Working with a tradesman you get to hear all sorts of funny and not so funny stories, and it would seem the essential ‘must-haves’ are not just your tools, but patience and a good sense of humour are essential too.
From being on the receiving end of an ‘on-site’ prank to being asked to do a spot of shopping it’s never dull for the tradesman.
We’ve come up with a list of what we think is the tradesman’s top five headaches, in no particular order:
Number 1 – The DIY bodge jobs
We’ve all done it, thought we could save ourselves some money, fancied ourselves as a bit of a bob the builder, usually on a bank holiday, proceeded to make a right mess and had to call in the experts.
In comes the tradesman to our rescue, having to put the sorry mess right.
It’s estimated that around £300 million is spent each year putting right and it’s the tradesman who bears the brunt.
Number 2 – The Late Payer
A shocking 50,000 small businesses go under each year because of late payers. Its no wonder they are a headache to the tradesman.
Having good credit control in place can help with this, visit our blog page for some handy tips on late payers and good credit control practice.
Number 3 – Tool theft
Sadly, this is becoming an ever-increasing headache for the tradesman and fast becoming the biggest problem too.
Brian Berry of the Federation of Master Builders has said “More than half of builders in the UK have fallen foul to tool theft with concerns growing over a crime wave wreaking havoc across the construction industry”
Here are some tips to keep your tools safe
- Sounds obvious but keep your vehicle locked with windows shut and keys secure
- Lock away valuables, such as phones, wallets and sat nav’s, etc
- Park in well-lit areas and in front of any CCTV cameras if you can
- Remove your tools from the van overnight
- Take photographs of valuable items, making a note of serial numbers and consider registering them on immobilise.com
Number 4 – Being asked for a favour
Whatever your trade, it’s only a matter of time before a friend or family member asks you for a favour.
These favours may only take you an hour or so, but these favours can soon eat into your day and your pocket if they become too frequent
And it isn’t just family and friends that ask for favours. It’s astonishing how many customers ask their tradesman to do a spot of babysitting while they just pop out, or just simply ask the tradesman to pop to the shop for them.
From being asked to answer the door, the phone, to putting the bins out and shifting the Christmas tree into the attic. It seems no task really is out of bounds for the tradesman.
Lucky for the customer the majority of tradesman were happy to do this, despite hardly ever receiving a tip for the extras and in some cases not even a thank you. We must remember that tradespeople are not hired help, they are there to do a job and we really shouldn’t be taking advantage of that and if we do we really need to start at least offering a cup of tea and thank you.
Number 5 – Tax and the HMRC
No one knows how the struggle is real more than the self-employed when tackling self-assessment and dealing with the HMRC.
It’s a minefield out there and if you’re not organised and ahead of the game you can soon find yourself running around like a headless chicken looking for receipts, filling out forms at the last minute trying to avoid expensive fines.
If this is something you hate doing and always find yourself in a muddle come the end of the year, don’t forget we can help you keep your accounts in check with our affordable bookkeeping service.
Despite all of the above we know that tradespeople love what they do and wouldn’t trade it in for the world.
