Payments under complete control

Melbourne’s Specialist Termite Control is a family-run pest control business that manages termite infestations in buildings ranging from standard domestic houses to heritage listed sites.

“Our success has always been built on adapting to change,” said the firm’s Managing Director, Rob Boschma. “We used technology like CRMs well before anybody else, and we were one of the first in the termite industry to adopt chemical-free management systems.”

Specialist Termite Control’s most recent innovation is to make payments more efficient and the customer experience slicker by automating collections with GoCardless integrated with Xero.

Admin that adds up

Termite control is usually an unplanned (and unwelcome) expense so, to help customers manage the costs, Specialist Termite Control offers monthly payment plans for their initial treatment programmes. But when the company was manually processing each payment via card, more payments meant more admin, as well as increased potential for human error.

“There were several problems with our approach, all of which we could do without,” said Rob. “Due dates were tracked using a Rolodex and a biro, so unprocessed payments were always a possibility. Xero also needed to be updated and reconciled manually for every payment. On top of that, cards come with high fees and there are compliance costs with holding onto payment information. The customer experience was a bit dated, too, and people are becoming less comfortable sharing card details over the phone”

Destination automation

Instead, Rob wanted a system that would integrate with the company’s Xero accounting package and allow it to schedule, collect and reconcile payments simply by generating invoices.

This in turn would deliver a smooth and seamless experience for customers, who would also have the peace of mind that their data was being held by a regulated payments provider.

We’ve ticked all of those boxes with GoCardless integrated with Xero. It feels like you can’t have one without the other.

Click and collect

Now virtually every new payment plan customer pays with GoCardless, transforming the amount of time Specialist Termite Control spends on payment admin.

“Once customers accept our proposal, we just send them a link and within minutes their payment mandate is good to go,” said Rob. “The experience is slick. It looks and feels professional, they don’t have to worry about giving out payment details over the phone, and they get automated alerts when a payment is going to be taken so there’s no surprises. And for us, it takes us about a quarter of the time to create the customer account in Xero and schedule the payments for automatic collection and reconciliation.”

GoCardless has also delivered serious cost savings through lower fees, while also keeping the cash reliably rolling in.

It costs just $5 to process a $4,000 payment plan with GoCardless, compared to almost $70 with credit cards. The speed of payment is good, with funds arriving in three to four days, and we’ve never had a failed payment - a contrast to credit cards which would sometimes bounce.

“We can clearly and easily see in either GoCardless or Xero exactly what payments are coming in and when,” added Rob.

Loved by staff and customers

Aside from having rescued them from a tonne of admin, Rob says his staff love GoCardless because it also saves them from having awkward money conversations with clients.

“Because the payment plan is now locked-in before work starts, they’re not having to talk about payments after the event and we always get paid on time,” said Rob.

Customers are big fans too, not least because GoCardless allows Specialist Termite Control to adapt payment plans to their needs.

“Uptake is high and the transition was smooth, which is always a good sign,” said Rob. “Standard payment plans are four months but the flexibility of GoCardless means we can offer them six, twelve, or anything in between, without increasing our overheads or admin.”

Payments that make an impression

Specialist Termite Control aims to continue finessing its processes and customer experience as befits a leader in the service industry. That means eventually extending the use of GoCardless to its annual maintenance programmes.

“We’re always looking to modernise and streamline things as much as possible, and we hope to implement GoCardless for annual maintenance payments too,” said Rob. “Most of our late payments happen here, so gaining the same efficiencies would have an enormous impact.”

Payment ranks alongside acquisition and service delivery as one of the most important contact points a customer has with a business. If your processes aren’t smooth and professional then there’s a gap in your business, and it’s a gap that GoCardless can help you fill.