Getting Paid Faster as a Contractor

It's Friday night. The last truck is parked, and you're scrolling texts and bank deposits to see who paid this month. Three customers haven't, so you text them again and feel awkward doing it.

Slow money rarely comes from bad customers. It comes from gaps: a late invoice, a payment that means a drive across town, a reminder nobody sent. Close those gaps and most customers pay on time.

The seven habits below follow a job in order, starting before the work does.

Habit 1 of 7 Agree on payment before you start

Put your payment terms on the estimate, right where the customer signs. Say when each payment is due, how they can pay, and what happens when one runs late.

A customer who signed "due on completion" is far easier to call than one who never saw a date. It also settles the money talk while everyone is still friendly.

Habit 2 of 7 Take a deposit on bigger jobs

A deposit covers materials and shows the customer is serious. It also shrinks the amount you could ever end up chasing.

Ask for it when the estimate is approved, not on the first morning of work. Some states and provinces cap deposits on home jobs. Check your local rule once and set your terms to match.

In JobsiteBooked, the customer can pay the deposit by card as soon as they approve the estimate. The final invoice then takes the deposit off the total.

Habit 3 of 7 Send the invoice the day the work ends

Every day an invoice sits in your truck is a day added to the wait. Bills written from memory at the kitchen table also miss things, like the extra fitting or the second trip.

Make the invoice part of closing the job. If the crew lead wraps up at 2, the office sends the bill by 4. On jobs billed per visit, JobsiteBooked drafts the invoice when the crew marks the visit complete. You look it over and hit send. On other jobs, Create invoice turns the finished job into a bill without retyping. Here's how invoicing works.

Habit 4 of 7 Make paying a one-tap job

A check needs a pen, an envelope and a stop at the bank. A card link in a text needs a thumb. The less effort paying takes, the sooner it happens.

Send every invoice with a link to pay by card, by text and by email. Each customer also has a portal where every open invoice can be paid. For US customers, bank payments can be switched on as well, which suits bigger bills. More on card payments.

Habit 5 of 7 Follow up on a schedule, not a mood

Most late payers aren't refusing. They forgot, or the invoice sank under other mail. A friendly reminder on a set schedule clears most of it. You never have to decide when asking becomes rude.

A simple rhythm works: remind on the due date, again three days later, then every few days. Keep the words plain: "Hi, a quick reminder that the invoice for the deck repair is due today. You can pay by card from this link."

JobsiteBooked emails invoice reminders on the due date, then every three days while it's overdue, three times. You can add a late fee to your terms too. Then the rule is written down before anyone is late.

Habit 6 of 7 Look at who owes what every week

You can't chase what you can't see. Pick one time each week, like Monday at 7. Go through every open invoice by how late it is.

Call anyone past 30 days. A two-minute call clears up more than a fourth text. Often it's a question about the bill, or a customer waiting on payday. In JobsiteBooked, the money owed screen shows each customer's balance and how far past due it is. That turns the weekly look into a ten-minute job.

Habit 7 of 7 Decide your last step before you need it

Now and then a customer stops answering altogether. Pick your last step ahead of time. Usually that's a final written notice with a date, then collections or small claims court.

If you work on homes, look up the lien rules where you work while nothing is late. They often come with tight deadlines that start when the work ends.

Put it together

Terms on the estimate, a deposit up front, the bill out the same day. Then a card link, reminders on a schedule and a weekly look at the list. A landscaper billing sixty lawns a month uses the same habits as a remodeler chasing one final invoice. See how landscapers bill a full route.