You don't have to send a big message. Depending on the relationship, a simple text message will do:
Hi Jane,
Just wanted to let you know that we won't be able to continue servicing your property. We appreciate your business until now and wish you all the best.
Thanks,
Conrad
Just remember you don't owe customers anything. Keep emotions out of it - it's business. You have every right to leave them and move on, just as they may do to you.
We changed our process to protect our cashflow and set the tone from the start. All new lawn service customers must pay upfront for the first service (deposit), then we are very clear that following work will be invoiced upon completion and is due on receipt.
We're moving more towards requiring credit card on file/automatic payment. Some prefer to pre-pay a lump sum which works well. I like the idea of invoicing the month in advance as well.
Basically if something is your business isn't working, you need to change it and make it work for you. If someone is continually paying late, remove the option for them to pay late - require credit card on file. We've done this to quite a few people, and it turns out they appreciate it because it's one less payment they need to worry about and they were legitimately very busy and just forgot to pay our invoices in time. Keep removing payment options until you're sure that you'll get paid with minimum effort.
