The problem
Some customers book two removal firms for the same completion day and drop one with a day's notice, or none at all. A crew of three and a lorry with no move on a Friday is a lost day you can't refill. Two late drop-outs a month on $1,197£900€1,071A$1,728C$1,692 moves is $2,394£1,800€2,142A$3,456C$3,384 of work gone, and you were holding those dates instead of selling them.
What the AI does
ServiceM8 lets you email or text a quote the customer can view and accept online, then send a deposit invoice with a link to pay by card. A customer who has paid a deposit is more likely to tell you when their completion date moves, so you can resell the day. Partial and progress invoices, for deposits and balances, are on the Starter plan and above.
A worked example
A removal company in Bristol with two lorries does around 25 moves a month and sends about 45 quotes. They switch to ServiceM8 Growing, ask for a $200£150€179A$288C$282 deposit when a quote is accepted, and take the balance before move day.
Before
About 2 drop-outs a month with under a day's notice, on $1,197£900€1,071A$1,728C$1,692 moves
After
Deposits paid on accepted quotes; about 1 of those 2 dates a month now comes back in time to resell
What it's worth
About $479£360€428A$691C$677 a month in profit, at an assumed 40% margin on one $1,197£900€1,071A$1,728C$1,692 move a month that is resold instead of lost. That is against $78£59€70A$113C$111 for ServiceM8 Growing plus about $92£69€82A$132C$130 in card fees (25 deposits at $3.66£2.75€3.27A$5.28C$5.17 each).
How to set it up
- Choose a plan with room for every quote: ServiceM8 counts each quote as a job, and an accepted quote doesn't use another. 45 quotes a month is close to Starter's 50-job limit, so Growing ($78£59€70A$113C$111 a month, 150 jobs, excluding VAT) leaves room.
- Set up ServiceM8 Pay so deposit invoices carry a card payment link, or add your bank details for customers who prefer a transfer.
- Write your deposit and date change terms clearly and put them on every quote.
- When a quote is accepted, send the deposit invoice the same day and only mark the date as booked once it's paid.
- Send the balance invoice a few days before the move and check it's paid before the van leaves.
What goes wrong
- Quotes agreed by phone, email or online are usually distance contracts, so customers have a 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. Get advice on your deposit and cancellation wording.
- Card fees on ServiceM8 Pay's page are 1.65% + 20p for standard UK cards, so a $200£150€179A$288C$282 deposit costs about $3.59£2.70€3.21A$5.18C$5.08. Bank transfer avoids it.
- Completion dates move for reasons nobody controls. Be clear about whether a deposit moves with the date, or customers will feel cheated.
- Every quote uses one of your plan's monthly jobs whether or not it's accepted, so watch the count in busy months.