Water, power and access
Three things turn a booked job into a wasted trip, and none of them appears on a normal booking form.
Water. Is there an outside tap, does it work, and can a hose reach the vehicle. "There's a tap" and "there's a tap you can use, thirty feet from where the car will be" are different answers.
Power. Is there an outdoor socket, and can a lead reach. An indoor socket with a window closed on the cable is a different job.
Access. Where exactly will the vehicle be, and can you get your van near it. Apartment blocks and shared parking are the single largest source of wasted trips, because the customer answers about their flat while the constraint belongs to the building.
Ask all three at booking, in one message. Thirty seconds, and it prevents the whole category of failure.
"Two quick things so I bring the right kit: is there an outside tap and an outdoor socket I can reach, and where will the car be parked?"
Then decide your policy for "no". Carry your own water and power, or offer a service that does not need them, or price an access surcharge and state it up front. All three are fine. Improvising on arrival is not.
And check what applies where you work. Restrictions on water use, on runoff into drains and on washing on public roads vary by area, and the business doing the work is usually the one liable.
The booking questions
Put these on the booking page or ask them in the confirmation, not on the day:
- Is there an outside tap, and roughly how far from where the car will be?
- Is there an outdoor socket?
- Where will the car be parked, and is there space for a van beside it?
- Is it a shared or permit car park?
- Is there anything about the access I should know: a gate, a code, a steep drive, a low ceiling?
Question four catches the apartment case, which is the expensive one. The customer is not being unhelpful; they have never had to think about whether a van can park next to their space.
And ask for a photo of the parking spot when the answer is at all uncertain. It takes them ten seconds and removes the guessing.
What to carry
Water adaptors for different tap fittings. The cheapest item on this list and the one that prevents the most wasted trips. Outside taps are not standardised.
A long hose. Longer than you think, because the tap is never where the car is.
A water tank, sized to your usual job. A real cost and a real equipment decision, and it converts a category of jobs from impossible to possible. Work out what proportion of enquiries you are turning away before deciding.
An extension lead, outdoor rated.
A battery power option, if your kit allows it.
A rinseless or waterless option in the van. Not a substitute for a full wash, and it turns a wasted trip into a smaller invoice, which beats nothing.
Pricing the difficult ones
State an access surcharge on the booking page. "Jobs where I need to supply my own water: +$25." Part of the price rather than a negotiation.
Do not absorb it silently. Supplying your own water and power costs you equipment, refill time and consumables, and absorbing it means the customers with easy driveways are subsidising the ones without.
Some jobs should be declined. A third-floor flat with permit-only street parking and no outside tap is not a mobile detailing job. Saying so at booking is better for both of you than saying so on arrival. Quoting without seeing it. · Service area and travel fees.
The rules where you work
Requirements differ by state, city and water authority, and can cover water restrictions during dry periods, runoff into storm drains, and washing vehicles on public roads.
Find out what applies where you operate, from the local authority or water utility rather than from a forum. The relevant point for a business: the operator doing the work is usually the one liable, not the customer whose driveway it is.
Practical consequences worth knowing about: where runoff into a storm drain is restricted, working on a driveway that drains to grass or using a containment mat is often the difference between compliant and not.
For cleaners
The equivalent questions are shorter and just as expensive to skip:
- How do I get in? Key, code, lockbox, someone home.
- Is there parking, and does it cost anything?
- Is there hot water, and is the boiler working?
- Are there pets, and will they be loose?
- Is there anything broken I should know about before I am blamed for it?
The last one pairs with photographs. Before-and-after photos that protect you.
What Rigsheet does
Access details live on the customer rather than in your memory: gate codes, parking notes, tap and socket information, pets, and anything you were told once. They are on the job when you open it in the driveway, which is the moment they are needed and the moment nobody can find the old text message.
Customer notes and scheduling are on every plan, including the $4 Starter tier. What each plan includes. · When a job goes wrong.
More in this section
About Rigsheet
Rigsheet is a job app from Baker Ventures LLC for one-to-three-person mobile service businesses: mobile auto detailers and residential cleaners first. Scheduling with drive-time gaps, quotes with vehicle and home-size pricing, deposits, "on my way" texts, before and after photos, invoices, and automated review requests. Plans start at $4 a month, with unlimited jobs, customers, quotes and invoices on every tier and no per-user fees.
It exists because the alternatives charge a solo operator team prices. A one-van business is not a small version of a ten-truck business, and pricing built around seats and add-ons makes that mistake expensive. The pricing calculators and operator guides on this site are free and need no account.
Questions and answers
What should you ask before a mobile detailing job?
Whether there is an outside tap you can reach, whether there is an outdoor socket, where you can park in relation to the vehicle, and whether there are any restrictions on washing where they live. Those four questions prevent most wasted trips.
What if the customer has no water or power?
Either carry your own, which is a real equipment decision with a real cost, or offer a service that does not need them. Both are legitimate; what does not work is finding out on arrival and improvising.
Can you charge more for a difficult access job?
Yes, and it should be a stated surcharge rather than a negotiation on the driveway. An access surcharge on the booking page is part of the price; the same amount raised on arrival feels like a change of terms.
What about apartment blocks and shared parking?
They are the most common source of wasted trips, because the customer is answering about their own flat and the constraint belongs to the building. Ask about the parking specifically rather than about the address.
Are there rules about washing cars on the street?
Restrictions vary by area and can cover water use, runoff into drains, and washing on public roads. Check what applies where you operate rather than assuming, because the person liable is usually the business doing the work.
What is worth carrying as a fallback?
A water tank sized to your usual job, a long hose and adaptors for different tap fittings, an extension lead, and a battery power option. The adaptors are the cheapest item on the list and prevent the most trips.
Rigsheet. “Water, power and access.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 7, 2026. https://rigsheet.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/water-power-and-access-on-mobile-jobs/