Joist Markups FAQ

Start Your Jobs Faster with Joist Deposits We’ve officially launched our new Deposits feature to help you easily collect the $$$ you need to start your jobs quickly and with peace of mind. To check it out just launch the app and you’ll see the feature under ‘Payment Option’ on the Edit screen. Or if you’re interested in learning more, here’s some info we thought might be helpful.How can Deposits help my business? When issuing an estimate or invoice, Deposits lets you request a specific portion of the job total as either a % or $ amount This makes it crystal clear to your client exactly how much is being requested and why As long as you have the online payment option toggled ON, your client can then send you the immediately so you can start the job How do I use Deposits? Just create a new Estimate or Invoice, and tap the ‘Request a Deposit’ button under ‘Payment Option’ Enter the deposit amount as either a $ or % of the overall project and tap ‘Done’ When you save the document, you’ll see a ‘Deposit Due’ section below the Total with the deposit amount you specified From there just email the document to your client and they can send the funds immediately using the online payment feature How does my client pay? Make sure you have the credit card and/or e-check option toggled ON Email the estimate or invoice to your client, and when they open the document online they’ll see a Pay Deposit button Once the payment has been made, the invoice total will automatically update so you and your client always knows how much is left to be paid If your client makes a deposit payment on an Estimate, Joist will automatically generate an invoice in your account reflecting that payment! Do I have to use Deposits on all my documents now? Not at all. Deposits is an option that’s there when you need it, and totally invisible to the client if you don’t. Deposits is a great tool to have when you need to request a partial payment upfront to start the job, but for jobs that are paid in full at the end you can send your estimates and invoices the same way you always have. Do I have to pay to enable the Deposits option? NO — Deposits is a new feature that is freely available to all customers! We added it to help you look more professional to your clients, close more jobs, and ultimately make more money! How do I get started? Easy: Step 1: start a new estimate or new invoice, and under the Payment Option section tap ‘Add’ next to ‘Request a Deposit’ Step 2: specify the amount you’d like to request, either as a $ amount or a % of the project Step 3: send that document to your client and ensure the online payment option is toggled ON Step 4: your client sends you the $$$ you need to get started! Get Started Today To get started just launch Joist and follow the 4 steps above, or give us a shout at 1 (800) 976–9261 or [email protected]!

Joist Payments FAQs Our newest feature - Joist Payments - is now live! If you’re ready to get started just go into your Joist App account and follow the Payments prompts on screen. Otherwise, here are a few things we thought you might like to know.How do I use Joist Payments? As with everything we do at Joist, we tried to keep it simple and easy-to-use. Whenever you issue an invoice through Joist, you can switch Joist Payments ON / OFF If it’s ON, your client can pay you online with just a few clicks as soon as they receive your invoice How long does it take for payments to clear? When your client pays you, the money arrives instantly in your free Joist Payments account. It’s then transferred to your bank automatically, in most cases as early as the next day. How much does Joist Payments cost to use? Just 2.9% and 30 cents per credit card transaction. There are absolutely no other fees, and the rest of the Joist app is still FREE! Do I have to use Joist Payments on all my invoices? Absolutely NOT - you’re in complete control. Use Joist Payments as much or as little as you want by switching Payments ON or OFF on each invoice you send through Joist. What forms of Payment are accepted? We accept all four major credit cards: Visa Mastercard American Express Discover How do I get started? Easy: Get Started Today To start accepting payments through Joist, just open the Joist App, turn the Payments switch ON on your next invoice, sit back, and get paid without thinking about it! …or get started on our Web App if you‘re at your computer. You can also give us a shout at 1 (800) 976 9261 or [email protected] and we can help you get set up!.

Win More Jobs with Joist PaymentsLast year we launched Joist Payments, allowing you to accept online payments from your clients directly through the invoices you send them. We added this feature to the Joist App for 2 big reasons: Customers kept telling us they were losing jobs to competitors who were offering the client fancy online payment options, like credit card and E-Check/Debit Customers kept telling us how much time they were wasting every week chasing down payment from their clients ⌛️ What Are Customers Saying Now? It’s been less than a year and there are already thousands of contractors using Joist Payments every week. Even more exciting is that many of them are now winning up to 30% more of their bids — and getting paid 2x faster— simply by offering the online payment option to clients Here’s why: Commitment to Professionalism: it shows potential clients you take your work seriously and use the latest technology to run your business properly Dedication to Customer Service: offering a more convenient way of paying shows potential clients you care about their experience Credit vs. cash: some clients don’t have the cash on-hand but can still move forward with the job using credit card. Other clients may have the cash but still prefer to pay with credit card for the points Client can Pay Instantly: your client can now pay you online as soon as they receive your invoice, so you don’t have to schedule a meeting just to go collect paymentHow does Joist Payments Work? It’s super easy to use, and once you turn payments on it runs on autopilot. When creating an Invoice make sure the credit card option is switched ON ✅ Send the invoice to your client, and they can pay online using a link in the email/SMS You get notified when they pay, and the automatically flows to your bank account More New Features! We’ve also added a few other features to help you get even more value out of Joist Payments. Markups — You can quickly and easily incorporate credit card fees into your pricing. Simply apply a markup % or $ to your estimate or invoice Guarantees you account for profit + overhead Totally optional on each job, and is only visible to you if you use it Learn more about Markups here or try it out on your next Estimate or Invoice Deposits — You can now request a Deposit when you issue Estimates/Invoices and your client can instantly pay online. Simply add a Deposit % or $ to your estimate or invoice Your client receives a document that clearly shows the exact amount due They can instantly pay online so you get the needed to start the job right away Learn more about Deposits here or try it out on your next Estimate or Invoice Levelling Up in 2018 with Joist Payments Over the past month we’ve started seeing more and more customers getting started with Joist Payments in preparation for the upcoming season. To set themselves up for success in 2018, they’re focusing on Joist Payments as a core tool to help take their businesses to the next level this year. Set yourself up for a more successful and less stressful busy-season by turning Online Payments ON on your next invoice! Or you can head here to learn more about the feature, or give us a shout at 1–800–976–9261 or [email protected] if you have any questions.

Joist eCheck FAQs Big news — we just added an eCheck option to our Payments feature, so now you can accept eCheck AND credit cards through Joist. If you’re already familiar with how our Payments feature works, just go into your Joist App account, create or edit an invoice, and you’ll see a Toggle button for eCheck. Otherwise, here’s some additional info we thought you might find helpful.What is eCheck and how will it help my business? Electronic check (or “eCheck”) is a convenient way to have your client pay you online using their banking information, so you can go paperless and avoid unnecessary trips to the jobs site or bank just to get paid Like paper checks, clients pay directly through their bank account using their banking info Transaction fees are just 1.5% up to maximum of $15 per transaction, making eCheck a good option for larger projects How do I use eCheck? eCheck is very similar to our Credit Cards option: Whenever you issue an invoice through Joist, you can switch eCheck ON / OFF If you choose ON, your client can pay you online through eCheck with just a few clicks as soon as they receive your invoice How long does it take for payments to clear? Just like our Credit Card option, when your client pays you the money arrives instantly in your free Joist Payments account. From there, like paper checks, it will take 5–7 business days for the payment to clear and be available in your bank account. Do I have to use Joist Payments on all my invoices? You definitely do NOT — you have complete control here. Just like our Credit Cards option, you can use our eCheck option as much or as little as you want by switching the eCheck toggle ON or OFF on each invoice. Many of our users like the eCheck option for larger projects and Credit Card option for smaller projects, but it’s totally up to you! How do I get started? Easy: Step 1: create an invoice, and on the Edit Invoice screen switch the eCheck option to ON Step 2: send that invoice to your client Step 3: your client clicks a “Pay Now” button on the invoice, and pays online using their banking info Step 4: check your email to connect your bank account and receive the funds Get Started Today To start accepting eCheck payments through Joist, just open the Joist App, create or edit an invoice, and follow the prompts on screen for eCheck. You can also give us a shout at 1 (800) 976 9261 or [email protected] and we can help you get set up!

Win More Jobs with Joist ProIntroducing Joist Pro Joist was started 6 years ago with a mission to help contractors save time and win more jobs. Since then, we’ve proudly helped our customers grow and improve their businesses. It’s been an incredible journey, but there’s still a lot of work left. We have tons of new features in our sights, but need to invest more in our technology to get them to you faster. To do that, we’ll be making some of our features available for a small fee, and developing additional paid features throughout the year. As a business owner, we know you can appreciate the importance of fair pricing, and investing in your business to ensure a high quality product for your customers. Now you can upgrade to Joist Pro With that, we’re excited to announce that we’ve launched a PRO version of Joist. PRO members have access to the following: NEW Client Notifications and Activity Tracker NEW Estimate / Invoice Offline File Backup* NEW File Attachments* Attach Photos to your Estimates and Invoices Include Your Custom Contract Add Your Logo Quickbooks Sync Add-On for FREE (stay tuned for more info!) On top of this, we’re busy working on tons of new features — like Work Orders, Change Orders, Business Reports and more — that will be available soon as part of a paid version of Joist. *features available later this monthIs Joist still free? If you’re not quite ready to become a Joist Pro member, the free version of Joist is still available. With the free version, you’ll be able to create estimates and invoices, accept payments, offer your clients financing (US only), and all of your data is safe and protected. If you’d like to take advantage of our PRO features such as photos, logos, contracts and notifications, you’ll need subscribe to one of our Pro plans. All of your existing Joist data is saved and will be available when you upgrade, so there’s no need to re-upload your logo or contract.What’s coming next? We’re just getting started and we can’t wait to release more awesome features to help your business succeed. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s coming next: Attach files to your Estimates and Invoices Share Work Orders with your team and trades Manage scope changes with Change Orders Track your sales and performance with Business Reports Plus much more to come! We’re incredibly grateful for your support, and we’re honored to be able to work with your business. If you have any questions or feedback, check out our FAQs and don’t hesitate to get in touch over live chat or email! Thanks, The Joist Team

Ever come to a prospect’s home, take your measurements and ask your questions, then send over a detailed quote, only to never hear back? Of course you have. It’s a fundamental truth that every home services business owner knows very well: Not every lead converts to a customer. That doesn’t make it any less discouraging when the estimate you put all that time into disappears into the ether. But there’s a variety of reasons why a prospect might procrastinate on responding to your estimate. Their timeline or budget may have changed. They may have been on vacation and not checking email. They may just need a little extra nudge. In these cases and others, an estimate follow-up email can make all the difference. Things You Need to Know About Following Up on Estimates It’s worth a little extra effort trying to convert prospects with estimate follow-up emails. People who have completed an in-home or over-the-phone estimate have already demonstrated high intent. From a business development perspective, these prospects have your highest likelihood of becoming customers. A successful follow-up email template can make the process of following up more efficient. But before we go into how to craft a winning estimate […]

Requiring a contractor deposit is a smart business move. Here's how to ask for one, how to address common objections, and other deposit best practices.

Use our free appointment reminder templates to send professional email or text reminders, reduce no-shows, and improve your business workflow.