visit: the ants are back in the kitchen. You go out and treat again. That re-service is good customer care, and many recurring plans include it. But some re-services are not included, some extra work gets done along the way, and some customers call back again and again. If nobody keeps track, re-service work turns into a steady stream of unpaid truck time.

One Leak Among Several

After protecting the recurring visits in Missed Quarterly Visits: The Quiet Profit Leak in a Pest Control Business, unbilled work is usually the next leak to plug. It is easy to miss because each re-service feels small. A short stop, a little product, a happy customer. Add up a season of them, though, and you may find a truck day or more every month going unpaid.

Write Down What Is Included

The first fix isn't software. It is a clear policy. Decide what your recurring plans include, write it down, and tell the customer when they sign up. Common questions to settle:

• Are re-services between scheduled visits included in the plan? For which pests?
• Is there a limit, such as one free re-service per quarter?
• Which problems are always billable, like a wasp nest, a rodent problem on a general pest plan, or bed bugs?
• Is the first re-service after an initial service included?

When the policy is written and shared, the technician knows what to do at the door, the office knows what to bill and the customer isn't surprised.

Every Re-Service Is a Job

The biggest cause of lost re-service revenue is work that never gets entered anywhere. A customer texts the technician directly, the technician swings by after their last stop, and the visit exists only in their memory. No record, no invoice, no history.

Instead, schedule every re-service as a one-time job on the customer's address in PestBossPro, even when it is included at no charge. That way the visit shows on the dispatch board and on the technician's phone in route order, the visit history stays complete, and the office can see how often each account needs one. If the technician applies a tracked product, the application record is kept when they complete the job, the same as any other treatment.

Bill Extras as Line Items

Re-services aren't the only unbilled work. Technicians often find something extra during a regular visit: a wasp nest under the eaves, signs of rodents in the garage, a fire ant mound by the patio. A good technician deals with it or flags it. A good company makes sure it gets billed when it isn't covered.

Invoices in PestBossPro carry line items with sales tax. Teach technicians to note any extra work on the job, and have the office add it as a line item from your service list before the invoice goes out. If the customer has a card on file, it can be charged with the rest of the visit. Two-way texting lets the office confirm with the customer before adding a charge they didn't expect.

Spot Repeat Callbacks

Once every re-service is a job on the address, patterns appear. Some accounts need a re-service after every visit. That can mean several things:

• The property has a real pest problem that the regular service doesn't cover, such as conditions that need fixing or a different program.
• The service isn't being done to your written standard.
• The customer expects more than the plan includes.
• The price is too low for the work the property really takes.

Each has a different fix: a conversation with the customer, retraining a technician, a different plan or a price change. You can only see which one it is when the visits are on record. If one technician's routes produce far more callbacks than others, that is a training question, covered in Training New Technicians in a Pest Control Business: Ride-Alongs, Records and the Tech App.

Use Photos and Notes as Proof

Billing for extra work goes more smoothly when the customer can see what was done. Before and after photos taken in the tech app stay with the job, so a photo of the wasp nest under the eaves backs up the line item on the invoice. A short note from the technician, such as “Treated fire ant mound by back patio, customer asked,” does the same. When a customer questions a charge, the office can answer with the photo and the note instead of a guess, and most questions end there.

Check Re-Service Work in the Weekly Review

Add re-services to your weekly look at the numbers. How many were there? Were the billable ones billed? Which addresses keep coming up? A few minutes each week keeps this leak small. To see how one-time jobs, line items and invoices fit together in PestBossPro, visit the PestBossPro pest control business software page.